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Part II On his journey to the Far Away he must surmount many obstacles and dangers and outwit the Scorpion-beings who guard the entrance to the Path of the Sun. Gilgamesh strides through the tunnelled Path of the Sun that circles the earth and finally enters a garden of jewels in the Netherworld. He discovers that Uta-napishti lives beyond the waters that cannot be crossed by living beings; the Waters of Death bar his entrance. Uta-napishti’s ferryman nevertheless leads Gilgamesh over this life-threatening water to the other shore. Uta-napishti cautions Gilgamesh that rather than seeking eternal life for himself he should instead strive to place the well-being of his people in the fore and restore good will between men and the gods. Uta-napishti relates the story of how only he and his kin survived the Deluge and how he was granted eternal life. In a last effort, Gilgamesh is able to seize a plant that will give him eternal youth but it is lost on the return to Uruk.
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In Uruk, Gilgamesh remembers the teachings of Uta-napishti. Purified and chastened, Gilgamesh accepts his mortality and then directs all his strength and wisdom to the governance of Uruk as a good shepherd and king should. He surrounds Uruk with a protective wall, rebuilds the temples that were destroyed by The Flood, and restores the former rites and rituals that bound men and gods.
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