Legends Summarized: The Epic of Gilgamesh

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When it comes to the oldest known work of literature, it turns out you really can't beat the classics. We've got adventure! Romance! Just guys bein dudes! Two giant monsters for the price of one! Divine smiting of hubris! Even a cataclysmic flood or two!
QUICK NOTE: If you noticed the audio got fuzzy around minute 4, that's because twelve hours after it went up we got a manual copyright claim on one of the background tracks that vampirized all the video monetization, which was an absolutely brutal no-win scenario (reupload a video after a day where it hit 13 on trending? unlikely to fly) so I had youtube edit out the song and leave the narration as best it could manage. Sorry, gang, I hate it too.
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[@OverlySarcasticProductions]

📌📌📌 NEW PIN TIME WOOOOOOO! Check out the Gilgamesh & Enkidu and Taurus pin packs HERE: 📌 GILGAMESH - crowdmade.com/collections/overlysarcasticproductions/products/overly-sarcastic-productions-gilgamesh-enkidu-pin-pack-pre-sale-1 📌 TAURUS - crowdmade.com/collections/overlysarcasticproductions/products/overly-sarcastic-productions-bull-of-heaven-glow-in-the-dark-pin-pre-sale-1

[@zealousdoggo]

Praise the OSPins!

[@devlinmcguire7543]

Sup guys 𒁉𒀭𒄩𒊏𒀀 𒂊𒈬𒁉 𒈨𒁉𒅕𒈠𒈠 𒅕𒅕𒅕 𒁉𒀭𒄩𒊏𒀀 𒂊𒈬𒁉 𒈨𒁉𒅕𒈠𒈠 𒅕𒅕𒅕 XD That's right. I translated an old meme into an even older language! You're welcome.

[@devlinmcguire7543]

Hey, could we see something covering more OLD English stuff like Beowulf? Or maybe just epics in general like Ovid - Metamorphoses, Firdawsi - The Shahnameh, The Nibelungenlied, or the Song of Roland?

[@jackwriter1908]

So little question... I listen to the OSPod and you guys mentioned a few times vinyl _Sun Wukong_ figures... was that a limited thing or are they still out there and I am too stupid to find them?

[@beepboop204]

i first encountered this story from a song by the band Nile

[@divineroc]

I love Red's rant at the end. "Gilgamesh wasn't some twink, he was a bear."

[@rileyledyard4350]

Omg the fate rant killed me.

[@A_Spoony_Bard]

I can only imagine the rant on Fate’s take on Enkidu

[@mirage809]

She's gonna have such a field day looking at the character designs of the Fate franchise. I want that livestream.

[@NeonBlade47]

Honestly I’m still seriously disappointed with Paul Bunyan

[@ethanwindham9700]

@@mirage809amen to that and pray for her sanity as what type-moon did for the character design and lore’s in the massive convoluted timeline that of the fate franchise. And/or she’ll watch either one of gigguks videos where he discusses the fate franchise altogether.

[@joshfloyd691]

Honestly the fact that the oldest story we know was preserved so well was because it was HOMEWORK is quacking hilarious to me.

[@merrittanimation7721]

At least in various parts. The first copy we found was found in a library as part of its collection (The Library of Ashurbanipal, which got preserved because it burnt down and people forgot about it) while others are from scribal training literature.

[@bobaoriley1912]

While the preservation ability of homework right now isn’t that good, I’m glad that I don’t have to do my summaries and analyses on stone tablets.

[@merrittanimation7721]

@@bobaoriley1912Thankfully it was mostly clay and wax for these people

[@JoDoSa]

And this is way you always need to do your homework. So that in 2000 years we know about this stories we telling today

[@bdletoast09]

Millions of years from now, aliens will wonder why the long gone intelligent species of earth was into tales of leaking bathtubs.

[@tanaka173]

The irony of Enkidu wondering who'd Remember such a pointless death only to be part of the oldest known story in humanity is just brilliant

[@frownyclowny6955]

Makes you wonder about all the forgotten Enkidu’s left to fade into history because they were just simple farmers or a mother who died in childbirth. How many stories have been lost?

[@davidegaruti2582]

@@frownyclowny6955 it's somenthing i ofthen think about the pepole that lived there : they had lives like our own , yet their day to day living must have been soo alien for us : they had no scissors , no metal , wood was a precius commodity , their idea of richness was immensly different from our own , as a whole their life was really different from our , and it's one of the few times in wich i can only get glimses of , rather than fully formed visions , trough my minds eye , it's hard to picture that life when you have few movies set in that period with regular pepole living their lives ...

[@ShahriarXV]

⁠@@frownyclowny6955i think that's the reason why people turn to things like culture and religion. There is tremendous fulfillment in having one's way of life endure through the ages.

[@Nebafyer_DandD]

For an instant, whoever the inspiration for Enkidu is... I felt a kinship with you, across these seas of time, a moment of memory. Sail on, and one day, soon or late, I shall set sail myself.

[@TechBearSeattle]

@@ShahriarXV - That would make a fascinating story prompt: tell the story of someone who was a vital part of an epic story, but who was nonetheless tangential to the plot and so forgotten when the stories were written. For example, the woman whose prayer led to the creation of Enkidu and thus setting the whole epic of Gilgamesh into motion: what would her story look like?

[@kirbyinhalesjotaro4471]

The myth of consensual sex “I consent!” “I consent!” Gilgamesh: Isn’t there someone you forgot to ask?

[@go4metalify]

The fact that the battle between Gilgamesh and Enkidu is obscured due to damage to the tablet seems hilariously poetic to me. Bros were fighting so hard they broke the record.

[@wyvernscale9634]

And then they kissed :)

[@jann_07]

@@wyvernscale9634 Enemies to lovers

[@helix2331]

@@jann_07 in literally record time

[@fangsabre]

Oh my GOOOOOODS!!! Virals Mech in Gurren Lagann is named after the bro who died in the epic of Gilgamesh wtf?!?!

[@Christobix]

​@@fangsabre Modern Japanese authors seem to _love_ giving characters/story elements in all kinds of fantasy/sci-fi stories names lifted from all over all kinds of mythological traditions, often seemingly at, or almost at, random (ie with no apparent, or just the flimsiest, thematic or other relation to the source). I don't consume a lot of anime, manga and/or story-heavy Japanese games, but that seems like a pretty strong tendency... It's oddly adorable to me. Pretty sure I've encountered Gilgamesh _multiple_ times, and that doesn't slot nearly as neatly into Japanese phonetics as Enkidu

[@deadtree598]

"Immortality isn't out running death, it's outlasting it" Brilliant quote

[@OriginalCreatorSama]

I want that on my tomb now

[@whiteeye3453]

Too bad that even story will die too

[@poenpotzu2865]

Not really once the last human dies, and the last script reduced to ash. Death outlasts all.

[@whiteeye3453]

@@poenpotzu2865 death does not outlast all because death is death

[@jamesruth100]

@@whiteeye3453 Additionally, death can't outlast all because it cannot outlive the potential of life. Long after the potential for living has faded away-as entropy whittles down everything that ever could've lived and all the energy that ever could've sustained it into nothingness-all that will remain is that which innately could never live and thus by nature can never die; death itself dies just in time to see an eternally dark universe, surrounded by an ever expanding nothingness.

[@AcidRayn24]

Man the comedic timing of the tablet breaking right as the fight begins like: “and they charge toward each other. Only one would possibly make it out alive from this… …tenderly held him in a warm embrace as they kissed”

[@nicholashodges201]

The punchline is that you're only missing two sentences

[@Someonecalledeli]

Also, first recorded use of the bury your gays trope? Yes.

[@crown4212]

we need to find the middle part pronto, I need context!!! but yes, that is indeed hilarious XD

[@indianajames0075]

@MoonSlimeEli3219 no way… this is the way it has always been

[@colinmerritt7645]

The middle part was intentionally destroyed by Akkadian parents worried about too much violence.

[@AzureSkyCiel]

Interesting note on Shamat teaching Enkidu about being civilized through sex as well as her role as a sacred prostitute: for awhile orgasms were actually seen as a moment of clarity and connection with higher realms, etc. The euphoria and all that being a glimpse of enlightenment, so some old cultures actually thought having people around who could bring about the hardest nuts possible were good people to have around. So anyway, basically it seems the Epic of Gilgamesh was implying that by having sex for a fortnight, Shamat gave Enkidu post-nut clarity to last him the rest of his life.

[@sashasscribbles]

Wish that perspective on sex work stuck around tbh

[@Jordan-wv2xz]

This explains far more than it has any right to.

[@elderpebler9482]

@@sashasscribblesit’s called hedonism

[@hughmann9568]

​@elderpebler9482 it's not. Fucking google it before you just say whatever.

[@jaysuscrass9119]

a better societal standard truly

[@MatthiasPendragon]

I'm amused that Gilgamesh is genre savvy enough to know that sleeping with a goddess is a terrible idea, but not savvy enough to realize killing multiple divine beasts might have consequences.

[@Msatthew]

I feel like this is because many, many, MANY people were screwed by Ishtar, who then followed up by screwing them over, but the number of legends where the hero has more then a single Divine Beast on their trophy wall is considerably, uh, less.

[@gokbay3057]

I think it is less "sleeping with a goddess" and more sleeping with Ishtar, since she is just the worst.

