A Glimpse of Humanity Reaching back to the Ancient Sumerians
The epic of Gilgamesh was found in the mid nineteenth
century, written on over twenty five thousand clay tablets. After much studying
and deciphering, this ancient Sumerian epic has finally been translated, though
many of the tablets have not been found. It appears that all the most important
elements of the story probably existed as separate poems when they were first
written. One of the oldest pieces of literature found today, Gilgamesh is at
least 1,500 years older than Homer's epics, and was probably composed and
recited many years, before being written down. According to scientific data, the
tablets were probably written down in the first centuries of the second
millennium B.C., in Mesopotamia.
The tradition reaches back to the time of the Archaic
Sumerian civilization. The Sumerians were the first literate inhabitants of
Mesopotamia, so their language is found on the tablets of Gilgamesh. In some
other historical material, records have been recorded about several expeditions,
many ones similar to the ones taken by Gilgamesh. One example contains a man who
made a path into a cedar mountain on which no one had ventured before. According
to N.K. Sandars, "Behind the solid fleshly Gudea we may see the shadowy figure
of Gilgamesh, a great builder of temples and cities, who ventured into strange
forests and brought back precious cedarwood," (16). Even if there was no
Gilgamesh, the character is not fully fictitious.
The story of the epic is mostly about the character
Gilgamesh who is superior king of Uruk or summer. An extraordinary individual.
He was one-third a man and two-third god. For his special abilities he was
worthy to be worshiped, therefore he was able to supervise everyone around.
Citizens of Uruk were unhappy with his behaviors so they asked the gods for
help. The gods respond by sending a man named Enkidu, who was double Gilgamesh.
Enkidu lived in the forest with animals and was so wild person. One day
Gilgamesh sent a hunter and a beautiful woman to the forest, aiming to engross
Enkidu from the animals. The hunter left, and Enkidu and the woman became good
friends. Enkidu was turned into a man, and he left with the woman to Uruk. When
Enkidu entered Uruk, the citizens there began to glorify him as if he was their
king. As son as Gilgamesh heard about Enkidu entrance, he became jealous. After
those two men encountered each other they began to fight. As the fight ended,
each stood up, and saw themselves in the other's eyes. They embraced and
immediately became friends. The two men got to know each other, and then decided
to go on a quest seeking fame. Gilgamesh and Enkidu decided to challenge Humbaba,
the guardian-demon of the cedar forest. Gilgamesh and Enkidu prepared for their
battle against Humbaba. They went to a temple and the god Ninsun performed a
ceremony for their protection. As the two heroes left for their journey, the
elders of the city turn over Gilgamesh to Enkidu's care. Enkidu and Gilgamesh
walked for many days towards the cedar forest. As they were walking Gilgamesh
started to have some doubts. However, Enkidu reassured Gilgamesh and encouraged
him. As they approached the gates of the cedar forest Enkidu started to feel
afraid. This time Gilgamesh insisted on continuing the journey. The men spend a
couple of nights wondering through the forest. Finally the men meet Humbaba. As
the men strike, Humbaba fights for his life. Enkidu advises Gilgamesh to kill
Humbaba. Gilgamesh strikes him, but Enkidu delivers the final blow. The men
returned to Uruk pleased with their accomplishments. When they returned the
goddess Ishtar spoke to Gilgamesh. She told him that she wanted to become
friends with him. Gilgamesh insults the goddess, and refuses his offer. Ishtar
is frustrated with Gilgamesh, so she asks her father Anu to send the Bull of
Heaven to punish Gilgamesh. Descended from above Gilgamesh and Enkidu
immediately began to fight. Much like the confrontation with Humbaba, Gilgamesh
and Enkidu defeated the Bull of Heaven. The men briefly celebrated, again happy
with their achievements. As Enkidu was asleep that night he had a dream. He
dreamed that he was going to be punished severely for the cruel acts that
Gilgamesh and he had committed against Humbaba and the Bull of Heaven. The next
day Enkidu became extremely sick. Enkidu was slowly dying, but Gilgamesh stood
by his side. Gilgamesh supported Enkidu, and was with him every moment of his
suffering. Finally, Enkidu dies due to the strange sickness. Gilgamesh was very
sad about the death of his friend. He grieved many days afterwards. At the
funeral Gilgamesh recounts the wonderful experiences he had with Enkidu, and
greatly praises his friend. Gilgamesh dedicates a statue in Enkidu's memory as
well as performs a ritual for Enkidu to have a good afterlife. As time proceeds,
Gilgamesh becomes scared of his own death. He decides that he is going to take a
trip to visit Utnapishtim, a man who is undying. Gilgamesh begins his journey to
visit this man, a journey that no man has ever made. As he is traveling, he
passes through the Garden of the Gods. He also meets a woman named Siduri. She
informs Gilgamesh that the journey is very dangerous and again tells him that no
man has ever made the journey. Regardless, Gilgamesh continues on the journey.
