The ale-wife spoke to him, to Gilgameš:
‘O Gilgameš, where are you wandering?
You cannot find the life that you seek:
when the gods created mankind,
for mankind they established death,
life they kept for themselves.
You, Gilgameš, let your belly be full,
keep enjoying yourself, day and night!
Every day make merry,
dance and play day and night!
Let your clothes be clean!
Let your head be washed, may you be bathed in water!
Gaze on the little one who holds your hand!
Let a wife enjoy your repeated embrace!
Such is the destiny [of mortal men,]
that one who lives
The Epic of Gilgamesh, roughly 4,000 years old, is the world’s oldest surviving epic poem and shows how ancients thought about death and immortality.