[@rynemcgriffin1752]

I like to imagine he is but just wanted an opportunity to kill a really cool beast with his bare hands and his newly-appointed husband

[@GriffinPilgrim]

We all have our blindspots...

[@raf015_2]

He actually did bring misfortune to his people by not bedding Inanna/Ishtar since she got revenge. That's what you get for not engaging in hierogamy as any respectable Sumerian Lugal would.

[@branhan215124]

The fact that the details of Enkidu and Gilgamesh's fight are obscured by literal damage to the text creates this beautiful symbolism of a fight so destructive it damaged the stone it was carved in- epic.

[@minatodroger7890]

So true

[@eldorados_lost_searcher]

Imagine a film of this where they do a "missing reel" due to the damage.

[@merrittanimation7721]

Clay, not to be pedantic

[@christopherfinney2779]

It was pretty Epic of Gilgamesh

[@gullyfeather4330]

I reckon it's like how a favourite book gets worn out - everyone wanted to read the epic fight between demigods

[@heyseed1673]

You just gotta love Enkidu literally JUST joining human society, still learning how to use a fork, hearing about Gilgamesh and just going "OH HELL NAW, WHAT A DICK!" and going down to his place to beat some manners into him.

[@d1g1beastpr1me7]

Only to stay there and say the same thing under wildly different context

[@Will-fl3hj]

@@d1g1beastpr1me7 "OH HELL YEAH, WHAT A DICK!"

[@Cropak_Napeik]

And then they kiss

[@pileofsocks8287]

And then is like “your kinda hot 😍” and then they kiss

[@AntiC7]

Cringe

[@fulviopontarollo2952]

Fun fact: the man who first translated the tablets of the Epic, George Smith, was employed by the British museum only because of his sheer passion about the discoveries happening in Mesopotamia in those decades. He had no formal higher education, being from a poor family he had to abandon school and work at a low level job in a bank from the age of 14. He learned cuneiform and Akkadian by himself, reading the books and texts being published in those years by the first people studying the recent archaeological discoveries, during his free time. He was employed by the British Museum after the people working there noticed this “non academic” guy, who during every day the museum required no ticket/ had free entrance would spend his lunch break from the bank there, wasn’t simply looking at but actually reading the clay tablets exposed, and after talking to him they realized he was better at it than those museum employees themselves! About a decade later while randomly translating tablets from Ashurbanipal’s massive royal library, stored in the basement archive of the museum, he saw a tablet with a reference to what looked like the biblical flood myth (specifically the part about releasing birds to find land), he looked up which other tablets were supposed to go with that one and BAM now the world knew of the Epic of Gilgamesh (and the museum finally financed an expedition of his in Mesopotamia as he had dreamed to do for the longest time) Sometimes passion can truly get you places, kids

[@daviddaugherty2816]

That is absolutely _wild_ s&>/! I needed to read this story. Thanks!

[@tomosjackson4760]

I love how Europeans are so often accused of destroying cultures, when in reality they tend to be the only ones interested in finding them and preserving them.

[@adlerofrowe9224]

​@@tomosjackson4760 Its mostly christians

[@tomosjackson4760]

@@adlerofrowe9224 Even better.

[@AaronStrickland-u1g]

@@adlerofrowe9224 bruh

[@NoobPTFO]

“HOW DARE HE RUIN THE WHOLESOME FUN OF CONSENSUAL BONING!” is yet another peak OSP moment for the books

[@2pantheraleoatrox]

I know I need it on a t-shirt! But maybe replace "he" with "they", lol.

[@IncredibleWerekitty]

This should be a sticker.

[@philosophy_bot4171]

Beep bop... I'm the Philosophy Bot. Here, have a quote: "Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one" ~ Marcus Aurelius

[@concept5631]

Enkidu was enlightened beyond his time.

[@gwest3644]

Best part is that it's pretty accurate to the tablet. "'(Gilgamesh) will couple with the bride-to-be, he first of all, the bridegroom after. By divine consent it is so ordained; when his navel-cord was cut, for him she was destined.' At the fellow's words (Enkidu)'s face paled in anger."

[@nitrocharge2404]

Beowulf and Gilgamesh are proof that any story that involves the protagonist swimming to the bottom of an impossibly deep body of water is going to be a fantastic read

[@glasscardproductions4736]

Also Tokoyo and the Sea Monster.

[@merrittanimation7721]

That one medieval legend about Alexander the Great going underwater

[@Kalebfenoir]

I still say Beowulf didn't make that swim. It's all his own word that he did, and I got the feeling he was a braggart. So he was probably like "I'll swim down there and kill the monster!" and then dived in... swum just far enough away to be out of eyeshot of his companions, and camped out for a week. Then when he figured he'd been gone long enough, he picked up the old rusted handle of a forgotten sword he found on the road, and maybe the rotting head of some animal that'd been caught in a trap (or maybe the head of the owner of that sword hilt, which would also be almost rotted to monstrosity), swam back over to his buddies and wove an AMAZING TALE OF TACTICAL GENIUS. One that included a magical awesome Damascean sword (sorry pals, the blade melted after I killed the monster!) And it's only when the Dragon attacks his town holdings later that he's actually forced to fight with people watching him (as until that point, all his fantastic fights happened when no one else was around), and it ends up costing him his life in the end because pride and reputation wouldn't let him back down.

[@lonestarlibrarian1853]

@@KalebfenoirConsidering that both Grendel and his mother were actively killing people and then stopped after Beowulf fought them, unless he’s spending his alone time doing some serious monster diplomacy think it’s safe to believe he did actually just kill them

[@Crow-tf2dv]

​@@Kalebfenoirthat's an interesting interpretation and I could believe it

[@felipegarcia8954]

Gilgamesh: Has an existential crisis, tries to find immortality, fails in a sense Monkey somewhere in the distance: Pathetic (Laughs in stacks on stacks of immortality)

[@TheCBoysDotCom]

Ah yes. monkey pioneered the Destiny Light/Dark buffs, and has at least 7 stacks of immortality

[@inoli3164]

I was not expecting a destiny reference bit I am glad to see it!

[@Practitioner_of_Diogenes]

Shut up, Wukong.

[@factshistory3193]

You should meet daddy of that monkey- Lord HANUMAN!!

[@illegalmemedealer3549]

Kinda occurs to me that Enkidu was probably only alive for like, a couple years. He got made, lived in the wilderness, boned for two weeks, beat a guy up, became his best friend for life, killed two divine beasts and died. What a chad

[@kninenights]

Dang I didn’t realize how short his life really was.

[@maxinesenior596]

I love how it does the "gaaahh I'm going to die and it's all because of a woman" but then Enkidu is talked down from that misogynistic statement. Real progressive stuff from the first story ever recorded.

[@Anything_Random]

@@maxinesenior596 Man vs. Misogyny is the oldest conflict type

[@democard1199]

@@Anything_Random Then he's going to hell for join Bilgamesh. Damned

[@AmericanBrit9834]

@@democard1199 Why would he be going to hell?

[@steealconwyrick1999]

“Immortality isn’t outrunning death. It’s outlasting it.” Damn… this one was moving.

[@Dookieman1975]

Yeah now that I think of it, death’s still winning. Eventually, things are forgotten and to reference coco, die a final time. There’s a chance they’ll be picked up again and remembered again tho. Still will be a time something will never come back in memory. Like those cave paintings that are worn away

[@kamionero]

The way Red's voice fades away as she says "I can't believe they'd do this to me" as if she's walking away is amazing

[@Dadan-dan]

Should we tell her Fate made King Arthur a blonde pretty boy as well instead of a red head with a beard?

[@Tokumastu1]

@@Dadan-dan Don't forget how Mordred went from a dark haired, troubled and conniving lad to an angsty blond tomboy.

[@wanderingstorytellerj7758]

@@Dadan-dan So... funny story. King Arthur, or Artoia Pendragon as Fate renamed the character, is a woman. Mordred exists because Merlin decided to play a prank and temporarily give the needed equipment. Fate is a lot of fun, but accurate it is not.

[@AzsephVANGUARD]

​@@wanderingstorytellerj7758I think they were talking about King Arthur from fate prototype not Artoria from the normal fate universe

[@GAarcher]

@@wanderingstorytellerj7758 *friend, in the original visual novel, saber did not had anything with mordred's birth, it was morgan with her own lover and just that, but yes Shirou is supposed to be galahad but Emiya Shirou is not only destroying the grail, something against the rules, and also being "actually satan³", but he really said "I am the bone of my sword" to Saber*

[@samcavanagh7993]

you skipped over the hilarious part where when Ishtar confronts Gilgamesh and asks him to marry her, he literally goes "oh you don't think I've heard about this before in the ancient stories, beautiful goddesses seducing heroes and leading them to horrible fates? Get better material." He's literally riffing about unoriginal tropes in THE OLDEST STORY EVER.

[@eclipserepeater2466]

A trope older than any form of memory.

[@gnarthdarkanen7464]

ONLY the oldest story written... NOT necessarily the oldest ever... Long before humans had any form of writing or even symbols in a story-format on stones or walls, there were stories told and lessons of sorts provided from them. It's one of (if not THE) oldest forms of learning. ;o)

[@BKStarlet08]

*Oldest story written that we’ve been able to recover thus far

[@giboi03]

Truly, *there is no original thought*. And that makes everything funnier.

