As I read the epic of Gilgamesh, I started to notice the similarities between this story and the tale of Hercules. They are related in many different ways, for example: both Gilgamesh and Hercules travel by themselves to the underworld to recover a loved one from the dead. Gilgamesh wants to save Enkidu and Hercules his girlfriend (keep in mind I am talking about the animated movie). Another similarity is that both Gilgamesh and Hercules are part God. Gilgamesh is one third human and two thirds God, but Hercules is a son of Zeus and a mortal making him a demigod, half human half God. One other thing that these two stories have in common is that both of the heroes have to defeat monsters to be able to get to the underworld. Gilgamesh has to kill some lions, and Hercules has to killed the three headed dog. And last but not least, the tales are similar because both of the heroes have to cross rivers. Gilgamesh has to cross a river of dead, and Hercules has to cross the river Stynx. ''he gazed at a boat approaching across the waters of death.'' This clearly relates to the greek version of Hercules.
To conclude, I couldn't help noticing the similarities. As I read the ninth and 10th tablet of the Epic of Gilgamesh, every detail reminded me of Hercules and made me think about it the whole time I was reading.
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