The Epic of Gilgamesh
“You Will Never Find that Life for
Which You are Looking.”
~The Epic of Gilgamesh
The Earliest Known Writing
 Originated from Ancient
Sumerian society (modern day
Iraq)
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 Written in cuneiform (wedgeshaped writing)
 The most complete version
existing today is preserved on
12 clay tablets in the library
collection of 7th century BCE
Syrian King, Ashurbanipal.
A King Named Gilgamesh
 The epic was based on a real ruler in the late Early Dynastic
period (27th Century BCE)
 Originally titled He Who Saw the Deep, or Surpassing All Other
Kings.
 The essential story revolves around the relationship between
Gilgamesh, who has become distracted and disheartened by his
rule, and a friend, Enkidu, who is half-wild and who undertakes
dangerous quests with Gilgamesh. Much of the epic focuses on
Gilgamesh's thoughts of loss following Enkidu's death. It is about
their becoming human together, and has a high emphasis on
immortality. A large portion of the poem illustrates Gilgamesh's
search for and failure to gain immortality after Enkidu's death.
Gilgamesh’s Influence on other
Epic Literature
 Some aspects of the Noah’s Ark story in the Bible seem to be
based on the flood in the Gilgamesh epic.
 Many Greek scholars say that there are a large number of
parallel verses and themes, which indicate an influence of the
Gilgamesh epic on Homer’s Odyssey.
 The Alexander the Great myth in Islamic and Syrian cultures is
thought to be influenced by Gilgamesh. Alexander wanders
through a region of darkness and terror in search of the water
of life. He faces strange encounters, reaches the water but,
like Gilgamesh, fails to become immortal
Influences on Pop Culture
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 The Great American
Novel, by Philip Roth.
 The Gilgamesh myth is
reworked into the tale of
a fictional baseball
player, Gil Gamesh,
whose immortal
aspirations are achieved
by disappearing after his
final game
Pop Culture Influences
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 Gilgamesh was made
into an opera three
times!!!
 Italian, Franco Battiato
 Serbian, Rudolph
Brucci
 Danish, Per Nogard
Gilgamesh: Voyage into
the Golden Screen
Pop Culture Influences
 “The
Mesopotamians”, a
song by the band,
They Might be
Giants, features
Gilgamesh (among
others).
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