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The Assyriologist Walther Sallaberger on the Epic of Gilgamesh. The time around 2012 BC and our time around 2012 AD are 4024 years apart. Comparing such times seems like a distant mirror. The story of the demigod Gilgamesh is of particular importance for that early period of humanity in Mesopotamia. The epic describes the deeds of Gilgamesh, his fight and friendship with his companion Enkidu. The climax is the death of this companion and Gilgamesh's futile search for eternal life. The story of Gilgamesh, originally Sumerian but also recorded in cuneiform in all later versions, is one of the oldest myths of humanity.