[@eow4317]

Red DID cover that part tho

[@Kirbyterasu]

Gil and Enkidu's fight being obscured by destruction to the tablet is amazingly poetic A fight between two so destructively powerful individuals that even its recounting was destroyed

[@marseldagistani1989]

I wounder if that fight was actually fighting or boning.

[@embersonfederico2144]

My senior project in high school was a study of the evolution of stories. I wrote a short story and then passed it on to a volunteer, who read through it a few times, then rewrote it from memory, using their imagination to fill in any gaps or parts they didn't like. That volunteer then passed it to the next volunteer, who repeated the process. The opening section of this video reminded me a lot of what I was trying to highlight with my project!

[@bluewhaleking6227]

I'd love to see the results of something like that!

[@saros_system]

That sounds awsome!

[@minatodroger7890]

What a brilliant idea I hope you got an A

[@josephschubert6561]

That sounds really fun actually. I wanna do it with my friends.

[@brianroberts783]

How recognizable was your original story by the end of it?

[@PirvateerKurei]

Ah Gilgamesh, history's first recorded jerk that turned his life around after losing his Bromance and was then immortalized into a legend that man will speak of so long as we exist.

[@VashdaCrash]

The more I hear these old myths we discover via archeology, the more I start to doubt this is the last time civilization will collapse. And with that, maybe the legend of Gilgamesh will be forgotten.

[@jacobberg373]

@@VashdaCrash Well got morbid

[@VashdaCrash]

@@jacobberg373 yeah why not

[@Archgeek0]

@@VashdaCrashNah, it's pretty poopy. You bring poop with your words. Distasteful, it is. How about instead we work hard to populate the whole solar system with more cheap real-estate than a thousand Earths and so grant ourselves manifold resiliencies to the the forces driving collapse, perhaps going so far as to pull heavy materials from our star extending its life and preventing the ocean-boiling red giant phase from even happening; in so doing seeing these legends persist to the ragged edges of time. That just sounds _better_ to me.

[@VashdaCrash]

@@Archgeek0 oh it sounds better. Time will tell though.

[@noelmarkov4405]

Shamhat: "This is my boyfriend, Enkidu." Enkidu: "Hi." Shamhat: "And this is Enkidu's boyfriend, Gilgamesh." Gilgamesh: "Sup."

[@lucasisofdarkness5423]

Farmer: Im sorry whats the situation?

[@akatsukigajou1639]

​@@lucasisofdarkness5423love...love is the problem.

[@KarlKristofferJohnsson]

​@@lucasisofdarkness5423 Shamhat: Enkidu is gay, but he's straight for me, and he's gay for Gilgamesh, and Gilgamesh is really gay for Enkidu. And I hate Gilgamesh. Enkidu: It's not that complicated. Gilgamesh: No.

[@zedwillbaws2280]

​@@KarlKristofferJohnssonor they are bisexual

[@lucasfraczek4320]

​@@zedwillbaws2280Unfortunately that term would not be coined for several million years.

[@Cometstarlight]

“This? THIS is supposed to be Gilgamesh? This broomstick of a man?” I got a good laugh out of that spiel 😂

[@SirsasthNigam.]

Lancer died

[@Cometstarlight]

@@SirsasthNigam. no kidding, I’ve already seen the show

[@41N53L]

​@@SirsasthNigam.Youre not human!

[@GAarcher]

*Respect lancer, lancer did died some times because of the grail so I can't use gilgamesh's repeating deaths for it as argument, but in the first death he endured for 12 fucking hours*

[@lgachaboyyt]

​@SirsasthNigam. Lancer has shinda

[@vibechecker3168]

One of the best parts of Gilgamesh for me is when after they kill the bull of heaven, Ishtar appears on the walls of Uruk and starts shouting insults and curses at Gilgamesh. Enkidu wasn’t having anyone insulting his bro Gilgamesh so he TEARS OF THE BUTTOCK OF THE BULL AND YEETS IT AT HER. It hits her in the face. She then sets her priestess to mourn this butcheek and then disappears. Gilgamesh is a story of the ultimate bromance.

[@kingofcards9]

Nothing stronger than brotherhood.

[@lavinialadlass9432]

Lmao

[@redwitch12]

No wonder she wanted Enkidu gone. She must have known that otherwise, those two muscleheads would be talking about it for freaking YEARS. "Hey, bro, remember that time you hit one of our pantheon's most important goddesses square in the face with a bull's ass?" "HAHAHAHA BRO YEEEEAH"

[@dairoleon2682]

@@redwitch12 Tbf, Ishtar combines all the worst traits of Zeus and Hera with some of the positives of Aphrodite.

[@phe0000]

It gets even wilder than that, though - it can be inferred that Enkidu actually threw the Bull’s ‘sausage and beans’ at Ishtar! 🤣 Many translations of the Epic of Gilgamesh say that Enkidu threw the Bull’s right “thigh” at Ishtar… But some researchers *also* advise that the word “thigh” is often used as a euphemism for the genitals in several ancient Near Eastern cultures. Combine that with Gilgamesh’s thorough ‘slut-shaming’ of Ishtar a few scenes earlier - along with the recurring phrase “[he] clapped his thigh” whenever one of the male characters sees a beautiful woman… and the picture seems to fit the rest of the story, at least in my own head canon.

[@seanspindleshanks2529]

I love the irony of Gilgamesh being in Civ 6. Like his entire story is about accepting his mortality, and in Civ 6, he really is an immortal ruler

[@shigekax]

But a very good friend still

[@seanspindleshanks2529]

@@shigekax honestly he's too good for me. One time I invaded him and took his capital, and then the turn after we'd made peace, I asked if he wanted to be friends, and then he accepted. The whole "You are a good friend and ally" cutscene played and everything. I felt so bad about that afterwards

[@doubleoof7907]

@@seanspindleshanks2529I mean he did that with Enkidu

[@VonRagnar]

I dunno, in a meta way it's even more of a testament to the *true* immortality he found at the end? Millennia later, a popular game still references him as the awesome ruler of a mighty Summer

[@RoanCritter]

The same happened to me! Playing a Gorgo vampires game, I waited until my alliance ended, BETRAYED him, took his capital, made peace and we were IMMEDIATELLY best buds again! Priceless!@@seanspindleshanks2529

[@ScribeSorceress]

I love how Gilgamesh gets in trouble, not for killing the divine beast, but for enumerating the red flags that makes him rescind his consent from Ishtar.

[@BoostedMonkey05]

Ishtar being a massive bitch even in modern times. Ishtar's most recent appearance in Shin Megami Tensei V is very true to her arrogant character.

[@silentnight6810]

Gilgamesh delivered the first 'begone THOT' in history

[@starmaker75]

Gilgamesh understood about don't put your dick in crazy and got punished for it

[@CryoJnik]

Sounds about right for all powerful egotists with no checks

[@noukan42]

Remember kids, Yandere is literally a trope aa old as fiction itself.

[@pyrosianheir]

As an enormous Fate fan, the mini rant at the end about Gil and Bro-skander had me cackling at how accurate it was, ESPECIALLY once you brought one of the numerous gender-bends in the franchise up. So thanks for that one, Red.

[@wonderlilane3724]

Red does mention Fate in her Arthurian legends video as well, when Red talks about how the legends can and are reimagined

[@pyrosianheir]

@@wonderlilane3724 Oh I know. That was also fun to see. Any reference to Fate in other stuff makes me a happy boy.

[@mysticpumpkin8520]

Tbh FGO and co tend to be more historically accurate than people tend to give them credit for (say with Achilles' personality or Space Ishtar essencially being a reference to how she went from Ishtar to Astarte to Aprodite) but design wise, is funny to see the reaction Like making Takeda Shingen a ferrari rich daddy, making Artemis a kill sat or giving Wandjina a fat ass just cause😂😂

[@mythosandlogos]

I love how Gilgamesh gives us a look into just how universal many of these themes are. It’s an amazing glimpse into early civilization and what is timeless about it.

[@beeaggro2593]

Death and Taxes are the constant between the natural state and modern civilization

[@brigidtheirish]

As my dad likes to say, "Humanity doesn't change."

[@backbak100]

@@brigidtheirishonly its surroundings

[@brigidtheirish]

@@backbak100 Exactly.

[@Ignonym]

Turns out the whole "hero kicks rival's ass, rival and hero become best buds" trope is a lot older than it seems.

[@STroB]

The Gilgamesh Epic is the earliest proof that there's no love or romance like a good BROmance.

[@deletedTestimony]

Kiss the homies after you brawl

[@kingofcards9]

Nothing stronger than brotherhood.

[@starmaker75]

Bromance so powerful that it blurs the line to brother love to romantic love

[@islasullivan3463]

Yeah what bro doesn’t love his bro like he would a wife.

[@STroB]

@@islasullivan3463 Wrong. A bro should love his best bro even more than his own wife.

[@jocosesonata]

Aside from the monumentous realisation of a story about immortality that has been immortalized, can we give an applause to Shamhat for being so damn good at what she does that she enlightened Enkidu. The wildman experienced intense post-nut-clarity for an entire week to the point where he became a gentleman.

