The myths of the ancient Sumerians tell of many amazing events and mythical gods. Unfortunately, after the fall of this civilization, many of its legends were irretrievably lost, and these stories, which we often know, do not come from the Sumerians themselves, but from the Akkads who arrived on their territory. It is thanks to them that we can get acquainted with one of the most interesting figures of this culture, which is a man named Gilgamesh. The hero of the oldest epic in human history and the oldest hero in all literature.
According to the legends about his life, Gilgamesh, among other things, overthrew King Aga Kish, who built the city walls of Uruk to protect its inhabitants, together with his companion Enkidu won the battle with the demon Huwawa, the heavenly Bull sent by the goddess Ishtar, and even about his death and travel to the underworld. The figure of Gilgamesh is the crowning example of a mythical hero whose lineage is associated with the gods. According to the Sumerian list of kings, Gilgamesh himself was the son of the goddess Nunsun and a priest named Lilla. Interestingly, Ningsun herself was the daughter of the deities Anu and Uras, two leading figures in the Sumerian pantheon.
A fragment of the relief depicting the goddess Ninson.
The epic was supposed to have been written around 2500 BC. on a series of clay tablets. Interestingly, they not only describe the heroic period in Gilgamesh's life, but also attribute numerous flaws to him, such as cruelty towards enemies and the desire for married women. Which is somewhat different from the two-dimensional figures known, among other things, from the figures of the Iliad and the Odyssey 1500 years ago.
In addition, the epic contains a very interesting parable, the main theme of which is the story of the Flood. However, its hero is not Gilgamesh himself, but some Utnapistim. The chosen god Ea (or the equivalent of the Sumerian Enki), who is tasked with building something like the biblical Ark and preserving his family, property, plants and animals of all kinds on it. Interestingly, according to the version of the myth included in the epic, the cause of the Flood was the overpopulation of the world, which was cited as "a threat to the world of the gods", which is far from the Christian version of this myth.
Soon after the earth was flooded, the ark stopped at Mount Nisir, and seven days later Utnapistim released a dove to find land. The epic again differs from the Bible in that, unlike the well-known version of the story, the pigeons did not cope with the task, and only after the raven was sent, the land was found. Finally, having arrived on earth, Utnapishtim freed all the animals, planted plants and sacrificed them to the gods, as a result of which he and his wife were rewarded with immortality.
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The entire content of the epic is saturated with many symbols and descriptions that may seem familiar with the appropriate interpretation. One of the best examples is Gilgamesh's hairy comrade Enkidu, made of clay and water. An extraordinary creature, the description of which in many ways resembles the creation of man in the Bible. Enkidu helped Gilgamesh defeat the aforementioned demon and accompanied him for many years until he died, which prompted Gilgamesh to seek immortality.
That's not all, because the description of the demon they defeat is somewhat reminiscent of the story of the race of giants.
According to Enkidu, he was a huge humanoid with a terrible face and long hair. His hands were also supposed to be armed with claws, and the demon himself served as a guard. It is said that he was also protected by the seven magical cedars, which were destroyed by Gilgamesh, and Huwawa himself was killed after the battle against Gilgamesh. Adding to this stories about the longevity of individual "human" characters in the epic and their unusual family ties, it is difficult not to come to the conclusion that there is a second bottom under the layer of myths and symbols. It is possible that knowing that this can give us many answers about the history of mankind, but at the moment these are only assumptions, not supported by anything.