Gilgamesh And Lesson Plans
Today is the first day back to school after an extended vacation in the midst of winter. Getting into the swing of things at school can take a bit even after just a two-day weekend, so two weeks out of school requires taking a look back before moving forward with the curriculum.
Class starts with a few essential questions: What were we doing? And why were we doing it?One way to answer these questions is looking at the list of to be covered in this trimester and focus on ‘Analyzes the elements of literature to demonstrate comprehension.’ The students remember that they recently completed a literature unit on how setting impacts a story’s plot and offer a few examples of the key role that ‘where’ and ‘when’ played in those stories. They also note that we have moved on to a new area of study: character change, which is what we will concentrate on in our new unit of study. In most stories the main character changes in some way (for better or worse) from the beginning of the story to the end. To get all of the students involved in conversation about this, they have 5 minutes or so to talk with a partner and share examples of character change in stories read during class or on their own.
Take a look at the reflection link for the reason why they have so much to say. Volunteers have an opportunity to share their thoughts with the class. By Ludmila Zeman is a beautifully written and illustrated book that I want the whole class to enjoy, so I chose to read it aloud to the students while projecting the pages onto the white board. It tells the story of a half-god/half-human Mesopotamian ruler who undergoes an amazing transformation. The story fits in well with our ELA focus on character change and also aligns with what the students are currently studying in history class.
This is the perfect opportunity to generalize their learning between content areas.Reasons for reading aloud to older students include that it can be motivating as they hear text read fluently and with emotion appropriate to the characters and action. This generates their interest in and involvement with the story. It also gives me the opportunity to model the habits of good readers and clarify any questions or misconceptions that arise.
For example, the students are particularly taken by an illustration of two characters arguing that is depicted with arrowhead-like shapes emitting from their mouths and aimed at one another. A close examination of this picture reveals that those shapes and the writing on the wall behind the characters is cuneiform, the first form of written language in that region of the world.One more reason for reading aloud to the students is that this is the first of three stories in a series, so I want to lay a foundation for further exploration of the topics we discuss today. The students become thoroughly absorbed in the reading and offer many comments, connections and predictions as we make our through the story. I cannot imagine that their enthusiasm would be this high if I just handed a plain text of the story.
To demonstrate understanding of today’s reading, the students answer a set of. They also have access to a copy of the for reference. I give them time at the end to class to get started and the rest of the assignment is finished for homework. As they work, I check in with students that I suspect may struggle with the assignment.
As with most texts, few students have problems with questions whose answers are ‘right there’ in the reading, it is making inferences that pose the biggest challenge, such as explaining why Enkidu saved Gilgamesh.
Is the semi-mythic King of in best known from The Epic of Gilgamesh (written c. 2150 - 1400 BCE) the great /Babylonian poetic work which pre-dates ’s by 1500 years and, therefore, stands as the oldest piece of epic world.The motif of the quest for the meaning of life is first fully explored in Gilgamesh as the hero-king leaves his kingdom following the of his best friend, Enkidu, to find the mystical figure Utnapishtim and gain eternal life. Gilgamesh's fear of death is actually a fear of meaninglessness and, although he fails to win immortality, the quest itself gives his life meaning. This theme has been explored by writers and philosophers from antiquity up to the present day. Historical & Legendary KingGilgamesh’s father is said to have been the Priest-King Lugalbanda (who is featured in two Sumerian poems concerning his magical abilities which pre-date Gilgamesh) and his mother the goddess Ninsun (also known as Ninsumun, the Holy Mother and Great Queen). Accordingly, Gilgamesh was a demi-god who was said to have lived an exceptionally long life (the Sumerian King List records his reign as 126 years) and to be possessed of super-human strength.Known as 'Bilgames’ in the Sumerian, 'Gilgamos’ in, and associated closely with the figure of Dumuzi from the Sumerian poem The Descent of, Gilgamesh is widely accepted as the historical 5th king of Uruk who reigned in the 26th century BCE. His influence was so profound that myths of his divine status grew up around his deeds and finally culminated in the tales found in The Epic of Gilgamesh. Later Mesopotamian kings would invoke his name and associate his lineage with their own.
