The Epic of Gilgamesh

The Epic of Gilgamesh

The Epic of Gilgamesh is considered to be one of the oldest written stories by man. Ancient Sumerians are believed to have been telling this story for many generations. The story is over 4,000 years old and has been passed on to neighboring cultures like the Babylonians and the Assyrians to name a few. It was found written on twelve stone tablets found in the library of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh.

The epic tells the story of Gilgamesh, who is the king of a city named Uruk. He is two-thirds god and one-third human. In the openings of the story Gilgamesh is introduced as harsh ruler of his people. The people in a revolt turn to the gods for help. The Sky God Anu creates a man named Enkidu that is considered to be equal in strength and a mirror image to Gilgamesh. After a small confrontation with Gilgamesh early in the story, they become good friends. The two leave the city for Uruk for many adventures. Throughout their travels they cut down forests of cedar trees, battle demons, and fight their fears. Enkidu, part way through the epic, dies of an illness sent by the gods. Horrified at the death of his best friend Enkidu, Gilgamesh goes on a quest to find his immortality. His journey leads him to the old king Utnapishtim. Utnapishtim was the king before the great flood wiped the land of all living things. He was warned by the gods before the great flood to build a boat large enough for his family and the "seeds of life". Utnapishtim told his story of being at sea for seven days. Following this story Utnapishtim offered Gilgamesh the secret to immortality on the condition he pass a test. Failing this test Gilgamesh returned to his city of Uruk with the feelings of failure for not having found his own immortality. At the walls of Uruk, the ferryman sees that all of Gilgamesh's adventures are the written on the wall.

The story Utnapishtim tells of the great flood bares a lot of resemblances to the Book of Genesis in the Bible. The Bible also tells the story of a great flood that wipes the land clean of all living things, and the story of Noah and his ark. The gods tell Utnapishtim to build a boat and give specific dimensions for the size as does Noah get specific instructions and sizes to build his ark. Both characters use birds as guides for finding land. The comparisons continue on and have been the articles of debate among