Although Gilgamesh, the hero of Mesopotamian legends, is taught in schools, few people know more about him than that his story is the oldest epic in the world. At the same time, it is clear from it that people asked the same questions thousands of years ago as we do today. What is the meaning of life? Is it possible to gain immortality? And what exactly is after death? It is the search for answers to these questions that is the central theme of the Epic of Gilgamesh, which colorfully describes heroic deeds, battles with monsters, unwavering friendships and a pleasing search. 

Who was Gilgamesh  

The hero of the ancient epic was the king of the city of Uruku, the oldest city in the world. He ruled the city with a hard hand and caused his subjects suffering. Perhaps his ruthlessness was due to his demigod origin, for as it is written in the legend, two-thirds were a god and one a human. His mother was the goddess Ninsumun, who also appears in the epic and often gives Gilgamesh valuable advice. His father is considered to be the king of Uruku and the hero of Lugalband, whose heroic deeds describe Sumerian legends. However, some sources state that Gilgamesh's father was a phantom or was unknown. 

The very appearance of the hero only underlines his unusual origin. According to the so-called Standard Babylonian version, he was 11 cubits tall and measured four elbows in his shoulders. If we convert it to today's measurements, it is a respectable 5,7 meters high and 2 meters wide at the shoulders. At the same time, he was beautiful and strong, and thus represented an ideal ruler. In this regard, it is good to dwell on the standard of portraying kings and rulers in ancient Mesopotamia. They were always bigger than the other figures, strong and of perfect appearance. The best example of all is the depiction of Akkadian King Naram-Sina on his triumphant stela from Sippar. Gilgamesh was also popular as an image of an ideal king among the rulers of the so-called Third Ur dynasty, who declared him his brother and subscribed to his legacy. 

King Naram-Sin, the first king to be declared a god

Scientists still do not fully agree on the historical realities of Gilgamesh. However, there is an inscription by King Enmebaragesi, the father of Gilgamesh's opponent Agga, which dates back to around 2600 BC, however, some experts question the historical credibility of this ruler as well. Gilgamesh is also on the so-called Sumerian Royal List. According to him, he ruled for 126 years, and thanks to him, he took the prey of the already mentioned Enmebaragesi. If we accept Gilgamesh as a true historical figure, it is interesting that he was deified shortly after his death. This is evidenced, for example, by the list of gods from Shuruppak or texts from the Abu Salabi site, which depict short hymns for various gods, including Gilgamesh and Lugalband. These inscriptions are among the oldest literary texts in Sumerian literature and generally date from 2600-2500 BC. that the character of Gilgamesh has a rich tradition dating back to the beginnings of literature, and his story winds like a thread throughout the duration of Mesopotamian civilization, more than 2000 years. 

The epic of Gilgamesh 

The first table of the epic about Gilgamesh

The first comprehensive stories about Gilgamesh are known from Sumerian texts written in the ancient Babylonian period (2000 - 1500 BC). These celebratory poems do not yet form a single epic whole, but represent only individual isolated chapters of Gilgamesh's story. Some of them are not part of later versions, which proves that the epic itself went through a certain development and editing. 

The most important and most complete version is the so-called Standard Babylonian version known mainly from tables discovered in the library of King Ashurbanipal in Nineveh. Exploration of this ancient city caused a stir in the world in 1872, because after deciphering one of the tablets, it turned out that it described a story about the flood similar to the one known from the Bible. It is this chart that is part of the Epic of Gilgamesh, and again after centuries it has started a fascination with his story. 

Gilgamesh and Enkidu 

Chumbaby monster sculpture

The epic of Gilgamesh begins in the city of Uruku, whose inhabitants suffered under the tyranny of King Gilgamesh, a ruthless despot who forced men to work hard and enforced the right of first night on women. The desperate inhabitants turned to the gods for help, and the gods, concerned about Gilgamesh's behavior, heard their pleas. The goddess Aruru, the creator of humans, created a creature named Enkid who was able to face Gilgamesh and released him into the wilderness near Uruk. The wild Enkidu lived with animals and protected them, which, however, caused problems for the hunters and they went to complain to the rulers of the city. Gilgamesh ordered that the prostitute Shamchat be brought to Enkidu, who would enchant him with her charm, and after Enkidu had spent a week in the love sacrifice of Shamchatha, he could no longer approach the animals that feared him. Therefore, he went with the prostitute to the city and learned along the way about Gilgamesh's tyranny. He decided to put an end to this injustice and faced the ruler of the city. Gilgamesh won the fight, but during it he realized that he had found someone equal in Enkidu and they had become friends. 

