Gilgamesh (; ,
Gilgameš, originally
Bilgamesh ) is the main character in the
Epic of Gilgamesh, an
Akkadian poem that is considered the first great work of literature, and in earlier
Sumerian poems. In the epic, Gilgamesh is a
demigod of superhuman strength who builds the city walls of
Uruk to defend his people and travels to meet the sage
Utnapishtim, who survived the
Great Flood.