After a brief amount of time Gilgamesh comes upon the waters of death. At first
he is skeptical in being able to cross the waters, however he bargains with the
boatman, Urshanabi, who takes Gilgamesh across the waters. Gilgamesh finally
meets Utnapishtim. He speaks with him questioning death. Utnapishtim responds by
giving Gilgamesh the answer he does not want; he informs Gilgamesh that every
man must die, and life is not permanent. Utnapishtim then challenges Gilgamesh
to stay awake for six days and seven nights. Gilgamesh fails this challenge,
resulting in his having to go home. As he is leaving Utnapishtim gives Gilgamesh
a plant called "The-Old-Man-Will-Be-Made-Young". Gilgamesh secures it well, but
then loses it when a snake takes it away. Gilgamesh returns home knowing that
every man is some day taken from the natural world, and experience the spirits
of afterlife.
Who are the Sumerians? Among the earliest civilizations,
there was a diverse group of people in the fertile valleys between the Tigris
and Euphrates valley called the Mesopotamia. These were known as the Sumerians.
The Sumerian civilization has left us with an enduring portrait of their
society, philosophy, government, religion, and daily life. Summer was located in
the Mesopotamia. Early settlements included Uruk, Ur, and Eridu. They all
started as independent cities and then became city-states. The land was rich,
but was hard in the summer time. In spring, the rivers would flood and irrigate
the fields. The riverbed was unstable and would flood at unexpected times. The
river would carry silt down stream, which would help fertilize the land around
it. The land was one in which there were few stones or rocks.
The Sumerians had an extremely hot climate. There was
little to no rain throughout the winter months. The average summer temperature
was about 94 degrees. However, the Sumerians used the climate to their
advantage. For instance, they would use irrigation systems to produce a more
abundant crop.
The Sumerians developed one of the first systems of
monarchy. An individual that was considered to be a priest-king ruled each
city-state. He was in charge of leading the military, administering trade, and
helping with religious ceremonies. Bureaucrats who surveyed the land aided him.
A council of elders ruled each city. Each army was lead by a selected individual
called a lugal. Over time, the lugals took over and established dynasties. To
record their courts of justice files, they used clay tablets. One clay tablet
even recorded the oldest murder trial in history.
The Sumerians believed in justice and mercy, law and
order and an organized system of laws. The elders in each city-state generally
made the laws. The king was responsible for all law and justice. However, the
enis was in charge of carrying out the laws. The courts had a specific order in
which things were completed. The written laws were actually some of summer's
main legal documents. Sumerians believed that law and justice should be
followed. There was no clear punishment for any given crime. The punishment was
actually left up to the judge.
Some common Sumerian laws include:
Marriages- were arranged by law. The marriage license
was usually inscribed onto a clay tablet. Divorce was common because husbands
were allowed to have more than one wife if their first wife had no children.
Children could be adopted. The women were able to have rights after being
married. They were able to own a business, own property, or even testify in
court.
Punishment was common because husbands were allowed to
have more than one wife if their first wife had no children. Children could be
adopted. The women were able to have rights after being married. They were able
to own a business, own property, or even testify in court.
The Sumerians had a polytheistic religion. The gods were
considered to be anthropomorphic by the people. The gods were thought to have
powers, some of which were related to astronomical bodies. These gods also had
characteristics like that of a human. They felt lust, love, anger, etc. The
Sumerians did believe in life after death. They had realistic expectations of
what their future had in store. They also understood that their gods were not
always nice or polite. They did try to understand what the gods had in store for
them as well as how they could please the gods. A large number of gods were
worshiped with prayers and sacrifices. People would pray to them in both times
of praise and misfortune. The most important god was known as Nanna Sin. His son
was the son god, Utu, and his daughter was the goddess Inanna. Sacrifices of
both oxen and sheep were made for important people. Temples were the center of
religious activity within a city. Every temple contained a shrine that was
placed in an enclosed room.
The gods were also the subjects of many legends and
myths.
"Enlil and Ninlil: the Birth of the Moon-god" "The
Creation of the Pickax." Enki: the organization of the earth."
