Discovering Gilgamesh, the World’s First Action Hero
A self-taught scholar was responsible for finding the world’s first epic myth hidden among broken clay tablets in the British
By Francisco del Rio Sanchez
Recovered from Nineveh in the late 19th century, shattered clay tablets covered in indecipherable writing held one of the world’s greatest treasures. Locked within the characters lay the Epic of Gilgamesh—now considered by many to be the world’s oldest epic poem, but hidden to scholars at that time. The tale of the demigod Gilgamesh could have been lost, except for the unrelenting curiosity of an unlikely scholar, George Smith.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/archaeology-and-history/magazine/2018/01-02/history-gilgamesh-epic-discovery/
