The Epic of Gilgamesh is an ancient Sumerian poem about the king of Uruk, Gilgamesh. It is considered one of the earliest great works of literature. The story follows Gilgamesh's journey to find eternal life after the death of his friend Enkidu. Gilgamesh battles monsters and gods, learns of an ancient flood, and travels to meet Uta-Napishti, the immortal survivor of the flood, but is ultimately unable to overcome death. After failing to attain immortality, Gilgamesh returns home to Uruk with a new understanding of his own mortality.

1. The Epic of Gilgamesh
Sumerian Literature
from 2500 B.C.

2. The Epic of Gilgamesh:
Location
 Story takes place in
ancient Sumer, one of
the first settled parts of
the Fertile Crescent
 The Tigris and
Euphrates rivers
allowed for the
development of water
canals and agriculture
 This is part of modern-
day Iraq

3. Epic of Gilgamesh: Art
 Gilgamesh was the
actual king of
ancient Uruk about
2700 B.C.
 This statue depicts
Gilgamesh as a
powerful ruler and
lion-killer

4. Epic of Gilgamesh: Language
 Gilgamesh was written
down on clay cuneiform
tablets
 Scholars were able to
translate Sumerian
cuneiform by comparing
it to later Akkadian
tablets with similar
stories
 This cuneiform writing
consists of wedge shapes
read right to left

5. Epic of Gilgamesh: Religion
 In Gilgamesh’s city
of Uruk, the popular
gods were Anu
(father of the gods),
Ishtar (goddess of
love), and
Lugulbanda
(Gilgamesh’s
personal god)

6. Tablet 1: Gilgamesh's reign, prowess and
tyrannyCreation of his rival Enkidu
 The story begins when
Gilgamesh is a young king.
He had all knowledge and
wisdom,built the walls of the
great city of Uruk and the
temple Eanna. He is the son
of King Lugalbanda and
Ninsun. He is a man of great
beauty and physical
prowess. He dug wells and
restored the cult worship
centers destroyed by the Flood.
 However, he is young and oppresses his people harshly with tyranny. The
people call out to the sky-god Anu to help them. In response, Anu tells the
people to summon Aruru (the Mother Goddess) to create a wild man, Enkidu,
out in the harsh and wild forests surrounding Gilgamesh's lands. This brute
Enkidu is equal in strength to Gilgamesh and is to serve as his rival to give
Uruk some rest.

7. Tablet 2: The taming of Enkidu; his fight and friendship with
Gilgamesh; the proposed journey to the Forest of Cedar
 Enkidu enters the city of Uruk
and the people recognize his
similarity to Gilgamesh. Enkidu
stands in front of the door and
blocks Gilgamesh's way. They
fight furiously until Gilgamesh
wins out; then the two embrace
and become devoted friends.
Gilgamesh proposes to journey
to the great Forest of Cedar and
cut down all the cedar trees. To
do this, they will need to kill its
guardian, the great demon
Humbaba, created by Enlil
(ruler of earth and men) to
terrify men away.
 Enkidu knows about Humbaba from his days running wild in the forest, and
fears him. He tries in vain to convince Gilgamesh not to undertake this folly.
But he refuses. Enkidu agrees, and they go to fight.
 Gilgamesh announces to the crowd and the elders of Uruk his plans to cut
down the cedar and win an eternal name for himself. They will all celebrate
on his return. Enkidu asks the elders to stop Gilgamesh, who also fail to sway
him.

8. Tablet 3: Preparations for the journey to the Forest of Cedar
 The elders of the city protest
Gilgamesh's decision, but then
agree. They place his life in
Enkidu's hands. Gilgamesh goes
to ask his mother's blessing. She
laments her son's fate, prayes
Shamash asking him for his
protection and to send winds
against Humbaba. She hopes that
Gilgamesh will someday be made
a god. Ninsun also adopts Enkidu
as her son, and asks him to guard
Gilgamesh's life.
 Enkidu and Gilgamesh perform rituals to aid a safe journey.
Gilgamesh instructs the officers in how to run the city in his
absence. They again advise him to keep Enkidu out in front.
 In panic, Enkidu again tries to convince Gilgamesh not to undertake
this journey, but Gilgamesh is confident of success.

9. Tablet 4: Journey to the Forest of Cedar
 The journey to the cedar
forest takes months. On every
3rd day, they stop, Gilgamesh
climbs to a mountain top and
prays to Shamash to bring
him a dream, and Enkidu
guards the doorway to the
house as Gilgamesh dreams.
Shamash sends Gilgamesh
prophetic dreams in the
middle of the night
 Near the entrance to the Forest of Cedar, Gilgamesh begins to cry with
fear. Shamash calls to him, ordering him to hurry and enter the forest
while Humbaba is not wearing all 7 cloaks of his armor, but only one.
Enkidu loses his courage and wants to withdraw, but Gilgamesh
encourages him onward. Humbaba yells.they began to fight.

