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| ~ ~ ~ ~ (Elizabeth Blessing) The account of the flood in the Epic of Gilgamesh resembles that told in The Bible. In the following video, the narrator points out how the original and true Biblical account was the inspiration for the epic. |
Epic of Gilgamesh Flood and the Bible
This is a picture of the remnants of the original text that recounts The Flood
This is known as "The Flood Tablet"
This is a carving from the Tablet I showing " Gilgamesh, two-thirds god and one-third man, is oppressing his people, who are crying out to the gods for help."
This is known as "The Flood Tablet"
Discussion Questions:
(Allie Langston 1-5)
(Elizabeth Blessing 6-10)
1. Why did the god's create Enkidu?
- Gilgamesh became too powerful and started to rape, sacrifice, and take anything he wanted from his people, so the people complained to the gods to help them. The gods listened and made Aruru, who created Gilgamesh, created Enkidu and made him strong enough to stand up to Gilgamesh.
2. What does Gilgamesh dream? How does Enkidu respond?
- Gilgamesh dreams that a mountain falls on Enkidu and him. Enkidu tells Gilgamesh that this means they will triumph over Humbaba.
3. Who is Ea and what did she tell Utnapishtim?
- The god of wisdom who spoke through the walls of Utnapishtim's house and told him that the gods were planning to wipe out the world with a flood. He then told him to build a boat and the dimensions to make it so that he could survive the flood.
4. After Gilgamesh drops a drum and drumstick through the floor and into the nether world, what happens to Enkidu?
- Enkidu voulenteers to go get the drum and drumstick. Gilgamesh agrees but warns to not be seen or the "Cry of the Dead" will capture him. But Enkidu does the exact opposite of what Gilgamesh had advised and is seized.
5. What does Utnapishtim tell Gilgamesh about and who steals it?
- A magical plant called How-the-Old-Man-Once-Again-Becomes-a-Young-Man, and the snake steals the plant
6. What is are the details regarding Gilgamesh's birth?
- Gilgamesh's father was a human named Lugalbanda, an earlier king of Urak. Ninsun, his mother, was a goddess in the shape of a wild cow. Their son therefore was a demi-god, often referred to as "two-thirds divine and one-third human."
7. What is Enkidu's past before meeting the prostitute Shamhat and Gilgamesh?
- Raised by wild animals, Enkidu grew up eating and behaving like his caregivers. When the animals fall prey to hunters' traps, Enkidu sets his friends free and breaks the snares. Since the humans depended upon those traps for food, Enkidu became a threat to the civilization and Gilgamesh decides to take action.
8. How does Enkidu become tame?
- After 7 days of being with the Shamhat, Enkidu sits down to dinner with a group of shepherds. His first meal is made of bread and beer, which he obviously has never tasted before. After the meal the wild man took a bath, dressed in human clothes, and took a weapon. Enkidu hunted the lions and beasts that tried to attack the shepherds during the night, quickly switching roles as he aligned himself with the humans as their protector.
9. Do Enkidu and Gilgamesh instantly become friends? How does their relationship develop?
- Initially, Enkidu blocks Gilgamesh from entering a wedding taking place in the village, and the two begin to fight. Gilgamesh won and turned away, but as Enkidu praises him the two reconcile. Very similar in appearance and strength, the pair join as friends to go on their adventure.
10. How does Gilgamesh's mother, Ninsun, respond to Enkidu's presence at her temple?
- Lauded for being knowing and wise, Ninsun welcomes Enkidu and gave him a necklace. Ninsun publically adopts the former "wild man" and all the priests hail him and the two brothers leave to find Humbaba.
Terms from the Epic:
(Elizabeth Blessing)
1) Soapwort - A medicinal plant used in cleansing and magic.
2) Waterskin - A leather bag travelers used for carrying drinking water.
3) Ecstatics - Prophets who recited spells while in a trance.
4) Due ("she is his due") - This means that by birthright Gilgamesh can take brides on the wedding nights, then leave them to their husbands.
5) Lapidary - gem carver
6) Cuprack - A wooden rack to hold up cups, which at that time in Mesopotamia were conical with pointed bottoms.
7) Gilgamesh - literally " the offspring is a hero" or " the old man is still a young man."
8) Cuneiform - the original script the epic was written in; wedge-shaped characters incised into clay or stone.
