Epic of Gilgamesh
Ancient Mesopotamian poem
The Epic of Gilgamesh is an ancient Mesopotamian poem, among the oldest surviving works of literature.
It follows Gilgamesh, king of Uruk, through adventures with his companion Enkidu and a quest for immortality after Enkidu's death.
The epic explores friendship, mortality, and the limits of human ambition.
Its flood narrative predates and parallels the biblical story of Noah.
- UtnapishtimImmortal deluge survivor
- great floodMassive overflow of water
- MesopotamiaTigris-Euphrates river region
- clay tabletsInscribed earthen slabs
- kingMale crowned ruler
wall · flood myth · friendship · cuneiform tablets · ancient Mesopotamia · mortality · underworld · Sumer · Nineveh · Anu · hero's journey · Enuma Elish · hubris · cedar · Ishtar · divine punishment · wild man · Babylon
- mythologyZeus, Apollo, Athena, Poseidon, Odin
- PoemsThe Raven, Ozymandias, Invictus, Paradise Lost, Beowulf
- ancient artifactsjade mask, Viking sword, bronze sculptures, antiquities, Roman coin
- MesopotamiaBabylon, Sumer, Tigris, Mesopotamia, Euphrates
- SumerSumerians, cuneiform, Ur, ziggurat, ziggurats
- ancient chroniclesannals, Dead Sea Scrolls, Herodotus, Thucydides, cuneiform tablets
Epic of Gilgameshoral tradition
Culture passed by speech
oral poetry · spoken word · folk song · spoken word poetry · campfire story