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Work #1872

Epic of Gilgamesh

Anonymous / composite (Sin-leqi-unninni, c. 1200 BCE, final redactor)
c. 2100–1200 BCE (composite) · Sumerian (earliest poems), Akkadian (Standard Babylonian version)
Epic poetry on clay tablets · Mesopotamian literary / religious tradition

He who saw the deep — the first epic, the first confrontation with mortality in world literature

Attribute Fingerprint

Rows where works disagree are highlighted in gold. The full ontology grid is shown.

Attribute Epic of Gilgamesh
Time · Extent Infinite
Time · Ontological Status Substantival
Time · Grain Continuous
Time · Freedom Non-Deterministic
Time · Traversability Linear
Time · Dimensionality One
Time · Direction Uni-directional
Space · Extent Finite
Space · Ontological Status Substantival
Space · Curvature not engaged
Space · Dimensionality Three
Space · Locality Local
Matter · Extent Finite
Matter · Ontological Status Substantival
Matter · Conservation Non-conserved
Matter · Dimensionality Three
Matter · Locality Local
Observer · Time Instance Single
Observer · Space Instance Single
Observer · Knowledge Extent Mediated
Observer · Knowledge Retainment Partial
Observer · Physicality Embodied
Observer · Agency Active
Observer · Number Plural
Observer · Metaphysical Agency Personal
Observer · Moral Authority Custom
Observer · Theological Method
Energy · Extent Finite
Energy · Ontological Status Substantival
Energy · Conservation Conserved
Energy · Dispersibility Irreversible
Information · Ontological Status Substantival
Information · Cosmic Conservation Conserved
Information · Personal Conservation Non-conserved
Information · Granularity Implicit

Dimension-by-Dimension Evidence

What each work's passages reveal about its stance on each of the six dimensions.

Time

Epic of Gilgamesh

Linear and irreversible: Enkidu cannot be brought back; Gilgamesh ages. The gods allotted death — time is the medium of mortality.

Space

Epic of Gilgamesh

Finite, geographical, and richly described: Uruk, Cedar Forest, Waters of Death, the garden of the gods.

Matter

Epic of Gilgamesh

Finite and mortal: bodies turn to clay, the plant of youth is eaten by a serpent. The walls of Uruk endure as material legacy.

Observer

Epic of Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh is the paradigmatic embodied observer who must travel and suffer to learn.

Energy

Epic of Gilgamesh

Strength is finite and depletable. The Flood is an overwhelming release of natural energy.

Information

Epic of Gilgamesh

The inscribed tablet preserves Gilgamesh's story — cultural information is conserved; personal existence is not.

Internal Tensions

Where each work's argument pulls against itself.

Epic of Gilgamesh

Death is absolute, yet the written tablet confers a kind of immortality. The gods created humanity but allotted it death — creation without generosity.