Abstract
The Epic of Gilgamesh is the best known work of literature from ancient Iraq, and rightly so. Its 3,000 or so lines relate the story of the legendary king of Uruk and his friendship and adventures with his close companion Enkidu, whose subsequent death initiated the grieving Gilgameshs vain quest for immortality. The Akkadian epic is loosely based on a group of earlier Sumerian stories about Gilgamesh, but includes as well much that is not known from the Sumerian tradition. The ancients were very concerned about the ghost that was released after death. The ghost of Sumerian and Akkadian sources, then, seems to be something akin to an immortal soul, an integral part of the living person that takes on an independent role only after death. Keywords: Akkadian sources; enkidu; Gilgamesh; Sumerian tradition
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
