Perhaps one of the main reasons why the Epic of Gilgamesh is so popular and has lasted so long is because it offers insight into the human concerns of the people of four thousand years ago, many of which are still relevant today. Some of the human concerns found in the book that are still applicable today include: the fear and concerns people have related to death, the overwhelming desire to be immortal, and the impact a friendship has on a person's life. It does not take a great deal of knowledge of the Epic of Gilgamesh for a person to spot these themes in the story, much less introspection to relate to them. While many people today appear to be afraid of dying and making great strides toward death, avoiding an early death is not a new human concern. In fact, Dr. Peter J. Brand conducted some extensive research into how people in ancient Mesopotamia viewed death and the afterlife. He believes that death was extremely scary for the people of this region. In his article entitled: Dying: Death and the Afterlife, Brand states: “Like all human cultures, the people of Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia were greatly troubled by death.” (Mark page 1) Apparently death was even more terrible in the minds of the Mesopotamians. “The Mesopotamian view of death was more pessimistic, leading to less elaborate preparations for death.” (Brand pg.1) On the contrary, it seems that there would have been a lot of preparation, since traveling to the underworld alone was a dangerous undertaking. This tells us that there was nothing glorified about death and nothing exciting about traveling to the underworld. However, he reveals that there was a lot of confusion about the death and confusion about how to deal with it. Dr. Brand goes on to talk about how the underworld was a…paper medium…as the number one driving force behind his actions. Works Cited PageFoster, Benjamin R. "The Epic of Gilgamesh." The Norton Anthology of World Literature. Gen. Ed. Martin Puchner. 3rd ed. vol. A. New York: Norton, 2012. 95-151. Press. March 13, 2014.Brand, Peter J. PDF File “Death: Death and the Afterlife.” March 13, 2013Guzman, Jennifer de. Personal. Writing therapy. “The mirror of sorrow: the epic of Gilgamesh and Ecclesiastes” 28 December 2010. . March 13, 2013 Donlin-Smith, Thomas. "The Spirituality of the Epic of Gilgamesh." PDF files. March 12 2014