It's an ancient trope: It appears in the epic of Gilgamesh, who searches for immortality in the form of a magic coral flower, which eventually gets stolen, only

It's an ancient trope: It appears in the epic of Gilgamesh, who searches for immortality in the form of a magic coral flower, which eventually gets stolen, only for Gilgamesh to realize he was immortal all along, because of his legacy in his city Uruk. He also gets made a god after his death.