Epic of Gilgamesh
Also called: Gilgamesh Epic · Topic: Bronze Age Civilisations: Mesopotamia, Egypt, China · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 1 "Writing and City Life"
Meaning
The Epic of Gilgamesh is a long Mesopotamian poem written on twelve clay tablets. Its hero, Gilgamesh, is said to have ruled Uruk some time after Enmerkar. After his close friend dies, Gilgamesh searches for a way to live forever. He fails. The poem shows how proud the people of Mesopotamia were of their cities.
Example
At the end of the epic, Gilgamesh comforts himself by walking along the wall of Uruk and admiring its foundations of fired brick. He finds his comfort in the city, not in sons who will carry on his name. Copies of the epic were kept in Assurbanipal's library at Nineveh in the 7th century BCE.
Don't confuse with
- Enmerkar epic: a different story about an earlier ruler of Uruk. It explains how writing began, when his messenger "grew weary of mouth". The Gilgamesh epic is about death, the failed search for immortality and pride in the city.