Gilgamesh

The hero of the best-known Sumerian epic, a famous figure of the early 3rd millennium BC in Mesopotamia. Gilgamesh was considered half god, half man in the literature. The Gilgamesh epic is an Akkadian poem written on 12 tablets which describe his reign as ruler of Uruk and his search for immortality; it includes the story of the Flood. The historical figure was named as a ruler of Warka in the Sumerian king list. He is now thought to have been a real king of the First Dynasty of Uruk (Early dynastic III phase, c 2650-2550 BC). The epics credit him with the construction of two temples and the city wall at Uruk and archaeological excavations have shown that these are real structures. Out of the nine Sumerian epics known, four are about Gilgamesh and cover a wide variety of topics, including man and nature, love and adventure, and friendship and combat. The desire for immortality carries Gilgamesh to the mythical land of Dilmun and brings him into contact with the Babylonian/Sumerian Noah-figure, Utanapishtim.

Heroic king of the ancient Mesopotamian city of Uruk who appears in a number of epic tales, collectively labelled the Epic of He is now thought to have been a real historical king belonging to the First Dynasty of Uruk (in the Early Dynastic III phase, c2650-2550 bc). The epics credit him with the construction of two temples and the city wall at Uruk and archaeological excavations have shown that these are real structures. Gilgamesh is best known through the epics, written originally in Sumerian but surviving through copies in Akkadian and later languages. Out of the nine Sumerian epics known, four are about Gilgamesh and cover a wide variety of topics, including man and nature, love and adventure, and friendship and combat. The desire for immortality is a central theme which carries Gilgamesh to the mythical land of Dilmun (perhaps also the real land of Bahrein) and brings him into contact with the Babylonian Noah-figure, Utanapishtim.