Epic of Gilgamesh
Fertile Crescent
myth series
Mesopotamian
Levantine
Arabian
Mesopotamia
Primordial beings
7 gods who command
The great gods
Spirits and monsters
Tales from Babylon
Demigods and Heroes
Adapa, Enkidu
Enmerkar, Geshtinanna
Gilgamesh, Lugalbanda
Shamhat, Siduri
Tammuz, Utnapishtim
The Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem
from Ancient Mesopotamia and is among the
earliest known works of
literary fiction.
Scholars believe that it originated as a series
of Sumerian legends and poems about the
mythological hero-king Gilgamesh, which
were gathered into a longer Akkadian poem
much later; the most complete version exist-
ing today is preserved on 12 clay tablets in
the library collection of the 7th century BCE
Assyrian king Ashurbanipal. It was originally
titled He who Saw the Deep (Sha naqba
īmuru) or Surpassing All Other Kings
(Shūtur eli sharrī). Gilgamesh might have
been a real ruler in the late Early Dynastic II
period (ca. 27th century BCE).[1]
The essential story revolves around the re-
lationship between Gilgamesh, who has be-
come distracted and disheartened by his rule,
and a friend, Enkidu, who is half-wild and
who undertakes dangerous quests with Gil-
gamesh. Much of the epic focuses on Gil-
gamesh’s thoughts of loss following Enkidu’s
death. It is about their becoming human to-
gether, and has a high emphasis on immortal-
ity. A large portion of the poem illustrates
Gilgamesh’s search for
immortality after
Enkidu’s death.
The epic is widely read in translation, and
the hero, Gilgamesh, has become an icon of
popular culture.
History
The Deluge tablet of the Gilgamesh epic in
Akkadian
Many original and distinct sources exist over
a 2,000 year timeframe, but only the oldest
and those from a late period have yielded sig-
nificant enough finds to enable a coherent
intro-translation. Therefore, the old Sumerian
version, and a later Akkadian version, which
is now referred to as the standard edition,
are the most frequently referenced. The
standard edition is the basis of modern trans-
lations, and the o