Lostpedia has arranged an interview with TLE blogger Speaker for this Friday. Submit your questions here!
Do you have an idea for a new wiki? Please share it with us here
The Epic of Gilgamesh
From Lostpedia
The Epic of Gilgamesh is based on an ancient story from Sumer; the standard version is written in Babylonian. It is about the plight of a god-like man, Gilgamesh (the king of Uruk), who befriends Enkidu, a man who grew up alone in the wilderness and who initially persuades Gilgamesh to be a better, less tyrannical ruler. Gilgamesh and Enkidu's adventures include slaying the ogre Humbaba in order to claim his stores of timber. The goddess Ishtar attempts to seduce Gilgamesh, but he rejects her, enraging the gods, who send the Bull of Heaven to punish him. Gilgamesh and Enkidu slay the bull, but when Enkidu taunts the gods about this, they decree his death. Gilgamesh mourns his friend at length, then travels in search of his ancestor, Uta-napishtim, who possesses the secret of immortality. Although he finds Uta-napishtim, the gods refuse to grant him immortality, and he becomes a governor of the Sumerian underworld, known as the House of Dust. The epic is considered to be the oldest literary work in existence, and refers to a great flood, a boat and a bird sent to search for land, resembling the story of Noah's ark and the Flood in the Bible.
Contents |
In Lost
'GILGAMESH' is the answer to a crossword puzzle that Locke is working on in the hatch.
Similarities and shared themes
- "The Epic of Gilgamesh" centers around a man's search for immortality, or failing that, eternal youth. Richard Alpert appears to not age, and the Hanso Foundation is known for attempting to prolong the human lifespan through the Life Extension Project.
Trivia
- Though the answer is clearly 'GILGAMESH' from the clue, this doesn't actually fit with the other 'across' clues offered, which lends extra credence to the idea that the answer itself was intentionally emphasized by the writers (because they edited the entire thing in to make it fit). See crossword puzzles for more details.
See also
External links