10. Tablet 5: Combat with Humbaba
 Gilgamesh is fearful, but Enkidu
encourages him to confront Humbaba
head on. The fight begins. Shamash
sends violent winds against
Humbaba. Humbaba pleads for his
life, offers Gilgamesh all his trees, but
Enkidu insists that Gilgamesh kill
him to establish his fame, even
though the gods will be angry.
Humbaba curses Enkidu. Gilgamesh
cuts off his head. He also slays all 7
of Humbaba's auras. Gilgamesh and
Enkidu cut down some of the trees of
the cedar forest, to make a great cedar
gate for the city of Uruk. They build
a raft out of the cedar and float down
the Euphrates River to their city,
bringing Humbaba's head

11. Tablet 6: Ishtar and the Bull of Heaven
 Back in Uruk, Gilgamesh cleans
up and is dressed in his royal
cloaks and crown. He attracts the
attention of the goddess of love
Ishtar, who asks him to be her
husband, but Gilgamesh refuses
her with insults. Insulted, Ishtar
ascends to her parents in heaven:
the sky-god Anu and Antu . She
begs her father to let her have the
Bull of Heaven to revenge
Gilgamesh and his city.
Anu gives her the bull, and she leads it down into Uruk. The bull destroys cities,
kills hundreds of people. Even Enkidu is almost killed. He seizes the bull by the
tail and instructs Gilgamesh to kill it with his knife directed to a certain spot
behind the horns, which Gilgamesh does. Ishtar laments, and Enkidu says that he
and Gilgamesh might have killed her next. He rips off one of the haunches of the
bull and hurls it toward her. Ishtar holds rites of mourning over the haunch while
men admire Gilgamesh's bull trophy

12. Tablet 7: Enkidu's vision of the Netherworld and his own
death
 Enkidu has a dream
about a council of the
gods. In it Enlil
declares that one of the
two men who have
killed the Bull of
Heaven and Humbaba
must die. Enkidu tells
Gilgamesh he knows
that he is to die.
Gilgamesh says he will
be left in sorrow by  Enkidu asks Gilgamesh not to forget him and
Enkidu's all they went through together. Enkidu lays
sick for twelve days, expressing regret he does
death.Gilgamesh will not die in combat and shall not make his
honor Enkidu in death. name, finally dies.

13. Tablet 8: The funeral of Enkidu
 Gilgamesh mourns deeply, and
utters a long lament, ordering
all to mourn his dead friend.
He covers the face of Enkidu,
pulls out his own hair, and rips
off his clothes.
 At dawn, he calls for the
artisans to construct a statue
of Enkidu. Enkidu will be
honored in the underworld.
Gilgamesh will provide jewels,
precious stones, gold, ivory,
weapons, oxen and sheep, and
other treasures to gain him
favor with the gods and
inhabitants of the underworld.

14. Tablet 9: The wanderings of Gilgamesh
 Gilgamesh continues to mourn,
and wanders in the wild, thinking
that he will also die. He fears
death, and seeks eternal life.
 He arrives at the twin mountains
of Mashu. Scorpion men guard its
gates. Gilgamesh covers his face.
They realize that Gilgamesh is
part god and ask him why he has
come, observing that no man has
reached these mountains before.
Gilgamesh says he is seeking
eternal life. Unable to deter him,
they describe an underground
route or dark tunnel under the
mountains, the path of the Sun-
God. They wish him a safe
passage. In darkness he hurries
through the passage and emerges
in advance of the Sun. He enters a
garden of jewels.

15. Tablet 10: Gilgamesh travels to Uta-napishti at the
edge of the world
 Shiduri is a wise old tavern keeper
who lives by the sea-shore. She sees
him coming and locks the gate. He
threatens to smash down the door,
and she allows him in. She asks why
he sorrows so. He tells of his fear of
death. He asks for the way to Upa-
napishti the Distant across the ocean.
Shiduri says there is no longer a
way for humans to make this journey
only Shamash can cross the ocean
and she helps him. They make the
journey in 3 days.
 At last, they approach the distant
shore. Uta-napishti wonders who
Gilgamesh is. Uta-napishti tells him
not to chase sorrow. He speaks
words of wisdom. Man is destined to
die. Death is inevitable for all men.

16. Tablet 11: Uta-napishti denies him immortality;
Gilgamesh returns to Uruk
 Gilgamesh asks Uta-napishti how he came to be immortal, and
Uta-napishti tells the story of how he and his wife were the sole
human survivors of the Flood.
 He was the king of Shuruppak, on the banks of the Euphrates.
The gods decided to send down the Deluge. Ea slyly warned Uta-
napishti to build a boat, abandon his wealth, and take aboard the
seed of all living things and he obeyed Ea. Then the Deluge came.
The storm, wind, and deluge all lasted 6 days and 7 nights, then
came to an end. The boat ran aground of Mount Nimush. Uta-
napishti released a dove, the next day a swallow, the next day a
raven when the latter does not return; he knew that he was near
land. He made sacrifices which pleased the gods. So gods decided
to make Uta-napishti and his wife immortal.
 Uta-napishti now challenges Gilgamesh to stay awake for 7 nights,
but the exhausted Gilgamesh quickly falls asleep. So they said that
he is not strong enough for being immortal. At last he returns to
Uruk..

17. Prepared by
Aytekin Aliyeva