The Epic of Gilgamesh
by Lauren Blumenfeld
The Epic of Gilgamesh is possibly the oldest written story on Earth. In 2000 BCE, this was written down on 12 clay tablets in cuneiform text. The first part of the story begins roughly around 2700 BCE, when Gilgamesh was ruler of Uruk. The actual history of story begins around 1600 BCE. The gods create Enkidu, who is a wild creature. They plan for him to challenge Gilgamesh, who was being audacious. When the two meet, they get into a brawl, but only to become great friends. Enkidu and Gilgamesh decide to go on a journey. They travel to the west and come upon Humbaba, an evil monster. Enkidu slaughters the monster, which angers the gods. His penalty is death. Gilgamesh is so affected and distressed from Enkidu's death, he sets out to seek eternal life. His quest for eternal life leads to many adventures. Gilgamesh encounters Utnapishtim, the Noah of Mesopotamia. Utnapishtim's story is recounted in the epic and parallels the Biblical story of the Flood. Gilgamesh receives a plant from him to give him immortality, but while he is sleeping, a snake comes and steals it. Then Gilgamesh returns to his land, empty handed to see Uruk has become magnificent, with lasting achievement. This, Gilgamesh realizes, is the closest to immortality to which he can get.
The Epic Of Gilgamesh is so important to this day is due to numerous reasons. Firstly, the epic provides themes of love, friendship, and immortality that exist even in stories created today. The epic also resembles the later epic, the Odyssey. Both epics include the establishing of a state, the search for immortality, and the return home. These two stories also include involvement from the gods with humans.
The fullest extant version of this story is from twelve tablets written in the Akkadian language. The tablets were found in the ruins of the library of Ashurbanipal, who was king of Assyria. The tablets do have an author, Shin-eqi-unninni. There is not much evidence to prove if Gilgamesh was a real figure or not, but Gilgamesh was on the list of Sumerian kings. He was the son of Lugalbanda and Ninsun, who is a goddess in the legend.
The fullest extant version of this story is from twelve tablets written in the Akkadian language. The tablets were found in the ruins of the library of Ashurbanipal, who was king of Assyria. The tablets do have an author, Shin-eqi-unninni. There is not much evidence to prove if Gilgamesh was a real figure or not, but Gilgamesh was on the list of Sumerian kings. He was the son of Lugalbanda and Ninsun, who is a goddess in the legend.