Mesopotamian Mythology
Mesopotamian Mythology
The Epic of Gilgamesh
Longest and greatest literary composition written cuneiform Akkadian.
Story was constantly altered through oral narrative tradition king of Uruk, who was two-thirds god and one-third man
Although Gilgamesh was godlike in body and mind, he began his kingship as a cruel despot. He lorded over his subjects, raping any woman ,whether she was the wife of one of his warriors or the daughter of a nobleman
Gilgamesh used force labourers to build his magnificent buildings and his exhausted subjects groaned under his oppression
The gods heard his subjects’ pleas and decided to keep Gilgamesh in check by creating a wild man named Enkidu, who was as magnificent as Gilgamesh
Enkidu became Gilgamesh’s best friend but later he died by a god inflicted illness and Gilgamesh was crushed
Gilgamesh then travels to the edge of the world to learn about the days before the great flood had struck and other secrets of the gods and wrote them down on tablets
Gilgamesh and Enkidu decide to steal trees from a distant cedar forest forbidden to mortals. A terrifying demon named Humbaba, the devoted servant of Enlil, the god of earth, wind, and air, guards it. The two heroes make the journey to the forest, and fight with the monster. With assistance from Shamash the sun god, they kill him
Ishtar, the goddess of love, is overcome with lust for Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh ignores her. Enraged, the goddess asks her father, Anu, the god of the sky, to send the Bull of Heaven to punish him. The bull comes down from the sky, bringing with him seven years of famine. Gilgamesh and Enkidu wrestle with the bull and kill it.
The gods meet in council and agree that one of the two friends must be punished for their transgression, and they decide Enkidu is going to die. He takes ill, suffers immensely, and shares his visions of the underworld with Gilgamesh. When he finally dies, Gilgamesh is heartbroken.
He then travels to the end of the world
The Epic of Gilgamesh
Longest and greatest literary composition written cuneiform Akkadian.
Story was constantly altered through oral narrative tradition king of Uruk, who was two-thirds god and one-third man
Although Gilgamesh was godlike in body and mind, he began his kingship as a cruel despot. He lorded over his subjects, raping any woman ,whether she was the wife of one of his warriors or the daughter of a nobleman
Gilgamesh used force labourers to build his magnificent buildings and his exhausted subjects groaned under his oppression
The gods heard his subjects’ pleas and decided to keep Gilgamesh in check by creating a wild man named Enkidu, who was as magnificent as Gilgamesh
Enkidu became Gilgamesh’s best friend but later he died by a god inflicted illness and Gilgamesh was crushed
Gilgamesh then travels to the edge of the world to learn about the days before the great flood had struck and other secrets of the gods and wrote them down on tablets
Gilgamesh and Enkidu decide to steal trees from a distant cedar forest forbidden to mortals. A terrifying demon named Humbaba, the devoted servant of Enlil, the god of earth, wind, and air, guards it. The two heroes make the journey to the forest, and fight with the monster. With assistance from Shamash the sun god, they kill him
Ishtar, the goddess of love, is overcome with lust for Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh ignores her. Enraged, the goddess asks her father, Anu, the god of the sky, to send the Bull of Heaven to punish him. The bull comes down from the sky, bringing with him seven years of famine. Gilgamesh and Enkidu wrestle with the bull and kill it.
The gods meet in council and agree that one of the two friends must be punished for their transgression, and they decide Enkidu is going to die. He takes ill, suffers immensely, and shares his visions of the underworld with Gilgamesh. When he finally dies, Gilgamesh is heartbroken.
He then travels to the end of the world