Gilgamesh

Assignment to have been completed: Students should have read pp. 114‑119 of The Epic of Gilgamesh and have done the study guide questions in the packet.

Activities:

• A. Administer quiz over the reading. Allow about five minutes for students to complete the quiz. Exchange papers and grade in class. Collect quizzes.
• B. Go over study guide questions. You don’t actually have to ask each question. You can allow students to ask about questions that gave them some difficulty or of which they were uncertain. Do ask the questions to which the answers provided say OPEN QUESTION.

6 ‑ The Return

• 1. What test of worthiness for immortality does Utnapishtim set for Gilgamesh?

  Gilgamesh must stay awake for six days. [114]

• 2. What happens to Urshanabi?

  Utnapishtim banishes him and orders him to serve Gilgamesh.

  What special gift does Utnapishtim willingly give Gilgamesh?

  However, he willingly gives Gilgamesh clothes that will not age.

  What does he give Gilgamesh at his wife’s urging?

  Then, at his wife’s urging, he gives the hero directions to an underwater plant that restores a man’s youth.

  What does Gilgamesh propose to do with it?

  Gilgamesh will give the plant to the old and then eat of it himself.

  What happens to his prize?

  Unfortunately, a snake steals the plant. (It immediately is rejuvenated ‑ and sloughs its skin.) [115‑7]

• 3. Of what is Gilgamesh most proud?

  Gilgamesh is most proud of Uruk, especially its structures.

  For what is Gilgamesh remembered?

  Gilgamesh is remembered for his wisdom, especially his knowledge of mysteries; for the story of the Flood that he brought back with him; and for his quest which he recorded himself. [117]

7 ‑ The Death of Gilgamesh

• 1. What is the monument that Enlil says Gilgamesh will leave?

  Actually, he leaves two monuments: the walls of Uruk AND the story of his quest.

  What lessons does he assert Gilgamesh will accept?

  Gilgamesh learned that man is mortal, that he must accept and enjoy his lot, and that he must deal with people justly. [118]

• C. Discuss as many of the following questions from the Analysis Guide in the packet as time permits.

  • 1. What aspects of the epic are pessimistic?

    The view of the after‑life and Gilgamesh’s acceptance born of despair are pessimistic.

    Why might the Sumerians have been as pessimistic as they were?

    The Sumerian pessimism was no doubt born of the precarious nature of life in the Tigris‑Euphrates Valley: repeated invasions, the threatening deserts, unforeseen flooding, and so forth.

  • 2. Identify locations noted in the epic on the map that serves as the frontispiece to this packet.

    [See map following the “Daily Plan” for Day 5 of this unit.]

  • 3. Who were the gods of Sumer? What were their individual powers or responsibilities? Describe their personalities.

  • 4. Describe the Sumerian concept of the after‑life.

    The Sumerian concept of the after‑life is dark, gloomy, bizarre. In it people transform into bat‑like creatures that flap about in the dust and eat clay. The whole realm lies in a nightmarish cavern.

    How does it compare to the Egyptian view?

    In contrast, the Egyptian view of the after‑life was paradisiac. It lay to the West, not underground. It was an ideal version of earthly life with duplications of all earthly activities of a productive nature. Animated statues, however, performed all the work.

  • 5. Evaluate Gilgamesh’s civilization in terms of Durant’s four elements, four conditions, and five generators of civilization.

    Geological: The Tigris‑Euphrates Valley was relatively stable geologically though scattered volcanoes may still have been active in the area.

    Geographical: The Tigris‑Euphrates Rivers provided transportation, communication, and ‑ above all ‑ fertile land to the peoples inhabiting the valley.

    Economic: Sumerian civilization (represented in city life) had gone beyond hunting (still relied on in its outlying areas) to agriculture which was made possible by irrigation from the rivers and which was presided over by the priestess Ishtar.

    Psychological:

    Political order: existed in the form of kingship and temple organization. Gilgamesh passed from tyrant to wise and just ruler.

    Unity of language: The language of the epic ‑ Akkadian ‑ provided a medium for trade, diplomacy, and scholarship for centuries after the Akkadians themselves had disappeared from the stage of political and military dominance (much as Latin did for centuries after the fall of Rome).

    Unifying moral code: Gilgamesh learned sexual, political, and personal moderation. He learned to be a good “shepherd of the people.”

    Unity of basic belief: A somewhat pessimistic resignation to the will of capricious gods prevailed.

    Education: Both initiation (in Enkidu’s case) and instruction (for Gilgamesh) are evidenced in the epic.

  • 6. What values, beliefs, and attitudes held by the Sumerians can you derive from the Gilgamesh?

    The Sumerians valued power, fairness, and compassion in their rulers. They also valued friendship, especially deep devotion between friends. They believed in many gods, most of whom seemed capable of a perversely human pettiness. Their overall attitude toward life and death was somewhat pessimistic.

  • 7. How does the Gilgamesh reflect universal values (values that apply as much today as they did four or five thousand years ago)?

    Gilgamesh reflects universal ideals of proper rulership and friendship as well as a common fear or uncertainty regarding death and the possible forms of immortality open to human beings.

Assignment for next class meeting: Prepare for test over Durant’s “The Conditions of Civilization” and The Epic of Gilgamesh. Use the review guide on the last page of the packet.