Kenosis to Gnosis
Hear the silence
This Wikipedia article can give you general background on the Epic of Gilgamesh, http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epic_of_Gilgamesh
The Epic of Gilgamesh can be read on this site, http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/mesopotamian/gilgamesh/
The Epic of Gilgamesh, is perhaps the first story written down. The earliest version of it was written on Sumerian tablets, written in cuniform, found in Nippur in Mesopotamia and it was written down about 2000 BC. The author of the original story is unkown and the story was reworked by different cultures in Mesopotamia including the Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians and the Assyrians. The standard synthetic version is the 12 tablet Akkadian version of the poem found at the 25 000 tablet library of the Assyrian King Ashurbanipal (668-627) BC at Nineveh. The Epic of Gilgamesh is based on King Gilgamesh of Uruk in about 2700 BC. The Epic of Gilgamesh is significant for two reasons. The first one is that it is the first story ever written and the second is that it has parallels with the flood story in the Book of Genesis. A lot of academics and other people have concluded that the writers of the Book of Genesis had plagerized the Epic of Gilgamesh and this has empowered opponents of the Bible. But to suggest that the writers of the Book of Genesis plagerized the Epic of Gilgamesh is simplistic because most civilizations and religions take stories, knowledge, writing, concepts etc, from other civilizations and previous civilizations and the reworking of the Epic of Gilgamesh by different civilisations in Mesopotamia is a good example of that.
For example the Buddhist religion has a lot of elements from the Hindu religion because it emerged out of Hinduism in the region where it started. Another example is that the Aztec civilization in central America had many elements from the previous Mayan civilization and the Mayan civilization likewise took things from civilizations that came before it. The Roman civilization took many things from the Greek civilization and the Romans had taken so many elements from the ancient Greeks that it was called the Greco Roman empire. But the Greeks themselves took things from the Phonecian civilization, in particular the letters.
No civilization emerges independantly, and in isolation from other civilizations, past and present to it. If people in one civilization see something they like in another civilization, they are more often than not going to take it and assimilate it into their own culture. Even the people who created the statues on Easter Island, which was the most isolated civilization on Earth, emerged from the Polynesian culture and retained elements of it. A civilization that gets influenced by another civilization, past and present, and adopts elements of it is called emergent symbiosis. The word emergent means that it is always developing, refining things and adding more detail to previous knowledge and the word symbiosis mean that civilizations influence and take things from one another. When a civilization takes a story from another civilization they will usually change details and nmes of places and people to match the culture they are in, but the gist of of the story will remain.
The similarity between the Book of Genesis and the Epic of Gilgamesh is emergent symbiosis and not plagerism. The Book of Genesis has added more detail and there are a lot of elements in it that aren't in the Epic of Gilgamesh. For example, the snake in Tablet XI in the Epic of Gilgamesh only makes a brief appearence, but in the Book of Genesis the snake has a lot more etail and symbolism surrounding it, so the writer of the Book of Genesis refined the story of the snake and added more detail to it. The snake in the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Book of Genesis will be discussed later.
The Book of Genesis does mention that the patriarch Abraham came out of Sumeria from the city of Ur and as discussed on the page, the Order of Melchizedek, Abraham was from the elites of that city. It's not surprising that there would be some Sumerian elements in the Book of Genesis and that is what emergent symbiosis is all about.
The overall theme of the Epic of Gilgamesh is a degeneration of Mankind, much like the Book of Genesis. This is a point that the academics and other researchers seem to miss. At the start of the Epic of Gilgamesh, the main character and his friend, Enkidu, are 2 thirds god, 1 third man, with super human powers and intelligence. In their journey they cut down a tree that reaches heaven, the Book of Daniel has a similar image, and they slay the bull of heaven, which could represent the Age of Taurus. The Epic of Gilgamesh was written in the Age of Taurus and it does mention the precessional number 72 that is usually a code in many cultures that a story or image has a precessional theme to it. See the chapter called the Osiris Numbers in Fingerprints of the Gods by Graham Hancock to understand the significance of the number 72. The cutting down of the tree that reaches heaven suggests that they are cutting themselves off from heaven. At the end of the Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh loses his immortality, when the snake steals the plant that gives him immortality, which is similar to what happened in the Book of Genesis.
