Aside from Artoria Pendragon, it’s perhapsGilgameshthat remains one of the most recognizable characters in theFatefranchise. Characterized by his iconic golden armor and tendency to rain down ancient weapons on his opponents, this Babylonian King of Heroes won’t let anyone look down on him. Intriguingly enough, Gilgamesh is indeed based on the Gilgamesh from “The Epic of Gilgamesh,” a hero in Mesopotamian mythology.
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However, fans of theFatefranchise know there’s more than meets the eye in Gilgamesh than just being a typical Servant with the signature Type-Moon twist. In fact, there are certain key elements of his mythology that encountered quite a lot of creative play on the part of theFatefranchise. However, just how do these new things affect Gilgamesh’s overall character design?
7Golden Armored Is Inspired
One of themost iconic traits of Gilgamesh in theFatefranchiseis his golden armor, which was a design mandate from author Kinoko Nasu. Despite the eventual iconic status of the golden armor and his attachment to it as an association of his regality inFate’s story, however, the concept isn’t from his mythology.
As it turns out, Nasu based Gilgamesh’s golden-armored design on Gilgamesh ofThe Tower of Druagagame. Whereas both Gilgameshes were based on the same hero,Fate’s Gilgamesh had a gold-red motif, whereasDruaga’s Gilgamesh had a gold-blue palette.
6The Lack Of A Direct Origin
In the context of tracing history outsidethe overallFategames, there aren’t any known stories that describe the “creation” of Gilgamesh. He simply is a warrior with the strength of a god. One of his first appearances was in “Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld” but this describes him as a fierce warrior.
It’s only in some stories outside the “Epic” that some traits of Gilgamesh were expanded, such as being “two-thirds divine, and one-third mortal.” Gilgamesh also refers to himself as the son of King Lugalbanda and Ninsun, therefore associating him with a direct parentage. This is also the narrative thatFateseems to have stuck with when telling his story. The “two-thirds divine” aspect of the story may refer to Lugalbanda’s nature as a deified king, a tradition common in Mesopotamian despots.
5The Son Of A King, Not Of A God
However, stating that Lugalbanda is Gilgamesh’s parentinFateis tricky considering the nature of declarations in Mesopotamian times. According to the Sumerian King List that declared the power of kings in ancient Mesopotamia, Lugalbanda is said to be the second king of Uruk. It’s common practice to elevate the status of kings to gods to cement their rule, with other succeeding kings often associating themselves with former kings to continue the tradition. Such was the case of Ur-Shulgi of the Ur Dynasty, who refers to himself as Lugalbanda’s son and Gilgamesh’s brother.
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This proves tricky in the context of both Mesopotamia’s history and mythology, as Lugalbanda was considered mainly a king in history, whereas Gilgamesh is more of a mythological king. The inability to place whether Lugalbanda is a true “god” in the context of divine literature or simply a deified king makes Gilgamesh’s parentage difficult to determine.
4An Extraterrestrial Connection
One of the most bizarre alterations in Gilgamesh’s mythology to fit within theFatestory is how he’s come into being in the first place. Back in around 12,000 BC, a being known as Sefar was sent by the extraterrestrials known as the Velber to purge life on Earth. With a lot of the gods already defeated, Lugalbanda negotiated with Sefar to spare the Mesopotamian gods in exchange for a debt to be repaid in the future.
It’s thanks to this intervention that the Mesopotamian gods were spared in Sefar’s rampage, which led to Gilgamesh’s eventual birth. In the events ofFate/EXTELLA, it’s this “debt” that motivates Gilgamesh to ally himself withAltera, the reincarnation of Sefar.
3The Immortality Herb
Consistent to bothFateand the “Epic of Gilgamesh” is a mysterious herb, or specifically a root of a herb, that grew in the deep that could grant its consumer eternal youth. It’s this herb that became Gilgamesh’s target in his journey to immortality. In the “Epic of Gilgamesh,” he is motivated by the desire to overcome death. While inFate, the herb was already a target for his collection but Gilgamesh became more motivated after Enkidu’s death.
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What’s more interesting is the nature of the herb in question. In the epic, Gilgamesh’s consumption of the herb will make him immortal, and it’s only by taking a break that a snake stole the herb. InFate, Gilgamesh didn’t want to consume the herb because it would transform him into a half-plant, hence gaining indirect immortality. Rather, he simply wanted to add it to his collection and was stolen by a snake during his introspection.
2The May Or May Not Be Sister Ishtar
In the story of bothFateand the “Epic of Gilgamesh,” the goddess Ishtar - who isalso a Servantin the game - once tried seducing Gilgamesh and was dismissed, prompting her to unleash the Bull of Heaven. After Gilgamesh and his close friend Enkidu manage to kill it, the gods choose to kill Enkidu as punishment. In mythology, Ishtar is known as the Babylonian Queen of Heaven and a goddess commonly associated with love, war, justice, and political power.
However, Ishtar is also known in Mesopotamia as Inanna, who in some stories is portrayed as the brother of Gilgamesh. In “Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld,” the otherwise-powerful goddess Inanna called for aid to help construct a throne, through which only Gilgamesh answered. This story is one of the earliest displays of Gilgamesh’s prowess, which is important in establishing his presence as a pseudo-god. InFate, Ishtar is portrayed as a lover spurned by Gilgamesh, but it’s not clarified whether the sibling angle exists.
1Enuma Elish Is Both An Attack And A Creation Myth
Being the first representative of the Sumerian and Babylonian mythology throughout the franchise, it’s expected of Gilgamesh to have properties and traits associated with his heroic origins. One of the most prominent examples of this is Enuma Elish, the attack associated withhis primary Noble Phantasm, the sword Ea.
Bearing the full name “Enuma Elish: The Star Of Creation That Split Heaven And Earth,” this serves as the most powerful attack of Ea capable of tearing through spacetime itself. TheFatefranchise explains this as the manifestation of the Enuma Elish, the Babylonian creation myth. In the 1,000-line poem, the myth describes how primordial entities created the god Anu of the sky, and from it Ea of the seas, and how the creation of other gods led to chaos until Marduk established order. It’s interesting how Gilgamesh, simply part-god, was able to manifest this power through his weapon.
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