Introducing The Epic of Gilgamesh

For thousands of years humans used tools for hunting and preparing food. Gradually the tools became more complicated, and textiles clothed bodies to protect against the environment. The long period of time before written records is called prehistory, and divided into different epochs. Each is named after the materials used to build tools and weapons. The Earliest is called the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age, because tools were mostly from stone either natural or chipped to form shapes. The later Neolithic or New Stone Age was characterized by ground or polished stones, while new technologies were invented. They learned how to farm, make pottery, spin and weave clothing, and tame animals for livestock.

Before any human put down complicated thoughts and ideas, there was artistic renderings of life’s surroundings on stone or in caves. The earliest known cave paintings from around 40,000 years ago were found in the El Castillo caves in Cantabria, Spain. Deer, bison, and horses are among the animals represented in earthy browns, yellows, and reds. Humans were often pictured hunting or cultivating the animals.

The Earliest known writing came from Mesopotamia, considered the earliest civilization. In what is now known as Iraq, about 3500 bc, farmers gathered in groups near the Tigris and Euphrates rivers until eventually the first city-states developed. The inhabitants built structures first as homes and then later religious temples and government palaces. Sumerians, as they are called, used cylinders with pictures rolled on to clay to tell stories and record legal documents. This was followed by wedge shaped signs and symbols called cuneiform etched into clay by long wooden sticks with sharp ends to form words.

The first ever story comes from the Sumerians, called the Epic of Gilgamesh. It is the story of a great Hero King and his many battles and adventures. Although only a small part of the whole and considered a later addition, it is perhaps best known for containing a flood narrative. No single copy exists, but a collection of written artifacts over several different cultures and languages are pieced together for an approximation of the lost original.

Despite that the Epic of Gilgamesh is actually a poem, the Penguin Classics narrative version by N.K. Sanders will be studied. Students can use any modern translation to follow along, but be advised some are better and more complete than others. Obviously the English of any version is interpretations of meaning that conform to a reader’s language.