The quest for immortality is a common motif found in many diverse cultures, from antediluvian mythologies to present day popular culture.
Epic of Gilgamesh[]
In Babylonian mythology, King Gilgamesh comes to the realization that he might die one day, and goes on a quest to retrieve an underwater plant that would give him immortality upon consumption. However, even though he obtained it, it was stolen from him before he ever got the chance to eat it.
Hebrew Bible[]
In the Hebrew Genesis account, after Adam and Eve ate from the “tree of knowledge”, they were expelled from Eden, so as to prevent them from also taking of “the tree of life, and eat, and live forever.” (Gen 3:22,23)
Christian Greek Bible[]
Fountain of youth[]
Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León, was aware of Eurasian tales that spoke of baths and waters that gave restorative powers. Thus, in 1513, he went on a quest to find the Fountain of Youth in the New World. According to legend, Ponce de León was told by Native Americans that the Fountain of Youth was in the “land of Beimini” and there, it could restore youth to anyone. Though de León's expedition brought him to what is now Florida, the fountain was later rumored to exist within the shallow pools of South Bimini.
Popular culture[]
- Altered Carbon, based on a 2002 science fiction novel, is an internet streaming television series set in an American dystopian future, where the human mind can be transferred into an alternate human body, as a way for death to no longer be permanent.