Epic of Gilgamesh notes
1. Cuneiform writing by clay from Sumerians
2. Had to translate stories
3. Gilgamesh from Uruk (Ancient Ur) is 2/3 god and 1/3 human
4. Enkidu once wild now civilized goes on adventures with Gilgamesh and
defeats the bull of heaven
5. The gods are enraged and Enkidu falls ill
6. Floods occur often destroying humanity
7. To survive the flood you have to go through the river of stix
8. You go to a place and eat dust in the afterlife
9. You live on as a legend larger than life concept
10. Archetype of theme of wrestling savages vs. civilization; archetype of hero
and sidekick
11. He went through the mt. and did not receive eternal life and died of natural
causes
12. You can search all you want but you will fulfill your role as a human which is
death
13. 12 tablets of him being some one he is not
14. ends in realization
NOTES
Ancient world- Literature followed even today, Nomads found dead sea
scrolls, 4,000 years ago, 2000 years of documentation did not change the
message
Relevance- Literature is the glue between generations, suggests relevance,
dead sea scrolls=bible=books, what is worth passing on usually has life
lessons, remnants in our language that comes from earlier sources=allusions;
reference to something , pandora’s box=keep hope
Allusion- achilles’ heel=things you struggle with, allusions=remnants of a
previous culture, historical allusions=down the river: slavery
History rome- Romans were cultural thieves of greeks, greek teacher slaves’
influence on romans, india, Africa, asia, were influenced
Western thought- Europe and Americas and Australia; Europe gave us
concept of epics;models ,
Epic stories- epic stories epic heroes epic battles epic villains epic rewards,
villain defines how heroic herpo is, bigger challenge=biagger hero, heroic fall,
model of behavior; highlight mistake’ learn from mistake and other’s
mistakes
Black Forest – little red riding hood=death=don’t talk to strangers
Grimm Brothers- Greek concept warns generation not to do certain things
Greeks-Human nature in greek literature, human is the center of the world,
more gods=less religious
Heroic age- myths
Epic age- things that took place; said in a mythical place, homer wrote both
City-States-rise of democracy
Lyric Age-lyric poetry starts up, melodious, write what you know
Persian war spaarta and Athens kick them out
Pelaponesian war defeat
Phillips war masadomian son Alexander the great
Golden age of Athens best; artwork; politics; jealousy from others
Rise of drama happens in Greece; drunk people bowing down to Dyonosis;
cult; ritualistic theater and religion mix together
Greek drama- aeschyclus, Sophocles, Euripides 3 big play rites
Sophocles outrights Shakespeare; more plays 100+; play comeptitoins;
played beginning and end of the day to hgave natural light and be
rememberal; bloody battle scenes with the sun
Histories Herodotus and Thucydides
Great philosphers if you want to get brainwashed go to the SPAA: Socrates,
Plato, Aristotle, Alexander the Great; taught eachother; Alexander spread
philosophy
Concepts= ideas stay with us’
Pprotagopnist ;main character
Antagonist; opposing character
Hamartia; tragic flaw
Hubris; flaw takes the form of excessive pride or arrogance
Catharsis; purgations; self awareness; renewal audience have emotions of
pity and fear leading them to the feeling of catharsis
Gods tell people place they are at is right which leads to terrible conflict,
blame, etc
Theater is there for you to purge
Experience through the lives of characters