Another reason why the Epic of Gilgamesh is significant is because while there are more than 500 flood stores all over the world, 62 of them being entirely independant of the MEsopotamian and Hebrew accounts, the Epic of Gilgamesh is the first one recorded. Flood myths may have been passed down verbally before it and the Epic of Gilgamesh may itself have been influenced by a flood story passed down verbally but there isn't the evidence for that. The first few lines of the Epic of Gilgamesh certaintly suggest that the writer knew that he was the first write down a flood story.
Tablet I
He who has seen everything, I will make known to the lands. I will teach about him who experienced all things, ... alike, Anu granted him the totality of knowledge of all. He saw the Secret, discovered the Hidden, he brought information of (the time) before th Flood. He went on a distant journey, pushing himself to exhaustion, but then was brought to peace. He carved on a stone stela all of his toils.
The nature of Gilgamesh and Enkidu.
The Epic of Gilgamesh makes it clear that Gilgamesh and Enkidu are superhuman who are also 2 thirds god, 1 third human. There is a dual nature between Gilgamesh and Enkidu, Gilgamesh is civilized and is the ruler of a city, whereas Enkidu is feral and lives with the animals and behaves like them. Even though Gilgamesh and Enkidu have very different backgrounds they become very close friends, they are like Yin and Yang.
Tablet I
This part is talking about Gilgamesh, "Supreme over other kings, lordly in appearance, he is the hero, born of Uruk, the goring wild bull ... Gilgamesh is strong to perfection, ... Gilgamesh is awesome to perfection. ... Two-thrids of him is god, one-third of him is human. ... Like a wild bull he makes himself mighty, head raised (over others). There is no rival who can raise his weapon against him."
Enkidu, who becomes Gilgamesh's friend in the epic, is also like Gilgamesh, "Father, a certain fellow has come from the mountains. He is the mightiest in the land, his strength is as mighty as the meteorite of Anu!"
Gilgamesh and Enkidu were giants.
In many cultures and religions there are stories of giants, in particular Goliath and the Nemphilim in the Bible, and the Epic of Gilgamesh also has its own giants in it.
Tablet II
The shepherds gathered all around about him, they marveled to themselves: "How the youth resembles Gilgamesh--tall in stature, towering up to the battlements over the wall!" ... With Enkidu as their guard, the herders could lie down. A wakeful man, a singular youth, he was twice as tall as normal men.
The bull of heaven.
Tablet I
"he is the hero, born of Uruk, the goring wild bull. ... Like awild bull he makes himself mighty ... who struts his power over th people like a wild bull."
Tablet IV
"And the dream I had--so striking, so...,so disturbing! I was grappling with a wild bull of the wilderness, with his bellow he split the ground, a cloud of dust...to the sky. ... My friend, the god to whom we go is not the wild bull? He is totally different? The wild bull that you saw is shamash, the protector, in difficulties he holds our hand."
This particular passage is interesting because it identifies shamash, or the Sun god, with being a bull. Why is this passage identifying the Sun with being a bull? Because it is representing the Age of Taurus when the Epic of Gilgamesh was written. An astrological is defined when the Sun rises into a sign of the Zodiac on the spring equinox. The Sun will rise into that sign of the Zodiac on the spring equinox for a little over 2000 years and the sign that the Sun rises into will be the age the world will be in.
Tablet VI of the Epic of Gilgamesh is about Ishtar sending down the Bull of Heaven to kill Gilgamesh for insulting her, but Gilgamesh ends up slaying it instead. The slaying of the Bull of Heaven may represent the end of the Age of Taurus. The Epic of Gilgamesh was written by the early Babylonians, who still spoke the ancient Sumerian language, and this epic was written at the start of the Age of Aeries.
