The Epic of Gilgamesh In The Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh, the hero of this epic, achieves many feats of skill, which makes him famous, but that is not the reason it is an epic. The Epic of Gilgamesh fulfills the requirements of an epic by being consistently relevant to a human society and carries immortal themes and messages. By looking at literature throughout history, one can infer the themes that are consistently passed on to other generations of humans. It is in human nature for people to want to excel in life and strive to make a name in this world for themselves. We want to be remembered by name or for something we have done. Most, who actually suc