Death is an inevitable and inescapable fact of human life. This is seen in The Epic of Gilgamesh as mortality defined the fundamental human condition and is even described as the destiny of mankind. Acceptance of one's own humanity and weakness is the core message of the epic. The quest for physical immortality was attempted to escape from the miserable afterlife ancient Mesopotamians believed in. Mesopotamian culture conceptualized death as transcendence to the gloomy, shadowy version of life on earth, or “The Land of No Return.” Ancient Mesopotamians seemed to believe that after their deaths they would be tormented by hunger and thirst as a punishment for disobedience of the deities they worshipped. The polytheistic view ancient Mesopotamians
