Epic of Gilgamesh

E37113

The Epic of Gilgamesh is an ancient Mesopotamian epic poem, among the earliest surviving works of literature, that recounts the heroic adventures and existential quests of King Gilgamesh of Uruk.


Statements (69)
Predicate Object
instanceOf ancient Mesopotamian literature
epic poem
mythological narrative
work of literature
approximateDateOfComposition second millennium BCE
basedOn Sumerian poems about Gilgamesh
containsMyth flood myth
culture Mesopotamian
currentLocationOfMajorTablets British Museum
discoveredAt Nineveh
discoveredIn Library of Ashurbanipal
earliestVersionDate Old Babylonian period
featuresEvent building of the walls of Uruk
creation of Enkidu
death of Enkidu
defeat of Humbaba
great flood narrative
journey to Utnapishtim
killing of the Bull of Heaven
loss of the plant of life
genre heroic epic
hasAdaptation films
graphic novels
modern novels
operas
plays
poetic translations
hasMotive fear of death
search for meaning in life
hasSetting Cedar Forest
Dilmun
Mesopotamia
Uruk
hasTheme civilization versus nature
fame and legacy
friendship
human condition
kingship
mortality
quest for immortality
influenced biblical flood narrative traditions
later Near Eastern literature
modern literature
languageFamily Semitic
literaryForm poetry
mainCharacter Enkidu
Gilgamesh
Humbaba
Ishtar
Ninsun
Shamhat
Siduri
Urshanabi
Utnapishtim
originalLanguage Akkadian
originatesFrom Ancient Mesopotamia
period Bronze Age
recognizedAs masterpiece of ancient literature
one of the earliest surviving works of literature
scholarlyField Assyriology
standardVersionDate first millennium BCE
standardVersionEditor Sin-leqi-unninni
structure series of tablets
studiedIn ancient history
comparative literature
religious studies
title Epic of Gilgamesh
writingSystem cuneiform
writtenOn clay tablets

Referenced by (9)

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