The Death of Enkidu

This is a depiction of the death of Enkidu in the Epic of Gilgamesh, which was one of the earliest epics every recorded. Gilgamesh was the king of Uruk. He was an unruly bastard, raping people's wives and ruling his people as a tyrant. So the gods sent Enkidu, a wild man, to "tame" him. Enkidu was the only man in the world whose strength equalled that of Gilgamesh. The two fought, and when it became clear neither would win, they stopped fighting and became best friends. Together they had some adventures (which I may illustrate later on), but after angering the goddess Ishtar Enkidu was cursed with sickness and died.

The reason this story appeals to me is the profound same-sex affection. Gilgamesh mourns Enkidu's death as one would mourn a lover. And the episode is so traumatizing Gilgamesh embarks on an adventure to find immortality (he also finds the man who survived the great Deluge, known as Noah in Judeo-Christo-Islamic mythology).

So the story has homoerotic overtones. But were they actually lovers? Idunno. Don't really care. It's a beatiful story involving men loving one another, and whether that was in friendship or romance, the world needs more of it right now.

And as a gay man I can certainly appreciate it.

So yeah, I'm just learning digital painting, so feel free to criticize with technical advice.

Thanks!