The Epic of Gilgamesh - An Ancient Tale of a King Searching for Immortality

Video

Kelly Macquire
by
published on 29 March 2022

Gilgamesh is a semi-mythical king of Uruk, an ancient city of Mesopotamia, and is best known as the star of the first epic poem ever written, the Epic of Gilgamesh, where he searches for immortality after the death of his friend Enkidu. Even though this figure has taken on legendary status, it is widely agreed that Gilgamesh was a historical person, and the 5th king of Uruk who reigned in the twenty-sixth century BCE. His influence was profound, and myths of the king developed and ultimately led to the Epic of Gilgamesh written between 700 and 1000 years after the life of the historical Gilgamesh.

The Epic of Gilgamesh is a tale that grapples with the meaning of life and the fear, not so much of death, but of meaninglessness. Gilgamesh grappling with the death of his friend and the questions it evokes resonates with every human who has wrestled with the meaning of life when faced with death. Although inevitably the character of Gilgamesh does not achieve immortality, his quest gives his life meaning and the fact that we are still talking about him four thousand years later proves that he did, in fact, attain immortality.

— SUPPORT US VIA OUR PATREON—
https://www.patreon.com/join/whencyclopedia

— BUY OUR MERCH —
https://www.worldhistory.store​/​

— CHAPTERS —
0:00​ Introduction
0:56 Who is Gilgamesh? Was Gilgamesh a Real Person?
2:38 The Discovery of the Epic of Gilgamesh
4:08 Early Sumerian tales of Gilgamesh
5:11 The Epic of Gilgamesh
8:44 The Legacy of Gilgamesh and his Epic Poem
9:46 Outro

— WANT TO KNOW MORE? —
Gilgamesh https://www.worldhistory.org/gilgamesh/
The Eternal Life of Gilgamesh https://www.worldhistory.org/article/192/the-eternal-life-of-gilgamesh/
New Gilgamesh Fragment: Enkidu's Sexual Exploits Doubled https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1286/new-gilgamesh-fragment-enkidus-sexual-exploits-dou/
The Mesopotamian Pantheon https://www.worldhistory.org/article/221/the-mesopotamian-pantheon/
The Newly Discovered Tablet II of the Epic of Gilgamesh https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1360/the-newly-discovered-tablet-ii-of-the-epic-of-gilg/
Ishtar https://www.worldhistory.org/ishtar/
Inanna https://www.worldhistory.org/Inanna/
Utu-Shamash https://www.worldhistory.org/Utu-Shamash/

— WATCH NEXT —
The Ancient City of Babylon: History of the Babylonian Empire https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-ZGsqwXsNM
A Short History of Assyria and the Neo-Assyrian Empire https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkcNhFEZj4E
History of the Iliad and the Trojan War https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38xMffvYdAo
Ancient Flood Legends and Stories from Around the World https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bd6I1T9efNo&
Cuneiform: The Earliest Form of Writing from Ancient Mesopotamia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DONiq9pyLg4

— ATTRIBUTIONS —
You can find all attribution and credits for images, animations, graphics and music here - https://worldhistory.typehut.com/the-epic-of-gilgamesh-an-ancient-tale-of-a-king-searching-for-immortality-images-and-attributions-8970

The music used in this recording is the intellectual copyright of Michael Levy, a prolific composer for the recreated lyres of antiquity, and used with the creator's permission. Michael Levy's music is available to stream at all the major digital music platforms. Find out more on:
https://www.ancientlyre.com
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5v?si=emacIH9CRieFNGXRUyJ9
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ1X6F7lGMEadnNETSzTv8A

— THUMBNAIL IMAGE —
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gilgamesh_and_Enkidu_slaying_Humbaba_at_the_Cedar_Forest._From_Iraq;_purchase._19th-17th_century_BCE._Vorderasiatisches_Museum,_Berlin.jpg
Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg) - own work
CC BY SA 4.0 - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hero_lion_Dur-Sharrukin_Louvre_AO19862.jpg
Jastrow (2006)
Public Domain - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain

World History Encyclopedia
www.worldhistory.org

#gilgamesh #epicofgilgamesh #gilgameshandenkidu #mesopotamia

Remove Ads
Advertisement

About the Author

Kelly Macquire
Kelly is a graduate from Monash University who has completed her BA (Honours) in Ancient History and Archaeology, focussing on iconography and status in Pylos burials. She has a passion for mythology and the Aegean Bronze Age.

The video and its description text are provided by Youtube. This website claims no authorship of this content; we are republishing it for educational purposes.

Cite This Work

APA Style

Macquire, K. (2022, March 29). The Epic of Gilgamesh - An Ancient Tale of a King Searching for Immortality. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/video/2749/the-epic-of-gilgamesh---an-ancient-tale-of-a-king/

Chicago Style

Macquire, Kelly. "The Epic of Gilgamesh - An Ancient Tale of a King Searching for Immortality." World History Encyclopedia. Last modified March 29, 2022. https://www.worldhistory.org/video/2749/the-epic-of-gilgamesh---an-ancient-tale-of-a-king/.

MLA Style

Macquire, Kelly. "The Epic of Gilgamesh - An Ancient Tale of a King Searching for Immortality." World History Encyclopedia. World History Encyclopedia, 29 Mar 2022. Web. 19 Apr 2024.

Membership