In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh’s companion before civilization is Enkidu.
The gods create Enkidu as a powerful wild man to challenge Gilgamesh, whose behavior as king has become oppressive. Enkidu initially lives among animals in the steppe and disrupts hunters’ traps. A woman named Shamhat then introduces him to human society, after which the animals no longer accept him as one of their own.
Enkidu travels to Uruk and fights Gilgamesh. Their struggle becomes the beginning of a deep friendship rather than a lasting rivalry. Together they undertake the Cedar Forest expedition and confront the Bull of Heaven.
Enkidu is not simply a sidekick: his transformation and death shape the epic’s central movement from heroic adventure to reflection on mortality, friendship and the limits of human power.