Editing Gilgamesh (section)

===Modern interpretations and cultural significance===
{{main|Gilgamesh in the arts and popular culture}}
[[File:Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1942-1945. CL3400.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.3|Existential [[angst]] during the [[aftermath of World War II]] significantly contributed to Gilgamesh's rise in popularity in the middle of the twentieth century.{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2011}} For instance, the German novelist [[Hermann Kasack]] used Enkidu's vision of the Underworld from the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' as a metaphor for the [[Bombing of Hamburg in World War II|bombed-out city of Hamburg]] (pictured above) in his 1947 novel {{lang|de|[[Die Stadt hinter dem Strom]]}}.{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2011}}]]

In the years following [[World War II]], Gilgamesh, formerly an obscure figure known only by a few scholars, gradually became increasingly popular with modern audiences.{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2012|page=xii}}{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2011}} The ''Epic of Gilgamesh''{{'}}s existential themes made it particularly appealing to German authors in the years following the war.{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2011}} In his 1947 [[Existentialism|existentialist]] novel {{lang|de|[[Die Stadt hinter dem Strom]]}}, the German novelist [[Hermann Kasack]] adapted elements of the epic into a metaphor for the [[Aftermath of World War II#Germany|aftermath of the destruction of World War II in Germany]],{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2011}} portraying the bombed-out city of [[Hamburg]] as resembling the frightening Underworld seen by Enkidu in his dream.{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2011}} In [[Hans Henny Jahnn]]'s [[magnum opus]] ''River Without Shores'' (1949–1950), the middle section of the trilogy centers around a composer whose twenty-year-long homoerotic relationship with a friend mirrors that of Gilgamesh with Enkidu{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2011}} and whose masterpiece turns out to be a symphony about Gilgamesh.{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2011}}

''The Quest of Gilgamesh'', a 1953 radio play by [[D. G. Bridson|Douglas Geoffrey Bridson]], helped popularize the epic in Britain.{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2011}} In the [[United States]], [[Charles Olson]] praised the epic in his poems and essays{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2011}} and [[Gregory Corso]] believed that it contained ancient virtues capable of curing what he viewed as modern moral degeneracy.{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2011}} The 1966 postfigurative novel {{lang|de|Gilgamesch}} by Guido Bachmann became a classic of German "[[Gay literature|queer literature]]"{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2011}} and set a decades-long international literary trend of portraying Gilgamesh and Enkidu as homosexual lovers.{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2011}} This trend proved so popular that the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' itself is included in ''The Columbia Anthology of Gay Literature'' (1998) as a major early work of that genre.{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2011}} In the 1970s and 1980s, [[Feminist literary criticism|feminist literary critics]] analyzed the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' as showing evidence for a transition from the [[Matriarchy#By chronology|original matriarchy of all humanity]] to modern [[patriarchy]].{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2011}} As the [[Green politics|Green Movement]] expanded in Europe, Gilgamesh's story began [[Ecocriticism|to be seen through an environmentalist lens]],{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2011}} with Enkidu's death symbolizing man's separation from nature.{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2011}}

[[File:Gilagmesh.jpg|thumb|right|A modern [[Statue of Gilgamesh, University of Sydney|statue of Gilgamesh]] stands at the [[University of Sydney]].{{sfn|Stone|2012}}]]

[[Theodore Ziolkowski]], a scholar of modern literature, states, that "unlike most other figures from myth, literature, and history, Gilgamesh has established himself as an autonomous entity or simply a name, often independent of the epic context in which he originally became known. (As analogous examples one might think, for instance, of the [[Minotaur]] or [[Frankenstein's monster]].)"{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2012|pages=xii–xiii}} The ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' has been translated into many major world languages{{sfn|Damrosch|2006|page=254}} and has become a staple of American [[world literature]] classes.{{sfn|Damrosch|2006|pages=254–255}} Many contemporary authors and novelists have drawn inspiration from it, including an American [[avant-garde]] theater collective called "The Gilgamesh Group"{{sfn|Damrosch|2006|page=255}} and [[Joan London (Australian author)|Joan London]] in her novel ''[[Gilgamesh (novel)|Gilgamesh]]'' (2001).{{sfn|Damrosch|2006|page=255}}{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2011}} ''[[The Great American Novel (Roth)|The Great American Novel]]'' (1973) by [[Philip Roth]] features a character named "Gil Gamesh",{{sfn|Damrosch|2006|page=255}} who is the star [[pitcher]] of a fictional 1930s [[baseball]] team called the "Patriot League".{{sfn|Damrosch|2006|page=255}}

Starting in the late twentieth century, the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' began to be read again in Iraq.{{sfn|Damrosch|2006|page=254}} [[Saddam Hussein]], the former [[President of Iraq]], had a lifelong fascination with Gilgamesh.{{sfn|Damrosch|2006|pages=254–257}} [[Saddam Hussein's novels|Saddam's first novel]] ''[[Zabibah and the King]]'' (2000) is an allegory for the [[Gulf War]] set in ancient Assyria that blends elements of the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' and the ''[[One Thousand and One Nights]]''.{{sfn|Damrosch|2006|page=257}} Like Gilgamesh, the king at the beginning of the novel is a brutal tyrant who misuses his power and oppresses his people,{{sfn|Damrosch|2006|pages=259–260}} but, through the aid of a commoner woman named Zabibah, he grows into a more just ruler.{{sfn|Damrosch|2006|page=260}} When the United States tried to pressure Saddam to step down in February 2003, Saddam gave a speech to a group of his generals posing the idea in a positive light by comparing himself to the epic hero.{{sfn|Damrosch|2006|page=254}}

Scholars like [[Susan Ackerman (biblical scholar)|Susan Ackerman]] and [[Wayne R. Dynes]] have noted that the language used to describe Gilgamesh's relationship with Enkidu seems to have homoerotic implications.{{sfn|Ackerman|2005|page=82}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Haggerty |first1=George |title=Encyclopedia of Gay Histories and Cultures |date=2013 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-1-135-58513-6 |page=929 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pez9AQAAQBAJ&pg=PT929 |access-date=19 March 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Dynes |first1=Wayne R. |author-link1=Wayne R. Dynes |title=Encyclopedia of Homosexuality |volume=I |date=2016 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |page=479 |isbn=978-1317368151 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YrXOCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA479 |access-date=19 March 2020}}</ref> Ackerman notes that, when Gilgamesh veils Enkidu's body, Enkidu is compared to a "bride".{{sfn|Ackerman|2005|page=82}} Ackerman states, "that Gilgamesh, according to both versions, will love Enkidu 'like a wife' may further imply sexual intercourse."{{sfn|Ackerman|2005|page=82}}

In 2000, a [[Statue of Gilgamesh, University of Sydney|modern statue of Gilgamesh]] by the [[Assyrian people|Assyrian]] sculptor Lewis Batros was unveiled at the [[University of Sydney]] in [[Australia]].{{sfn|Stone|2012}}

The Australian psychedelic rock band [[King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard]] recorded a song titled "Gilgamesh" as the fifth track of their October 2023 album ''[[The Silver Cord (King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard album)|The Silver Cord]]'', with references to the epic in the song's lyrics.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gilgamesh, by King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard |url=https://kinggizzard.bandcamp.com/track/gilgamesh |access-date=2023-11-13 |website=King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard |language=en}}</ref>