Who was Gilgamesh?

Gilgamesh was a legendary king and hero of the city-state of Uruk.

According to the Sumerian king list, Gilgamesh was the fifth king of Uruk (Early Dynastic II, first dynasty of Uruk), the son of Lugalbanda. Legend has it that his mother was Ninsun, a goddess.

The Epic of Gilgamesh is from Babylonia, dating from long after the time that king Gilgamesh was supposed to have ruled. It was based on earlier Sumerian legends of Gilgamesh. The most complete version of the epic was preserved on eleven clay tablets in the collection of the 7th century BC Assyrian king Ashurbanipal. It is considered to be the oldest story ever told.

Uruk was one of the most ancient and important cities of Sumer, today named Warca, and in the Old testament Erech, situated east of the present bed of the Euphrates, on the line of the ancient Nil canal, in a region of marshes, about 140 miles SSE from Baghdad. The modern name of Iraq is possibly derived from the name Uruk.

From then on, Gilgamesh has inspired many others stories and writers.

Read also the extremely interesting text of Gurdjieff about the Epic of Gilgamesh, responsible by the name  of this publishing company.

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