#How else will Gilgamesh and Enkidu know whether they are equal to each other without a challenge?

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Stephen Mitchell describes Enkidu's challenge to Gilgamesh in terms of male competitiveness, but that feels extremely reductive, especially in the context of his OWN analysis, where he describes Gilgamesh as 2/3 divine tyrant and Enkidu as 2/3 animal, someone created by the gods to perfectly balance Gilgamesh and bring peace to Uruk

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To say Gilgamesh loves his family with all of his heart is quite possibly the biggest understatement anyone can ever mention. To him, his family were Gods among Gods - his parents were his idols even into his adult years, and his son was nothing more than his pride & joy. Truly, no matter what the situation is, Gilgamesh can talk for hours about how amazing his family members are. Granted, you have people like his aunt, Ishtar - but, he has good things to say about her as well. 

No matter who you ask that knows Gilgamesh, they will describe him to be among the greatest sons and greatest fathers - perhaps he was not always the Great Wise King of Uruk, but he has always been the greatest in those two titles. There is a certain change to his tone of voice when speaking to or about his family, his voice becomes softer - gentler. He even takes to smiling more often, something only someone like Ritsuka has been able to bring about.

When it comes to his parents, there is no favorite Ninsun. He loves them both equally, for different reasons - but he would never be able to say who was the best to him. They’re both far too important to him to play favorites, so he will instead praise their various lovable qualities.

Another thing to note is that should anyone speak poorly about his father, his mother, or his son - they will instantly answer to the King’s wrath. He will tolerate no insult intended for either of them, and whether the person lives for such insolence depends on how apologetic they are. Gilgamesh will see through any lie that’s to save face, and if anyone should try faking an apology, they will simply be met with an even harsher punishment than planned.

As said before, he feels strongly about his family; and he feels strongly for each of them. Fret not, mongrels - you are about to learn.

NINSUN.

Gilgamesh has nothing but love for his mother. She is practically his equivalent to a guardian angel; he knows she and Shamash always watched over him, and he also spoke with her daily - though that turned into weekly when he took his role as King more serious. Though he wasn’t always able to directly speak with her, he knew she was always listening when he called to her - and she would always respond from the heavens. 

In his youth, Ninsun was physically involved with his life more often. He vividly remembers holding her hand as a child and praising to all in Uruk how his mother was the most beautiful woman in all of Babylonia - even in the heavens. He remembers how such comments made her smile, and how he’d always say such things solely for that very smile. It was warm, filled with nothing but kindness.

One of Gilgamesh’s first acts as King was to ban the digestion and slaughter of cattle because of his mother’s patronage to them. Cows were then officially deemed as sacred animals, and if someone were to kill a cow without permission, they were punished based on the cow’s age. If it was an elder cow, they are starved for a week - and if it was a calf, they were put to death in return. 

Though his mother was a kindhearted woman, she was still a Goddess - thus, when she angered (although rare), her wrath terrified him much more than Gugalanna ever could. She scolded him in his later years for the way he treated his people, and for the first time, he felt as if he had failed her. This was later rekindled and they obviously still share the strongest of bonds, but the fact stands that his mother is one of few beings who can spark fear in him.

Gilgamesh, though he tries to not play favorites, IS a mother’s boy. He often goes out of his way to do things in her name in order to make her proud. Examples range from creating a second temple dedicated to her to simply spreading word of her kindness to Uruk and getting its people to pray to her.

He gets his more “wild” side from her, and not his father. Of course, that side of him is truly only brought out when Enkidu is around given Enkidu’s upbringing - but the fact still stands, his mother is much more feral than Lugalbanda could ever be. She simply knows how to keep that side of her secretive.

No matter what has happened in his life, one thing that never changed was the adoration he felt for his mother. That fact remains even in Chaldea, and will never change whatsoever. 

LUGALBANDA.

Gilgamesh’s father is the very first person Gilgamesh respected (if you do not count his mother, of course). Lugalbanda ruled Uruk for 1,200 years until Gilgamesh was born. Of course, Gilgamesh did not immediately take after his father in ruling - Uruk was ruled by Dumuzid the Fisherman while Lugalbanda raised his newborn son alongside Ninsun.

Gilgamesh recalls his younger years with his father as trying, because Lugalbanda taught him what was necessary for Kingship - this included hours upon hours of tireless work, sleepless nights and physical labor (personally requested by Gilgamesh, because he had the dream of being the best King that Uruk would have as a boy).

However, the Shepherd also allowed Gilgamesh free time more often than not - resulting in Gilgamesh’s cockiness in not taking certain things seriously (such as his Archer self in the Fifth Holy Grail War). This wasn’t necessarily Lugalbanda’s fault, because as much as he wanted his son to be a great King - he also wanted him to enjoy his childhood for as long as he can.

Similarly to his mother, Gilgamesh holds nothing but love for his father. The man did everything in his power to carve a path for him, and he taught him everything he could and more with the knowledge he learned in that 1,200 year rule. If one were to insult Lugalbanda, they would face Gilgamesh’s wrath just like they would if they were to insult his mother - however, there was a different case with Lugalbanda compared to Ninsun.

