The Epic of Gilgamesh Mr. Winters, CP World Mythology

Mesopotamian Societies Sumerians first major civilization (3000 BCE) non-Semitic people /language Uruk (and other cities) cuneiform writing elaborate mythology and cult-based mythic poems Babylonians / Akkadians later (c BCE) Semitic people.language myth based on Sumerian myth

Mesopotamian Societies Both societies share: social/political hierarchy with kings as head of state priestly class who also teach/write/preserve literature tradition of sacred writings associated with actual rituals high level of “civilization” (i.e. social structure & material wealth) irrigation-based agriculture, water resources organized by government cuneiform writing

Gods and Goddesses Sin (the moon), had a higher place in the pantheon than his children: Shamash (the sun), who becomes important as a deity of all-seeing justice, and Ishtar (the morning star), whose multifaceted nature includes goddess of sexual love, of justice and warfare, of communal prosperity...

Gods and Goddesses Tammuz (Dumuzi) was Ishtar’s husband – a god like Attis (with Cybele) who died and was reborn every year. Ereshkigal was the goddess of the Underworld (Kurnugi). Ea was the god of fresh water, thus a fertility god; he is often a protective figure (asin the flood myth in Gilgamesh). Belili, Dumuzi’s sister – parallel to Geshtinanna in the Sumerian story, who takes her brother’s place in the underworld.

Who was the real Gilgamesh? There was a real Gilgamesh, a king who ruled some 2700 years before Christ lived and the Romans consolidated their vast empire. The character and the exploits of this king were preserved in the form of stories that circulated for many years after the king's death. Some of these tales -- more than 600 years after Gilgamesh's rule -- were collected by a story teller and were put down in the form of an epic poem. This poem is what we know today as The Epic of Gilgamesh.

Gilgamesh the King I shall tell the land of the one who learned all things, of the one who experienced everything, I shall teach the whole. He searched lands everywhere. He found out what was secret and uncovered what was hidden, he brought back a tale of times before the flood. He had journeyed far and wide, weary and at last resigned. He built the wall of Uruk... One square mile is the city, one square mile is its orchards, one square mile is its claypits, as well as the open ground of Ishtar’s temple.

The Epic A long narrative poem written in elevated style, in which heroes of great historical or legendary importance perform valorous deeds. The setting is vast in scope, covering great nations, the world, or the universe, and the action is important to the history of a nation or people. The Iliad, the Odyssey, and the Aeneid are some great epics from world literature, and two great epics in English are Beowulf and Paradise Lost. (The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition )Iliad OdysseyAeneidBeowulfParadise Lost

The Epic deals with  Humankind’s Relationship to the Gods  Humankind’s Relationship to Nature  Humankind’s Relationship to One Another  Friendship  The Quest for Immortality  The Immortality of Art

The Deluge Many scholars suggest that the flood of the Gilgamesh myth is somehow related to the Biblical story of Noah and the flood. Those two flood stories, however, are only two among many throughout the ages in various cultures.

Gilgamesh the Hero

The Hero’s Journey The Gilgamesh myth is, obviously, an epic myth. It. is also a deluge myth. It also serves as a fine example of the Monomyth or “Hero’s Journey,” which we will study in conjunction with this myth.