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Epic poetry, one of the earliest forms of literature, beganas an oral narration describing a series of mythical or historic events. Eventually, these stories were written down and read aloud to an audience. Although the Epic of Gilgamesh was composed approximately fifteen hundred years prior to the Iliad, the heroes of both epics possess strikingly similar characteristics. Indeed, Gilgamesh and Achilles, as epic heroes, exemplify godlike qualities, great personal power, and fierce pride and loyalty. …

…his super-heroes the qualities wich he desires for himself: power, near-perfection, pride and loyalty. We celebrate these so-called heroic qualities in the twentieth century, Will there ever be different qualities, qualities that might preserve a civilization longer than the civilizations that created these two brutal epics? References Mack, M. et al. (1987) The Norton anthology of world masterpieces. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. Sandars, N. K., trans.(1972) The epic of Gilgamesh. London: Penguin Books.