This is one of my favorite pieces of world literature. It is so very profound about how a person should live a good life.
My favorite character was not mentioned here. She was Siduri, a mystical tavern owner and beer brewer (in Mesopotamia it was mostly women who brewed and sold beer). Gilgamesh stopped at her tavern during his quest for immortality after Enkidu's death.
He told her of his grief and his wish for immortality. She told him
"Gilgamesh, where are you hurrying to? You will never find that life for which you are looking. When the gods created man they allotted to him death, but life they retained in their own keeping. As for you, Gilgamesh, fill your belly with good things; day and night, night and day, dance and be merry, feast and rejoice. Let your clothes be fresh, bathe yourself in water, cherish the little child that holds your hand, and make your wife happy in your embrace; for this too is the lot of man."