Download The Epic of Gilgamesh



This long epic poem is about a Sumerian
king who lived between 2700 and 2500 B.C.
The universal themes are:
how to become known and respected
 how to cope with the loss of a dear friend
 how to accept one’s own inevitable death


Oral tradition of ancient times

Most people could not read - stories and culture
were passed down through the telling of tales.



This story was recorded on clay tablets
found in the mid-1880s.
Mesopotamia and Egypt are believed to be
the world’s first civilizations.
Mesopotamia (between rivers) is the
territory located between the Tigris and
Euphrates rivers in modern day Iraq.



Sumer, the area of Southern Mesopotamia, is
believed to be where world’s first writing
system originated.
Initially, Sumerians wrote on clay tablets
with a stylus.
Around 3300, clay tablets had pictures on
them representing different animals.





Next to animals would be tally markings
Eventually, a writing system with over 700
signs emerged.
By 700 BCE, a phonetic system had
developed.
Later Sumerian writing was known as
cuneiform.
Cuneiform is the Latin term for “wedge
shaped.”