The Epic of Gilgamesh
It is an old story
But one that can still be told
About a man who loved
And lost a friend to death
And learned he lacked the power
To bring him back to life.
It is the story of Gilgamesh
And his friend Enkidu.
Gilgamesh was king of Uruk
A city set between the Tigris
And Euprhates rivers
In ancient Babylonia
Enkidu was born on the Steppe
Where he grew up among the animals.
Gilgamesh was called a god and man
Enkidu was an animal and man.
It is the story
Of their becoming human together. (Lines from the Herbert Mason translation)
It is an old story
But one that can still be told
About a man who loved
And lost a friend to death
And learned he lacked the power
To bring him back to life.
It is the story of Gilgamesh
And his friend Enkidu.
Gilgamesh was king of Uruk
A city set between the Tigris
And Euprhates rivers
In ancient Babylonia
Enkidu was born on the Steppe
Where he grew up among the animals.
Gilgamesh was called a god and man
Enkidu was an animal and man.
It is the story
Of their becoming human together. (Lines from the Herbert Mason translation)
An Integrated Unit: Humanities & Technology
GRADE LEVEL: 6th & 10th TIME REQUIRED: 2 weeks
GOALS:
To produce a student-created movie of visual impressions of the literary epic "Gilgamesh," by combining selected written passages with images of Mesopotamian art. To provide writing activities which relate the epic to students' own experiences to enhance appreciation of this 5,000-year-old story.
OBJECTIVES:
Students will:
• Read "Gilgamesh" as literature and develop an understanding of the central themes which are relevant to humans today.
• Study the geography of Mesopotamia, including the major city-states of this region along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.
• Study and speculate about the historical and social context in which Gilgamesh ruled his subjects in Uruk.
• Study the development of writing in Sumer from early pictographs to cuneiform writing on clay tablets. Students will study
how this relates to the recent discovery, deciphering, and variations of the "lost" epic.
• Research images of Mesopotamian art that relate to the "Gilgamesh" epic.
• Read selected passages from the Herbert Mason poetic translation of Gilgamesh to accompany chosen images.
MATERIALS:
Student copies of the Epic of Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh by Herbert Mason, for teacher-selected excerpts.
Course background on Mesopotamia.
Computer access to internet & Garage Band program (or equivalent)
PROCEDURE: Using the "Into, Through, and Beyond" approach to literature, a variety of activities are suggested for students.
INTO:
• Writing prompt: Ask students to think about a best friend. What makes him or her unique? Write a descriptive piece about
this person which "shows" his/her characteristics and the ways you have fun together.
• Provide historical background on Mesopotamia and the Sumerian culture. Include geographic context for the rise of
Sumerian culture. Show students where Uruk is located near the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.
• Development of handwriting: activities include student-created pictographs for words and concepts. Students can write
short passages with pictographic symbols on clay tablets.
• Introduce the development of cuneiform and the function of scribes in Sumerian society.
• What is an "epic." What is a hero/heroine? Who are our heroes today? Why? Brainstorm qualities of a modern-day hero
or heroine. Students write stories about the adventures and achievements of such a person.
• Historical background on the oral tradition of storytelling. Explain the discovery of the story of Gilgamesh by
archaeologists and the eventual translation.
THROUGH:
Students read Gilgamesh individually, as a whole class, in small reading groups, or chorally. Discuss and summarize the
action of the story using any of the following strategies:
• Literature Log - summarize the main events in each chapter using the "double entry journal" format.
• Hot Seat - students portray the characters of the story and entertain questions from the class about actions taken.
• Venn diagram to compare and contrast Gilgamesh and Enkidu. Have students "identify" more closely with one
or the other to write a character analysis of the one selected. Speculate on how Gilgamesh or Enkidu would act
in a situation in the present day.
• Tableau - students stage silent scenes from the story as unmoving "statues."
• Have students think of a time when they "lost" someone dear to them. (This can be when a friend moved away,
a pet ran off or died, etc.) Write about this experience and add an appropriate image.
• Illustrate the events of one chapter using the "storyboard" format.
