" In
the Indo-Iranian, Greek and Roman mythology, the twins almost
invariably act together. In unison they proceed on expeditions to
punish enemies. [129]
But after all, the parallels are of too general a character to be of
much moment; and moreover the parallels stop short at the critical
point, for Gilgamesh though worsted is _not_ killed by Enkidu,
whereas one of the "Heavenly Twins" is always killed by the brother,
as Abel is by Cain, and Iphikles by his twin brother Herakles. Even
the trait which is frequent in the earliest forms of the "Heavenly
Twins," according to which one is immortal and the other is mortal,
though applying in a measure to Enkidu who is killed by Ishtar, while
Gilgamesh the offspring of a divine pair is only smitten with disease,
is too unsubstantial to warrant more than a general comparison between
the Enkidu-Gilgamesh pair and the various forms of the "twin" _motif_
found throughout the ancient world. For all that, the point is of some
interest that in the Gilgamesh Epic we should encounter two figures who
are portrayed as possessing the same traits and accomplishing feats in
common, which suggest a partial parallel to the various forms in which
the twin-_motif_ appears in the mythologies, folk-lore and legends
of many nations; and it may be that in some of these instances the
duplication is due, as in the case of Enkidu and Gilgamesh, to an
actual transfer of the traits of one figure to another who usurped
his place.
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