Most famously, (2029-1982 BCE), considered the greatest king of the III Period (2047-1750 BCE) in Mesopotamia, claimed Lugalbanda and Ninsun as his parents and Gilgamesh as his brother to elevate his reign in the eyes of the people.Development of the TextThe Akkadian version of the text was discovered at, in the ruins of the library of, in 1849 CE by the archaeologist Austin Henry Layard. Layard's expedition was part of a mid-19th century CE initiative of European institutions and governments to fund expeditions to Mesopotamia to find physical evidence to corroborate events described in the. What these explorers found instead, however, was that the Bible - previously thought to be the oldest book in the world and comprised of original stories - actually drew upon much older Sumerian myths.The Epic of Gilgamesh did likewise as it is a compilation of tales, no doubt originally passed down orally, which was finally written down 700-1000 years after the historical king's reign.
Gilgamesh And Utnapishtim
The author of the version Layard found was the Babylonian writer Shin-Leqi-Unninni (wrote 1300-1000 BCE) who was thought to be the world's first author known by name until the discovery of the works of (2285-2250 BCE), daughter of. Shin-Leqi-Unninni drew upon Sumerian sources to create his story and probably had a significant number to work from as Gilgamesh had been a popular hero for centuries by the time the epic was created. Gilgamesh rescues a powerful & potent goddess from a difficult situation which shows the high regard in which he was held.In the Sumerian tale of Inanna and the Huluppu Tree, in which the goddess Inanna plants a troublesome tree in her garden and appeals to her family for help with it, Gilgamesh appears as her loyal brother who comes to her aid.In this story, Inanna (the Sumerian goddess of love and ) plants a tree in her garden with the hope of one day making a chair and bed from it. The tree becomes infested, however, by a snake at its roots, a female demon ( lilitu) in its center, and an Anzu bird in its branches.No matter what, Inanna cannot rid herself of the pests and so appeals to her brother, Utu, god of the sun, for help.
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Utu refuses but her plea is heard by Gilgamesh who comes, heavily armed, and kills the snake. The demon and Anzu bird then flee and Gilgamesh, after taking the branches for himself, presents the trunk to Inanna to build her bed and chair from. This is thought to be the first appearance of Gilgamesh in heroic poetry and the fact that he rescues a powerful and potent goddess from a difficult situation shows the high regard in which he was held even early on. Other tales mentioning Gilgamesh also represent him as the great hero and the historical king was eventually accorded completely divine status as a god. He was seen as the brother of Inanna, one of the most popular goddesses, if not the most popular, in all of Mesopotamia.
Prayers found inscribed on clay tablets address Gilgamesh in the afterlife as a judge in the Underworld comparable in wisdom to the famous Greek judges of the Underworld, Rhadamanthus, Minos, and Aeacus.The Epic TaleIn The Epic of Gilgamesh, the great king is thought to be too proud and arrogant by the gods and so they decide to teach him a lesson by sending the wild man, Enkidu, to humble him. Enkidu and Gilgamesh are considered an even match by the people but, after a fierce, Enkidu is bested. He freely accepts his defeat and the two become friends and embark on adventures together.They kill Humbaba, demon of the Cedar Forest, and this attracts the attention of Inanna (known by her Akkadian/Babylonian name in the story). Inanna tries to seduce Gilgamesh but he rejects her, citing all the other men she has had as lovers who ended their lives poorly. Inanna is enraged and sends her brother-in-, the Bull of Heaven, down to earth to destroy Gilgamesh. Enkidu comes to his friend's aid and kills the bull but, in doing so, he has offended the gods and is condemned to death.
When Enkidu dies, Gilgamesh falls into a deep grief and, recognizing his own mortality through the death of his friend, questions the meaning of life and the value of human accomplishment in the face of ultimate extinction. He cries:How can I rest, how can I be at peace?
Despair is in my heart. What my brother is now, that shall I be when I am dead. Because I am afraid of death I will go as best I can to find Utnapishtim whom they call the Faraway, for he has entered the assembly of the gods. (Sandars, 97)Casting away all of his old vanity and pride, Gilgamesh sets out on a quest to find the meaning of life and, finally, some way of defeating death.