[@templarw20]

No aside at all. It's like Blue's Ramses video. Sure, Shelley's whole "look upon my works and despair" thing is good poetry, but given that we're still talking about the guy thousands of years later, I think Ramses wins that round.

[@Just.Kidding]

a risky play! he could have easily gotten post-nut _regret_ just as intensely. and with THAT amount of post-nut regret, he might just an hero on the spot.

[@wjzav1971]

Explains where the trope of the wild man who gets civilized through beauty comes from. See Tarzan or King Kong.

[@brigidtheirish]

@@wjzav1971 Or Disney's interpretation of Beauty and the Beast.

[@rainbowmothraleo]

​@@brigidtheirish I don't think that clarifies, the Beast was never that removed from civilization

[@Chaotic42Kami]

While seeing Red ranting about Fate Gil is funny as hell...I'm more surprised she's not ranting about Fate Enkidu.

[@timothymclean]

To be fair, I know almost nothing about Fate and I know that it has a character named after Gilgamesh. Fate!Gilgamesh seems like a more prominent Gate character than Fate!Enkidu.

[@Chaotic42Kami]

@@timothymclean That is true. However, one of the more mainstream Fate projects of the last few years was the Babylonia anime and there Enkidu was pretty prominent. And I meant it in the way that Fate!Enkidu is even farther away from the mythological inspiration than Fate!Gilgamesh is.

[@pseudonym6387]

@@Chaotic42Kami If it helps, in Fate canon Enkidu at least *used* to look like how he was described in the myths, but he's Made Of Clay and apparently that means he can reshape what he looks like (in that version), so after his two-week session with Shamhat who taught him everything about everything, he decided she was really cool and he wanted to look like her now.

[@Chaotic42Kami]

@@pseudonym6387 oh, I am aware of that. But that doesn't stop Enkidu's usual look being way more separate from the "og" visuals than Gil. ...also, Enkidu is one of those "Astolfo" Servants. As in not male or female but just Enkidu. At least it isn't like D'Eon, who is always the same gender as your avatar.

[@whodis1626]

@@Chaotic42Kami Fate astolfo is a male and is straight he just looks like a twink. enkidu is genderless though.

[@desertranger7575]

My favorite thing about the epic of Gilgamesh is that the introduction starts off with “ in those far off and ancient days” Like even these people that we consider “ancient” also had a concept of ancient, and I find that so cool!

[@justinalicea1590]

Another good example is the Greeks. We have a time period we call "Ancient Greece," but there is an Ancient Greece to that Ancient Greece, the Mycenaeans. And it can get pretty wild to think about that.

[@daviddaugherty2816]

And even after all this, there are people like the Romans, who considered this stuff ancient and are still ancient to us.

[@OsKarMike1306]

I recall the opening lines being something like "A time before bread" which implies it was prior to agriculture and the social contract. This really puts things in perspective for how civilization started if it took a demi god for people to get together and found cities.

[@merrittanimation7721]

@@OsKarMike1306This is a conflation of ideas as those lines refer to the world’s creation. Gilgamesh comes some time after the creation of civilization. The gods gave humanity civilization and agriculture either themselves or via messenger sages depending on the story in question

[@minerat27]

"Hark, we spear danes in days of yore" Seems to be a running theme in ancient epic poetry

[@slaysfordays3197]

Gilgamesh panicked trying to think of a fake name, "Uh... uh... I'm not Gilgamesh, I'm... Bilgamesh." Truly an individual worthy of great tales.

[@GalvatronRodimus]

"I'm not Gilgamesh! I'm my original character Bilgames!"

[@scienceface8884]

...Ohsea Donutsteel?

[@sonataavalon6017]

@@GalvatronRodimus”I’m not Gilgamesh. I’m Hsemaglig!” (Hsemaglig my balls)

[@GreaterGrievobeast55]

@@GalvatronRodimus"I-I'm... I am *Bill Gates"*

[@shatteredreality_513]

Ah, the original Nobody gambit. Another way of dodging death, guaranteed to leave 'em blindsided.

[@yf-n7710]

One of the more recently recovered portions actually gives some sense about why it might be bad that Gilgamesh killed Humbaba. When they first encounter Humbaba, even though he's been constantly described as this awful monster, he's just making all the animals happy. The forest around him is beautiful, the animals are all singing. He's maybe not quite the monster they thought he was, but they go and kill him anyway.

[@pwnorbepwned]

Another recently discovered passage-possibly that same one-also revealed that Humbaba and Enkidu have backstory; they know each other. This shows that Enkidu’s concerns about killing him weren’t just from what he’d heard about him, but from personal experience.

[@lavinialadlass9432]

Oooof

[@yamakaze951]

I also recall that Humbaba got lines despairing about the expansion of civilization is destroying nature and the wilderness, which makes the hippy hermit and environmentalist trope even older than we thought it was

[@jessefanshaw8948]

it was like killing the deer god in princess mononoke

[@adamwu4565]

I find it interesting how when they go off the kill Humbaba, Enkidu is initially hesitant, but goes along when Gilgamesh insists on it, but then later when Gilgamesh starts to get second thoughts, it’s Enikdu who is all encouraging and supportive and urges him on, and after that they take turns having doubts with the other assuaging them. Such a wholesome picture a loving couple mutually supporting each other, f it were not for the fact that the whole enterprise they are engaging in is careening ever forwards towards epic disaster for them both.

[@whiteraven181]

The phrasing of this always makes me think of Thelma and Loise driving off the cliff, which then leads me to imagine Gilgamesh and Enkidu driving full-speed over a cliff in a 1966 Ford Thunderbird, throwing their arms up at the last moment like they're on a roller coaster. It's definitely not an accurate comparison, but it is a wonderful mental image.

[@halflifeger4179]

they're not a couple

[@daviddaugherty2816]

​@@whiteraven181 Even better, the freeze-frame at the end of the movie is meant to make Thelma and Louise symbolically immortal. Gilgamesh and Enkidu would approve, I think.

[@diegomartinezquezada4797]

@@halflifeger4179 VERY debatable

[@lord_ozymandias]

@@halflifeger4179yeah let me go kiss my best bro on the lips rq

[@monodragoon]

The great thing about Gilgamesh's immortality isn't that he got his immortality in the most backward way, but the fact that his first journey failed and he came back to his city with nothing, but the second time he left he returned to a new city with immortality not just for him, but everyone he has ever met. It's beautiful.

[@nullvoid6095]

What i find most beautiful is Inanna/Ishtar bading Gilgamesh to return home because he has to accept his fate.

[@BlockyBookworm]

when did he return with immortality for everybody?

[@calamityjehn]

​@BlockyBookworm It's the stories. Even after everyone else alive when he was have fallen away, his story and the people he met and interacted with in it are still being talked about to this day. Not even some gods have had that luxury.

[@PicassosCat]

​@@calamityjehn true. we don't even remember the gods, we just remember gilgamesh.

[@richeybaumann1755]

I cannot believe that you managed to tell a story this important and significant in 17 minutes and still make it interesting and complete.

[@2EntireLegs]

But that's literally the point of the series. It summarize legends

[@richeybaumann1755]

@@2EntireLegs there's a difference between "summarizing" and "explaining a complicated and extremely intricately fascinating story in a concise way that also manages to retain the original depth and appeal of the legend". Anyone can do the former, but Red is a uniquely gifted and practiced storyteller who pulls off the latter and makes it seem simple.

[@Dookieman1975]

@@richeybaumann1755’d say summarizing does what you just listed. Or at least good summaries do. What OSP does is make it entertaining or just not boring no matter what

[@JuuB406]

I can believe it. Red is a story demigod.

[@idrawsdinosaurs400]

Hey so as an Australian palaeontology student whose current lab project literally involves cleaning and preparing Diprotodon fossils, the acknowledgement of Aboriginal stories and their connection to history and the fossil record was a super cool surprise to see pop up!! Just another lil tidbit, the giant flightless bird Genyornis newtoni is referred to in the language of the Djab Wurrung people as mihirung paringmal (giant bird). That is a NAME for a specific animal that died out 30,000 years ago that has persisted in the language until today! Genyornis and its older and even bigger relatives like Dromornis are often referred to in Australian palaeontology as mihirungs for this reason.

[@sparksfly6149]

Damn cool

[@katemartin113]

yes, as a fellow aussie it was a wonderful surprise!! there’s also evidence of multiple aboriginal and torres strait islander creation stories from different nations across the country reflecting geographic events from around 60,000 years ago! one studied in 2015 found one story that accurately depicted the change in sea levels that led to an island… becoming an island off the coast of QLD. (and that’s of course without mentioning the amazingness of song lines and dance in community as a way to pass on messages about the environment and surroundings)

[@fresianabi]

So cool

[@StonedtotheBones13]

Yesss! Unfortunately, still I will tell ppl about the latter- bc I mean how often do you find a story about the land freaking changing that you can verify like that- andddd ppl are still dummies about oral traditions 🙃

[@Flame-rp6yq]

Even crazier since New Zealand is believed to be first settled by humans the same time the Hundred Years War was happening in Europe

[@Edgelite306]

I like how 5:47 Enkidu has the peachy censored treatment, but when it comes to 10:54 Gilgamesh is all buns out.

