Who is there, my friend, can climb to the sky?
Only the gods dwell forever in sunlight. As for man, his days are numbered, whatever he may do, it is but wind. -Tablet III
c. 2150 – 1400 BCE
Sîn-lēqi-unninni & unknown Sumerian/Babyloninan poets
“The Epic of Gilgamesh” is an epic poem from ancient Mesopotamia and among the earliest known literary writings in the world. It originated as a series of Sumerian legends and poems in cuneiform script dating back to the early 3rd or late 2nd millenium BCE, which were later gathered into a longer Akkadian poem (the most complete version existing today, preserved on 12 clay tablets, dates from the 12th to 10th Century BCE).
It follows the story of Gilgamesh, the mythological hero-king of Uruk, and his half-wild friend, Enkidu, as they undertake a series of dangerous quests and adventures, and then Gilgamesh’s search for the secret of immortality after the death of his friend. It also includes the story of a great flood very similar to the story of Noah in The Bible and elsewhere.
Sumer/Babylonia | Iraq and Kuwait
How far back?
2020 | Present
