Epic of Gilgamesh
In your textbook on page 32 is a brief excerpt from the Gilgamesh. Here is a more detailed version of the same story. Try this website and read the more detailed excerpt. Remember that the Gilgamesh is an example of an epic. So note its strengths and weaknesses. What can we learn about Mesopotamian civilization from this story? When was it written? How? Other thoughts?
Click on the title above and it should take you to the full text. If not then try this website (http://alexm.here.ru/mirrors/www.enteract.com/jwalz/Eliade/073.html).
TSAR
Click on the title above and it should take you to the full text. If not then try this website (http://alexm.here.ru/mirrors/www.enteract.com/jwalz/Eliade/073.html).
TSAR
posted by AP Tsar | 10:29 AM
2 Comments:
Scholars
Not a bad start. First some observations.
1. DON'T GUESS. Don't guess at the date--do some research. Congrats to Ashley Johnson who finally googled it!!
2. Many of you need to write and analyze more. My list of who did not write enough was too long to publish here. So err on the side of too much.
NOTES:
An Epic is typically an oral story that has been passed down through the years. Have you ever played the game Password? When you whisper something in someone's ear and then they repeat it to someone else and so on. By the time it reaches the end of the classroom, the whole story has changed. That would be a weakness of an Epic. Also remember that even though it may have been written in 800 or 1800 BCE, the events took place long before that.
The Epic refers to a flood similar to the one described in Genesis. Many of you noted the similarities. So what does that tell you???? THINK GUYS
If there was a flood, would there be any evidence of it anywhere?
Archaeologists and Geologists have found strong evidence that the Black Sea was at one time a land-locked lake below sea level. It appears that sometime about 4-5000 years ago there was a major earthquake in the region which may have broken the connection between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean (present day Istanbul, Dardanelles, and Bosporus). This would have caused any civilization located along the shore of the Black Sea to have been flooded. Those civilizations would have seen this as a flood of the ages.
Recently, Bob Ballard from National Geographic (the guy who discovered the Titanic) has found evidence of civilizations lying in about 100 feet of water along the Black Sea coast. Why would they be underwater??? Also the Black Sea has two distinct levels of water--a top level that is more salty than the bottom level that is fresher.
If you read this, then let me know on the Reading Quiz on Tuesday and you can earn some extra credit.
Be Scholars, Inquire, Challenge.
TSAR
i thought the epic of gilgamesh was interesting. It is from about 2700 bce. In mesopotamia, the people had very hard lives and they were almost always unhappy. Their rivers flooded irregularly, they agriculture was destroyed often, and they worked long hours. They believe the afterlife was a terrible place and therefore they didnt want to die. The people of mesopotamia were looking for immortality. Gilgamesh is the hero of the epic. The main character in an epic reflect the culture of the society in which they are. Gilgamesh reflects his society in that he seeks immortality. Gilgamesh is 1/3 mortal and after the death of Enkindu, he realizes that he could also die. The gods decided to punish Enkindu for the harm he had done to Humbaba. After his death, Gilgimesh feared death as well. He went on a quest for immortality. However immortality could also be a punishment. If you were to be immortal, you would live forever and after time your body would degenerate.
Post a Comment
<< Home