page_title: Gilgamesh
section_title: Sumerian poems
hierarchical_section_title: Gilgamesh / Deification and legendary exploits / Sumerian poems
caption_attribution_description: English: Mace dedicated to Gigamesh-AO 3761 with transcription of the name Gilgamesh
context_page_description: Gilgamesh was a major hero in ancient Mesopotamian mythology and the protagonist of the Epic of Gilgamesh, an epic poem written in Akkadian during the late 2nd millennium BC. He was also most likely a historical king of the Sumerian city-state of Uruk, who was posthumously deified. His rule probably would have taken place sometime between 2800 and 2500 BC, though he became a major figure in Sumerian legend during the Third Dynasty of Ur.
  Tales of Gilgamesh's legendary exploits are narrated in five surviving Sumerian poems. The earliest of these is most likely "Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld", in which Gilgamesh comes to the aid of the goddess Inanna and drives away the creatures infesting her huluppu tree. She gives him two unknown objects, a mikku and a pikku, which he loses. After Enkidu's death, his shade tells Gilgamesh about the bleak conditions in the Underworld. The poem "Gilgamesh and Agga" describes Gilgamesh's revolt against his overlord King Agga. Other Sumerian poems relate Gilgamesh's defeat of the ogre Huwawa and the Bull of Heaven, while a fifth, poorly preserved poem apparently describes his death and funeral.
context_section_description: It is certain that, during the later Early Dynastic Period, Gilgamesh was worshipped as a god at various locations across Sumer. In 21st century BC, King Utu-hengal  of Uruk adopted Gilgamesh as his patron deity. The kings of the Third Dynasty of Ur (c. 2112 – c. 2004 BC) were especially fond of Gilgamesh, calling him their "divine brother" and "friend." King Shulgi of Ur (2029–1982 BC) declared himself the son of Lugalbanda and Ninsun and the brother of Gilgamesh. Over the centuries, there may have been a gradual accretion of stories about Gilgamesh, some possibly derived from the real lives of other historical figures, such as Gudea, the Second Dynasty ruler of Lagash (2144–2124 BC). Prayers inscribed in clay tablets address Gilgamesh as a judge of the dead in the Underworld.
caption: Mace dedicated to Gilgamesh, with transcription of the name Gilgamesh (𒀭𒄑𒉈𒂵𒈩) in standard Sumero-Akkadian cuneiform, Ur III period, between 2112 and 2004 BC
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