World Religions › Ancient civilizations › Mesopotamian religion (Sumer, Babylon, Assyria)
Epic of Gilgamesh
c. 2100 BC (Sumerian poems); standard version c. 1200 BC· Scripture or text· Ancient, indigenous & folk
Historical recordConfirmed by archaeology, outside sources or contemporary records.
A Mesopotamian epic poem about King Gilgamesh of Uruk and his failed quest for immortality, among the world's oldest literature.
See it on the World Religions map →What it is
Gilgamesh, a part-divine king of Uruk, befriends the wild man Enkidu. Together they kill the forest guardian Humbaba and the Bull of Heaven, and the gods punish them with Enkidu's death. Grief-stricken, Gilgamesh seeks Utnapishtim, who survived a great flood sent by the gods and was granted eternal life. Gilgamesh fails Utnapishtim's test of staying awake, and a snake steals a plant that restores youth. He returns home accepting that humans must die.
Why it matters
It is among the oldest surviving great works of literature, and its flood story closely parallels Noah's in Genesis.
Sources and history
Clay tablets in Sumerian and Akkadian from many sites; the standard 11-tablet version from Ashurbanipal's library at Nineveh, whose flood tablet George Smith announced in 1872.
Questions and debates
Whether Gilgamesh was a real king of about 2700 BC is debated, and parts of the text are still missing; new fragments keep surfacing.
Connections (2)
▸Epic of Gilgamesh is the great epic of Mesopotamian religion (Sumer, Babylon, Assyria)Historical record
The connection
Gilgamesh puts Mesopotamian beliefs into story: gods who are powerful but capricious, a flood they send to destroy humanity, and a bleak underworld where the dead eat dust. Its lesson, that immortality belongs to the gods and not to humans, captures a core Mesopotamian view of human limits.
When and where
Sumerian poems about Uruk's king written down about 2100 BC; the standard Akkadian version about 1200 BC; key tablets from Ashurbanipal's library at Nineveh, 7th century BC.
Historical evidence
Hundreds of tablets and fragments from many sites and centuries, including the flood tablet George Smith read in 1872.
Questions and debates
How far the epic reflects popular religion rather than scribal literature is debated, and gaps in the text leave some episodes unclear.
▸Epic of Gilgamesh parallels the flood story in The Torah (Five Books of Moses)Mostly agreed by scholars
The connection
Tablet 11 of Gilgamesh tells of Utnapishtim, warned by a god to build a boat, take animals aboard and survive a world-drowning flood; the boat lands on a mountain and he releases birds to find dry land. Genesis tells Noah's story in the same sequence, but one just God replaces quarreling gods.
When and where
The flood tablet came from Ashurbanipal's library at Nineveh; George Smith of the British Museum announced the match in London in 1872.
How do we know?
Close, detailed parallels: the dove and raven, the mountain landing and the sacrifice afterwards. Older Mesopotamian flood stories, like Atrahasis (c. 1700 BC), show the tradition predates Genesis.
Questions and debates
Whether Genesis borrowed directly or both drew on shared Near Eastern tradition, perhaps during the exile, and whether a real ancient flood lies behind them.