The Epic of Gilgamesh Group

Question:

sweetcandy
sweetcandy
Student
Community / Jr. College

Answer the following questions from The Epic of Gilgamesh.

1. What two woelds do Enkidu and Gigamesh represent?

2. Do the authors think city life is better than life in the country?

3. According to the Epic, what are the advantages of the city?

4. What problems does city life pose?

5. What is the meaning of the story?

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Posted by sweetcandy on Tuesday September 8, 2009 at 6:54 PM and tagged with history, the epic of gilgamesh.

Answers:

  1. dkgarran
    dkgarran Teacher
    Middle School

    eNotes Editor

    1. Gilgamesh is a greedy king who is part-man and part-god. He represents city life where people can be greedy and self-centered. Enkidu is a mortal who represents the wilderness and all of its simplicity.

    2. Life in the city under Gilgamesh's reign was unpleasant. City life is depicted as more civilized but more complicated. The author seems to indicate that country life is better or, at the very least, more innocent. In order to learn a lesson and achieve his mission, Gilgamesh must leave the city.

    3. The advantages of the city are that Gilgamesh has created a great city with happy people: a place anyone would want to be part of.

    4. City life poses a problem because under Gilgamesh's rule, the people have become bitter and frustrated.

    5. The moral or meaning of the story is that Gilgamesh learns through an epic journey that he has achieved the immortality he sought by earning a place in people's heart where he will live forever. Instead of actually living forever, his legacies and contributions will live eternally.

    Sources:
    http://www.docstoc.com/docs/4728046/The-Epic-of-Gilgamesh...
    http://www.slideshare.net/plutoniumkiler/the-epic-of-gilg...
    https://www.msu.edu/~hungerf9/anp202_3.pdf

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    Posted by dkgarran on Monday September 14, 2009 at 5:20 PM