Tablet VI
Ishtar spoke to her father, Anu, saying: "Father, give me the Bull of Heaven, so he can kill Gilgamesh in his dwelling. ... When Anu heard her words, he placed the noserope of the Bull of Heaven in her hand. Ishtar led the Bull Heaven down to the earth. When it reached Uruk It climed down to the Euphrates... At the snort of the Bull of Heaven a huge pit opened up, and 100 Young Men of Uruk fell in. At his second snort a huge pit opened up, and Young Men of Uruk fell in. At his third snort a huge pit opened up, and Enkidu fell in up to his waist. Then Enkidu jumped out and seized the Bull of Heaven by its horns. the Bull spewed his spittle in front of him, ... Enkidu stalked and hunted down the Bull of Heaven. He grasped it by the thick of its tail and held onto it with both his hands, whild Gilgamesh, like and expert butcher, boldly and surely approached the Bull of Heaven. Between the nape, the horns, and... he thrust his sword. After they had killed the Bull of Heaven, they ripped out its heart and presented it to Shamash.
In this part of Tablet VI it seems to mention another precessional number after the Bull of Heaven has been slayed.
Tablet VI
(All) the artisans admired the thickness of its horns, each fashioned from 30 minas of lapis lazuli!
The number 30 is the number of degrees in a precessional age and this number is mentioned after the Bull of Heaven has been slaughtered. The number 30 also features prominately in the New Testament with Jesus betrayed for 30 pieces of silver.
The cutting down of the Cedar Tree that reached heaven.
Tablet V
"They stood at the forest's edge, gazing at the top of the Cedar Tree, ... Then they saw the Cedar Mountain, the Dwelling of the Gods, ... Across the face of the mountain the Cedar brought forth luxurious foilage, its shade was good, extremely pleasant."
After killing Humbaba, who guards the forest with the Cedar Tree, they cut down the Cedar Tree, "They cut throught the Cedar, While Gilgamesh cuts down the trees, Enkidu searches through the urmazallu. Enkidu addressed Gilgamesh, saying: "My friend, we have cut down the towering Cedar whose top scrapes the sky. Make from it a door 72 cubits high, 24 cubits wide, one cubit thick, ... Let them carry it to Nippur, the Euphrates will carry it down, Nippur will rejoice."
The Cedar Tree whos top scrapes the sky may represent the Earth being connected with heaven. The Bible uses a similar image in Daniel 4:10-16, with King Nebuchadnezzar representing a tree that reached heaven in a dream, but it got cut down and King Nebuchadnezzar developed the mind of an animal. When King Nebuchadnezzar developed the mind of an animal he lost his connection with heaven. The tree reaching heaven in the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Bible may have the same meaning. See the page called The Tower of Babel to learn more about the concept of what the significance of the tower and the tree reaching heaven is about.
The other interesting part of this passage is that it mentions the precessional number 72, which appears in many other cultures as well. 24 is a precessional number as well, it is made up of 2 times 12. The chapter called The Osiris Numbers in the book, Fingerprints of the Gods, by Graham Hancock goes into this subject in a lot of detail. The number 72 is the number of years it takes to move 1 degree of precession and it's inclusion in the Epic of Gilgamesh, which is the first story written, may indicate that the Epic of Gilgamesh has a precessional theme to it. This is reinforced by the significance of the bull of heaven in the Epic of Gilgamesh and with how Gilgamesh and the Sun god Shamesh are called bulls as well. The bull in the Epic of Gilgamesh represents the Age of Taurus, which is when this story was written.
12 astrological ages leading to a Sumerian Garden of Eden?
