The Paleo-Babylonian tale of the life and death of GILGAMESH comes from the Near East. There was a real Gilgamesh, a king who reigned about 2,700 years before Christ lived and the Romans consolidated their vast empire. The character and exploits of this king were preserved in the form of stories that circulated for many years after the king's death. Some of these tales – more than 600 years after the reign of Gilgamesh – were collected by a storyteller and transcribed in the form of an epic poem. This poem is what we know today as The Epic of Gilgamesh. Who knows how many versions The Epic of Gilgamesh went through before solidifying itself in its written form? Who knows how many translations the stories underwent before they were reworked into the Babylonian language? Who knows how many parts of the story might have offended or misrepresented the eponymous king? Who knows how many storytellers have made more (or less) Mashu, the mountain gateway to the other world, as they enchanted audiences with the fantastical details of this greatest of human adventures: the struggle to find (and keep) eternity. life? What is known is no less intriguing. How curious is the parallel between the story of Utnapishtim and the Jewish story of Noah. How symbolic is the description of Enkidu, the prototype of natural man, as he abandons his animalistic behaviors in favor of the pleasures of human society. How extraordinary is the description of the serpent, whose theft of the essence of immortality from Gilgamesh causes the serpent to be reborn every time it sheds its skin. Of course the Jewish iteration of the Flood story is no coincidence. For a certain period the JEWS lived in SUMMER, home of Abraham's people. A nomadic people, they left the fertile river valleys and headed toward CANAAN and then EGYPT, bringing with them ancient accounts of floods and righteous people whose obedience and wisdom helped them survive the consuming waters..