Tuesday, November 15, 2005

A guide for Gilgamesh


From Mussy:

Here is a study guide might be useful in preparing for our upcoming session on Gilgamesh. A couple of snippets:
The story of Gilgamesh was first discovered in the library of King Assurbanipal of Nineveh, written on twelve tablets. "Gilgamesh's life and his adventures during his unsuccessful quest for immortality are told on eleven of the twelve tablets." The twelfth tablet is "a description of the nether world, in which Gilgamesh rules after his death as divine judge over the shades, guiding and advising them. . ."

As Siduri the barmaid tells Gilgamesh: "'You will never find that life for which you are looking. When the gods created man they allotted to him death, but life they retained in their own keeping.'"
More here.

A few useful entries in Wikipedia: Enki - Sumer - Uruk - Ur - Enkidu - Epic of Gilgamesh. An ancient image of Gilgamesh and Enkidu can be found here.

Click on the images below to see legible maps of ancient Mesopotamia:



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