[@PieNumber4]

That just means Enkidu is swangin' and Gilgamesh is overcompensating

[@Catthegreat1]

@@PieNumber4Gilgamesh is a bottom

[@cewla3348]

@@Catthegreat1 powerbottom*

[@Catthegreat1]

@@cewla3348 haha, no

[@Catthegreat1]

@@cewla3348 Gilgamesh is the classic role reversal archetype

[@Levsa399]

I like how Red doesn’t give the word for word details of these stories. It encourages us to enjoy her videos AND read the stories ourselves to get the full experience!

[@pwnorbepwned]

I get this from Blue’s videos as well. Makes history and folktale homework enjoyable when I can easily supplement my studies with their videos.

[@Samm815]

Yeah she also changes some stuff. I'm still mad at her for changing an intersex person into a "gender non-binary" person.

[@dufimaxi]

@@Samm815 what video was that?

[@Alto-hf6rd]

@@dufimaxi I think they're referring to the Underworld Myths video

[@js1031]

@@Samm815 But isn't that the same thing? That sounds like the same thing...

[@Kingkent1207]

It will never cease to delight me, that the oldest story humanity has is about how individuals achieve immortality through the value of civilization. It feels like everything that came after is just trying to fulfil that promise.

[@sindrevangenrobberstad2889]

What a beautiful thing to say

[@Sivielfer]

Tower of Druaga, a video game on SNES, features a protagonist named Gilgamesh. Nothing to do with mythological Gilgamesh, at all, just borrows his name. He's a typical anime boy, but wears an all-gold armor. Fate's creator was a fan of the game, and insisted on having the golden armor design for Gilgamesh. That's all there is to it. They didn't think about it beyond that.

[@doctoc684]

People: There is some deep and meaningful symbolism to why Nasu designed them like this Nasu/Takeuchi: I think it's cool

[@evanpereira3555]

The problem isn't the gold armor (it suits for a king) the problem is he's 16 and most importantly not buff.

[@doctoc684]

@@evanpereira3555 He's not 16 though he is repeatedly described as an adult and by japanese standard he is quite buff. As in they prefer the lean kind of buff and you would need a different kind of body and legend to convince them to make them Heracles level of buff Different cultures simply have different standards of how they want to look. Even Heracles is not exempt from this look up Fate's version of Alcides. Their standard of "buff" is simply different and most do not go for the actual Bara muscle body look

[@evanpereira3555]

@@doctoc684 my comment was an exageration about how he looks young and not muscular. Anyways I look at Fate's Alcides and while the sheet on the head is well a bold choice, the muscular part is good (either for Heracles or even Gilgamesh actually). I too don't think we need to go all bara/buff body type, this isn't a culture difference (I mean my vision of a good muscular guy is the David).

[@doctoc684]

@@evanpereira3555 For Japanese that is in the "older man" look, canonically Archer EMIYA is in his late 30's and Kirei in Fate/Zero was 28 in the prequel. Due to the art and anime look they would look younger but that is just the aesthetics when everyone considers their look "adult" like

[@xen6601]

I love the fact that the protagonist of humanities earliest recorded story is a massive himbo

[@artemiswolf4508]

You know if you think about it Gilgamesh crime was to force women to sleep with him instead of their husbands AND THEN when Gilgamesh finally found someone he loved and wanted to spend the rest of his life with he couldn’t do that because someone more powerful than him decided she HAD to sleep with him regardless of his opinions on the matter. That is the ultimate poetic justice coming in a way I’m sure not even the gods could plan for.

[@fruitpunchsamurai4837]

Oh wow I didn't even consider this

[@VashdaCrash]

Oh, right. Ishtar tried to do exactly the same he was doing... Only he didn't end up r*ped, he just lost someone to an illness. That looks worse to me, but again, he r+ped a lot of married woman.

[@onyxgrnr666]

Probably just our modern perception of events. The historical issue was probably more due to stealing the sex from the men then the idea of people having consent.

[@BKStarlet08]

@@onyxgrnr666 I feel that a big difference not yet mentioned is the perspective of “deflowering” that had significant meaning in those days. A man couldn’t even have his wife, and a woman couldn’t just have her husband, because of Gilgamesh

[@molotovmafia2406]

Yes! Hadn't noticed

[@CommissarMitch]

Ok the way Enkidu is "civilised" is some top tier fanfiction material. "My OC totally gets the girl" vibes. I love it!

[@gokbay3057]

If you think about it that was an "I can fix him" moment.

[@isuckatusernames4297]

what pussy does to a mfer

[@CommissarMitch]

@@gokbay3057 That is VERY possible as the gods did send her to make him less wild.

[@wildfire9280]

@@gokbay3057 Ironic, Enkidu was going to be Gilgamesh’s.

[@starmaker75]

You can't not convince me that during the week long sex, the "break" was the priestess was giving him lessons on civilization.

[@SchrodingersTransCat]

Apparently, when the first translator (George Smith) realised he'd found the oldest known version of the Flood story, he got so excited he stripped off his clothes and danced around the room in front of startled museum staff, crowing "I AM THE FIRST MAN TO READ THAT AFTER TWO THOUSAND YEARS OF OBLIVION!" 😆 Also, everyone oohs and aahs over Enkidu and Gilgamesh's bromance, but my favourite bit has always been the part where Enkidu curses Shamhat, but is gently rebuked for it and takes it back. These stories seem to come from a time before the 'whore stigma', when prostitution or 'cultic sexual service' still had sacred / religious aspects to it, meaning prostitutes were more respected than they would later become. (Though of course that's sometimes disputed.)

[@airplanes_aren.t_real]

George pulled an Arquimedes

[@KagamineNachy]

the innate human impulse of stripping your clothes and dancing whdn you discover something

[@airplanes_aren.t_real]

@@KagamineNachy me when I find 20 dollars on my hoodie:

[@SchrodingersTransCat]

@@airplanes_aren.t_real I hope you take the $20 out of the hoodie before you take off the hoodie

[@Xer0sama]

Given her general status and the fact that she taught him civilization, it's clear that Shamhat isn't a "wham bam, thank you ma'am" whore, but a Courtesan, an Oiran not just a Geisha.

[@BlackCover95]

5:20 Fun Fact: “The Royal Game of Ur” Gilgamesh is talking about here is an actual board game, predating the earliest writing of _The Epic_ by about 500 years.

[@hassanalkhalaf1115]

I wonder how it's played

[@autism-overlord]

Very uh "Related" shape it is to the context its mentioned in here too

[@AstralMarmot]

@@hassanalkhalaf1115 The Histocrat has a video about the Royal Death Pits of Ur that goes into detail about how it's played. It's kind of like backgammon and it has d4s. Irving Finkel of the British Museum translated the tablet that has the game's rules. The video is great, strong recommend if you're interested in this kind of thing.

[@IceLordCryo]

It's genuinely heartbreaking that so much of our literary history is lost forever. So much history, so many personal experiences, just... gone...

[@samovarsa2640]

I was watching an LP of Pentiment by a European Medieval history student (who enjoyed it a lot), and one thing they reflected on (with great sadness) is how so much individuality and uniqueness has been lost, either maliciously or otherwise, and will never be recovered. I think that may be the reason why people really like when there are historical artifacts that do not describe epic biographies of kings or prophets, but are instead of just people doing things, like that Novgorodian boy's homework, or the Greek letter of a man asking for the other person to PLEASE return his millstone, or Ea-asur and his copper complaints. They make the past, and the people, at least in a little way, more HERE. And maybe us more THERE.

[@cameronmckay4346]

Only kind of related, this is why I love colourized vintage photos, because even if they aren’t 100% accurate, it makes that period in history more relatable, which in a weird way is doing a better job at preserving history than sheer accuracy ever will.

[@Cyfrik]

And with the way digital media is actively prevented from being preserved legally (for example, shows getting taken off streaming services after just a couple of months, games requiring connections to servers that are no longer running, and so on) our current era is in a huge preservation crisis. So much of current and recent art and culture is going to irrecoverably disappear, at a faster rate than ever.

[@mikelorme635]

@@samovarsa2640 I thought his name was Ea-Nasir????

[@dominictemple]

...like tears in rain. Sorry not sorry.

[@nicoletheweirdo91421]

Watching Red’s art and writing improve over the years is truly inspiring

[@biswasbudhathoki8144]

Except for her own character's design but that too is great.

[@nicoletheweirdo91421]

@@biswasbudhathoki8144 I mean if it works it works right?

[@AriesZero]

​@@nicoletheweirdo91421yep, why fix what ain't broke, am I right?

[@biswasbudhathoki8144]

@@nicoletheweirdo91421 yeah

[@biswasbudhathoki8144]

@@AriesZero I never said it was bad. Rather I love that.

[@pendragon2012]

Immortality isn't outrunning death; it's outlasting it. Damn, Red, way to wax philosophical! Well done! 🙂

[@TikoVerhelst]

Don't let blue hear of it........

[@hamburgerdog25]

"Officially setting the world record of fastest enemies to lovers which has yet to be surpassed." is such an underrated OSP quote

[@Black-Lion-505]

if Red is that distraught by Gil's fate design, NOBODY SHOW HER ENKIDU

[@BoostedMonkey05]

Yeah Enkidu is a twink. And both wrestle using magic.

