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bookc. 2100-1200 BC

Gilgamesh

Summary

The Epic of Gilgamesh is the oldest surviving work of literature, a Babylonian epic poem about the hero Gilgamesh, King of Uruk, and his quest for immortality following the death of his friend Enkidu. It contains a flood narrative predating and paralleling Noah's story.

Core Contribution

The oldest surviving work of literature; contains the first written account of a great flood; explores friendship, death, and the quest for immortality.

Key Spikes & Highlights

  • ancient literature
  • mythology
  • immortality
  • flood narrative

Historical Influences

Sumerian King Lists oral tradition

Intellectual Lineage

Sumerian literary traditionBabylonian literature

Allied Works

Enuma Elish Genesis

Contemporaries & Peers

Enuma Elish Atrahasis

Minds Influenced

Biblical flood narrativeworld literature mythology

Intellectual Posterity

No conceptual posterity found.

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Gilgamesh

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