In Tablet IX, Gilgamesh has to go through mountains in darkness for 12 leagues in order to get to a beautiful garden which is in light. Considering that the Epic of Gilgamesh mentions precessional numbers like 72 and the Bull of Heaven represents the Age of Taurus, then the 12 leagues of darkness may represent the 12 astrological ages. The 12 leagues in darkness may represent that the physical world is spiritually dark, ie devoid of light, and at the end of it Gilgamesh comes out of it into the brilliant light into a beautiful garden. The reason why Gilgamesh travels through the 12 mountains of darkness is to meet the flood hero and his ancester, Utnapishtim, who survived the flood, to get immortality.
Tablet IX
"I have come on account of my ancestor Utnapishtim, who joined the Assembly of the Gods, and was given eternal life. About Death and Life I must ask him!" The scorpion-being spoke to Gilgamesh ..., saying: "Never has there been, Gilgamesh, a mortal man who could do that. No one has crossed through the mountains, for twelve leagues it is darkness throught--dense is the darkness, and light there is none ..."
Skipping ahead to the end of the journey through the mountains, "Eleven leagues he traveled and came out before the sun(rise). Twelve leagues he traveled and it grew brilliant. ...it bears lapis lazuli as foliage, bearing fruit, a delight to look upon."
Twenty five lines describing the garden in detail are missing but the rest of it, which is fragmantary, shows that it is a paradise, "... cedar ... agate ... of the sea ... lapis lazuli, like thorns and briars ... carnelian, rubies, hematite,... like... emeralds."
Tablet X mentions the number 360, or 300 and 60. 360 is the total number of degrees in the precessional cycle of 26 000 years and considering the fact that the Epic of Gilgamesh has other precessional numbers, like 72, suggests that this passage in Tablet X is about the 360 degrees of the precessional cycle.
Tablet X
"Gilgamesh, take the axe in your hand, go down into the woods, and cut down 300 punting poles each 60 cubits in length."
The Sumerian Atlantis and the lost ice age landmass in the Persian Gulf.
Tablet XI gives a clue as to where Utnapishtim is, this is what he says to Gilgamesh after he told him about the flood story, "Enlil went up inside the boat and, grasping my hand, made me go up. He had my wife go up and kneel by my side. He touched our forehead and, standing between us, he blessed us: Previously Utnapishtim was a human being. But now let Utnapishtim and his wife become like us, the gods! Let Utnapishtim reside far away, at the Mouth of the Rivers.' They took us far away and settled us at the Mouth of the Rivers." Does the mouth of the rivers refer to the mouth of the Tigris and Euphraties rivers? Isn't that where the Garden of Eden and the Sumerian cities were located?
Perhaps Utnapishtim, who Gilgamesh is decended from, is from one of the other areas of landmass that were above water in the ice age.
Archaeologists ignore the elephant in the living room, which is the extra areas of land that existed during the ice age. To the archaeologists these extra areas of land served as land bridges that allowed humans to colonize all parts of the world, but they don't consider the fact that that humans living on these extra areas of land before they were submerged under the sea. To the archaelogists and other people who study the pre historic world these extra areas of land are insignificant and they have no relevance the the history of Man and no one, aside from alternative researchers, is interested in investigating these extra areas of land and since most historians presume that pre historic man was primitive and uncivilized they never consider the fact that there maybe man made monuments in these areas which have been submerged. Is it a coincidence that the cradle of civilization started at the top of the landmass that was submerged at the end of the ice age? Since civilizations tend to be close to water, if there was a civilization in the Mesopotamian area in the ice age it would have been on the landmass that was exposed in the Persian Gulf. Archaeologists don't consider the fact that the rise in sea levels at the end of the ice age had an effect on the emergence of civilization, or to put it another way, the remergence of civilization.
The Dilmun civilization was in the region of the Persian Gulf during this time period and it traded between the Sumerian and Indian civilizations. It is thought that the Dilmun civilization was located on Bahrain, but this website says that the Dilmun civilization was located within the Persian Gulf itself in a time period where there was less water with fertile areas that would have allowed people to settle down and develop culture. This area existed from about 100 000 to 8000 years ago:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/12/09/ancient_dilmun_garden_eden_gulf_lost_civilisation/
The maps below shows the rivers and lakes that existed in the landmass that was covered over by water, this place was more than habitable. The general rule is that people live near water and they would've lived on this landmass.
