Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh is the king of Uruk whose strength and power cannot prevent the death of his companion Enkidu. In the Akkadian epic, they confront Humbaba in the Cedar Forest and the Bull of Heaven; afterward, grief drives the king across unknown regions in search of Utnapishtim, survivor of the flood. The immortality granted to that man cannot be transferred to Gilgamesh. The narrative returns to Uruk's walls. Older Sumerian poems preserve related episodes, but they are not simply interchangeable chapters of the Akkadian version.

8 min read · Reviewed on October 13, 2026 · How we research

Bull of Heaven, lion, the cedar and the great wall of Uruk

Primary sources

• Tradição babilônica; ed. Andrew George, The Babylonian Gilgamesh Epic: Introduction, Critical Edition and Cuneiform Texts. translation: Andrew George. read
• Tradição suméria; Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature, Gilgameš and Huwawa, version A (1.8.1.5). read
• Tradição suméria; Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature, Gilgameš and the Bull of Heaven (1.8.1.2). read
• Tradição suméria; Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature, Gilgameš, Enkidu and the Netherworld (1.8.1.4). read
• Tradição suméria; Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature, The Death of Gilgameš (1.8.1.3). read

Studies

• Andrew George, What's New in the Gilgamesh Epic?. SOAS.
• Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gilgamesh. open
• Metropolitan Museum of Art, Cylinder seal and modern impression: heroes and animals in combat, head of the monster Humbaba. open
• British Museum, What was Ashurbanipal's Library?. open
• British Museum, Tablet K.231, Epic of Gilgamesh VI. open
• British Museum, Tablet K.2252, Epic of Gilgamesh XI. open