1. THE EPIC OF GILGAMESH WHAT? WHEN? WHERE? HOW?
Tale of the superhuman Sumerian king, Gilgamesh
Painful search for everlasting life
WHEN?
Written over 4,000 years ago; considered the oldest known piece of literature
Discovered in 1839 by archaeologists
WHERE?
Ancient Mesopotamia (“Between two rivers” - Tigris and the Euphrates) - current day Iraq
Versions are found all over the Middle East
HOW?
Inscribed in clay, which made the text durable
12 tablets (1-11: Gilgamesh’s life; 12: Gilgamesh in the nether world)
Many exact copies were made; accuracy was critical

2. Sumerian Ram Offering Statue
THE EPIC OF GILGAMESH Background Information
Gilgamesh
May be a “true” story - a King Gilgamesh is found in the ancient Sumerian records
Two parts god, One part human  Supernatural power, Human weaknesses
Leader of the Sumerian people and builder of a great city
Suffers from excessive PRIDE (what the Greeks would later call “hubris”)
Can you think of other (heroic) figures who are similar to Gilgamesh?
Greek Myth: Hercules
Shakespeare’s MacBeth
Politics: Bill Clinton
Sumerian Ram Offering Statue

3. THE EPIC OF GILGAMESH SIGNIFICANCE
Why is Gilgamesh’s story important to us?
IMPORTANT CONCEPTS/IDEAS EXPLORED
Quest for Knowledge and Truth
Friendship
Life and Death
Birth and Renewal (The Flood)
Man V. Fate
LITERARY SIGNIFICANCE
EPIC
Definition: a long narrative that recounts the deeds of a larger-than-life hero who embodies the values of a particular society
EPIC HERO
Definition: Superior human beings with supernatural strength or spiritual powers; usually mighty leaders of their people; of mixed divine and human birth, so we admire their greatness but sympathize with their failings
Gilgamesh is the earliest known epic hero
Archetype for future epic heroes, including Homer’s Odysseus

4. Cuneiform THE EPIC OF GILGAMESH
Though the tales of Gilgamesh were originally shared through oral communication, the epic was eventually written down using cuneiform.
first form of writing ever developed
consisted of wedge-shaped characters that were created using a reed stylus
characters could represent either words or sounds and were usually carved into clay that was later baked

5. Pictograms, or drawings representing actual things, were the basis for cuneiform writing.
As shown in the chart, early pictograms resembled the objects they represented, but through repeated use over time they began to look simpler, even abstract.
These marks eventually became wedge-shaped ("cuneiform"), and could convey sounds or abstract concepts.