Epic Of Gilgamesh Research Paper

Collin McCain

Hist 1110/Fall 2014/Dr. Laumann

First Paper

The Epic of Gilgamesh The Epic of Gilgamesh has a lot of history during the time of the writing. Mesopotamia was a flourishing area. There are stories about tablets being found, about the story of the epic being told in different tongues. There were many stories of flood stories some of which correspond with Noah’s Ark as christians know it. During this time of the epic, a king ruled over a city-state named Uruk. Uruk was known as one of the greatest cities in the Mesopotamian era. Uruk was known for its great walls which ran for miles. Gilgamesh was a cruel ruler during this time, he would force labor upon his civilians and would rape women even if they were the wives of solders.

Eniku was a man born into the wild and raised by animals, drinking their water, and eating their food. A man was hunting and found Eniku and sent him to a temple to sleep with a mistress of the temple. This action causes the animals to reject him and he is no longer considered wild to them. The mistress teaches Eniku how to apart of the human world and how to be a man. Eniku hears about Gilgamesh’s rule and excesses. Eniku is enraged by this and travels to fight Gilgamesh. When Eniku arrives, Gilgamesh hears word about him being there, and tires to make his way out of the brides chambers and Eniku stands there blocking the way out. Gilgamesh fight and in turn become friends. Gilgamesh and Eniku set off to gain a reputation and fame. They go on many adventures. Some of the adventures they go on are dangerous. Eniku on one of the adventures is killed. Gilgamesh grieves over this, because he just lost a good friend. They were enemies without even knowing each other from the start. Sometimes that can make something beautiful as a

Gilgamesh was searching for information about ever lasting life and mortality (Gilgamesh 102). What actually happened during this time? many stories have told about a great flood that swept the entire earth, such as Noah’s ark. At this time, the world was starting to become more wet and rainy. Glaciers were melting slowly and starting to form lakes and possible the sea level rising and sweeping cities. Gilgamesh was scared for his life because of death, and the possible flood. (Gilgamesh 106) During this time, he was searching for a way to survive the flood, he built an ark to carry all the animals, similar to Noah’s Ark. There are facts that glaciers have melted over time, which can shed light that areas of the world started to flood because of sea levels