Monitor its foundations, examine the masonry! Weren't its bricks fired in a kiln? Did not the Seven Sages lay its foundations (Tablet XI 324-326)? When Gilgamesh is able to accept his destiny to be mortal, he becomes aware of the relationship he has developed with Uruk. Gilgamesh was so consumed with his desire to last forever that he became blind to his real, tangible accomplishments. He was unable to recognize Uruk for what he really is; an extension of his own legend. The city's philosophy echoes the greatness of Gilgamesh. Uruk has its own presence, but it remains intimately linked to Gilgamesh and his life. At the end of the epic, Gilgamesh has not become immortal and never will. Yet he was able to gain a new understanding of his city, Uruk, in relation to himself and the preservation of its memory. The legacy of Gilgamesh could not exist without Uruk, and the legacy of Uruk could not exist without