The Gilgamesh Epic
From pages 12-13, World Masterpieces:
1. What is the Gilgamesh Epic?
2. What are the epic’s “concerns,” or themes, which are timeless and universal?
3. Where, when, and in what form, was the written epic found?
4. What is interesting about the flood story in Gilgamesh?
5. Why is Enkidu created?
6. Who is Utnapishtim?
From page 22:
7. What event causes Gilgamesh to embark on his quest?
8. What is Gilgamesh searching for?
Based on what you have read so far, make a list of the events in the story of Gilgamesh that can
be connected to the steps of the Hero’s Journey:
Write a summary for each section of the story of Gilgamesh below. Then, add to your list of the
steps of the Hero’s Journey on the front.
Prologue and The Coming of Enkidu:
The Forest Journey:
Ishtar and Gilgamesh, and the Death of Enkidu:
The Search for Everlasting Life:
The Story of the Flood:
The Return and The Death of Gilgamesh: