9 10 13 Humanities Professor Rubey Gilgamesh Oldest story in the world Things in the old stories are sorted into basic categories but Gilgamesh crosses these A major theme is the fear of death Uruk was the 1st large city in human history 5000 people Located in South Iraq along the Euphrates river In the large state of Sumer 1st cuneiform tablets were used for accounting Larger tablets about 500 years later were used for medical legal and fiction Gilgamesh written in about 1300 BC Standard version of Gilgamesh found in the ruins of a library in Clay cylinder Nineva Mixing of human and animal form could be seen as wrestling or dancing Uruk as a developed society opened potential for abuse of power Gilgamesh is a sexual predator He sometimes worked his people too hard then not at all Enkidu is half animal and presents a problem for the humans cleverer than animals and able to save them He is brought to society through sex Once he has sex with the priestess in a patriarchal society virginity is a singular state of being and can t be undone once he has sex he crosses into civilization The attitude toward sex in Sumerian society is different Shamhat is not a true prostitute but a priestess of Ishtar Other prostitutes of the time may just have been normal bachelorettes and not pariahs Shamhat civilizes Enkidu with clothes and bathing Enkidu retains his values and protects a virgin bride The protector plays an important role in Sumerian society Image shepherd protecting cow or sheep from a lion Sign of a good king Christ analogy as shepherd Two kinds of doctors Sorcerers Ashapu blamed demons and suggested charms Surgery came at a price dead patient led to surgeons hands to be cut off Hammurabi s code Even if Gilgamesh is killed by Humbaba he will have won fame and immortality Despite the advisor s better judgment they fail their duties as advisors and turn on Enkidu calling him a coward They needed cedar wood Uruk was on a flood plain with no trees Why does Enkidu tell Gilgamesh not to listen to Humbaba s pleas for mercy Innana Sumer Ishtar Semitic and South Sumer Goddess of love and also war Gilgamesh mocks insults her The lion and horse seem to fulfill her role as the protector of civilization Taming wilderness broken horse tame lion Pride of civilization Gilgamesh doesn t want to be civilized by her love Ishtar was killed by her sister in the underworld and resurrected at the price of her husband spending 6 months in underworld like Greek Persephone Overall theme of impermanence Not of woman s fickleness but Nature s Changing of the seasons death and rebirth love Image Ishtar s left arm is on Gilgamesh and right arm on Enkidu Gilgamesh could not be killed off because he was part divine Enkidu s death seems fated from the beginning created as Gilgamesh s opposite Civilization has price Awareness of Death Wound of Reason Gilgamesh sets out to defeat death Suffers chronic depression in mourning Alone isolated desolate emaciated matted hair Siduri Gods gave death to men and kept life for themselves Gilgamesh doesn t listen to them Great Flood is about capriciousness of the gods They went to wipe out humans because they make too much noise Gods Enlil The hunter Ishtar Goddess of war Ea God of natural world where saved humans After hearing the story of the flood Gilgamesh falls asleep Purifications ritual bake one loaf of bread for each day he sleeps Before he leaves he is told the secret of immortality but DOES NOT GUARD IT he is then clothed bathed A snake steals the plant His mistake and loss of immortality shows his character and of human nature Bound by impulsiveness weakness limitations Stuck w immortality The point is to enjoy the life we have The end of the story draws attention to the accomplishments of the city To live with social accomplishments of humanity Image Urnam king of Ur Claimed to be Gilgamesh s brother but was a good king Humble pays tribute to the gods