Download The Epic of Gilgamesh

The Epic of Gilgamesh
(c. 2000 B.C.)
Author
Anonymous; story was crafted and reworked by various Mesopotamian cultures including the Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians, and
Assyrians; original story likely dates back to around the time of King Gilgamesh of Uruk (c. 2,700 BC); 1,600 BC recension by Babylonian
priest-exorcist, Sîn-leqi-unninni
Time & Place: Mesopotamian epic poem originally written down by the Sumerians around 2,000 BC
Language & Form
Epic poem. Original in the Sumerian language, written down with cuneiform characters on clay tablets found at Nippúr in Mesopotamia
and dating back to around 2,000 BC; Synthetic Standard Version based on the 12-tablet Akkadian version of the poem found in the
25,000-tablet library of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal (668-627 BC) at Niniveh. Recommended English translation: Nancy K. Sandars.
Synopsis
The Epic of Gilgamesh is the story of King Gilgamesh of Uruk who oppresses his people. As punishment, the gods send him a
companion, Enkidu, who is his mirror image and becomes his good friend. Together, Gilgamesh and Enkidu defy the gods by killing the
giant Humbaba, cutting down the sacred cedar forest which he guards, and killing the Bull of Heaven. Enkidu has ominous dreams of the
destiny of tyrants who become slaves in the House of Death. Enkidu finally dies of an illness sent by the gods. Horrified by Enkidu's
death and the prospect of his own demise, Gilgamesh undertakes a quest for immortality which brings him to the abode of Utnapishtim, a
virtuous man who obeys the gods and was saved by them from the Great Flood. Utnapishtim puts Gilgamesh to various tests which he
fails and eventually sends him away, assuring him that he cannot escape death. A humbled Gilgamesh returns to Uruk and orders his story
to be inscribed in stone.
Contexts
Mesopotamia ("land between rivers"), region between rivers Tigris and Euphrates considered to have been the "cradle of civilization."
Sumerians originally came from Iran or Persian gulf and flourished in Mesopotamia between 5,000-2,000 BC
Sophisticated Sumerian technology and civilization: huts in marshes and houses of mud bricks, clay blades, dikes and canals, terraced
temples (ziggurat), sailboats, wheeled vehicles, animal-drawn plows, potter's wheel, fortified cities
Sumerian city of Eridu before 4,000 BC. Other cities: Lagash, Ur, Kish, Nippúr, Uruk. Uruk had 6-mile, 18 ft-thick walls
3,300-3,000 BC, invention of writing, earliest Sumerian texts. Cuneiform writing: reed markings on wet clay tablets, wedge shaped marks;
first versions of Epic of Gilgamesh found in a collection of over 40,000 clay tablets from the city of Nippúr dating back to around 2,000
BC.
2,700 BC, Gilgamesh of Uruk, fifth ruler of first post-diluvian dynasty of Uruk
2,100 BC, first law book, laws of Ur-Nammu, king of Ur
Sumerians coexisted with Akkadians (who came from Syria) from around 3,000 BC
Behistun Rock, 516 BC memorial to conquests of Persian King Darius, on the plain of Kirmanshah (Persia, now Iran) and discovered in
1835 by Henry Creswicke Rawlinson. This discovery made possible the decipherment of cuneiform writing. The Behistun Rock stands
300 ft high, features sculpted figures in bas relief, and is inscribed with bands of cuneiform writing in Old Persian, Susan (Elamite), and
Assyrian-Babylonian.
1872, discovery and publication of Utnaphistim's "Story of the Flood"
Main Issues
Earliest known literary work.
Contains account of the Great Flood and story of a virtuous man named Utnapishtim--likely sources for the later biblical story of Noah.
Epic criticizes tyranny, oppression, violence, conquest, and the ambitions of the powerful and promotes instead the values of a simple life
of rest and enjoyment of the pleasures of human companionship, love, food, and drink.
Central idea of the epic is a carpe diem ("seize the day") theme.
