The Epic of Gilgamesh, "The oldest story EVER told"

My first world literature project has to be the BEST experience I've had in school thus far.   We read the poem of Gilgamesh, the oldest story ever told.  That in it's self was profound for me, but the themes that made up this ancient peom, are so in grained in today's society, I was so impressed with this piece of literature.   One of the themes that stood uot the most was the friendship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu.  This friendships which started out with a fight and immediately became one of companionship, love, evolution, and a quest for renown. This bond men today are in without even realizing.  The self-knowlegde Gilgamesh aquired from his relationship with Enkidu and the grief felt at the lost of his friend provoked emotions of past friendship that have grown from.  The theme between sex and power and sex and civilization would be another element that had an impact on me.  Today, our society conception of power and sex has not changed.  Sex can transform an individual for good or bad and the power sex has on our influence of another is still mysterious.   Another theme bulldozed me would be the great flood.  I have never read or studied another piece of literature other then the Bible that spoke of this flood.   To have read it from a piece of literature that pre-dates the Bible has stimulated my interest in research and broadening my world literature studies.