He travels through the mountains, over vast oceans, and finally locates Utnapishtim who offers him two chances at immortality; both of which he fails. First, he cannot remain awake for six days and six nights and, second, he fails to protect a magic plant; a snake eats the plant while Gilgamesh sleeps. Failing to have won immortality, he is rowed back home by the ferryman Urshanabi and, once there, writes down his story. Legacy & continuing DebateThrough his struggle to find meaning in life, Gilgamesh defied death and, in doing so, becomes the first epic hero in world literature.
The grief of Gilgamesh, and the questions his friend's death evoke, resonate with every human being who has wrestled with the meaning of life in the face of death. Although Gilgamesh ultimately fails to win immortality in the story, his deeds live on through the written word and, so, does he.Since The Epic of Gilgamesh existed in oral form long before it was written down, there has been much debate over whether the extant tale is more early Sumerian or later Babylonian in cultural influence.
The best-preserved version of the story, as noted, comes from Shin-Leqi-Unninni who most likely embellished on the original Sumerian source material. Regarding this, the Orientalist Samuel Noah Kramer writes:Of the various episodes comprising The Epic of Gilgamesh, several go back to Sumerian prototypes actually involving the hero Gilgamesh. Even in those episodes which lack Sumerian counterparts, most of the individual motifs reflect Sumerian mythic and epic sources. In no case, however, did the Babylonian poets slavishly copy the Sumerian material.
They so modified its content and molded its form, in accordance with their own temper and heritage, that only the bare nucleus of the Sumerian original remains recognizable. As for the plot structure of the epic as a whole - the forceful and fateful episodic drama of the restless, adventurous hero and his inevitable disillusionment - it is definitely a Babylonian, rather than a Sumerian, development and achievement. (History Begins at, 270).Historical evidence for Gilgamesh’s existence is found in inscriptions crediting him with the building of the great walls of Uruk (modern day Warka, Iraq) which, in the story, are the tablets upon which he first records his great deeds and his quest for the meaning of life. There are other references to him by known historical figures of his time such as King Enmebaragesi of Kish and, of course, the Sumerian King List and the legends which grew up around his reign.
A German team of Archaeologists claim to have discovered the of Gilgamesh in April of 2003 CE.In the present day, Gilgamesh is still spoken of and written about. A German team of Archaeologists claim to have discovered the Tomb of Gilgamesh in April of 2003 CE. Archaeological excavations, conducted through modern technology involving magnetization in and around the old riverbed of the Euphrates, have revealed garden enclosures, specific buildings, and structures described in The Epic of Gilgamesh including the great king’s tomb.
According to legend, Gilgmesh was buried at the bottom of the Euphrates when the waters parted upon his death.Whether the historical king existed is no longer relevant, however, as the character has taken on a life of his own over the centuries. At the end of the story, when Gilgamesh lays dying, the narrator says:The heroes, the wise men, like the new moon have their waxing and waning. Men will say, 'Who has ever ruled with might and with power like Gilgamesh?' As in the dark month, the month of shadows, so without him there is no light. O Gilgamesh, you were given the kingship, such was your destiny, everlasting life was not your destiny.
Because of this, do not be sad at heart, do not be grieved or oppressed; he has given you power to bind and to loose, to be the darkness and the light of mankind. (Sanders, 118)The story of Gilgamesh's failure to realize his dream of immortality is the very means by which he attains it.
The epic itself is immortality and has served as the model for any similar tale which has been written since. It was no doubt widely read prior to the fall of the Assyrian in 612 BCE and has become increasingly popular and influential since its rediscovery in 1879 CE.Gilgamesh encourages hope in that, even though one may not be able to live forever, the choices one makes in life resonate in the lives of others. These others may be friends, family, acquaintances, or may be strangers living long after one's death who continue to be touched by the eternal story of the hero's refusal to accept a life without meaning. Gilgamesh's struggle against apparent meaninglessness defines him - just as it defines anyone who has ever lived - and his quest continues to inspire those who recognize how eternal and intrinsically human that struggle is.