Pro-nature, proto-environmentalist stance of the poem.
Sumerians, the inventors of civilization, appear to have had misgivings about the implications of the alienation of human beings from
nature and the victimization of nature by civilized people.
Epic expresses a belief in a divine retributive justice, order, or balance of things requiring punishment in kind for transgressions such as
violence, cruelty, pride/hubris, the oppression of others, and the destruction of nature. Such beliefs are embodied in the story in the wrath
of the god Enlil and the concept of Namtar (evil fate) and are likely origins/prototypes of later notions such as Babylonian Lex Talionis
("eye for an eye"), the Greek Moira, Hindu/Buddhist Karma, and the Christian Golden Rule. Ancient Sumerian proverb: "you go and take
the field of the enemy; the enemy comes and takes your field"
Selected Quotation
"There is no permanence. Do we build a house to stand forever, do we seal a contract to hold for all time? Do brothers divide an
inheritance to keep forever, does the flood-time of rivers endure?" (translation by N. K. Sandars)
Study Questions
What roles may the epic have played in courtly settings throughout the history of Mesopotamian civilizations? What is the relation of the
poet to the kings and heroes about which he/she spoke? Is that relation necessarily one of harmony and agreement? What does the epic
suggest?
What sort of a king is Gilgamesh? Is he liked by his people? What is the meaning of the figure of Enkidu? Why is he said to have come
into being? For what purpose? Does he succeed in that purpose?
Why is Enkidu said to be so similar to Gilgamesh ("his equal; ... his own reflection, his second self, stormy heart for stormy heart")? Does
Enkidu change throughout the course of his adventures? What sort of a man was he at the beginning? How does he change? What are the
consequences of those changes?
Is there some possible historical significance to situations such as the raid against the "Country of the Living," the giant Humbaba, the
sacred forest of cedars? What does the giant represent? What may have been the underlying motivation of such a raid? Could economic
factors have played a role?
What is the attitude of the epic toward Nature (forests, animals, wild life, etc)? What is the attitude toward the destruction and neglect of
Nature (as for example in the cutting down of Humbaba's cedar forest and Enkidu's abandonment of his former life in another forest)?
What is the meaning of the gods? What functions do they play in the story? What is their relationship to human beings? How do gods
differ from and how are they similar to human beings? Why is Gilgamesh said to be two-thirds god? What does that suggest about the
processes by which gods are created/envisioned by the human imagination? How is the literary narrative and story-telling in general
connected to those processes?
What is the significance and role of the dreams of Enkidu just before his death? What does he see in his vision of the Underworld? What
happens there to those who were rich and powerful while alive? What does this imply for people like Gilgamesh and Enkidu? Why is
Gilgamesh so afraid after Enkidu's death?
According to the epic, is immortality possible for human beings? Are there any immortal human beings depicted in the epic? What does
this suggest? What does this suggest about Gilgamesh?
What is the reaction of Gilgamesh at the moment when he first sees Utnapishtim, the Faraway? What are his exact words? What does this
imply concerning his expectations, his values, his lifestyle? Is there any relation between those expectations, values and lifestyle-that is, the
sort of man Gilgamesh is-and his destiny? What does the life of Utnapishtim represent?
What is the significance of the story of the Flood which Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh? Why did the gods choose Utnapishtim to be saved?
What is the meaning of the tests which Utnapishtim asks Gilgamesh to undertake? Why does Gilgamesh fail?
Is the character of Gilgamesh transformed in the course of his journeys? Is he a different sort of man at the end, after his return home?
According to this epic, what is the best way of life? That of Gilgamesh? That of Enkidu? That of Utnapishtim?
Links
The Great Flood: http://www.cnn.com/2000/NATURE/09/13/great.flood.finds.ap/index.ht
Discoveries at Niniveh:
http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/txt/layard/
The Nippur Expedition:
http://www-oi.uchicago.edu/OI/PROJ/NIP/Nippur.html