Gilgamesh was a king of Uruk, who was strong and handsome but oppressed his people. He had a habit of bedding the virgin brides, until one day he met his comrade Enkidu, a wild man made by the Goddess to be his rival pair. They fought together in the cedar forest and killed the forest watcher Humbaba and the Bull of Heaven. The Goddess punished them by killing Enkidu, and Gilgamesh lamented his comrade's sacrifice, then set out for a journey to look for immortality.
Since the beginning of humankind, we are looking for the meaning of life, which is the theme of most epic poems: kings fighting wars for sex or honor to leave their names on family trees or stones because immortality is impossible for human. This earliest epic poem from 4000 years ago caries many hints of human history: the contents of the Bible, the vanish of Neanderthals, the homosexuality, the polytheism, the instructions to the future kings...
"I will set up my name where the names of famous men are written; and where no man's name is written I will raise a monument to the gods." Isn't this familiar to us modern human? To be famous as celebrities, to be Nobel laureates, billionaires, champions, stars, Presidents, and the first to grow potato on Mars...
"He is shorter, he is bigger of bone, he is the one who was raised on the milk of wild beasts. His is the greatest strength. Now Gilgamesh ass met his match." After having sex with a prostitute for 6 days and 7 nights, "his body was bound as though with a cord, his knees gave way when he started to run, his swiftness was gone. Enkidu was grown weak." This may indicates the meeting of Neanderthals and homo sapients 50000 years ago in the middle East. And the death of Enkidu hinted the vanish of Neanderthals 30000 years ago.
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