Gilgamesh Questions

In the book "The epic of Gilgamesh," I found three aspects that interested me. My first concern is with the way the Babylonians perceive sexuality in the society, and how they treat homosexuality within the culture. The second deal with believes from other contemporary religions such as Christianity and Catholicism, and the connection between the books they follow such as the Bible with this Epic. The third one is about the evolution that some of these Mesopotamian gods had evolved between the decades within different cultures.

The book is about the love between Gilgamesh and Enkidu. This is not only suggested during the text, but in the introduction they clarify that many of the translations evoke a relation between the two protagonists. The story talks about how Gilgamesh could only embrace Enkidu as if he were his wife, and how the first time they meet is when Enkidu prevents Gilgamesh from entering a bridal house, (it was supposed that Gilgamesh had to sleep with the bride before her husband). This lecture provides you the idea of the two protagonists being a couple.

Later on in the story they tell how Gilgamesh rejects Ishtar, (goodness of love whose attracted to him), when she proposed marriage. These lectures lead me to my first question: If Babylonians accepted homosexuals why in the text is the punishment of the bull of heaven focused on to his lover? And being Ishtar the goddess of love why is represented as the one that does not excuse the fact of his relation?, is because she is a woman? Perhaps Babylonians had discrepancies in that point?

My concern about the religious aspect begins with the story of the flood. The similarity between the two narrations gives me the impression that in some manner the content in one had to influence the other.

The Epic of Gilgamesh talked about the story of a man that built an arc to transport the animals during a dramatic flood send by the gods. His name was Utanapishtin, and he was the only one that could give Gilgamesh the secret of eternal life after surviving the tragedy. In the other hand the Bible presents Noe, a savior of the animals and only survivor of the human race in the flood send by God. My question here is: Why these tow books, that distant from culture and time have so impressive similarities? Did one influence the other?

During my reading I notice the important presence of the gods, and during my academic life