قصة الكتاب :
“Epic of Gilgamesh” is one of the oldest and most ancient literary works and among the oldest of all epic poems. It is also classified as world heritage and one of the greatest works of the Mesopotamia civilization.
Epic of Gilgamesh was translated into most of the world’s languages, and was originally written in Cuneiform script on stone tablets. It was discovered in an archeological site located in the city of Nineveh – Iraq. It has been reported that the unearthed piece was part of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal‘s library. The tablets are now kept at the British Museum.
The story introduces Gilgamesh, king of Uruk whose father is human while his mother is an immortal god. Therefore, he is two-thirds god and one-third man. Gilgamesh knows that he is not an immortal and that he is going to die eventually. The Epic can be divided into four main events. Those are: The Beginning which says that Gilgamesh was an oppressor and forced his people to work in building a massive wall surrounding Uruk. His people cry out to the gods for help and the gods respond to their pleas by creating an equal to Gilgamesh who will be able to stop his oppression. This is the primitive man, Enkidu, who is covered in hair and lives in the wild with the animals. He is spotted by a trapper, whose livelihood is being ruined because Enkidu is uprooting his traps. The trapper tells Gilgamesh about the man, and it is arranged for Enkidu to be seduced by Shamhat, a temple prostitute, his first step towards being tamed. After six days and seven nights of continuous love making Enkidu’s situation changes. Shamhat tells him about Gilgamesh’s oppression and his habit of sleeping with every bride before her husband. When Gilgamesh attempts to visit one of the weddings, Enkidu blocks his way, and they fight. After a fierce battle, Enkidu acknowledges Gilgamesh\'s superior strength and they become friends. Gilgamesh proposes a journey to the Cedar Forest to slay the monstrous demi-god Humbaba, in order to gain fame and renown. Gilgamesh finally kills Humbaba with a blow to the neck.
Here the part related to the war with the gods begins. The gods were enraged by Humbaba’s death. Gilgamesh becomes famous after that and the goddess Ishtar advances him for marriage, but he refuses. Ishtar asks her father Anu to send Gugalanna, the Bull of Heaven, to avenge her. Later both Gilgamesh and Enkidu kill the Bull of Heaven. Again, the gods are enraged by that, and as a punishment for these actions, they sentence Enkidu to death.
Distress about Enkidu\'s death causes Gilgamesh to abandon his kingdom, puts on animal hide and goes on a long and perilous journey to discover the secret of eternal life. The only one who kept the secret was Utnapishtim whose story is very similar to that of Noah in monotheistic religions. The gods attempt to deter Gilgamesh and convince him to enjoy life and be satisfied, but Gilgamesh refuses and finally reaches to Utnapishtim who tells him about a magical plant found in the depth of the ocean close to Dilmon. Gilgamesh brings the herb to Uruk, and on his way to the city he tries to use it on an old man but prefers to take a bath in the river first. When he comes out of the river he finds out that a snake has already devoured the magical plant and become depressed. But he consoles himself with the fact that he is immortal since the Wall of Uruk is so great that it signifies immortality.
For those who study it, the Epic represents what we can refer to as the mother of all religions. It represents the source from which the Torah drew its stories.