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Gilgamesh.

Gilgamesh (ギルガメッシュ, Girugamesshu?) is a non-player character in Final Fantasy XI. He is a major figure in Norg, which is the pirate city located on the Elshimo Island. He is involved in a few of the quests related to the Rise of the Zilart expansion, and is also involved in the Samurai job class story.

Unlike most other incarnations of Gilgamesh, this Gilgamesh looks entirely different from his other appearances. The Final Fantasy Trading Card Game distinguishes him from his recurring appearance by naming him "Pirate Gilgamesh" (海賊ギルガメッシュ, Kaizoku Girugamesshu?).

Missions and Quests[]

Starts Missions
  • Zilart Mission 2: Welcome t'Norg
Starts Quests
  • Yomi Okuri
Involved in Missions
  • Bastok Mission 6-2: The Pirates' Cove
  • Zilart Mission 9: Ro'Maeve
  • Zilart Mission 11: The Hall of the Gods
  • Zilart Mission 15: The Sealed Shrine
  • Zilart Mission 17: Awakening
Involved in Quests
  • A Thief in Norg!? - SAM AF 3
  • Apocalypse Nigh
  • Forge Your Destiny

Gallery[]

Etymology[]

Gilgamesh is the main character of the Epic of Gilgamesh, an Akkadian poem considered the first great work of literature. He is a demigod with superhuman strength who builds the walls of Uruk to defend his people and travels to meet the sage Utnapishtim, a survivor of the Great Flood.

Gilgamesh is believed to have actually existed by many scholars. It is estimated he lived sometime between 2800 and 2500 BC. The Sumerian King List claims Gilgamesh ruled the city of Uruk for 126 years.

Gilgamesh in Final Fantasy is also based on Benkei, a famous character in the Japanese mythologies and chronicles of the Genpei War. A powerful warrior monk said to have personally defeated 200 men in every battle he engaged in and said to have had the strength of demons, Benkei's introduction sees him set out to collect 1,000 weapons, and to this end he posted himself at Gōjō Bridge in Kyoto and challenged every warrior who attempted to cross. On his 1000th duel Benkei was defeated by Minamoto no Yoshitsune, the only defeat he had ever known, and became his faithful retainer throughout the rest of his life.

From the story of Benkei, Gilgamesh takes his preference for the naginata (Benkei's traditional weapon as a monk), his penchant for fighting on bridges, his collecting of weapons from enemies he defeats, and his friendship with the player's characters who defeat him. Benkei's devotion to Yoshitsune is the basis for Gilgamesh's association with Genji equipment—the Minamoto Clan is also called the Genji Clan, using the alternate pronunciation for the Chinese characters for mina and moto, gen and uji, respectively. Gilgamesh's face paint is based on traditional kabuki actors, for which Benkei is a popular character to portray.

Trivia[]

  • Gilgamesh came in thirtieth place in a Final Fantasy XI NPC Popularity Contest held by Square Enix in June 2013. Current players of the game were given an opportunity to vote for their favorite NPC and share ideas for stories involving these characters.
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