In his desire for heroic deeds, Gilgamesh decided to organize an expedition to the cedar forest, where he could obtain valuable building timber necessary in Mesopotamia for the construction and repair of temples. However, the forest was guarded by the powerful monster Chumbaba, protected by seven terrible auras. Both heroes clashed with him and, with the help of the sun god Shamash, defeated him. They then triumphantly returned to Uruk with their valuable cedar tribes. 

Rejection of Ishtara 

Plaque depicting the goddess Ishtar

Gilgamesh's heroic deed did not go unnoticed even among the gods. The goddess Ishtar, the protector of Uruk and the goddess of war and fertility, fell in love with the hero and offered him marriage. But Gilgamesh harshly rejected her, knowing full well that nothing good awaited him. He reprimanded her that all her lovers had ended up in agony and suffering, and that marrying a goddess would doom him. 

The disgraced Ishtar decided not to leave her disgrace without retribution and begged the creature of the supreme celestial god Anu, who was to destroy Gilgamesh - the Celestial Bull. A wild bull raged in Uruk, the ground cracked, the river receded and the soldiers fell like flies. Gilgamesh and Enkidu set out to resolve the situation and began to fight the bull. Enkidu grabbed the bull by the tail and Gilgamesh deftly stabbed him in the neck. In anger, Enkidu threw a leg at Ishtar, who watched the fight from the walls, and insulted her. The priestesses took Ishtar's leg and mourned. Gilgamesh had oil vessels made from the bull's horns, which he dedicated to the memory of his late father, Lugalbanda. 

The search for immortality 

A duel between Gilgamesh, Enkidu and Heavenly Bull

After this incident, the gods agreed that what was too much was too much and that action was needed. One of them must die. That was the ortel of the gods. And because what the gods created can also accompany the world at will, the choice fell on Enkidu. He became seriously ill and cursed the hunter and the harlot before he died, but in the end he took pity on her and blessed her.

For seven days Gilgamesh mourned his friend and refused to bury him until a worm peeked out of the body. At that moment, Gilgamesh realized the transience of all things and his own mortality. Shocked by this knowledge, which filled his heart with fear of death, he decided to go in search of immortality. He walked through the wilderness dressed in skins, his hair disheveled and his beard glued. Finally, he came to a tunnel guarded by scorpion men, at the end of which he found a garden with trees strewn with jewels. The bartender Siduri lived in the garden, discouraging Gilgamesh from his futile search: 

Imprint of a sealing cylinder with Scorpio people - guardians of the entrance to the Garden of Eden

"Why are you wandering the world, Gilgamesh?
You will not find the life you are looking for.
When the gods created mankind,
death was given to him by lot,
however, they kept life in their hands.
But you, Gilgamesh, have a full stomach,
day and night he was still happy,
have fun every day,
dance and play day and night!
Let thy garments be clean,
washed head, bathe in water!
Observe the child holding your hand,
let a woman find pleasure in your lap!
This is human destiny. " 

Gilgamesh, however, was adamant in his search, and so the bartender sent him to see Urshanabi, a ferryman who could transport him to the land of eternal life, Dilmun, where Uta-napi resides, the only man who had acquired immortality. Gilgamesh forced the ferryman to help him overcome the dangerous waters and met Uta-napish. He told him the story of the flood and how he had acquired immortality. The gods gave it to him, and only because he survived the flood. Gilgamesh's search was therefore in vain, but Uta-napi's wife advised him that there was a plant at the bottom of the sea that would restore youth. 

With newfound hope, Gilgamesh set out to find the plant, and when he found it, he was overjoyed. He headed back to his hometown of Uruk, but before entering the city, he wanted to wash away all the dirt of the roads. He took off his clothes, set the plant ashore, and bathed in the pond. Suddenly, a snake crawled in, attracted by the scent of the plant, ate the plant, and stripped off its old skin as a sign of its newly acquired youth. Gilgamesh was at an end, and he had no choice but to return to the city empty-handed. As he approached the city, he looked at its mighty walls, which he had built. At that moment, he understood that true immortality lies in what we leave behind in this world. 

