Answer:
Gilgamesh is the semi-mythical king of Uruk in Mesopotamia, best known for the Epic of Gilgamesh, the great Sumerian poetic work that is 1500 years before Homer's writing and is the oldest work in world epic literature. The reason for the search for the meaning of life is fully explored in Gilgamesh when the hero-king left his kingdom after the death of his friend, Enkidu, to find the mystical figure Utnapishtim and obtain eternal life.
Gilgamesh's fear of death is a fear of meaninglessness and, although he fails to gain immortality, the search itself gives meaning to his life.
Explanation:
In the epic of Gilgamesh, the gods believe that the king is too proud and arrogant, so they decide to teach him a lesson by sending the man, Enkidu, to humiliate him. The fight between Enkidu and Gilgamesh is even for the population, but Enkidu is defeated. He accepts his defeat and the two become friends and embark on adventures together.
Between them they kill Humbaba, the demon of the cedar forest and this attracts Inanna's attention. Inanna tries to seduce Gilgamesh, but rejects her, citing all the other men they have had as lovers who ended their lives badly. Inanna becomes enraged and sends her brother-in-law, the Bull of Heaven to destroy Gilgamesh. Enkidu comes to the aid and kills the bull but, in doing so, has offended the gods, which carries his death sentence.
When Enkidu dies, Gilgamesh falls into deep pain and, acknowledges his own mortality through the death of his friend, questions the meaning of life in the face of definitive extinction.
When he gets rid of all his vanity and pride, Gilgamesh undertakes a search to find the meaning of life and somehow defeat death. He travels through the mountains, vast oceans, and finally locates Utnapishtim, who offers him two possibilities of immortality, failing him to embassies.
First, you cannot stay awake for six days and six nights and, second, you cannot protect a magic plant; A snake eats the plant while Gilgamesh sleeps. Having not gained immortality, boatman Urshanabi takes him back home and, once there, writes his story.