The question of why the cradle of civilization started in this part of the world is stated in the Epic of Gilgamesh itself, it's not that civilization emerged in Mesopotamia, it moved to Mesopotamia. But from where? If that question can be answered definitively then what happened in prehistory will become clear and will no longer be murky anymore. There will be a connection between history and the prehistoric world and the 5000 year old "Berlin Wall" of ignorance, that separates history and prehistory will crumble.
The Matrix theme.
In Tablet X Gilgamesh meets the flood hero Utnapishtim and there is a statement in Tablet X that correlates with statements in other writings like the Gnostic gospels where it compares being in the body to the soul being asleep. Also the Book of Genesis says that Adam went into a deep sleep but it never says he woke up out of it. This is the statement that Utnapishtim makes to Gilgamesh, "How alike are the sleeping and the dead." There is a similar statement in Matthew 9:23, "Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep." Tablet X shows that Gilgamesh is at the end of his life and Utnapishtim seems to be describing the physical world to him.
Tablet X
"Through toil you wear yourself out, you fill your body with grief, your long lifetime you are bringing near (to a premature end)! Mankind, whose offshoot is snapped off like a reed in a canebreak, the fine youth and lovely girl ... death. No one can see death, no one can see the face of death, no one can hear the voice of death, yet there is savage death that snaps off mankind. ... The face that could gaze upon the face of the Sun has never existed ever. How alike are the sleeping and the dead. The image of Death cannot be depicted. (Yes, you are a) human being, a man! After Enlil had pronounced the blessing, the Anunnaki, the Great Gods, assembled. Mammetum, she who forms destiny, determined destiny with them. They established Death and Life, but they did not make known 'the days of death."
In Tablet XI, after the flood story told by Utnapishtim to Gilgamesh, the theme of sleep and life occurs again and this occurs just before the snake steals the plant that will give Gilgamesh immortality. This passage also occurs in the area where the Garden of Eden was said to have been and the numbers 6 and 7 also occur in it, just like in the Book of Genesis. This is the passage, "Now then, who will convene the gods on your behalf, that you may find the life that you are seeking! Wait! You must not lie down for six days and seven nights." soon as he sat down (with his head) between his legs sleep, like a fog, blew upon him. Utnapishtim said to his wife: "Look there! The man, the youth who wanted (eternal) life! Sleep, like a fog, blew over him." This passage seems to be saying that sleep denied Gilgamesh immortality. In the Book of Genesis Adam was put into a deep sleep, but Genesis never said he woke up, and then he loses his immortality because of a snake as well.
The flood story and the breaking up of the continents.
Most people who have read the flood story in Tablet XI in the Epic of Gilgamesh fail to notice that there was something else happening on the Earth beside the flood and this matches what Plato said about what happened to Atlantis. The Epic of Gilgamesh says that there was severe tectonic activity with the continents breaking up. This is what is meant by the statement that "The... land shattered like a... pot." Plato said that Atlantis sunk beneath the sea in a single day, it wasn't the city of Atlantis that sunk but the whole continent it was on that sunk. The statement that "The Annunaki lifted up the torches, setting the land ablaze with their flare." may refer to lava coming out of the ground all over the world. If the continents were breaking up like a pot being shattered, then it would make sense that there would be lots of lava coming out and volcanic activity because of that. If there's lots of volcanic activity all over the world then that would put enormous amounts of volcanic ash into the atmosphere and that would explain the next statement, "and turn to blackness all that had been light." Tablet XI then says, "All day long the South Wind blew ..., blowing fast, submerging the mountain in water, overwhelming the people like an attack." If the continents were breaking up and submerging then a mountain could be submerged in the water. The flood story in the Epic of Gilgamesh isn't just a flood story, it is a story about the breaking up of continents and sinking into the sea. Massive rainfall by itself wouldn't flood the world, the continents breaking up and servere disturbances in the tectonic plates are what caused the flood.
