Ok, so this is an EPIC. Its also an oral tradition, passed down generation after generation. its filled with boasting, which was a MAJOR characteristic at that time and place. Its basically a journey with a hero that faces obstacles that he has to over come. Being, an epic, there are many characteristics that the hero has to go through, in order to make it fit the category at that time, and like always, he wins. It shows its time, through their war-like taditions and boasting. It really introduced the heroic journey that inspires stories like it today. so, it was kind of the first major one. We read it, to learn how oral traditions and epics have changed through out the years.