History Literature / TheEpicOfGilgamesh

The story follows the eponymous Gilgamesh, the SemiDivine King of Uruk. [[TheCaligula Gilgamesh is far from an ideal king]], spending most of his days partying, picking fights, and lying with people's wives, [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs sometimes all at once]]. Understandably upset, the people pray for the gods to give their king a companion who can temper his wrath.

* AdaptationRelationshipOverhaul: In early Sumerian texts, Enkidu is Gilgamesh's servant. In the later Akkadian version, their relationship is [[HeterosexualLifePartners incredibly close friends]] and perhaps [[PromotedToLoveInterest lovers]].

* RedundantDepartmentOfRedundancy: Every major plot point is written out at least twice, as a vestige of oral tradition. For instance the people complain about Gilgamesh's bad behavior as king by saying: "Gilgamesh sounds the bell for his amusement, his arrogance has no bounds by day or night. No son is left with his father, for Gilgamesh takes them all, even the children; yet the king should be a shepherd to his people. His lust leaves no virgin to her lover, neither the warrior's daughter nor the wife of the noble; yet this is the shepherd of the city, wise, comely, and resolute." This is redundant enough on its own but it is then immediately repeated ''word for word'' by the gods.

** Before they meet, Ninsun says of Gilgamesh and Enkidu: "Like a wife you'll love him, caress and embrace him."

* HomoeroticSubtext: Enkidu and Gilgamesh (outright text in some versions). Honestly, do things ''ever'' change?

* LostInTranslation: Gilgamesh's dreams about Enkidu are a DoubleEntendre. The Assyrian word for meteor "kisru" sounds like the word for male prostitute "kezru," while axe sounds like the word for eunuchs who take on the sexual role of women.

* TooDumbToLive: In the [[GainaxEnding seemingly unrelated twelfth tablet]] Gilgamesh gives Enkidu a long list of things not to do when he's visiting the Netherworld to make sure he doesn't get noticed and caught. It basically boils down to "don't wear clothes that make you stand out, don't make any noise, don't throw things at people, and don't kiss and beat up the people you loved and hated in life". Enkidu doesn't listen to what Gilgamesh says and manages to break every single piece of advice that Gilgamesh gave him. Needless to say, he doesn't make it out.

* HookerWithAHeartOfGold: Shamhat, although this is a modern misunderstanding of her job. She was the priestess of the Goddess of Sex and having sex with any man who asks is a respected part of her ministry, rather than anything shameful.

* WomanlinessAsPathos: There is a wide variety of examples of the trope, beginning with Gilgamesh himself being a despotic tyrant who raped any woman he wanted, whether or not they were married or a relative to his allies. As part of the gods' plan to stop him, a wild man named Enkidu encounters a prostitute and has sex with her, which (to the animal spirits) now made Enkidu "domesticated" and no longer wild. This civility causes Enkidu to become outraged when he learns of Gilgamesh's action, and so he goes to challenge him. The two fight and become {{Best Friend}}s. During their adventures, the LoveGoddess Ishtar becomes enraptured with Gilgamesh, but he spurns her. The gods see this as a great insult and punish the two by [[AesopCollateralDamage having Enkidu fall fatally ill]]. Enkidu's death causes Gilgamesh to become an ImmortalitySeeker, and this becomes his primary motive throughout the rest of the tale.

* ArtisticLicenseAstronomy: A truly fascinating case. The text proposes that, upon setting in the west, the sun passes through a gigantic underground tunnel between two mountains (referred to in some translations as the "Twin Peaks") which takes it back around to where it rises in the east.
* BadassBoast: After Gilgamesh and Enkidu destroy the Bull of Heaven - the divine beast sent to destroy them for mocking the goddess Ishtar - Enkidu shakes the bull's torn off haunches at Ishtar, threatening to do the same to her if he catches her.

The story follows the eponymous Gilgamesh, the SemiDivine King of Uruk. [[TheCaligula Gilgamesh is far from an ideal king]], spending most of his days partying, picking fights, and laying with people's wives, [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs sometimes all at once]]. Understandably upset, the people pray for the gods to give their king a companion who can temper his wrath.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: The UrExample. Ishtar may [[JerkassGods look down on humans and enjoy wreaking havoc in their lives]], but even she was horrified when Enlil [[KillAllHumans attempted to wipe out the human race in its entirety]] [[DisproportionateRetribution just because their noise was making it hard for him to sleep]].

%%(No trope slashing. Only one trope per bullet)* SceneryPorn / ShiningCity: Uruk, naturally.

While not the first example of literature ever written (with Sumerian and Egyptian texts like the ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instructions_of_Shuruppak Instructions of Shuruppak]]'' the ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kesh_temple_hymn Kesh temple hymn]]'' the Hymns of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enheduanna Enheduanna]] and the ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyramid_Texts Pyramid Texts]]'' dating back even further) it is often considered to be the earliest surviving [[TheEpic heroic epic]], predating ''Literature/TheIliad'' and even the majority of Literature/TheBible by well over a thousand years. Naturally, any trope found in this work is OlderThanDirt, and is likely either [[UnbuiltTrope Unbuilt]] or an UrExample.

* SceneryPorn / ShiningCity: Uruk, naturally.

* SexAsRiteOfPassage: Shamhat's seven-day sex bout with Enkidu is the first step in making him a civilized man.

** Gilgamesh declines Ishtar's advances. [[WomanScorned So she invokes the Bull of Heaven on Uruk.]]

A [[Myth/MesopotamianMythology legend from Ancient Mesopotamia]], the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' is [[OlderThanDirt one of the oldest known works of great literature]], dating from around 2100-1200 BCE and inscribed on clay tablets.

* ArcNumber: Seven, ten, twelve, and 120 ([[BreadEggsBreadedEggs ten times twelve]]) come up a lot.