There wasn't any volcanic eruptions or lava coming out of the ground in Mesopotamia in the time period when the Epic of Gilgamesh was written or in any other period of the ancient world. They didn't have lots of volcanic ash in the atmosphere that made everything dark, like in Pompeii. They may have had Earthquakes but there are no cracks in the ground like the San Andreas fault in California and the statement that "The... land shattered like a... pot." certaintly sounds like it's talking about the land cracking up in many places. Where did the writer of the Epic of Gilgamesh get the idea of describing severe seismic activity? If there was severe seismic activity very far back in the past before the Epic of Gilgamesh was written descriptions of those events could've been passed down orally for thousands of years so the writer of the Epic of Gilgamesh could have described lava, volcanic activity and the land shattering without ever seeing any such things.
There's another flood story that also talks about the Sun disappearing because of the volcanic ash in the atmosphere. Japan has known underwater megaliths at Yonaguni which would have only been above water in the ice age and the Shinto religion in Japan has it's own flood story that involves the Sun disappearing after the sea levels rise. The thing that Japan has in common with Mesopotamia is that they both have very ancient cultures that go back well into the prehistoric world. The Jomon culture in Japan is 16 000 years old and they were making intricate pottery during that time period, but strangley enough the Jomon culture hardly gets any attention in the West. There's no mention of them in the school history books and there hasn't been that many documentaries made about them. This is a culture that goes right back into the prehistoric world but because it doesn't fit into the historical paradigm of the West that prehistoric people were dumb half human, half apes who couldn't possibly have civilization and because Western historians are Eurocentric in general they don't give the Jomon any attention.
This is the flood story in Tablet XI as recounted by Utnapishtim to Gilgamesh.
"I watched the appearance of the wearther--the weather was frightful to behold! I went into the boat and sealed the entry. For the caulking of the boat, to Puzuramurri, the boatman, I gave the palace together with its contents. Just as dawn began to glow there arose from the horizon a black cloud. ... Erragal pulled out the mooring poles, forth went Ninurta and made the dikes overflow. The Annunaki lifted up the torches, setting the land ablaze with their flare. Stunned shock over Adad's deeds overtook the heavens, and turned to blackness all that had been light. The... land shattered like a... pot. All day long the South Wind blew ..., blowing fast, submerging the mountain in water, overwhelming the people like an attack. No one could see his fellow, they could not recognize each other in the torrent. The gods were frightened by the Flood, and retreated, ascending to the heaven of Anu. The gods were cowering like dogs, crounching by the outer wall. Ishtar shrieked like a woman in childbirth, the sweet-voiced Mistress of the Gods wailed: 'The olden days have alas turned to clay, because I said evil things in the Assembly of the Gods! How could I say evil things in the Assembly of the Gods, ordering a catastrophe to destroy my people! No sooner have I given birth to my dear people than they fill the sea like so many fish! The gods--those of the Annunaki--were weeping with her, the gods humbly sat weeping, sobbing with grief, their lips burning, parched with thirst. Six days and seven nights came the wind and flood, the storm flattening the land. When the seventh day arrived, the storm was pounding, the flood was a war--struggling with itself like a woman writhing (in labor). The sea calmed, fell still, the whrilwind (and) flood stopped up. I looked around all day long--quiet had set in and all the human beings had turned to clay! The terrain was as flat as a roof. I opened a vent and fresh air (daylight!) fell upon the side of my nose. I fell to my knees and sat weeping, tears streaming down the side of my nose. I looked around for coastlines in the expanse of the sea, and at twelve leagues there emerged a region (of land). On Mt. Nimush the boat lodged firm, Mt. Nimush held the boat, allowing no sway. One day and a second Mt. Nimush held the boat, allowing no sway. A third day, a fourth, Mt. Nimush held the boat, allowing no sway. A fifth day, a sixth, Mt. Nimush held the boat, allowing no sway. When a seventh day arrived I sent forth a dove and released it. The dove went off, but came back to me; no perch was visible so it circled back to me; I sent forth a swallow and released it. The swallow went off, but came back to me; no perch was visible so it circled back to me. I sent forth a raven and released it. The raven went off, and saw the waters slither back. It eats, it scratches, it bobs, but does not circle back to me. Then I sent out everything in all directions and sacrificed (a sheep). I offered incense in front of the mountain-ziggurat. Seven and seven cult vessels I put in place, and (into the fire) underneath (or: into their bowls) I poured reeds, cedar, and myrtle. The gods smelled the savor, the gods smelled the sweet savor, and collected like flies over a (sheep) sacrifice."
