Gilgamesh – The Hanso Life-Extension Project, part 2

This is the second part of the entry on The Hanso Life-Extension Project. I would recommend reading the first part before you read this one.

Hanso Foundation researchers where not the first to come up with the idea of life-extension, nor where the real life scientist. The desire to break the rules of existence tracks back at least to the Sumerian king Gilgamesh.

Now where have we heard that name before?

In the episode “Collision” when John Locke is filling out the crossword puzzle, one word stands out more than the rest – Gilgamesh.

The story of Gilgamesh, preserved on eleven clay tablets dating back to the 7th century BC, is considered to be the oldest story ever recorded. Legend has it that Gilgamesh was two-thirds god, one third human. He was the greatest king the earth had ever known, but his people complained that he was to harsh on them. Upon hearing this, the sky-god Anu created Enkidu as a rival and distraction for Gilgamesh. The two fought an epic battle where none is the won. Instead Gilgamesh proposed an adventure to kill a demon. They traveled into the forest and killed the demon, guardian of the trees and then cut down the trees to build a raft which they sailed back to Uruk, where they came from.

Later, Gilgamesh rejects the sexual advances made by a goddess. This angers the gods, who send the bull of heaven to avenge the sexual rejection. Gilgamesh and Enkidu kill the bull. The now even angrier gods decide that Enkidu will be punished for killing the bull. This leads to Enkidu dying of sickness.

Eternal Life

Gilgamesh grieves the death of his friend and sets out to avoid meeting the same faith as Enkidu. To gain eternal life, he journeys to Utnapishtim, a man who together with his wife where the only survivors of a great flood sent by the gods to kill every living creature on earth. After the flood both Utnapishtim and his wife where granted immortality by the gods. Similar stories appear in most religions. I’m sure some see the connection to Noah in the Bible.

Anyway, Gilgamesh meets Utnapishtim and is told that he will receive eternal life if he can stay awake for six days and seven nights. Unfortunately, Gilgamesh falls asleep. When he wakes up, Utnapishtim tells him about a rejuvenating plant at the bottom of the sea. Gilgamesh finally obtains the plan but does not eat it because he wants to share it with the other elders. He later places the plant on the shore of a river while he bathes and it is stolen by a snake.

The disappointed Gilgamesh returns to Uruk. When he sees it’s impressive walls, he realizes the greatness mortals can accomplish and sees that the way to achieve eternal life is through lasting works of civilization and culture.

This is the second post in a series covering the seven Hanso Foundation projects and interesting things relating to them. Check back soon or subscribe to our rss feed for the next part in the series – The Hanso Electromagnetic Research Initiative.

Also, make sure to read the first part of this entry about The Hanso Life-Extension Project

More information about Gilgamesh can be found on Wikipedia.

[tags]Lost,Abc,Gilgamesh,Lost Theory[/tags]