ABSTRACT
In order to consider the human "invention" of aging, it is useful to compare the mythical cycle of the hero with the vital human cycle. Thus the people find that adolescence and maturescence are perfectly typified and characterized as stages that the mythical hero undergoes in order to reach the personal growth that makes him fully human. Moreover, they could classify myths into two categories: the ones that attempt to explain the origin of the world and its ultimate fate, and the mythical cycle of the hero, usually concerned with the mysteries of life and death. Specifically, in the anonymous Mesopotamian myth contained in the Gilgamesh saga-first epic poem and the most ancient literary work known so far-the hero begins "the descent into Hell" trying to find a formula or herb for his immortality. The concept of death sustained by the inhabitants of Ancient Greece can be inferred in many of their myths.
