The Epic of Gilgamesh (Volume A)
History
• Mesopotamia, 1900–
250 B.C.E.
• Gilgamesh, priestking of Uruk
• written in cuneiform
• Ur
• revised in Babylonian
Ur
Cuneiform
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wedge-shaped script
2100 B.C.E.
clay tablets
Sumerians
Elements of Epic Writing
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length
content: historic, mythic
motifs
divine intervention
heroic flaw
orality and performance, writing
language
Binary Themes
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death and friendship
nature and civilization
power and violence
travel and homecoming
love and sexuality
physical and intellectual journeys
Death and Friendship
Foil
Dichotomies
“Go up, Ur-Shanabi, pace out the walls of
Uruk. Study the foundation terrace and
examine the brickwork. Is not its masonry
of kiln-fired brick? And did not seven
masters lay its foundations?” (Tablet X,
151)
Physical and Intellectual Journeys
“Shall I not die too? Am I not like Enkidu?”
(Tablet IX, 135)
“For whom, Ur-Shanabi, have my hands
been toiling? For whom has my heart’s
blood been poured out? For myself I have
obtained no benefit, I have done a good
deed for a reptile!” (Tablet X, 150)
Gods
Women
Flood Myths
Discussion Questions
Consider the etymology of the name
“Gilgamesh” (“the old man is still a young
man” OR “the offspring is a hero”). Is
Gilgamesh’s name significant, despite the
fact that he loses the plant that would
return him to his youth? In what ways is it
a fitting name despite his failure in the
quest for immortality. How, in fact, has he
actually accomplished immortality?
Discussion Questions
Throughout The Epic of Gilgamesh, many
dreams occur, and often their meaning is
unclear, or at least inscrutable for the
characters who have them. Is there a
general unity of the dreams? What is their
purport? Do they come from the gods? Are
they true? Are they good?
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