• Determine information on the religious beliefs of the Mesopotamians, their deities, and their view of the afterlife.
• Compare and contrast the version of the Great Flood given by Utanapishtim and in the Old Testament.
• Discuss the major themes of "Gilgamesh." Is this story relevant to humans today? Why?
• Create a class mural or paper mosaic in the style of the Standard of Ur depicting the major scenes Gilgamesh.
Introduce students to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History to examine artifacts from
the Ancient Near East
BEYOND:
• Do a "found poem" using the text for fragments.
• Read "If I Had My Life to Live Over..." by Elizabeth Lucas. Discuss the lesson that Gilgamesh learns about enjoyment of
life in the present. Have students write a paragraph which begins "If I had my early childhood to live over..." Put them
together to form one piece.
ART & TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION:
• Distribute copies of short, 6 to 8 line passages from the Herbert Mason version of Gilgamesh to read. There should
be more excerpts than there are students. Partners select passages that they will record. The teacher will determine who
gets what selection to avoid duplication. Students practice a variety of ways to read the selection (with feeling!)
• Student pairs will select appropriate images for their lines (using web resources). Using Garage Band, they will record
their lines to coincide with images.
• Teacher will assemble all the passages in to one coherent piece that summarizes the main idea of the epic in an
abbreviated, poetic form.
RESOURCES:
The Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art.
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/?period=03®ion=wam
Ancient Near East (A Bellephron Coloring Book). Santa Barbara, CA: Bellophron Books, 1989.
Daley, Stephanie (translator). Myths From Mesopotamia: Creation, the Flood, and Gilgamesh. New York, N.Y.: Oxford University
Press, 1991.
Deubelbeiss, Patrick and Jean-Michel Coblence. The Human Story: The Earliest Cities. Morristown, New Jersey: Silver Burdett.
1987.
English Literature With World Masterpieces, Mission Hills, CA: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill Educational Division, 1991.
Ferry, David. Gilgamesh, A New Rendering in English Verse. New York: Farrar Straus, and Giroux, 1992.
Gardner, John. "Gilgamesh-by Gardner," Aramco World Magazine July-August 1983: 4-11.
Gardner, John and John Maier. Gilgamesh. New York: Vintage Books, 1984.
Gray, John. Near Eastern Mythology. New York: Peter Bedrick Books, 1985.
Mason, Herbert. Gilgamesh A Verse Narrative. New York, N.Y.: A Mentor Book, 1972.
McCall, Henrietta. Mesopotamian Myths. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1990
Osze, Andrew and Leslie Konnyu. Gilgamesh. St. Louis, Mo.: American Hungarian Review, 1980.
Sandars, N.K. The Epic of Gilgamesh. New York, N.Y.: Viking Penguin Classics,1972.
Saxby, Maurice and Robert Ingpen. The Great Deeds of the Superheroes. New York, N.Y.: Peter Bedrick Books, 1989.
Zeman, Ludmila. Gilgamesh the King. Montreal: Tundra Books, Inc. 1992.
GRADE LEVEL: 6th & 10th TIME REQUIRED: 2 weeks
GOALS:
To produce a student-created movie of visual impressions of the literary epic "Gilgamesh," by combining selected written passages with images of Mesopotamian art. To provide writing activities which relate the epic to students' own experiences to enhance appreciation of this 5,000-year-old story.
OBJECTIVES:
Students will:
• Read "Gilgamesh" as literature and develop an understanding of the central themes which are relevant to humans today.
• Study the geography of Mesopotamia, including the major city-states of this region along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.
• Study and speculate about the historical and social context in which Gilgamesh ruled his subjects in Uruk.
• Study the development of writing in Sumer from early pictographs to cuneiform writing on clay tablets. Students will study
how this relates to the recent discovery, deciphering, and variations of the "lost" epic.
• Research images of Mesopotamian art that relate to the "Gilgamesh" epic.
• Read selected passages from the Herbert Mason poetic translation of Gilgamesh to accompany chosen images.
MATERIALS:
Student copies of the Epic of Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh by Herbert Mason, for teacher-selected excerpts.
