Gilgamesh was the King of the Uruk, and the son of the Goddess Ninsun, thus he was semi-divine. He was a strong and wise king, but he was perhaps too proud. Hubris was not respected by the gods, so they sent the creation of Aruru, Enkidu, the wild man, to counter the pride of the king. Gilgamesh one day was challenged by Enkidu and they fought in a wrestling match. Even though Gilgamesh defeated Enkidu, they were eternal companions. They made many travesl and one of them were to enter a forest where the demon Humbaba guarded. They fought against the beaset and Gilgamesh defeated the demon; Humbaba pleaded to Gilgamesh to spare his life, and doing so he would be his slave, but Enkidu killed Humbaba. Humbaba proclaimed that Enkidu would die soon and before Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh did not take this seriously. After returning to Uruk, the goddess Ishtar fell in love with Gilgamesh, but he refused her knowing the misfortunes that her loves befall. Ishtar felt this as an insult and asked her father Anu to send the Bull of Heaven to strike retribution. Gilgamesh and Enkidu slew the beast, but doing that, all of the gods decided that for killed the sacred beast, one of them must die. So the gods chose Enkidu. Gilgamesh was saddened by this, for Enkidu was his greatest companion. Gilgamesh suddenly realized his own mortality, and decided that he must find the secret of Immortality. Gilgamesh went to the Underworld, passed the guards, and rode upon the ferry of Urshanabi to the realm of Utnapishtim. There, he convinced the man to reveal his tale of the Great Flood and how he was revealed the sacred plants of immortality. He revealed to Gilgamesh the location of them, at the bottom of a lake, and Gilgamesh set out to retrieve them. As Gilgamesh plucked them and came to the surface of the water, he realized he had pricked his hand. So he went to the side and washed his hands of blood, but as he did so a snake came and slithered away with the plant of Immortality. Gilgamesh finally took this as defeat and returned to Uruk, and now saw that even though he was denied immortality, that he had people who depended on him.

  The gods enlisted Aruru to create the wild man, Enkidu, to challenge the hubris of Gilgamesh. Enkidu was raised in the forest and grew like a wild man. He eventually was challenged to a wrestling magic with Gilgamesh, and he lost. But he was taken as a companion and they traveled doing many heroic deeds. Enkidu and Gilgamesh enter the forest of the guardian Humbaba the demon, and together they fought. Gilgamesh finally made Humbaba surrender, but as Humbaba pleaded for mercy, Enkidu slaughtered him on the spot. Humbaba cursed Enkidu and Gilgamesh that Enkidu would die before Gilgamesh. Later, after Gilgamesh refused Ishtar, Anu sent the Bull of Heaven to terrorize Gilgamesh. Enkidu helped Gilgamesh, but at a very dear price. For killing the sacred beast, the gods struck down Enkidu, and he spent his last moments with Gilgamesh. But one of the things is, is that there is a possibility that Enkidu was a hero of a different cycle, similar to Odysseus being a hero in the Iliad and the main hero in The Odyssey. There is also evidence that perhaps Enkidu was later a natural deity of animals.