They Came From Outerspace Essay, Research Paper

They Came From Outerspace

The Epic of Gilgamesh is a literary work that offers some idea of the creation of man and our relationship with our creators. Although unpopular, the story of Gilgamesh is interpreted by some to be evidence of our (human) encounters with alien beings. It is some archaeologist’s belief that we were created by this alien race to be laborers.

Let’s consider for a moment that a race of people could travel into the sky and possessed items of advanced technology. Ninsun, the mother of Gilgamesh, refers to her kind as the “hosts of heaven”. The people that controlled these items would very well be perceived as gods. Early Sumerian text suggests that the gods made the human race from a hybrid of themselves and the primitive man. The primitive man could be compared to Enkidu before he was tamed; “Enkidu ate grass in the hills with the gazelle and lurked with the wild beasts at the water hole ”

Gilgamesh was derived from a relationship between a god and a mortal human. It is said that he was two-thirds god and one-third human. Unfortunately, the human portion kept him from enjoying the long life of the gods. It was Gilgamesh’s mortality that tormented him and sent him on a quest to find the eternal life he felt he deserved.

To accomplish this task, Gilgamesh set out on a venture to find the place where the gods went to the heavens. His intentions were to travel to the heavens like the gods. Although it is commonly believed that the Sumerian word “shem” means name, it is also deciphered as “ship”. Now, when Gilgamesh says,”I will set up my shem in the place where the shems of famous men are raised”, one can start to understand the context of the statement. Gilgamesh intends to join the gods in their heavenly abode! This was not going to be an easy task since Humbaba protected the place where the “shems” were located.

Humbaba was appointed by Enlil and was heavily armed. It is said that Humbaba was armed in sevenfold terrors and was terrible to all flesh. Obviously, Humbaba was posted as a guard to keep the humans out. While Gilgamesh and Enkidu were in the Cedar forest, they managed to witness a shem taking off. “The heavens roared and the earth roared again, daylight failed and darkness fell, lightning flashed, fire blazed out, the clouds lowered, they rained down death. Then the brightness departed, the fire went out, and all was turned to ashes fallen all about us”. Their experience sounds a great deal like the launching of one of our space shuttles.

Unable to enter into a shem, Gilgamesh continues on with his search for everlasting lasting life. His travels take him in search of Utnapishtim, a human forefather given the secrets of eternal life by the god Enlil. Gilgamesh traveled a long distance, only to be told by Utnapishtim that his destiny was that of all mortals, death. However, Utnapishtim offered Gilgamesh one of the secrets of the gods, a plant that offered youth to those that possess it.

The Story of the Flood further discusses how the gods took to the sky. Determining that they no longer wished to have the human race, the gods brought forth the Great Deluge to devour all of mankind. To escape their own demise, “they fled to the highest heaven”. This is suggesting that they went to the sky in their ships to escape the flood. As the gods stared down at the Earth, they wept at what they had done. Ishtar the Queen of Heaven cried out,” Alas, the days of old are turned to dust because I commanded evil; why did I command this evil in the council of all the gods? I commanded wars to destroy the people, but are they not my people, for I brought them forth?” Ishtar’s love for the humans was shared by many of the gods. Even Enlil, which first proposed the destruction of man, showed remorse when he offered to give Utnapishtim and his wife sanctuary with the gods.

In conclusion, the Epic of Gilgamesh illustrates that the creation of man could be viewed from outside of the normal religious beliefs. The Epic of Gilgamesh is the oldest tale of its kind, offering credence that we were in fact visited by an advanced alien life form. It also demonstrates that the gods, or aliens, were afforded extended lifetimes that were unlike any human. Unfortunately for Gilgamesh, you have to be pure alien to live an eternal life.