Abeer Alsalhi
History 101
November 10, 2013

Epic of Gilgamesh

The Epic of Gilgamesh is inspired by a real historical figure. Gilgamesh a king who reigned over the Sumerian city-state of Uruk in the third millennium BCE and who was most likely responsible for constructing the city walls. Sumer is the first civilization in the world. It was located in the land between the rivers, Mesopotamia, or modern day Iraq. The Epic was written in cuneiform, the first written language, on 12 stone tablets. Gilgamesh has the earliest version of the Flood Story, a narrative that appears later in Genesis 6-9 and the Quran, Sura 71. Each version has very different emphases and draws a different moral. During the era in which the epic is written, the civilization had a polytheistic religion. One goddess that had an impact on the story was Ishtar, the goddess of fertility. In the story, Gilgamesh goes to a ziggurat, or temple, to pray to the gods. The epic of Gilgamesh is important because it is the oldest epic poem we have. It gives insight into the lives and beliefs of the ancient people of Sumer. Gilgamesh is the hero of one of the world's oldest epics, and his story poses some questions that are still relevant today, such as what's expected of a good ruler. The epic introduces many of the epic features that persist today in other kinds of literature and media, such as the role of the hero's best friend. Besides the Flood story, the epic also presents a story with some parallels to that of Adam, since the gods make Enkidu out of clay, and he loses his