Background Information Ancient worlds Background Information

setting Where: Uruk, a Sumerian City; modern- day Iraq When: around 3500 BC

Cultural context: Sumeria World’s oldest civilization Responsible for bringing the wheel, government, art, mathematics, astronomy, and a kind of writing called cuneiform to the world

Influential “people”: dieties AN ISHTAR The sky god God of the kings Unfriendly to the common people Took over heaven when it was separated from earth, creating the universe as we know it The goddess of love, procreation, and war Type of “black widow spider” – she finds a mate and then kills him when she is through (i.e. she attempts to entice Gilgamesh, but is refused by him, so she asks her father An to unleash the “Bull of Heaven” upon Gilgamesh and Enkidu)

Influential “People”: dieties ENKI ENLIL The god of the subterranean waters His words came to life – what he spoke became reality The wind/storm god and the god of the lands and of the earth The most important god, but he had a short fuse and was responsible for the great flood Credited with the creation of mankind

Characteristics: the epic Definition: a long narrative poem on a serious subject centered on a heroic of god- like figure on whose actions depends the fate of a tribe, nation, human race; developed in the oral traditions

Characteristics: epic conventions The hero is a figure of great national or even cosmic importance, usually the ideal man of his culture. The setting is vast in scope. The action consists of deeds of valor (bravery). Supernatural forces interest themselves in the action and intervene at times. The style of writing is elevated (more formal).

Characteristics: other epic conventions Opening states the theme of the epic Writer invokes a Muse (a source of inspiration) Opens “in media res” Uses heave use of repetition and stock phrases Gives catalogs and genealogies Main characters give extended formal speeches Uses the epic simile ( a more involved, ornate comparison)

Significant work: The epic of gilgamesh Perhaps the oldest written story on Earth Originated in Ancient Sumeria Written on 12 clay tablets in cuneiform About the adventures of the historical King of Uruk, somewhere between 2750 and 2500 BC

Works cited Brown, Arthur A. “Storytelling, The Meaning of Life, and The Epic of Gilgamesh.” Exploring Ancient World Cultures: Essays on the Ancient Near East. eawc.evansville.edu/essays/brown.htm Hooker, Richard. “The Epic of Gilgamesh.” World Civilizations: The Mesopotamian Reader. Wsu.edu/~dee/MESO/GILG.htm