The Epic of Gilgamesh (His Search for Eternal Life)

The Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem from Mesopotamia.  Gilgamesh was the king of Uruk (modern day Iraq) around 2500 BC.  The earliest version of the poem was written around 2200 BC.   A number of similar stories found in the poem are found in the Bible.  Gilgamesh was allegedly two-thirds god and one-third man.  Because he was not 100% a god he would have to eventually die.  This upset him dramatically.  So he sets out on a journey to figure out how to become immortal and to live an eternal life. This has struck a chord currently and Gilgamesh has become an icon of modern popular culture.  Most of us think of our own mortality and wish at times that we could be immortal.  Gilgamesh learns that "the life that you are seeking you will never find.  When the gods created man they allotted to him death, but life they retained in their own keeping."  So he fails to find the secret of eternal life.  Time and time again people have tried to find the Fountain of Youth.