9) Epic - a Greek word referring to a long poem narrating important historical or cosmic events in elevated language and involving a panoramic sweep of action and a cast of protagonists who straddle the human and divine worlds.
10) Flashback - a scene set in a time earlier than the main story. This is used as a device when retelling the account of the Flood.
Summary:
(Allie Langston)
In the Epic of Gilgamesh the poem begins with a general introduction to who Gilgammesh is. He is the King of Uruk and was made by Aruru, the goddess of creation, he was made one-third man, two-thirds god, andan awful ruler who went about terrorizing his people when ever he felt like it. His people grew tired of this and asked the gods to help them and they did. Aruru was commanded to make someone who could stand up to him, so she made Enkidu who became Gilgamesh's best friend after Enkidu stood up to him and then they shared a kiss and pledged their allegiance to one another. Then Gilgamesh decides to go on an adventure to fight a demon named Humbaba even though Enkidu has warned Gilhamesh that the demon is invincible. The two go off to kill the demon and with help from the sun god, they kill Humbaba. Then they make a gate and a raft out of the forbidden trees, and float in the raft all the way to Uruk. When they arrive home, Ishtar, the goddess of love, attempts to seduce Gilgamesh, but he denies her. She then goes to her dad, the god of the sky, and tells him to send the Bull of heaven to punish him. The bull goes to Earth, but Gilgamesh and Enkidu kill it. This enrages the gods, so they decided to kill Enkidu with an illness in which he suffers terribly.
"Gilgamesh can’t stop grieving for Enkidu, and he can’t stop brooding about the prospect of his own death. Exchanging his kingly garments for animal skins as a way of mourning Enkidu, he sets off into the wilderness, determined to find Utnapishtim, the Mesopotamian Noah. After the flood, the gods had granted Utnapishtim eternal life, and Gilgamesh hopes that Utnapishtim can tell him how he might avoid death too. Gilgamesh’s journey takes him to the twin-peaked mountain called Mashu, where the sun sets into one side of the mountain at night and rises out of the other side in the morning. Utnapishtim lives beyond the mountain, but the two scorpion monsters that guard its entrance refuse to allow Gilgamesh into the tunnel that passes through it. Gilgamesh pleads with them, and they relent.
After a harrowing passage through total darkness, Gilgamesh emerges into a beautiful garden by the sea. There he meets Siduri, a veiled tavern keeper, and tells her about his quest. She warns him that seeking immortality is futile and that he should be satisfied with the pleasures of this world. However, when she can’t turn him away from his purpose, she directs him to Urshanabi, the ferryman. Urshanabi takes Gilgamesh on the boat journey across the sea and through the Waters of Death to Utnapishtim. Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh the story of the flood—how the gods met in council and decided to destroy humankind. Ea, the god of wisdom, warned Utnapishtim about the gods’ plans and told him how to fashion a gigantic boat in which his family and the seed of every living creature might escape. When the waters finally receded, the gods regretted what they’d done and agreed that they would never try to destroy humankind again. Utnapishtim was rewarded with eternal life. Men would die, but humankind would continue.
When Gilgamesh insists that he be allowed to live forever, Utnapishtim gives him a test. If you think you can stay alive for eternity, he says, surely you can stay awake for a week. Gilgamesh tries and immediately fails. So Utnapishtim orders him to clean himself up, put on his royal garments again, and return to Uruk where he belongs. Just as Gilgamesh is departing, however, Utnapishtim’s wife convinces him to tell Gilgamesh about a miraculous plant that restores youth. Gilgamesh finds the plant and takes it with him, planning to share it with the elders of Uruk. But a snake steals the plant one night while they are camping. As the serpent slithers away, it sheds its skin and becomes young again.
When Gilgamesh returns to Uruk, he is empty-handed but reconciled at last to his mortality. He knows that he can’t live forever but that humankind will. Now he sees that the city he had repudiated in his grief and terror is a magnificent, enduring achievement—the closest thing to immortality to which a mortal can aspire." ("Plot Overview." SparkNotes. SparkNotes, n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2014.) Plot overview of The Epic of Gilgamesh
For Other Information About This Story...
http://www.jasoncolavito.com/epic-of-gilgamesh.html
http://eawc.evansville.edu/essays/brown.htm
http://www.thenasproject.org/2012/06/07/an-introduction-to-the-epic-of-gilgamesh/
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/gilgamesh/
http://eawc.evansville.edu/essays/brown.htm
http://www.sacred-texts.com/ane/eog/
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