According to my reading of Gilgamesh, the story represents three distinct tales merged into one in such a way as to tell a fourth story, that of man overcoming the world he had been placed in and thereby losing his way.
Most commentators address the Flood, which is a universal legend.
The portion least addressed, but most relevant to our postmodern crash in masculine culture, is the story of the Wildman. This story echoes in the legends of Herakles and Samson.
The portion most pertinent to the historian is the tale of Gilgamesh, of the King who symbolized the concept of Divine Right and through his actions even illuminates the, miserable plight of his servants.
The most sophisticated aspect of the tale, which I shall credit to the Sumerian scribe of about 4,500 years before present, merges these aspects into the story of Civilized Man, who, through his loss of his Wildman companion and their joint desecration of the natural world, suffers a disconnection from the divine. This story echoes strongly in the Odyssey and Beowulf.
He: Gilgamesh: Into the Face of Time
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