[@24mb34]

tbf Enkidu's design is supposed to be the beautiful prostitute that tamed him and- well it definitely matches that description

[@BoostedMonkey05]

@@24mb34 eh.... yeah this is still the same issue I have with fate though. Ngl

[@Leofwine]

I shouldn't have looked it up.

[@FalseHerald]

I actually think that one is a really fun decision, unlike Gil. Making Enkidu take on the form of Shamhat, having Enkidu be non-binary - it's a unique yet fitting take. Also, the voice actor in the new OVA is fantastic.

[@friesforlife8120]

The Epic of Gilgamesh, despite being incomplete, is honestly one of the best stories of the earliest mythological hero in history

[@BlackEpyon]

I almost expected to see a drawing of Utnapishtim getting into an argument with Ken Ham over a set of blueprints.

[@beeaggro2593]

Because for all its grandeur and Gods, it's extremely human. at the end of the day it's a tale about grief

[@Nixitur]

When you described how the story ends the same way it begins, I literally got shivers. It's actually incredible how we use some of the _exact same_ literary devices nowadays as 5000 freaking years ago.

[@lauraknight5973]

We as humans just fucking love cliches and I love it

[@ShanRenxin]

I mean, if it ain’t broke…

[@lazulenoc6863]

I love how trope-y this epic really is, as highlighted by the one guard saying that one of them only lies and the other only tells the truth before being cut off.

[@pinkajou656]

Hmm, I assumed that was just a joke on Red’s end. (Not something from the story itself.)

[@lazulenoc6863]

@@pinkajou656 I think it was a joke by Red as well to highlight it. (Why do I always end up explaining my dumb comments?)

[@pinkajou656]

@@lazulenoc6863 fair point, the story is impressively trope-y even without Red’s intervention.

[@MeTheOneth]

Holy hell, OSP is doing a Mesopotamia streak!

[@lightO_O]

Enuma elish!! 💥

[@gearsie_]

hol up, we still need 1 more Mesopotamian video before it counts as a streak

[@erdood3235]

​@@lightO_Owhat does that mean?

[@erdood3235]

U could say it's a "mesopotreak" 😏

[@erdood3235]

Or a mestreakpotamia

[@marche800]

Its amazing that that flood story is literally bar for bar the same as Noah's Ark. Really goes to show you the cultural roots by which a lot of these modern cultures share and the longevity of Mesopotamia's legacy.

[@chimera9818]

Well story like Abraham and Noah with different names existed all over the Fertile Crescent from what we know

[@bdletoast09]

Only adds credibility to those stories, they're probably (wildly exagerated) retaling of event that truly happened. The flood probably didn't recovered the entire earth, but it must truly have been an event of mythical proportions that deeply marked the memories of those who survived it.

[@BJGvideos]

​@@bdletoast09Isn't it thought to be around the end of the ice age?

[@macaronsncheese9835]

​@@bdletoast09it could also well have been that for these people who lived between two rivers and were probably very familiar with floods and how badly a big one can mess things up, a giant world-swallowing flood making its way into the mythos as a disaster of legend wasn't a giant stretch

[@Fralexion]

I do think the narrative works way better in a polytheistic setting where the god that causes the flood and the god that saves humanity and promises not to let it happen again aren't the same god. Also it's funnier when the Great Deluge was just created because Enlil wanted to sleep and humanity was too loud. Relatable.

[@ryoumakoushiro7447]

So instead of running away from death, Gilgamesh MADE himself worthy of immortalizing

[@the24thcolossusjustchillin39]

A great moral for the story, “Don’t seek immortality and instead make yourself worthy of immortalising”.

[@joshuabautch8936]

in this case Immortalizing means Gilgamesh MADE himself worthy of having his tale be redicsovered so that his Legacy can be immortal

[@philosophy_bot4171]

Beep bop... I'm the Philosophy Bot. Here, have a quote: "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages" ~ Shakespeare

[@frankielovejoy9928]

Gilgamesh has that Achilles or Quetzalcoatl vibe to him, where in a way his name has been remembered for so long that everybody knows it even if they don't know WHY they know it. And if they bother to look further into it, they start to learn all about him and his story. It's kind of an impressive feat to be able to fade into cultural ubiquity, even centuries later.

[@a.d.t.mapping]

@@philosophy_bot4171 good bot ...wait

[@dedf15]

I love the eulogy Gilgamesh sings for Enkidu on his death bed, "I weep for Enkidu my friend...I weep for you my brother". Damn touching, it is.

[@ericlin2611]

One of my favourite jokes is that new Epic of Gilgamesh chapters release faster than some authors.

[@requiem6465]

We will have a completed version of the Epic before we get to see the end of One Piece.

[@theshig9618]

@@requiem6465 Or before Patrick Rothfuss finishes The Doors of Stone

[@fluent4530]

@@theshig9618or before we get the last book of game of thrones

[@IapitusMcHeimer]

Good old Billgamesh

[@mareizia]

Hunter x hunter anyone?

[@CalliopePony]

When it comes to stories acting as a form of immortality my favorite example is the story of Achilles' two destinies. He was told that if he stayed at home when the Trojan War broke out he would live a long and happy life, but no one would remember him after he died. If he went to war he would suffer and die young, but people would tell stories about him for thousands of years. He was given the choice between the two possible destinies. He chose to go to war, and now, thousands of years later, we're still telling stories about him.

[@kkeennddaall]

exactly what i was reminded of also :') immortality through storytelling is truly something but PREDICTING immortality through storytelling will always get to me

[@gamechanger8908]

Yet... in the Odyssey he regretted dying young, in the underworld he was nothing much as everyone who fell. He said he would have preferred living a peaceful but worthwhile life, I guess a blaze of glory is a short high that tends to be regrettable.

[@justinalicea1590]

​@@gamechanger8908Well, when you get to live out an afterlife with little input from the living world until those people are dead too, Achilles even in years after the war wouldn't exactly be feeling the effects of "His story is being told forever." Like imagine you were told that you would write the greatest book of all at the cost of your health and life, and it'll only become popular in 1,000 years, wrote the book and died, then had to WAIT for that in real time.

[@mitchm4992]

"It isn't outrunning death, it's outlasting it" is a magnificent line. Well done.

[@slayer0235]

For a history/mythology buff, the Fate franchise is the ultimate endurance test for willing suspension of disbelief. I’ve been a fan for over a decade; love the music, the awesome fights and storylines, the absolute labyrinth of backstory for lore gremlins like me to dig into. And I still encounter Servant designs that make me think, “what the hell were they thinking!?”

[@mochii813]

All we can do is cope by saying "the characters appear how society as a whole would view them" even then it's a stretch

[@reveredrogue9725]

I myself enjoy and love history and myth but i din't really have any problem with it. Its pretty much set in an alternate universe as deapite having some similar history, the backstory and personality of the characters are different. Its not about it being historically accurate anyways so i don't really bother.

[@FirstLast-wk3kc]

​@@reveredrogue9725yeah. It's definitely an alternative universe cause Nasuverse is literally a multiverse, most of each are dreams of Gaya. So yeah

[@nitev4407]

After many years, Red finally goes over the Epic of Gilgamesh in all it's epicness... Epic...

[@shadowclaw7210]

Also has quick rant about Fate.

[@keithharper32]

there is a bit of irony: Gilgamesh, in the end he achieved the immortality he sought by the fame he achieved through his great deeds being remembered for millenia Meanwhile, over in Ur, Ea-Nasir has managed to achieve the same thing through selling really bad copper

[@AndyG94]

Can you imagine Ea-Nasir as a kid practicing his tablets with the story and thinking "Man I wish my name will be remembered like this..."

[@SusanYeske701]

And keeping all his hate mail apparently.

[@Estarile]

From my vague awarness of Summarian myths - - Apparently threating to unleash a zombie apocalypse was Ishtar (or sister Eriskigal's) go to threat when not getting what they want. - The Bull of Heaven is Eriskigal's first husband, and shes rather annoyed her sister's antica got him killed. -Eriskigal and husband #2 Nergal basically have the first romantic comedy as a romance.

[@silentnight6810]

Erishkegal is very kinky it seems and likes living on the edge.

[@Tirocoa]

This video and comment taught me that Tsunderes and Yanderes are concepts that have been around since the dawn of civilization and made me realize how much research Kinoko Nasu has done for the Fate franchise despite all the gender-bending, ganguro-ing, and twinkification shenanigans he had done to mythical/historical figures.

[@merrittanimation7721]

-In Ishtar’s Descent into the Underworld, she threatens to break down the doors and unleash if the gatekeeper doesn’t let her in normally. Might have worked out better for her if she forced her way in as she gets stripped down and captured by getting the gatekeeper’s consent. -I’m no expert on this but I’ve heard this is one of those “text is broken and without context” things as unclear what’s being talked about with the Bull of Heaven and Ereshkigal’s husband. But I’m not sure myself. -This is true

[@Estarile]

@@merrittanimation7721 "Text broken, no context" is probably my favorite reason for not knowing something. "See, I would tell you, but some really hungry stone eating beaver came along and well..."

[@diffjuns323]

I read a retelling of this story for school the other year. Maybe it was that the writer was good, maybe it was that I was going through some grief myself, but Gilgamesh's grief and "existential crisis" over Enkidu really hit close to home. It's honestly so cool how human the core of the story feels. People have always grieved over lost loved ones, and even in a story as mythical as this, the OLDEST ONE WE HAVE, the raw feeling is the exact same.

