In the story of Gilgamesh, spoken in 2500 B., Enkidu makes sacrifices like every person has in their past to better themselves. Along with his sacrifices come gains that help him become more civilized and live with other humans instead of animals.
Enkidu is created to be Gilgamesh's companion and to help Gilgamesh in making the right decisions. To become Gilgamesh's companion he must first leave the wild that he has lived in all his life and go to live in the city. Enkidu grazes and goes to the water hole with all the wild animals, and they trust him to protect them and to not harm them like other men do. Enkidu has a really simple life, all he has to do is eat and sleep. He has no worries because everything he needs the earth has provided for him, but he has to sacrifice that for his destiny to be with Gilgamesh. Enkidu has innocent animal like qualities, that no other human has because he has not seen the evil ways of the world. He loses his innocents because of a trapper's wish to get rid of him. The trapper are told by Gilgamesh to bring a harlot to the water hole to tempt Enkidu. The harlot did her job and got Enkidu to stay with her for six days before he returned back to the animals. He sacrificed all the trust of the animals just to be with a woman for a few days. This is one of the biggest sacrifices Enkidu has to make. After he discovers that the animals no longer trust him he tries to use his strength and to run and realizes that his strength has decreased and his swiftness has slowed, because he has knowledge of civilization.
Even though Enkidu made a sacrifice there is always something to gain from a sacrifice. Enkidu's greatest gain is his new friend Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh needed a companion to help him make decisions and to have someone to confide in, and Enkidu needed a friend of the same species. The harlot not only made Enkidu sacrifice his simple life she also taught him about love and lust, making his heart more receptive to mercy.
