Gilgamesh and Harry Potter comparison
Jules Ghuloum
Gilgamesh is the blueprint for any epic. Written in 2100 B.C., The Epic of Gilgamesh is the story of two friends who go on wild adventures and conquer dangerous beasts. Harry Potter is a story about a strong young wizard destined to go up against the dark wizard Voldemort. Gilgamesh and Harry Potter have many similarities around character and world-building, while they differ in motives and personality.
Both these characters were stricken at a young age with the pressure of being very powerful and strong in their realms. Both characters are held to high standards regarding defeating evil. Gilgamesh was created by the gods to do great things and is known all around by how powerful and heroic he is. Harry is very well known for being the chosen one and the only person to be able to kill Voldemort. Harry and Enkidu both use magic on these journeys throughout their books.
Magic and spirituality are big aspects of both Gilgamesh and Harry Potter. In Gilgamesh's quest with Enkidu, every night they do specific rituals and magic to ensure their safety. Enkidu and Gilgamesh also get visions and prophecies throughout the book. In Harry Potter, Harry and his friends must use magic and spells on their adventures as well. Harry Potter often gets visions of the future and prophecies of his fate similar to Gilgamesh. For example, when Gilgamesh and Enkidu are camping in their tent they lay down a protective magical circle of flour. Later that night, Gilgamesh gets a vision while sleeping which continues to happen every night forth. In Harry Potter, Harry and his friends must use magic to defend themselves from the death eaters in book 5. In Book 7 of the series when searching for Horcruxes Harry and Hermione must lay down protective spells around their tent. In book 4, 5, and 7 Harry frequently has dreams and visions of real events that happen in the future. There are also many key defining differences between the two books.
The two books are very similar although have many key differences that make them unique, which is, motivation. Throughout Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh and Enkidu go on adventures to fight beasts as a duo willingly. Harry and his two other friends, Ron and Hermione, are often forced into these situations unwillingly. Throughout the epic, Gilgamesh is very confident in his ability and holds himself to a high standard. Meanwhile, in Harry Potter, Harry lacks confidence in his ability and does his best not to challenge himself or hold himself to a higher standard. Harry Potter’s whole world is built around magic and learning how to use it. Gilgamesh's world is more spiritual and nature-oriented.
These two books have many similar aspects around characters and world-building. Harry and Gilgamesh are very young when given powerful abilities and high status in both their worlds. Gilgamesh and Harry both must you use magic in order to survive throughout their adventures. There are many important differences between the characters of the two books and the world around them. I believe Gilgamesh has greatly influenced the creation of the Harry Potter series through its great storytelling and characters.
