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Jack Vance's 1956 novel To Live Forever reflects the author's belief that immortality is not inherently either good or bad, but rather that it depends on the surrounding circumstances. In the novel, immortality is only granted to those who have made the greatest contributions to society in order to avoid overpopulation.
Gilgamesh (possibly reigned during the 26th century BC) after the death of his companion, Enkidu, Gilgamesh pursues immortality to avoid Enkidu's fate. Gilgamesh fails two tests and does not become immortal, realising instead that mortals attain immortality through lasting works of civilization and culture. Gilgamesh's story is among the oldest ...
Gilgamesh became the hero par excellence of the ancient world—an adventurous, brave, but tragic figure symbolizing man's vain but endless drive for fame, glory, and immortality. By the Old Babylonian Period ( c. 1830 – c. 1531 BC ), stories of Gilgamesh's legendary exploits had been woven into one or several long epics. [ 17 ]
The Epic of Gilgamesh describes Gilgamesh travelling to a wondrous garden of the gods that is the source of a river, next to a mountain covered in cedars, and references a "plant of life". In the myth, paradise is identified as the place where the deified Sumerian hero of the flood, Utnapishtim ( Ziusudra ), was taken by the gods to live forever.
In a new book, molecular biologist Venki Ramakrishnan raises critical questions about the societal, political and ethical costs of attempts to live forever.
Gilgamesh, who wants to overcome death, cannot even conquer sleep. As Gilgamesh is leaving, Utnapishtim's wife asks her husband to offer a parting gift. Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh of a boxthorn-like plant at the very bottom of the ocean that will make him young again. Gilgamesh obtains the plant by binding stones to his feet so he can walk on ...
The long-term danger is in creating a world where only a privileged few get access to the ultimate longevity treatments, researchers say. Most contemporary efforts to beat back death occur among ...
The Epic of Gilgamesh (/ ˈ ɡ ɪ l ɡ ə m ɛ ʃ /) [2] is an epic from ancient Mesopotamia.The literary history of Gilgamesh begins with five Sumerian poems about Gilgamesh (formerly read as Sumerian "Bilgames" [3]), king of Uruk, some of which may date back to the Third Dynasty of Ur (c. 2100 BCE). [1]