The Epic of Gilgamesh is a Sumerian story dating back to around 2500 BC. It qualifies as an epic in that is a long poem told or written in elevated language, dealing with gods and heroes, with universal themes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Gilgamesh epic revolves around a friendship between the main character who is a king, Gilgamesh, and his friend Enkidu. Enkidu is a natural man\u2014he runs with the animals and drinks from the pool. The people in the city are worried about Enkidu, so they send out a harlot to seduce him. He has sex with the harlot, that results in his disaffection from the animals\u2014he has been civilized and alienated from the natural\/animal world. Enkidu then enters the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gilgamesh befriends Enkidu and they have amazing adventures together, including killing the bull of heaven, fighting with Humbaba, and traveling together throughout the kingdom. Then Enkidu gets sick and dies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gilgamesh, worried about his own death, then goes in search of immortality. He chases Ziusudra (in some stories) or Utnapishtimin (in others). This character gives Gilgamesh a branch which will grant him immortality. A snake, representing immortality, takes the branch away from Gilgamesh, and Gilgamesh comes to realize that one can only achieves immortality by being in the memory of ones descendants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n