Desperate after the death of his friend Enkidu, Gilgamesh, king of Uruk, undertakes a journey in search of Utanapishtim, survivor of the universal deluge, who has received the gift of immortality from the gods. After overcoming all sorts of dangers, Gilgamesh arrives at the abode of Utanapishtim, at the ends of the earth. When he asks her to reveal the secret of immortality to him, Utanapishtim initially refuses, but his wife convinces him to help the hero. He then tells Gilgamesh that the talisman of immortality is a plant that grows at the bottom of the waters, but that it has thorns that lacerate anyone who tries to pick it.
Far from admitting defeat, Gilgamesh weights himself with stones, immerses himself and returns with the magic plant. “Thanks to her, man renews his breath of life. I will bring it back to Uruk the enclosure. I will eat it, I will share this plant. His name will be “the old man becomes a young man again”! As for me, I will eat it and return to the days of my youth. But Gilgamesh falls asleep under a tree. A snake then approaches and devours the marvelous plant. Having lost his chance to become immortal, the king must return to his country and resign himself to his inevitable end.