Table XII was later added to this narrative, which describes what awaits a person after death. In Mesopotamian cosmism, the decisive factor was how many offspring a person would bring into the world, and the more they beget, the greater the prosperity of the afterlife. Children who died at an early age also had an afterlife without suffering. On the other hand, those who died in the wilderness or as a result of an accident had to suffer even after death. The worst, as in the later Semitic religions of Judaism and Islam, was the burning, because the spirit of this man was not in the underworld at all. 

Gilgamesh's message 

Illustration of the city of Uruk

The heroic deeds of the King of Uruk inspired not only the inhabitants of ancient Mesopotamia. Contemporary researchers and artists are attracted to this story and try to reveal its meaning. However, the complexity of the work brings a large number of interpretations and, as the researcher, a different interpretation. 

The most obvious theme of the whole work is the search for immortality, but in essence it is only a surface layer hiding deeper meanings. The game of contrasts pervades the epic very strongly: nature against civilization, man against gods, rulers against subjects and heroic deeds against everyday life. During the clash of these contrasts, the hero is confronted with himself and gradually transformed. It is the transformation, first through the conflict with Enkidu, Chumbaba and the Celestial Bull, and then through

deep grief over Enkidu's death and the search for immortality propels the hero and the whole story forward. Romanian religionist Mircea Eliade explains the whole story as a failed initiation of a hero, meaning that Gilgamesh was unable to cope with his archetypes and either ran into conflict with them or ran away from them. He emphasizes that the goal cannot be achieved in a heroic way alone. 

Another parallel can be found in the story of Faust, in the conclusion of which the hero is liberated precisely through the work he created for others. Thus Gilgamesh finds liberation from his futile search by realizing that only by being wise and capable will the ruler find what he desires. And so, like in Paolo Coelho's book The Alchemist, Gilgamesh finally found what he was looking for in the place from which he had set out on his miserable journey. In this sense, it can be said that the most important part of the search is the very path during which the transformation takes place. Thanks to her, we return home transformed and ready to discover the treasure that is dormant in us. 

Gilgamesh and the Anunnaki 

The wall of the Uruk temple depicting Mesopotamian gods

The figure of Gilgamesh attracted not only scientists and artists, but also researchers dealing with evidence of the existence of extraterrestrial civilizations influencing ancient history. The first thing that fascinated these researchers is the very appearance of Gilgamesh, which is often described as a picture. A number of ancient mythologies, including the biblical one, describe the presence of giants on earth. In the case of the Bible, there is talk of beings called Nephilim, who were created by uniting heavenly beings called the Sons of God and human women. Like the Nephilim, Gilgamesh was born of a union of a divine being and a human being, and exhibits similar characteristics to the biblical giants, including tremendous power and fleeting nature. 

It is also important for the story that the hero is constantly in contact with the gods - the Anunnaki. Whether it is the friendly Shamash, the seductive Ishtar, the caring mother of Ninsumun, or the gathering of the gods who decided Enkidu's birth and death, these beings appear as real flesh and bone figures with their own intentions and intentions. These gods also travel to heaven, such as Ishtar, who, after hearing Gilgamesh's insults, ascended to the heavens where Anu, the highest of the gods and the owner of a powerful weapon, the Heavenly Bull, resides. He did not necessarily have to be the personification of the catastrophic drought and earthquake or a monster, but a destructive technical weapon that was to bring destruction to Uruk. 

Allusions to advanced technologies are not unique in the story. The passage is very impressive, in which Gilgamesh sees a wonderful phenomenon in a dream on the way to the cedar forest, and he then describes this dream to his friend Enkidu. The passage reads as follows: 

"The heavens cried out, the earth cried out.
The day suddenly froze in the grave silence and darkness ensued.
Then a flash flashed and a fire broke out,
The flames whipped, death rained down.
The glow darkened, the fire went out,
after it weakened, it turned to ashes. " 

What is described in this mysterious passage is not entirely clear, but it could be, for example, the launch of a rocket or the explosion of a destructive weapon. Again, we can rely on Bible prophets, such as an excerpt from Moses' meeting with the Lord on Mount Sinai. 

"Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the LORD descended on it in fire. Smoke rose like a furnace, and the whole mountain shook violently. ” 

Both texts describe a very similar situation and thus offer the possibility that they capture the advanced travel technologies available to either civilizations of extraterrestrial origin or the remains of an extinct advanced pre-Flood civilization. The argument against alien visitors may be that aliens would not use seemingly primitive rocket engines. However, what exactly these texts describe needs to be examined in more detail.