Long before Homer’s Iliad or the Indian Mahabharata took shape, humanity’s first great story was already being told in ancient Mesopotamia.
The Birth of the Epic of Gilgamesh
Known as the Epic of Gilgamesh, this mythic poem is widely regarded as the world’s earliest surviving epic, dating back to as early as the third millennium BCE.
Originating in Sumer (modern-day Iraq), the tale was inscribed on clay tablets in cuneiform script, one of humanity’s oldest writing systems.
Gilgamesh and Enkidu: A Legendary Friendship
It recounts the adventures of Gilgamesh, the semi-divine king of Uruk, and his companion Enkidu, a wild man created by the gods to temper Gilgamesh’s arrogance.
Together, they embark on daring quests until Enkidu’s death drives Gilgamesh on a profound search for immortality and meaning.
Themes That Transcend Time
Beyond its mythic grandeur, the Epic of Gilgamesh is deeply human. It explores universal themes — friendship, mortality, grief, and the quest for wisdom — making it strikingly modern despite its ancient origin.
Fragments of the epic were discovered in the 19th century among the ruins of Nineveh, in the library of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal.
Scholars later pieced together the poem from multiple versions written in Sumerian, Akkadian, and Babylonian dialects.
In its timeless reflections on life and death, the Epic of Gilgamesh stands not merely as the first epic, but as our first attempt to make sense of existence through story.
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