The Sumerians were an agricultural group that depended
on their surrounding environmental features. They grew many crops such as peas,
corn, wheat, turnips, and they also fished. The Sumerians however had a problem
feeding their entire population. They sold their extra grain and other rations
for wood so that they could build furniture and ships. The ships were then used
for trade with such places as India and Africa. When the ships would return,
they would be loaded with various types of wool, exotic foods, unusual fabrics,
and precious metals. The craftspeople were also essential to their economy. The
metal workers would use copper, bronze, and tin to make industrial and household
materials. They also created the weapons. The people would use their animals in
various ways to increase their way of life. Donkeys would be used to pull wagons
and pigs would be used in many Sumerian dishes. Sumerian astronomers studied the
stars and other scientist perfected the calendar. Music was also important to
the people and could be heard in various towns. The music was used in various
rituals and was also a form of entertainment.
The Sumerians had a unique way of writing and recording
events. They used stone tablets with numbers to record their history and
everyday events. The people would use a wide variety of pictures and numbers.
The writing style was called cuneiform script.
There were many scribes throughout the summer region.
Young Sumerians would learn cuneiform script during school. This was usually
limited to the wealthier families. The process of learning the way of writing
was long and hard. Each individual was required to learn large numbers of
symbols and words so that they could be scribes when they grew up. Eventually,
scribes enhanced the writing style making it more efficient by creating a
shorthand form using wedged lines.
The main character in the epic was Gilgamesh, the king
of Uruk. Who is very strong, he bosses people so they complain about him to the
gods. Gods will send Enkidu, stronger man to fight Gilgamehs. They will become
friends and they search for fame so they decide to fight the giant Humbaba.
Finally they were able to kill this giant and returned to Uruk. Ishtar the
goddess of love asks Gilgamesh to be her friend but he refuses so she sends the
bull of heaven to fight Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh will be able to kill the bull with
the help of Enkidu but he losses his friend Enkidu after that. The death of his
friend frightened him and he started to look for immortality facing the
difficulties but at the last he fails to be immortal and he returns home for
waiting death to come. Uruk was one of summer cities that Gilgamesh rolled. The
land had two rivers and it was a rich area and it had a few stones and rocks.
Priest-king ruled each city-state. He was in charge of leading the military,
administering trade, and helping with religious ceremonies. Bureaucrats who
surveyed the land aided him. Sumerian believed that law should be followed. Some
common laws were about marriage and punishment. They had polysynthetic
religions. They grew many crops such as peas, corn, wheat, turnips, and they
also fished. They were agricultural. They used stone tablets with numbers to
record their history and everyday events. The people would use a wide variety of
pictures and numbers. The writing style was called cuneiform script.
Theme of the story
Many themes are incorporated into the story line of
Gilgamesh. These include three very important concepts: death is inevitable,
immortality is unachievable, and friendship is a necessity.
One of the main themes in the epic is that death is
inevitable, which is shown through Enkidu's death. When Enkidu dies, Gilgamesh
becomes very worried, because he realizes for the first time that everyone is
going to die at some point in time. The fact that Enkidu is a close friend makes
it even more visible to Gilgamesh that everyone is mortal. Then, along with this
realization, comes the theme of denial. Gilgamesh does not want to accept the
fact that he will die. He denies the truth, because he does not want to think
about the truth or cope with the tragedy that has struck him.
•
"And he-he does not lift his head. 'I touched his heart,
it does not beat'" (Tablet VIII, Column II, 15-16).
•
"'Me! Will I too not die like Enkidu? Sorrow was come
into my belly. I fear death; I roam over the hills. I will seize the road;
quickly I will go to the house of Utnapishtim, offspring of Ubaratutu. I
approach the entrance of the mountain at night. Lions I see, and I am terrified.
I lift my head to pray to the mood god Sin: For...a dream I go to the gods in
prayer: ...preserve me!'" (Tablet IX, Column I, 3-12).
The theme of death being inevitable leads to another
theme, similar to the first. This is that immortality is unachievable, shown
through similar examples as the first theme. Gilgamesh realizes that immortality
is not obtainable after his quest for it. He discovers that the quest was
pointless, because he will die regardless of the steps to prevent his death in
the future.
•
"'Never has a mortal man done that, Gilgamesh'" (Tablet
IX, Column III, 8).
•
"'The fate of mankind overtook him... In fear of death I
roam the wilderness...Me, shall I not lie down like him, never again to move?'"
(Tablet X, Column II, 3, 8, 13-14).
•
"'From the beginning, there is no permanence'" (Tablet
X, Column VI, 32).
The last main concept in the epic is that friendship is
a necessity, shown through the bond of Enkidu and Gilgamesh. Both men are
supportive of each other, always looking out for and encouraging one another.
For example when Enkidu and Gilgamesh are fighting the Bull of Heaven and
Humbaba, they work together.
•
"'Hurry up, step up to him, do not let him go. Climb to
the woods, [do not be afraid]'" (Tablet IV, Column V, 43-44).
•
"They cut off the head of Humbaba" (Tablet V, Column VI,
47).
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