The Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem from ancient Mesopotamia and is regarded as the earliest surviving notable literature and the second oldest religious text after the Egyptian Pyramid Texts.

The first half of the story discusses Gilgamesh, king of Uruk, and Enkidu, a wild man created by the gods to stop Gilgamesh from oppressing the people of Uruk. In the second half of the epic, distress over Enkidu's death causes Gilgamesh to undertake a long and perilous journey to discover the secret of eternal life. This half contains many parallel details of the Flood account in the book of Genesis.