[@nirast2561]

Red: "The gist of it is that when a woman gets married she spends her night with Gilgamesh FIRST and her actual husband second." Zeus: "Blimey! Why didn't I think of that?"

[@wolfsbanealphas617]

So the husband has to watch another man have sex with his wife maybe even take her virginity 😮

[@hansbloodsmith]

"Cause unlike you, Gilgamesh didn't have a super vindictive Goddess as a wife, who curse anyone anywhere close to your dick"

[@caryymytank8300]

Because Zeus is picky. Gil just bangs whoever.

[@jessefanshaw8948]

droit du seigneur

[@BoostedMonkey05]

@@caryymytank8300 yep. He's closer to Apollo in terms of his standards on who to bang.

[@TetsuShima]

*Fun fact:* There is a comic called Gilgamesh II, written by Jim Starlin, which tells the story of an alternate reality's Superman landing on a dystopian Earth and becoming, in a journey pretty similar to the plot of "the Epic Tale", the future version of the legendary Gilgamesh. it's quite a fun read

[@silentnight6810]

Interesting

[@joaquinbravo833]

Hmmm might read it

[@TupocalypseShakur]

Jim Starlin, as in the creator of Thanos and killer of Jason Todd Jim Starlin?

[@aubreytracey5396]

Gilgamesh ||: electric boogaloo

[@TetsuShima]

​​@@TupocalypseShakurTo be honest, Starlin didn't want to kill Jason. There are actually some pretty emotional unfinished pages of "Detective Comics 428" that show Jason surviving the explosion

[@ryanwelch1272]

I feel like over the course of this channel, Red’s evolved from riffing stories to full blown anthropologist. And I’m all for it.

[@ArakDBlade]

Riffthropologist

[@bobaoriley1912]

Yeah, definitely. When I did a religion research project, I chose Roman Mythology and did my best to emulate Red’s detail. Holy crap it was a lot.

[@EndymionMhr]

OSP has probably inspired a generation of mytholgists and historians

[@mcacosplay6160]

I try to be both and they inspired me! I’m so glad I found this channel

[@cecilyvals]

honestly this story always makes me tear up a bit. like we still remember enkidu and gilgamesh, they both got what they wished for most through the most perfect series of events we could have ever imagines. the universe is beautiful sometimes

[@theoneguy4692]

I’m so happy that this story is being told in your art

[@TheRealMichelozzo]

"Tarzan Speedrun Any%" Had me in stitches. Genuinely had to stop the video, rewind a smidge, and hear it again it was so good.

[@Shellybean9105]

I feel honored to have heard this story, like genuinely? This story was told repeatedly, passed through generations, written on tablets, buried, rediscovered, retold, and reached my eyes and ears. Be right back, gotta go buy a book of this thing.

[@alejandroojeda1572]

it's actually amazing the amount of things we've preserved from that time. you can actually listen to mesopotamian music

[@Painocus]

I'd recommend the newer of the two translations published by Penguin, the one by Andrew George with the Bull of Heaven on the cover. It retains the poetic structure of the originals (a lot of translations basically rewrite them into prose, cutting out repetitions and poetic phrases not directly related to the plot). It first has the "standard version" ("He who saw the deep" by Sîn-lēqi-unninni) with everywhere a hole in the original text is filled in from older sources, extrapolated from context, or just plain missing marked as such. Then it also has those older sources in full; an older, but less complete versiom of the epic ("Surpassing all other kings" by an unknown author), with some interesting differences here and there, and those Summerian shorter stories that Red mentioned being used as homework, some which gives alternative older versions of episodes in the epic, and some which are different stories.

[@vsGoliath96]

"How dare he ruin the wholesome fun if consensual boning!" "I gave nothing more to teach you." Ya done good, Shamhat. Ya done good.

[@OneWingedAngelsBand]

"Immortality is not about outrunning death but outlasting it." I love that line and I'm using it for our DND game. 😅

[@Sibula]

At least in Forgotten Realm it's actually possible (although very very hard to put it mildly) for mortals to become gods, and relatively easy to become immortal (with some caveats), so I'm not sure how well that would work. Of course it's a whole different case if you're running a homebrew world.

[@azathothbaudelaire1642]

Bards & Enchanters achieving immortality be like:

[@horuho245]

@@azathothbaudelaire1642 wait bards can achieve immortality? asking as a bard player in my first campaign ever, though my chara wouldnt wanna become immortal i wanna see how it works

[@azathothbaudelaire1642]

@@horuho245 Its not likely. In fact my comment was partially based off of a video of the ways different magic classes/schools can achieve immortality (since being a Lich is how necromancers stay alive forever). A bard trying to be immortal would essentially be someone how has played & performed & adventured so much that they become famous throughout the land, and when their body dies, their essense continues on as a spirit that can be called upon whenever anyone sings a song the bard made or tells of a story that the bard went on. So essentially if Beyonce was just as famous in the D&D universe, she would be immortal in spirit. Just imagine singing your heart out to defeat a big bad evil guy, and the (now godly) soul of lady gaga was conjured to assist you in power.

[@jaelwyn]

​@@horuho245Go look up "Finder Wyvernspur" :)

[@aidenlosh9518]

Not going to lie, I have to admire Ishtar's energy when she wanted to destroy the barrier between the living and the underworld in order to allow the dead to consume the living just because her romantic interest of the week turned her down.

[@69Kazeshini]

Even gods can be bratty

[@eruantien9932]

This is the same Ishtar who, annoyed that a mountain wouldn't bow to her, broke the mountain apart. It's kind of on-brand for everyone's favourite useless goddess.

[@airplanes_aren.t_real]

Relatable

[@endearinglyconfused3589]

According to the other video on Ishtar's worship leading to the cult that founded Aphrodite, total Aphrodite move too. I can see the thread

[@dudewhatthewhat8983]

Love how they just completely forget about Gilgamesh being an ass to his people after he got his bestie. Maybe the power of friendship and manly kisses just made him change his ways.

[@marocat4749]

Bcause it worked and he was actually responsible and not an ass, he angered the gods, but he becam a better kingor far far worse

[@happymate8943]

Well it's he's the king and a demigod, also his new friend distracts him from being a jerk towards his subjects.

[@starmaker75]

I like to imagine there doing this epic fight that looks something out of a yakuza game. Enkidu was giving speech about how munch a jerk being while giving a Gilgamesh a pile driver or suplex

[@merrittanimation7721]

It helps he stopped afterwards

[@ghostt98]

Petition for Red to do a tier list of all the fate designs

[@marquisofhell244]

Yes that would be so entertaining and interesting to watch to hear her opinion on the fate design

[@jannegrey]

@@marquisofhell244 I agree. 90 minutes of Red screaming sounds like fun.....

[@daviddaugherty2816]

My only exposure to the Fate franchise are these comment sections, and I would _love_ that.

[@frankielovejoy9928]

I remember back in 8th grade, my teacher ATTEMPTED to teach my class about Gilgamesh. I say ATTEMPTED because the copies of the story he gave up had many lines blacked out, mostly the parts with anything considered sexual or inappropriate. But as such, we, the students, kept losing out on important parts of the story. We were annoyed because we actually thought the story was interesting and missing out on it was frustrating. Both my older sister and two cousins had the same teacher, and this became such an issue that all four of us asked our parents for a complete copy of the story. If that isn't a metaphor for lost media, I don't know what is. It's like, if you don't want your students reading about the sex stuff, DON'T give us stories about the sex stuff!

[@blacklotus108]

They don’t realize that kids don’t care and even want to read the sex stuff lmao

[@Healermain15]

So they gave a bunch of teenagers a cool story full of sexy boning and cool fight scenes, censored all the good parts, then told the teenagers they were too young for all the mature sexiness and violence that would make this cool story even better. I assume this was an elaborate double-bluff scheme to run this story past overzealous censors and parents, because that was only ever going to end one way.

[@krylanyas]

You know, if Red ever published a book of summarized legends and folktales with her art? I'd absolutely buy it. The drawings really give a character to the stories that I love!

[@Boss_Isaac]

✨ 😃 😃 ✨ That would be wonderful, the illustrations would be *sooooo* pretty!

[@assassination1nspace]

I'm losing it over the 100,000 year old star story. That's amazing

[@templarw20]

Right? "It must be this old, because that's the last time those two stars could be seen individually." That's a bit brain breaking.

[@templarw20]

@@vincec8876 The 100k thing wasn't Gilgamesh, it was the Pleiades.

[@MetharosKM]

As a not-story teller (but avid story consumer) I am also firmly of the opinion that storytelling it the single most important aspect of our society. Points for: 1. It's how we pass on wisdom, it's the foundation of our communication across generations and allows us to share everything from lessons to emotions with people we've never met and who may even not have existed. 2. It's a form of creation, which is humanity's defining trait. Without creation there's no invention, no art, no song, no jokes and no dancing. We made all these things, but a song without a story is just pretty noise, and without meaning ascribed to it will be lost as soon as it falls out of the short-term memory of whoever heard it (and maybe whistled it for a week). Same with a dance, a painting. Even a joke needs context to be funny. 3. It allows societies to form. Storytelling is the root of all forms of creation mentioned above. Stories impart identity and context, and as stories are told and retold and woven into our heritage they form the basic fabric of society and its image of itself. That shared image creates a sense of cohesion, tradition, and identity that is essential for keeping a group together, especially when that group is millions, even billions strong. Sir Terry Pratchett was right, humans need fantasy to be human. We're an animal of lies, like "justice, mercy, duty, that sort of thing." And we use stories to share them, until we can make them true.

