THE EPIC OF GILGAMESH Background The Epic of

THE EPIC OF GILGAMESH

Background The Epic of Gilgamesh is a story about a Sumerian king (Gilgamesh) who seems to have lived around 2500 BC, in Mesopotamia. Story-tellers probably began telling this story not long after he died, and someone probably wrote down the story about 1700 BC, in the time of the Babylonian Empire, but the oldest written copy of it that we still have dates to the Assyrian Period(around 900 BC). Archaeologists found the tablet in the ruins of the palace of one of the Assyrian kings.

King Gilgamesh of Uruk is the strongest and most powerful man in the world. Gilgamesh is part god, part human. He could defeat any enemy in battle and even lift mountains. Gilgamesh was the king of the wealthy city of Uruk. For as strong and power as he was, he was also cruel. Gilgamesh forced the people of Uruk to build him great palaces. He also made his subjects live in constant fear. The people of Uruk begged the gods for help.

The gods see this and decide that Gilgamesh needs a challenge. They sent him a challenger in a wild man named Enkidu was also big and strong, but he was wild and raised in the forest where he lived with the animals. Enkidu and Gilgamesh battle, but neither can beat the other. Eventually they stop fighting and realize that they respect each other. They become best friends.

The unlikely pair left Uruk to embark on many adventures. During one adventure Gilgamesh and Enkidu entered the forbidden Cedar Forest where the gods lived. They traveled there in hopes of doing battle with the fearsome monster Humbaba. At first they did not see Humbaba, but when they started chopping down cedar trees, Humbaba appeared. Gilgamesh and Enkidu trapped Humbaba and then killed him.

Gilgamesh displeased the goddess Ishtar, so she sent the fearsome Bull of Heaven to destroy the crops of the Sumerian farmers. Gilgamesh and Enkidu killed the bull. However, the gods become angry and decide that one of them must die. They choose Enkidu and soon Enkidu dies.

Gilgamesh was heartbroken by the death of his friend. The king also feared that one day he would also die, so Gilgamesh began to search for the secret of eternal life. Gilgamesh went on a long journey to meet Utnapishtim, an elderly man who survived a massive flood because the gods warned him of the coming deluge. From Utnapishtim, Gilgamesh realized that he could not escape death, but he could live on in the memories of the people he loved.

Gilgamesh returned home filled with wisdom from his adventures with Enkidu and Utnapishtim. Gilgamesh became a gentle ruler who no longer mistreated the people of Uruk.