In Shuruppak, Ubartutu reigned 18,600 years as king.įive Cities, eight kings, reigned 241,200 years.ĪFTER THE FLOOD had swept over, and Kingship descended from heaven. 2115 B.C.) the following entry is to be found: In the Sumerian King List (our surviving copy written ca. Click here for our comprehensive article on ancient Mesopotamia.(See: Powell, Classical Myth, pp. This article is part of our larger resource on Mesopotamian culture, society, economics, and warfare. This is part of why the Epic of Gilgamesh has endured through the ages. Gilgamesh’s many challenges throughout the poem serve to mature the hero and make him a good king to his people.
Themes of friendship, the role of the king, enmity, immortality, death, male-female relationships, city versus rural life, civilization versus the wild and relationships of humans and gods resound throughout the poem. “The Epic of Gilgamesh” conveys many themes important to our understanding of Mesopotamia and its kings. The Epic of Gilgamesh is still one of the most famous stories of all time. From a human, mortal king, however, in stories Gilgamesh became the semi-divine hero of Mesopotamia’s greatest tale. Gilgamesh was not only an epic hero, but a historical king of Uruk who appears in contemporary letter and inscriptions found by archeologists. He rules for 126 years, according to the Sumerian King List. Gilgamesh then returns to Uruk and becomes a good king. Gilgamesh finally finds Utnapishtim, who tells him to accept his mortality as he cannot change it. He searches for Utnapishtim, an immortal man who survived the Great Flood, a precursor to the Biblical Noah. The second half of the epic of Gilgamesh has Gilgamesh searching for immortality as he deeply mourns Enkidu’s death and worries about his own. The gods decide to punish Gilgamesh by the death of Enkidu. However, Gilgamesh and Enkidu kill the Bull, which angers all the gods. In revenge, Ishtar asks the god Enlil for the Bull of Heaven, with which to attack Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh rejects Ishtar/Inanna when she tries to seduce him. They conquer and kill the monster Humbaba, who the gods had set over the Forest of Cedar. The first half of the epic of Gilgamesh concerns the adventures of Gilgamesh and Enkidu. Gilgamesh wins the fight, and he and Enkidu become the best of friends. Enkidu then heads for Uruk and meets Gilgamesh and they fight.
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He is partially civilized by a temple priestess, Shamhat, who seduces him and teaches him how to eat like a human being. At first, Enkidu lives in the rural wilds, living with animals. The gods send a wild man, Enkidu, to challenge Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh’s behavior upsets Uruk’s citizens and they cry out to the great god of heaven Anu for help with their young king. He also proclaims his right to have sexual intercourse with all new brides. He challenges all other young men to physical contests and combat. Gilgamesh is rambunctious and energetic, but also cruel and arrogant. His mother was the goddess Ninsun and his father the priest-king Lugalbanda, making Gilgamesh semi-divine. According to the tale, Gilgamesh is a handsome, athletic young king of Uruk city. “The Epic of Gilgamesh” was one of the most beloved stories of Mesopotamia. Written in cuneiform on 12 clay tablets, this Akkadian version dates from around 1300 to 1000 B.C. This epic story was discovered in the ruins of the library of Ashurbanipal in Nineveh by Hormuzd Rassam in 1853.
“The Epic of Gilgamesh” tells of the Sumerian Gilgamesh, the hero king of Uruk, and his adventures. The oldest epic tale in the world was written 1500 years before Homer wrote the Illiad.
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