Epic Of Gilgamesh

A detailed Summary of Epic Of Gilgamesh

The Epic of Gilgamesh, is a folk epic compilation of oral narratives and written texts that were created over a millennium ago. The story of Gilgamesh dates around 2700 BC, where there was said to have lived a king, from the Sumerian Empire, by that name. A Babylonian priest, Assurbanipal, is greatly responsible for the survival of the Gilgamesh stories. He ensured that the stories were

collected, and kept together for ease of reading. It was not until 1872, that archeologists unearthed several stone tablets containing the tales of Gilgamesh. Through the untiring efforts of many translators and authors, we have in our possession a key to the civilization of the ancient Sumerians.

The book begins with a description of Gilgamesh in the prologue. It reads:

...[T]his was the king who knew the countries of the world. He was wise, he saw mysteries and knew secret things, he brought us a tale of the days before the flood... When the Gods created Gilgamesh, they gave him a perfect body. Shamash the glorious sun endowed him with beauty, Adad the god of the storm end

The story begins to pick up with the coming of Enkidu. Enkidu is an equal to Gilgamesh that was created by the Gods in order to level the playing field, so to speak. Until the arrival of Enkidu, Gilgamesh spent his days killing young men, and raping the local virgins. Enkidu is solely responsible for turning Gilgamesh into an upstanding citizen and king through several different events, but most importantly, the realization of the meaning of mortality. The relationship between Enkidu and Gilgamesh grows ever stronger through out the adventure. With the goal of immortality in mind, one of the major tasks that the two partake in is the demise of the monster, Humbaba.

With this win under his belt, Gilgamesh rapidly ascends to the level of "hero" status, with Enkidu by his side.

The Epic of Gilgamesh is a wonderful story of one man's adventure through mortal life. At various times I found this book somewhat difficult to read, as I attempted to differentiate between the diverse themes of Gilgamesh, and the similar biblical themes. Nevertheless, it was an enlight

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Sumerian Empire, Enkidu Enkidu, Enkidu Gilgamesh, Shamash Gilgamesh, Epic Gilgamesh, epic gilgamesh, London Penguin, Cited Sanders, enkidu gilgamesh, enkidu enkidu,

Approximate Word count = 726
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History

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Epic Of Gilgamesh

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