The Epic of Gilgamesh dates to around 2100 BC as five individual poems that were later used as source material for the epic poem. The first half of the epic tells of Gilgamesh as king of Uruk and his encounter with Enkidu, a wild man that was created by the gods to stop Gilgamesh from oppressing his subjects. Enkidu challenges Gilgamesh to a test of strength where Gilgamesh wins and the two men become friends. The two go through a series of adventures, which Enkidu ends up dying at the hands of the gods as punishment for their adventures. The second half of the epic deals with Gilgamesh searching for the secret of eternal life.

According to scholars, Gilgamesh is generally viewed as a historical figure. Gilgamesh is mentioned in the Sumerian Kings List who was supposed to have ruled Uruk for 126 years sometime between 2800 and 2500 BC.

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