character suggest that both the Gilgamesh and Hanuman narratives are
derived in part from a very ancient myth. Gilgamesh also figures in
Indian mythology as Yama, the first man, who explored the way to the
Paradise called "The Land of Ancestors", and over which he
subsequently presided as a god. Other Babylonian myths link with those
found in Egypt, Greece, Scandinavia, Iceland, and the British Isles
and Ireland. The Sargon myth, for instance, resembles closely the myth
of Scyld (Sceaf), the patriarch, in the _Beowulf_ epic, and both
appear to be variations of the Tammuz-Adonis story. Tammuz also
resembles in one of his phases the Celtic hero Diarmid, who was slain
by the "green boar" of the Earth Mother, as was Adonis by the boar
form of Ares, the Greek war god.

In approaching the study of these linking myths it would be as rash to
conclude that all resemblances are due to homogeneity of race as to
assume that folklore and mythology are devoid of ethnological
elements. Due consideration must be given to the widespread influence
exercised by cultural contact. We must recognize also that the human
mind has ever shown a tendency to arrive quite independently at
similar conclusions, when confronted by similar problems, in various
parts of the world.

But while many remarkable resemblances may be detected between the
beliefs and myths and customs of widely separated peoples, it cannot
be overlooked that pronounced and striking differences remain to be
accounted for. Human experiences varied in localities because all
sections of humanity were not confronted in ancient times by the same
problems in their everyday lives. Some peoples, for instance,
experienced no great difficulties regarding the food supply, which
might be provided for them by nature in lavish abundance; others were