The story of Gilgamesh is often regarded as the oldest and most famous epic in the world. Louis A. Ruprecht wrote that, "The story of Gilgamesh has been viewed as an example of several different narrative genres." It is so well known and so influential because people are unable to truly know if it is fact or fiction. Regardless of history truth behind the story the themes of friendship and facing death have become a big part of literature. Through his friendship with Enkidu, King Gilgamesh learns some humility and becomes a better ruler to his people. The two friends stay together until Enkidu is killed. The story says, "Gilgamesh wept for his friend Enkidu; he wandered over the wilderness as a hunter, he roamed over the plains; in his bitterness he cried, ‘How can I rest, how can I be at peace? Despair is in my heart." This despair forces Gilgamesh to face his own mortality as he comes to realize that all men must die. It is a story about the transformation men go through and its importance won’t be forgotten.  Even today similar themes continue to be seen in modern epics which is why I chose the location of the Library of Ashurbanipal in Nineveh. This is where some of the best copies of the tablets of Gilgamesh were found. The library was founded in the 7th century BC and was named after the last great king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. It stood in northern Mesopotamia and today its remains can be found near the modern day city of Mosul, Iraq.  Ashurbanipal’s Library held over 20,000 cuneiform tablets but the real significance of this great library was the discovery of Gilgamesh. If these tablets were never found, then modern civilizations would never know the first story that brought about so many others.






​Citations-
Newell, Nicholas R., "A Reception History of Gilgamesh as Myth." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2013. http://scholarworks.gsu.edu/rs_theses/41
Sandars, N. K., trans. The Epic of Gilgamesh. London: Penguin, 1972.