Is Gilgamesh a Hero?

In my opinion Gilgamesh is not a hero for many reasons. First off, a hero should not cower in fear from demons like Huwawa, and fail to fight the Bull of Heaven until Enkidu had taken control of the fight. A hero should not take all of the credit for something that he really didn't do. Gilgamesh did just that, he took all of the credit for killing Huwawa and for killing the Bull of Heaven even though he couldn't have killed either of them without the help of Enkidu.

Last week I was watching the movie Beowulf and realized how Gilgamesh and Beowulf are polar opposites. Beowulf didn't take credit for actions that he didn't do and he didn't gloat about victories that he had mad. He also wouldn't say that he was "the perfect, or the terror" like Gilgamesh would. Beowulf was modest, and that is what a hero should be. Beowulf also didn't cry all of the time like Gilgamesh did. Beowulf fought without fear of anything, he would go into battle without worry about the result. He also didn't have a companion who was equally as powerful as he is like Gilgamesh had Enkidu.

So, Beowulf is an example of an epic hero with all of the attributes a hero should have, while Gilgamesh is lacking in those attributes.