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Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh
The history and culture behind the worlds oldest recorded story Epic of Gilgamesh
Mesopotamia means the land between the rivers. It is located in an agriculturally rich region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (also known as the Fertile Crescent or cradle of civilizations. It was located in the region known today as Iraq as well as parts of Iran.
Later, the Akkadians, Babylonians, Hittites, Assyrians, and Chaldeans take over their cities and adopt their culture.
They all adapt their own version of the Epic of Gilgamesh.
- Regardless of ones actions in life, they did not believe in life after death. They believed that after one dies there is only emptiness.
Developments in math and science A precise 12 month calendar, the concept of zero, Pythagorean theorem
Extra Credit opportunity! Use the internet to learn to write your name in cuneiform.
The Babylonians recognized the value of Sumerian culture and adopted much of it as their own.
Sumerian became a literary language (much like Latin today).
Story of Gilgamesh
The Epic of Gilgamesh is the story of King Gilgamesh of Uruk. Gilgamesh is a ruthless and oppressive leader, and the gods punish his prideful behavior by killing his best friend (Enkidu). Horrified by Enkidus death and the prospect of his own demise, Gilgamesh undertakes a quest for immortality which brings him to the home of Utnapishtim, the only mortal saved from the Great Flood and granted immortality. There he finds the truth about life and death.
Importance of Gilgamesh
Earliest known literary work. Contains an account of the Great Flood and the story of a virtuous man named Utnapishtim who survived (likely the source for the biblical story of Noah)
Expresses values of ancient civilization such as the belief in divine retribution for transgressions such as violence, pride, the oppression of others, and the destruction of the natural world.
Importance of Gilgamesh
This region (Syria, Iran, Iraq) is in the news daily!
Gilgamesh serves as an early model of the archetypal hero. Studied by Joseph Campbell as a primary example of the monomyth (or heros journey story). Large number of parallels to The Odyssey and other Greek epics