The story of Gilgamesh may be the first story ever told on earth. It is, as far as I've been able to determine, the oldest written story ever found and translated; it dates back more than 4000 years, far older than the Old Testament, and tells of the heroic life of the king of Uruk.
Louvre, Gilgamesh and Lion
image by Ninara - source: Flickr
The story was first found on clay tablets by a British archaeologist in the nineteenth century, and since then many versions have been found, the most complete and well-known being the later versions that consist of 12 tablets. These have been made famous for a great part because of the story on the 11th tablet, which bares great resemblance to Noah's flood story in the Bible's Old Testament. There have been many scholarly debates on the question if this was the source for the biblical account, a confirmation of it, or if the Bible is just a collection of older pagan religions.
The Deluge tablet of the Gilgamesh epic in Akkadian - source: Wikipedia
I love a good superhero story and there are so many of them. The reason why heroic tales are so popular, and have been apparently since at least 5000 years ago, is because they all basically tell the same story. This has been explained in great detail in The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell. In this book, Campbell discusses his theory of the mythological structure of the journey of the archetypal hero found in world myths. Campbell's famous "hero's journey" is the foundation of our most popular narratives. A typical example of this is the story of Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars film.
In laying out the monomyth, Campbell describes a number of stages or steps along this journey. "The hero's journey" begins in the ordinary world. He must depart from the ordinary world, when he receives a call to adventure. With the help of a mentor, the hero will cross a guarded threshold, leading him to a supernatural world, where familiar laws and order do not apply. There, the hero will embark on a road of trials, where he is tested along the way. The archetypal hero is sometimes assisted by allies. As the hero faces the ordeal, he encounters the greatest challenge of the journey. Upon rising to the challenge, the hero will receive a reward, or boon.
source: Wikipedia
Gilgamesh is introduced to us as the king of the city of Uruk. He's two-thirds god and one-third man and is described as stunningly handsome, able and strong. He is, however, a bad or even evil ruler; he exploits his people in any way possible, even going so far as to have sex with all young brides before even their husbands-to-be had a chance to do so... It's good to be the king I guess ;-)
When his people got tired of this behavior they prayed to the Gods to do something about it, so they created a man who would be Gilgamesh's equal, a wild man named Enkidu, formed by clay and spit (almost exactly like Adam was created). The first half of the epic story deals with the growing friendship between the two, after their first encounter was a battle that finished in a tie, and their heroic journey to kill Humbaba, the monstrous guardian of the magical Pine Woods.
The Epic of Gilgamesh (Full story)
In the second half, Enkidu is dead and a grief-stricken Gilgamesh goes on another journey to find eternal life. Although he ultimately fails in all his endeavors, at the end of the story Gilgamesh has become a better man and a loving ruler that watches over his people. Watch the video above for a full version of this epic story that has a lot of well known names and themes, like Ishtar, Enlil, the Great Flood, man's fear of death and his wish for immortality.
I hope you liked this as much as I did and see the similarities with the thousands of heroes journeys that followed. Truth be told though; Batman still is the best superhero with the best superpower ;-)
JUSTICE LEAGUE scene - Flash asks Bruce Wayne: "What are Your Superpowers Again?"
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