We do not know how old some parts of the Sumerian poem of Gilgamesh, an ancient king of Uruk, are although it may belong to the 3rd millennium BCE. It was certainly rewrote or added to until about 700 BCE. Within it is contained Homer's Iliad, the Bible, and so much of subsequent literature.
The story concerns how to be the ideal king, the nature of life and dealing with death, gods and how to achieve autonomy from the gods and thereby true humanity, maturation, with the first clear instance of existentialism.
David Damrosch:
Gilgamesh is now very commonly assigned as a very first work in literature courses, and it shows a kind of early globalisation. It's the first work of world literature that circulates widely around the ancient world. The great thing about looking at Gilgamesh today is that we see that, if we go back far enough,there's no clash of civilisations between the Middle-East and the West. We find in Gilgamesh the origins of a common culture-its offshoots go off into Homer, 1001 nights, and the Bible-so it is really a sort of common thread in our global culture.
Gilgamesh is the most important of the very beautiful and first written sources on which the desire for immortality is addressed.
Kind regards.
Jasna, it contains many layers indeed, with considerable impact on later literature. I sincerely wish those who appear to believe that literature and philosophy began with Ancient Greece (mainly Athens) would read it.
Enkidu as the primitive man, outside of civilisation, at one with nature. Human being or proto-human being? Like the Greeks the Sumerians appeared to believe that a full human being was only possible when part of city-life, and the hierdule induction of Enkidu into human-hood is of course because prostitutes are found in cities, not the countryside. They are an urban institution. As that was/is the case the hierdule is invested with city virtues. Any further interpretations?
A study also in the institution of kingship-how to make it virtuous, turning the bully into the benevolent shepherd/Father figure.
Is this a studied reflection or perhaps gleaned from changes in religion? Or did religion (general and generic) learn from the epic?
Gilgamesh and Enkidu
man and god
life and death
imagination and reality
past and present
Above mentioned Greeks, of course were not geniuses from the stars, their culture and literature was based on the heritage of the civilizations, emerged much earlier. The echoes of the Gilgamesh's story arrived not only to Homer, but can be felt till today, because of our eternal desire or hope -overcome the Fear, Weakness and ... Death, which could be clearly seen in this epic.
Yes Very true Gigamesh and other Sumerian writing is behind the majority of Greek accomplishments. Many biblical stories too. Samson, for example, and, of course, Moses.
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