Unlike Ninsun, Lugalbanda was much more human than God - and the only truly divine thing about Lugalbanda was his age. But to Gilgamesh? His father was more than that - his father was his personal God. In his rule, Gilgamesh demanded that his father be referred to as a God - thus earning Lugalbanda the nickname of “Holy Lugalbanda”. Because of how Gilgamesh felt about his father, though a lesser deity, a divine temple was made dedicated to Lugalbanda - making him much more than just a Shepherd, or a past King of Uruk. 

Lugalbanda was now officially viewed as a God by even the people of Uruk, not just Gilgamesh. Though, clearly his #1 patron would be his son.

UR-NUNGAL.

Surprisingly, Ur-Nungal is the only known child of Gilgamesh. Though, he would not have it any other way as he spoils Ur just as Ninsun spoiled him when he was a boy. It is thanks to his parents who were phenomenal in raising him, that he could raise the greatest son he could ever ask for. He passed the courage that he learned from his father, and the kindness that he learned from his mother, unto Ur-Nungal.

Ur-Nungal was an infant when the seven day famine plagued Uruk before Ishtar brought down Gugalanna - he likely would have died before he was a year old. However, Gilgamesh sacrificed the little rations that were meant for him - each of those seven days, for his son. He was certain that Ur would die if he didn’t do such a thing. Thankfully, the famine passed - but the Bull of Heaven descended onto Uruk under Ishtar’s command. 

Unfortunately, Enkidu passed not long after repelling Gugalanna - so Ur was not able to get to know the man who would be his uncle. But, that didn’t stop Gilgamesh from telling tales of Enkidu - the Wild Man; telling about the time they defeated Humbaba, and their first meeting - how they battled one another and laughed as they were equals. Seeing Ur smile whenever he told those stories - he knew Ur would look to Enkidu just as he looked to Lugalbanda.

Embarking on his journey to the Underworld was difficult, but only because he needed to bid a temporary goodbye to his son. However, something Gilgamesh realized when the Herb of Immortality was eaten by the snake - being immortal was a fool’s wish. There came far too many consequences with living forever, one of which was watching those you care about pass on. He did not want to live longer than his son, no parent should.

So - from the day he returned, he raised Ur-Nungal and showed him what he was taught when it came to Kingship. Except, Gilgamesh wanted Ur to be just like him - but better. When Ur was older, Gilgamesh took time out of his routine to help Ur with the labor he couldn’t handle on his own - the most memorable was a temple dedicated to Enki that the two of them built together, nobody else but them. 

Gilgamesh is incredibly proud of the man Ur-Nungal became. His kindness reminisced his grandmother, and his smile was similar in warmth. Although his time came, Gilgamesh was at peace knowing Uruk was in the hands of a great successor - perhaps Ur was not an expert in proper Kingship like he originally hoped, but the way he made the people of Uruk happy was more than enough for him to know that everything would be alright.

Ur-Nungal is his pride & joy, worth more than any treasure in the world - he always would be.

ISHTAR.

And finally, Ishtar - though she is his aunt, they have never once shared a familial relationship. They were more akin to rivals, of sorts. However, just because he shares no familial bond with her does not mean there isn’t a bond between them - it’s just complex. 

Some think that Gilgamesh should hate Ishtar for the death of Enkidu, but in truth, that isn’t entirely her fault - she attempted to have the Gods punish him with death for the killing of Gugalanna, but because he was far too important, they chose Enkidu due to what had already happened with Enkidu. He never blamed Ishtar for that incident, because she has no authority in the end when it came to those types of decisions - it was the higher council he directed his hate to which led to the end of the Age of Gods. 

For a time, Gilgamesh did harbor anger for Ishtar - but she redeemed herself by personally crafting a wooden basket with various trinkets inside as her form of apology. This was accepted, clearly, as Gilgamesh cherished the items given by Ishtar dearly - and when he lost the items in the Underworld, he was temporarily upset knowing he would be unable to retrieve them.

Later on in his life, Gilgamesh could not fault Ishtar for her anger - perhaps for the measures she took, but not the reasoning she was deeply frustrated. He was not aware of the past she held, of the reasons tragedy fell upon her lovers - he was most especially unaware at what was done to her in the Underworld and Tammuz’ theft of her throne.

Most of all, he neglected to realize that he was engaged to her already. Upon one of their original meetings, she gifted to him the bed he slept on until his final breath - handcrafted by Ishtar herself. Such a gesture, in their time, was seen as a proposal. So, their falling out was caused by both of them, not just Ishtar as many think.

Regardless of their past and how they interact now, he respects the Goddess of War. He feels as if too many people forget that there is more to Ishtar than love or fertility. Surprisingly, it’s rare for Ishtar to engage in sexual activity - at least, rarer than people think.

He also knows that she’s played a critical role in Uruk’s upbringing, as it was once and still is the city she looks after most. Uruk is her city just a much as it is his, even if he never vocally acknowledges that.

All in all, though he may bicker with the Goddess - he respects her a great amount. She has done far more for Uruk than many think, and she has suffered her own ordeals of hardship even as powerful as she is. Yet, she kept striving to show the people her kindness even after they knew her wrath - she was not malevolent in any way, and (at least for Uruk) wished the greater good of the people.