Ancient Literature Review
Gilgamesh & Ancient Literature
NOTE: You need to know the story well. There is a section of the test where you must put 10 events in
chronological order.
Background of Ancient Writing: How did it all begin? Resetta Stone: what is it and how did it prove
helpful to scholars? Historically, what is Babylon? Know the 4 classes of people in Babylonian history.
Where is Mesopotamia? Who are the Sumarians?
How did writing begin? How was the code of hieroglyphics broken? What are the problems with
translation?
Mythology in the ancient world was not concerned with literal truth. Why was this? In other words,
understand why these stories and myths were necessary for those ancient cultures.
Gilgamesh:
Who is Gil? What is he like? How does he evolve or change from the beginning of the story (before
Enkidu's arrival) to the end of the story?
Enkidu: Why is he created? How is he lured out of the forest? What are his characteristics? What is his
dream?
Gil’s Journey: Why does he set out on this journey? Why is Gilgamesh scared? What does he want?
What are the main events of Gilgamesh’s journey: Who does he encounter and what happens with these
encounters? KNOW: Man-Scorpions, Urshanabi and the boat, test given by Utnapishtim, the plant that
gives youth.
How does the story resolve itself?
The Hero’s Journey and Archetypal Symbols
Know how the stages of "The Hero" fit into Gilgamesh and his journey. On the test, I will give you the
following choices. Below, there will be events from the story, and you will have to match the stages to
the events.
1) Separation and The call 2) The threshold 3) Initiation 4)Into the abyss 5) Transformation/Rev.
6) Atonement 7) The Return
What is an Archetype? What is an Archetypal Symbol? Who came up with these symbols? What is
meant by the term “Collective Unconscious?”
Give a couple of examples of Archetypal Symbols in Gilgamesh.
Egyptian Literature
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Know the kingdoms: what changed in their beliefs as time went on?
Who is Ra and Osiris? How did Egyptians feel about these gods?
What are their beliefs regarding death? What is their afterlife like?
What ideas or major attitudes are conveyed in each of the 4 poems we read in class?
There will be several questions covering what we talked about in class. Refer to the attitudes/beliefs and
speaker details from the reading guide we did in class.
Ra, Osirus, Horus, and Set: What are they gods of?
Essay Topics to Think about:
Symbolism: Think about the many possible archetypal symbols in the Epic of Gilgamesh. Think of at least
three and explain how they are used in the story. These symbols come from the Archetypal
Symbols we discussed in class. Check your notes and archetypal symbols work we did in class.
Remember, when explaining your symbols, be sure to tie your reasoning to the definition/uses of
the symbol. You MUST explain how the symbol works in the story, so be specific and show that
you know the story well.
These symbols could relate to:
Getting the Theme or message across to the reader.
Showing the struggle(s) that Gilgamesh is going through.
Getting the reader to "feel" the atmosphere in the story.
Getting the reader to subconsciously connect to the story.
Foreshadowing.
…and anything else you can draw from the symbol.