Read the excerpt from gilgamesh: a new english version. at four hundred miles they stopped to eat, at a thousand miles they pitched their camp. they had traveled for just three days and nights, a six weeks’ journey for ordinary men. when the sun was setting, they dug a well, they filled their waterskins with fresh water, gilgamesh climbed to the mountaintop, he poured out flour as an offering and said, "mountain, bring me a favorable dream.” which characteristic of an epic hero is most reflected in this excerpt? the ability to persuade others through speech the ability to act as a strong warrior and leader the courage to embark on a challenging journey the courage to undertake life-threatening risks

The answer would be the last option D

The right answer is the last one: The courage to undertake life-threatening risks.

Explanation: Although some of the other options are arguably valid - epic heroes are strong warriors, leaders, and courageous men (epic heroes are for the most part men) that embark on challenging journeys, in this excerpt the characteristic that is most reflected is their courage to undertake life-threatening risks. The young king Gilgamesh and his companion Enkidu had traveled for just three days and nights on the way to the Cedar Forest, but they covered an overwhelming distance that would have taken an ordinary man over forty days to cover, yet they still had the strength to prepare a camp, dig a well and performed a ritual. Furthermore, they only stopped to eat once they had covered four hundred miles in a brief amount of time and surprisingly without fainting, courageous and determined as they were to fulfil their mission. So this reflects that Gilgamesh and his alter ego had the courage and the endurance to undertake the risk of covering such a vast distance in an incredible short amount of time without stopping for hundreds of miles, which would have certainly compromise their lives.