[@nickbond1243]

in the times of pharaonic egypt since its unification by narmer, the political stability of the region was heavily supported by the myth of the divinity of kingship and the ruling monarch being the earthly administrator of divine order. pharaohs could not be imagined without representations of horus and ra. so your third point makes a lot of sense - stories have the power to create societies! storytelling was essential to create the first stable sovereign state in our history, which would be the precursor to monarchy all around the world til present day.

[@kansasbird6869]

as an aussie its so refreshing to see some acknowledgement of how much cool history can be found in the stories passed down through aboriginal songlines! fun fact there are stories about the formation of the great barrier reef that align almost perfectly with how marine scientists estimate it wouldve been formed tens of thousands of years ago

[@slwrabbits]

it would be really awesome to read more of these myths one day!

[@officialgremlin]

gilgamesh: suffers, comes close, ends up losing immortality to a land snake sun wukong: hee hee, look at my [INCOMPREHENSIBLE PILE OF IMMORTALITY]

[@timothyhicks3643]

This is my favorite myth! I’m so happy to see it shared with more people here. But I can’t believe you didn’t include Siduri’s monologue to Gilgamesh after he reaches the garden of the gods that is basically the takeaway of the whole story and the best part! For anyone interested, this is one translation: “Gilgamesh, where are you roaming? You will never find the eternal life that you seek. When the gods created mankind, they also created death, and they held back eternal life for themselves alone. Humans are born, they live, then they die, this is the order that the gods have decreed. But until the end comes, enjoy your life, spend it in happiness, not despair. Savor your food, make each of your days a delight, bathe and anoint yourself, wear bright clothes that are sparkling clean, let music and dancing fill your house, love the child who holds you by the hand, and give your wife pleasure in your embrace. That is the best way for a man to live.”

[@thecosmickid8025]

It's also wild to find the speech paraphrased in Ecclesiastes 9:7-9: Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works. Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment. Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that [is] thy portion in [this] life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun.

[@mackenziebeeney3764]

You reminded me of my literature class where the teacher pointed out the translation described Enkidu as having soft ling hair “like a woman” and I haven’t been able to I imagine this since so thank you, I am not the only one thinking that now.

[@RobertVarulfur]

Like any story, there are versions. In one, the goddess at the edge of the water where Gilgamesh finds the boatman is an alewife (think tavern keeper) named Siduri. After hearing Gilgamesh's sob story (like so many bartenders have since) she gives some pretty profound advice: "When the gods created mankind, They allotted to him death, But life they retained in their own keeping. As for you, Gilgamesh, fill your belly with good things, Make thou merry by day and by night. Of each day make thou a feast of rejoicing, Day and night dance and play! Let your clothing be sparkling fresh, Thy head be washed; bathe thou in water. Love the child that holds on to thy hand, Make your wife happy in your embrace! For this is the lot of mankind!"

[@keepperspective]

Ecclesiastes approves.

[@cyan6483]

Why is the advice in shakesperean English? It wasn't written in English so you had to actively make the choice not to translate it into contemporary English

[@gamechanger8908]

​​@@cyan6483Can you read ancient Akkadian then?

[@demeterruinedmylife3199]

@@cyan6483Perhaps because it isn't suppose to look deep, and it's supposed to look mundane, like wisdom hidden in plain sight forgotten by us?

[@Duiker36]

@@cyan6483 And this is why you should always read the translator's notes.

[@MrJustintyang]

In this day and age, one does not simply talk about Gilgamesh without at least mentioning the Fate Franchise.

[@gregorysaugustine5236]

You mean about mongrels?

[@TheNaldiin]

Look, he stops being the go to AoE Neutral Burst Damage choice and I'll stop friending his NP5 users and any GodJuna I can find.

[@PutoMedicoBrujo]

​@@TheNaldiinyou dont know how muchi HATE that i understood that...

[@SeantheDracunyan76]

The Fate series and everyone who worked on it can burn in the flames of the underworld for all eternity....i frocking hate that stupid game

[@thatlazyguy588]

@@SeantheDracunyan76 wow, wishing death and eternal damnation on somebody because they helped created a fictional work? Are you 12? Or do you just lack the brain capacity for rational thoughts?

[@andyb1653]

I'm not a storyteller, just a lover of literature, and I agree 100% that storytelling is one of the most important and powerful contributors to society. Everything from major World Religions, to the Star Wars Franchise, to the very histories of countries and cultures are just stories at the end of the day.

[@oompa1274]

Bro just called religion, history and culture "just stories"💀

[@TheOmegaXicor]

@@oompa1274 what was napolean's quote something like "history is just a series of stories everyone agrees are true"

[@andyb1653]

@@oompa1274 You literally can't even SPELL "history" without a "story" 😐

[@oompa1274]

@@andyb1653 it appears I may have had what is called "a stupid take"

[@oompa1274]

@@TheOmegaXicor I'd delete my original reply but that would be cowardly of me

[@XescoPicas]

Shamhat is the perfect example of why you gotta respect sex workers. That woman gave Enkidu a full education in a single week, while boning the whole time. That’s beyond impressive.

[@KaiserCaeser]

Yeah… no. I’m not gonna respect prostitutes because a fictional one from thousands of years ago taught a fictional character.

[@XescoPicas]

@@KaiserCaeser Well, it’s a good thing that no one asked you, then

[@KaiserCaeser]

@@XescoPicas you posted a comment on KZbin. It’s a open invitation for comment.

[@gothnerd887]

The original teacher kink?

[@koreboii]

​@@KaiserCaeseryou've got a family guy pfp and you don't respect sex workers? Its like you wanna die alone

[@kainingyao7873]

The Epic of Gilgamesh might as well be one of humanity's first great fantasy and adventure series.

[@Godvvinslaw]

As far as we know, at least.

[@Tirocoa]

There's also Ereshkigal and Nergal, the world's first romcom. Complete with a tsundere spoiled princess that secretly feels lonely as the female lead.

[@Nijht]

Not only one of the first, but one of the best imo. There's very clear themes in it, themes that still resonate with us. Today. In the modern world. That's fuckin' *amazing* storytelling.

[@daviddaugherty2816]

​@@Tirocoa I also love that she, too, threatened a zombie apocalypse. Since Ishtar and Erishkigal are described as sisters, I guess it makes sense that they have the same go-to threat.

[@Rukdug]

Honestly, I've always wondered just what the historical inspiration for Gilgamesh was like after his existential crisis. He must have been an incredibly impressive example of a ruler to have become the basis for such a legend, especially one that doesn't hide the fact that he started out his reign as a jerk.

[@theshig9618]

So, interesting connection to the Fate version there, The image she showed of Gilgamesh is his younger, brash shelf. In one of the spin offs, we get a version that is him AFTER the loss of Enkidu and immortality herb, and he is considerably more chill and is very focused on the well being of his citizens.

[@BoostedMonkey05]

@@theshig9618 caster gil legitimately being the better design for gil in fate and simultaneously being him at his best. Then they screw it up by bringing him back to his pos archer version in the final act his "peak"

[@MegaBichiX]

Honestly, the mental image of Gilgamesh narrating the story to one of his scribes like an autobiography cracks me up. "Scribe, note this, in the beginning I was a huge jerk, like the worst of the worst, and everyone hated me."

[@vicenteabalosdominguez5257]

​@@theshig9618still a twig of a man, which is Red's problem with his design.

[@starmaker75]

My guess is that this story is way to teach crown princes to grow up and be king that actually governs the kingdoms/city rather then just be a playboy that use the wealth for their hedonism.

[@lauraknight5973]

It's insane because tropes in this story show up in other folk tales and stories TO THIS DAY. Like Mesopotamia's impact is awe-inspiring.

[@airplanes_aren.t_real]

Ngl for a sec I thought "denji..?" From chainsaw man NATIONS HAVE RISEN TO GLORY, FALLEN TO ASHES, RISEN AGAIN AND YET THE TROPE PREVAILS

[@figlet6427]

Gilgamesh grilling Ishtar over her dead husbands was so funnyy💀

[@jaysuscrass9119]

Gil really said ' nah Bishtar- your body count is an actual count of bodies, ain't gonna be me'

[@figlet6427]

@@jaysuscrass9119 for real thoughh😭

[@theblan1k0ne]

Now it just makes “other media” seem like a multi-layered joke.

[@maximutatro3176]

The first written story that we know of has both enemies to lovers and implied zombies. Nothing changes

[@HeraclesN-fp1bw]

I couldn’t stop laughing 😂 at Enkidu being Gilgamesh’s psychiatrist

[@cy-taku3952]

Not to farfetch honestly 😂

[@zafarahmed3468]

Surprised OSP haven’t done a video on the Epic of Gilgamesh. It’s so crazy how old this epic is and people still read it and watch videos on it.

[@griffindilworth]

Blue actually made on a LONG time ago but it’s kinda tough to find now