The Epic of Gilgamesh
Anonymous · c. 2100 BCE · Poem · Mesopotamian · Ancient
The half-divine king of Uruk, unbearable to his own subjects, meets his match in a wild man raised among animals, and the two become inseparable. A loss he cannot accept sends Gilgamesh walking to the edge of the world to find the one man who survived the flood. The oldest surviving epic: a king chasing immortality to outrun grief.
Open The Epic of Gilgamesh in the archive — filters, lineage graph and full facet browsing.
Lineage
- ↓ Genesis
Anonymous · c. 550 BCE · Scripture — influenced by this
- ↓ Ecclesiastes
Hebrew scripture · c. 250 BCE · Scripture — influenced by this
- ↓ Mural
Mahmoud Darwish · 2000 CE · Poem — alludes to this
- ↓ In the Skin of a Lion
Michael Ondaatje · 1987 CE · Novel — takes its title from this
Attributes
Archetype (Jung / Campbell)
Hero's Journey (Campbell)
Emotional arc (story shape)
Closest analogues
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EpicTragedyAmbition & HubrisNature vs CivilizationVoyage and ReturnCall to AdventureRoad of TrialsThe BeastThe Seavs Naturevs Fate / GodsEpic
PoemEpicLoyaltyAncientHeroHero's JourneyVoyage and ReturnRoad of TrialsFall–Rise (Man in a Hole)The JourneyThe Seavs Naturevs Fate / GodsEpicMythic
TragedyDeath & MortalityAmbition & HubrisNature vs CivilizationHeroThe QuestFall–Rise (Man in a Hole)The BeastThe Seavs NatureMythic
PoemEpicHeroHero's JourneyVoyage and ReturnCall to AdventureThe Ultimate BoonFall–Rise (Man in a Hole)The JourneyThe Seavs Fate / GodsEpicMythic