The epic of gilgamesh for kids

The Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem from ancient Mesopotamia.

It is one of the earliest works of literary fiction known.

The most complete version that exists today was preserved on twelve clay tablets in the library collection of the 7th century BCAssyrian king Ashurbanipal.

A series of Sumerianlegends and poems about the mythological hero-king Gilgamesh were probably gathered into a longer Akkadianpoem some time before the 7th century BC.

The epic is widely read in translation, and the hero, Gilgamesh, has become an icon of popular culture.

History

Some 15,000 fragments of Assyrian cuneiform tablets were discovered in the Library of Ashurbanipal in Nineveh by Austen Henry Layard, his assistant Hormuzd Rassam, and W. K.

Loftus in the early 1850s. Late in the following decade, the British Museum hired Geo