"The Epic of Gilgamesh" was one of Mesopotamia's most renowned stories. Gilgamesh, the story goes, is a gorgeous, athletic young king of Uruk. Gilgamesh was semi-divine since his mother was the goddess Ninsun and his father was the priest-king Lugalbanda. The gods decided to make him mortal so that he could be killed by a wild animal. During his lifetime, however, he met and fell in love with a common woman named Utnapishtim. When Gilgamesh refused to give her up, she told him that if they were to marry they would both die. To avoid this, she fled the city with her two sons during a storm. Gilgamesh followed the ship and rescued them. He then married her and they had more children. In other words, Gilgamesh's mother was called "Utnapi". She was probably a royal guard or servant who worked for Lugalbanda. According to another version of the story, his mother was called Damgalnuna and she was a prostitute who died when Gilgamesh was still a child. This version of the story appears in some ancient texts but not in the "Epic of Gilgamesh". Some have suggested that Ninsun is a variant name for Atargatis. Atargatis was a female deity known for her love and devotion to Baal (also spelled Belus). She was worshipped throughout Syria and Palestine.