The Epic of Gilgamesh, an epic poem from Mesopotamia, is amongst the earliest surviving works of literature. The literary history of Gilgamesh begins with five independent Sumerian poems about Bilgamesh (Sumerian for Gilgamesh), king of Uruk. Four of these were used as source material for a combined epic in Akkadian. This first combined epic, known as the Old Babylonian version, dates to the 18th century BC and is titled after its incipit, Shūtur eli sharrī (Surpassing All Other Kings). Only a few fragments of it have survived. The later Standard Babylonian version dates from the 13th to the 10th centuries BC and bears the incipit Sha naqba īmuru (He who Saw the Deep, in modern terms: He who Sees the Unknown). Fragments of approximately two thirds of this longer, twelve-tablet version have been recovered. Some of the best copies were discovered in the library ruins of the 7th-century BC Assyrian king Ashurbanipal. The first half of the story relates a friendship between Gilgamesh, king of Uruk, and Enkidu. Enkidu is a wild man created by the gods as Gilgameshs peer to distract him from oppressing the people of Uruk. Together, they journey to the Cedar Mountain to defeat Humbaba, its monstrous guardian. Later they kill the Bull of Heaven, which the goddess Ishtar sends to punish Gilgamesh for spurning her advances. As a punishment for these actions, the gods sentence Enkidu to death. In the second half of the epic, Gilgameshs distress at Enkidus death causes him to undertake a long and perilous journey to discover the secret of eternal life. He eventually learns that Life, which you look for, you will never find. For when the gods created man, they let death be his share, and life withheld in their own hands. However, because of his great building projects, his account of Siduris advice, and what the immortal man Utnapishtim told him about the great flood, Gilgameshs fame survived his death. His story has been translated into many languages, and in recent years has featured in works of popular fiction.
Posted on: Sun, 11 May 2014 23:24:38 +0000
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