Western literature has few epics of any real greatness. Of these, The Epic of Gilgamesh is by far the oldest.

The Epic of Gilgamesh Western literature has few epics of any real greatness. Of these, The Epic of Gilgamesh is by far the oldest. The standard version of the epic, preceded Homer's Iliad and Odyssey by centuries. And the story of Gilgamesh's deeds is much older then that, maybe as old as the cult religion that worshipped Gilgamesh as a deity around 2600 B.C.E. But what does it mean to call Gilgamesh an "epic"? …

…cognate, Biblical story destroyed all civilized life. Gilgamesh visits Uta-napishti, the survivor of the Deluge, and learns wisdom from him. According to the paean at the poem's beginning, Gilgamesh is the one who restored the cult centers destroyed by the Deluge, and set in place for the people the rites of the cosmos. Gilgamesh's personal triumph is the triumphs of an entire culture when Gilgamesh sets himself right he sets right the entire ancient world.