The story of Gilgamesh, the world's first recorded epic poetry, is known from cuneiform tablets, like those discovered at Nippur. Gilgamesh was king and successful warleader of Uruk, perhaps around 2700 BC.
The cycle of Gilgamesh poems is mainly concerned with the tragedy of human mortality, which Gilgamesh tries desperately to overcome. In Dilmun, the Sumerians' Paradise land, Gilgamesh obtains the Plant of Life (a pearl?), but losing it to a serpent, he comes to accept his inevitable fate.
In this extract, Gilgamesh sings the praises of his city of Uruk.
