Utnapishtim Tests Gilgamesh

Added: 2026-05-17

[00:00:00]Utnapishtim decided to test Gilgamesh.

[00:00:03]Very well. If you truly want to live forever, here is a simple test. [music] Do not awake for six days and seven nights.

[00:00:12]Death is just like [music] sleep, after all.

[00:00:14]If you cannot conquer sleep, how will you conquer death? Gilgamesh sat down, determined to pass the test, but he was exhausted from his journey.

[00:00:24]Almost immediately, he fell into a deep sleep. Look at this hero who wants eternal life.

[00:00:31]Sleep overwhelms [music] him like a mist. His wife took pity on Gilgamesh.

[00:00:36]Wake him gently. [music] Let him return home in peace. But Utnapishtim wanted to teach Gilgamesh a lesson. He will deny that [music] he slept.

[00:00:46]Bake a loaf of bread for each day he sleeps and put them beside him. The bread will be proof.

[00:00:51]>> For seven days, Gilgamesh slept. Each day, Utnapishtim's wife baked a loaf and marked the wall beside him. The first loaf became moldy. The second became hard. The third became soggy. The fourth turned white. The fifth grew gray. The sixth was fresh. And the seventh [music] was still in the oven when Gilgamesh finally woke. Hmm.

[00:01:17]I just dozed off for a moment.

[00:01:19]Utnapishtim pointed to the loaves. Count them. Seven loaves, seven [music] days.

[00:01:24]You slept for a week. If you cannot conquer sleep, you cannot conquer death.

[00:01:27]Gilgamesh was devastated. He put his hands to his face and wept.

[00:01:32]>> What shall I do, Utnapishtim? Where shall I go? The thief has taken hold of my flesh. Death sits in my bedroom.

[00:01:38]Wherever I turn, there is death.