Gilgamesh and the Meaning of Life

It all started with the first story known to humankind.

There was a young and arrogant Babylonian King, who thought of himself as an ultimate badass. He ferociously oppressed his people, humiliated all men with his strength and slept with their wives. Such reckless and tyrannical behavior infuriated the gods. They created an equal to the King in order to challenge him. Fighting each other at first, the two soon grew up to be best friends, killed some monsters and became inseparable.

So, when his best friend suddenly died from sickness, the King became super sad and terrified of death. He gave up on bad habits and went all philosophical. He longed for eternal life. In search of immortality and meaning, he set himself up on the course of heroic adventures. He traveled far countries, encountered divine creates, crossed oceans to the edge of the world and even challenged gods themselves — all to learn that in the end he cannot escape death.

After the series of successes and failures, the King accepted his fate, faced the reality and reached an ultimate wisdom: the meaning of life is in life itself, no matter how hard it is. In good health and peaceful mind. In love, friendship, trust and responsibility. As well as griefs and sorrows. In lasting life achievements and beautiful art. And, ultimately, in finding the right place in the ordained scheme of things and the Universe.

The epic adventures of Gilgamesh were immortalized in cuneiform symbols somewhere around 2100 BC and are one of earliest examples of written literature. And even before that these stories were passed down orally from generation to generation, so we don’t really know how old they actually are. But the topics raised in them are as present and profound now, as they were thousands of years ago. What is the meaning of life? How can we overcome the fear of death? What constitutes a good and virtuous living?

These are the questions that inspired and tortured the greatest thinkers in history — from poets, writers and artists to political theorists, psychologists and philosophers. From the titans of Western canon, such as Homer, Nietzsche and Tolstoy, to the giants of the East, such as Lao Tzu, Buddha and Confucius. We still hear their voices through centuries. Prophets and religions, including Christianity and Islam, tried to answer these questions. The same old questions still haunt the brightest minds of Silicon Valley and modern cultural landscape today.

But all the painfully needed answers were already there, spoken and written down by the ancients 5 thousand years ago. Here are the seven main aspects of life, or “goals” in modern terms, that are derived from The Epic of Gilgamesh:

“Two-thirds of him is god, one-third of him is human.
The Great Goddess [Aruru] designed the model for his body,
she prepared his form …
… beautiful, handsomest of men,
… perfect …” (1.46–50)

“He who has seen everything, I will make known to the lands.
I will teach (?) about him who experienced all things,
… alike,
Anu granted him the totality of knowledge of all.
He saw the Secret, discovered the Hidden,
he brought information of (the time) before the Flood”. (1.1–6)

“And if indeed I take you in marriage,

whence would come my food and my sustenance?

Would you feed me bread that is fit for a god,

And pour me ale that is fit for a king?”. (6.24–28)

“Becoming aware of himself, he sought a friend”. (1.194–204)

“Take my hand, my friend, we will go on together.
Your heart should burn to do battle
— pay no heed to death, do not lose heart!” (4.273–283)

“Demolish a house and build a boat!

Take on board the boat all living thing’s seed!

The boat you will build,

Her dimensions all shall be equal:

her length and breadth shall be the same,

cover her with a roof, like the Ocean Below” (11.24–31)

“Now you, Gilgamesh, let your belly be full!
Be happy day and night,
of each day make a party,
dance in circles day and night!
Let your clothes be sparkling clean,
let your head be clean, wash yourself with water!
Attend to the little one who holds onto your hand,
let a wife delight in your embrace.
This is the (true) task of mankind.” (Old Babylonian Supplement at 10.72)

This is essential for Generation Z. The luckiest generation in history, if you look at life expectancy, living conditions, world peace and prosperity, but at the same time the most unstable, anxious and disturbed one, in terms of mental health and informational overload. Said that, millennials and boomers can certainly use these wisdoms too.

Their effectiveness is proven by centuries of human experience. Don’t worry if you cannot strictly follow them. After all, we are only human. There is no reason to beat yourself up and get depressed if you are not ready for them. But always remember the words of McMurphy from “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”: at least I tried. At least try. And be sure, that if you follow these rules, your life will inevitably improve.

Most importantly they bring clarity into the busy and noisy environment today. Clear thinking helps us resolve the multiple dilemmas and griefs of modern life. In the end, it was clarity that King Gilgamesh was on for on his quest.

Nothing really changed in 5 thousand years.

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