The parts in this flood story that says, "Ishtar shriked like a woman in childbirth, ... the flood was a war--struggling with itself like a woman writhing (in labor)." is similar to a passage in Matthew 24:3-9, "What will be the signal for your coming and the end of this world? ... You will hear of wars and rumours of wars-but don't be alarmed. Such things must indeed happen, but that is not the end. For one nation will rise in arms against another, and one kingdom against another, and there will be famines and earthquakes in different parts of the world. But all that is only the beginning of the birth-pangs." The Epic of Gilgamesh and the Bible both compare the end of a world to a woman in labor. The end of one world is the birth of another.
The snake that steals the plant that can give Gilgamesh immortality.
At the end of Tablet XI of the Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh is told get a plant that can give him immortality but the snake steals that plant and now he will die like everyone else. The snake in the Book of Genesis is also responsible for removing the immortality of Adam and Eve, except in Genesis more detail has been added in with the snake. This page explains the symbolism in the Book of Genesis in more detail. This is the passage in Tablet XI that talks about the snake, "Utnapishtim spoke to Gilgamesh, saying: "Gilgamesh, you came here exhausted and worn out. What can I give you so you can return to your land? I will disclose to you a thing that is hidden, Gilgamesh, a... I will tell you. There is a plant... like a boxthorn, whose thorns will prick your hand like a rose. If your hands reach that plant you will become a young man again." Hearing this, Gilgamesh opened a conduit (to the Apsu) and attached heavy stones to his feet. They dragged him down, to the Apsu they pulled him. He took the plant, though it pricked his hand, and cut the heavy stones from his feet, letting the waves throw him onto its shores. Gilgamesh spoke to Urshanabi, the ferryman, saying: "Urshanabi, this plant is a plant against decay! by which a man can attain his survival!. I will bring it to Uruk-Haven, and have an old man eat the plant to test it. The plant's name is 'The Old Man Becomes a Young Man.'" At twenty leagues they broke for some food, at thirty leagues they stopped for the night. Seeing a spring and how cool its waters were, Gilgamesh went down and was bathing in the water. A snake smelled the fragrance of the plant, Silently came up and carried off the plant. While going back it sloughed off its casing."
The map on the left shows the extra land mass, shown in brown that existed in the ice age. The Persian Gulf used to be free of water, the whole Gulf was a large landmass. The flooding of this landmass may explain the sudden emergence of the Sumerian civilization fully formed with 100 of the worlds firsts without a gradual development over time. Does the statement by Utnapishtim in Tablet XI, which says, "Let Utnapishtim reside far away, at the Mouth of the Rivers.' They took us far away and settled us at the Mouth of the Rivers.", mean that Utnapishtim and his wife relocated from a landmass that disappeared and moved to the mouth of the rivers where the Sumerican civilization first started?
This map shows three early civilizations, Egypt, Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley civiization. These three civilizations are in close poximity to each other, but in the ice age, these civilizations or the people on them were even closer to each other, especially considering the fact that the Persian Gulf was one big landmass and any people there would've lived near the sea. The Indus Valley civilization in India is an early civilization that was like Egypt and Sumeria, and this civilization pre dates the Vedas and it was distinctly different to the later Indian civilization. The underwater city Dwarka is off the coastline of where the Indus Valley civilization was.