Course background on Mesopotamia.
Computer access to internet & Garage Band program (or equivalent)
PROCEDURE: Using the "Into, Through, and Beyond" approach to literature, a variety of activities are suggested for students.
INTO:
• Writing prompt: Ask students to think about a best friend. What makes him or her unique? Write a descriptive piece about
this person which "shows" his/her characteristics and the ways you have fun together.
• Provide historical background on Mesopotamia and the Sumerian culture. Include geographic context for the rise of
Sumerian culture. Show students where Uruk is located near the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.
• Development of handwriting: activities include student-created pictographs for words and concepts. Students can write
short passages with pictographic symbols on clay tablets.
• Introduce the development of cuneiform and the function of scribes in Sumerian society.
• What is an "epic." What is a hero/heroine? Who are our heroes today? Why? Brainstorm qualities of a modern-day hero
or heroine. Students write stories about the adventures and achievements of such a person.
• Historical background on the oral tradition of storytelling. Explain the discovery of the story of Gilgamesh by
archaeologists and the eventual translation.
THROUGH:
Students read Gilgamesh individually, as a whole class, in small reading groups, or chorally. Discuss and summarize the
action of the story using any of the following strategies:
• Literature Log - summarize the main events in each chapter using the "double entry journal" format.
• Hot Seat - students portray the characters of the story and entertain questions from the class about actions taken.
• Venn diagram to compare and contrast Gilgamesh and Enkidu. Have students "identify" more closely with one
or the other to write a character analysis of the one selected. Speculate on how Gilgamesh or Enkidu would act
in a situation in the present day.
• Tableau - students stage silent scenes from the story as unmoving "statues."
• Have students think of a time when they "lost" someone dear to them. (This can be when a friend moved away,
a pet ran off or died, etc.) Write about this experience and add an appropriate image.
• Illustrate the events of one chapter using the "storyboard" format.
• Determine information on the religious beliefs of the Mesopotamians, their deities, and their view of the afterlife.
• Compare and contrast the version of the Great Flood given by Utanapishtim and in the Old Testament.
• Discuss the major themes of "Gilgamesh." Is this story relevant to humans today? Why?
• Create a class mural or paper mosaic in the style of the Standard of Ur depicting the major scenes Gilgamesh.
Introduce students to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History to examine artifacts from
the Ancient Near East
BEYOND:
• Do a "found poem" using the text for fragments.
• Read "If I Had My Life to Live Over..." by Elizabeth Lucas. Discuss the lesson that Gilgamesh learns about enjoyment of
life in the present. Have students write a paragraph which begins "If I had my early childhood to live over..." Put them
together to form one piece.
ART & TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION:
• Distribute copies of short, 6 to 8 line passages from the Herbert Mason version of Gilgamesh to read. There should
be more excerpts than there are students. Partners select passages that they will record. The teacher will determine who
gets what selection to avoid duplication. Students practice a variety of ways to read the selection (with feeling!)
• Student pairs will select appropriate images for their lines (using web resources). Using Garage Band, they will record
their lines to coincide with images.
• Teacher will assemble all the passages in to one coherent piece that summarizes the main idea of the epic in an
abbreviated, poetic form.
RESOURCES:
The Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art.
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/?period=03®ion=wam
Ancient Near East (A Bellephron Coloring Book). Santa Barbara, CA: Bellophron Books, 1989.
Daley, Stephanie (translator). Myths From Mesopotamia: Creation, the Flood, and Gilgamesh. New York, N.Y.: Oxford University
Press, 1991.
Deubelbeiss, Patrick and Jean-Michel Coblence. The Human Story: The Earliest Cities. Morristown, New Jersey: Silver Burdett.
1987.
English Literature With World Masterpieces, Mission Hills, CA: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill Educational Division, 1991.
Ferry, David. Gilgamesh, A New Rendering in English Verse. New York: Farrar Straus, and Giroux, 1992.
Gardner, John. "Gilgamesh-by Gardner," Aramco World Magazine July-August 1983: 4-11.
Gardner, John and John Maier. Gilgamesh. New York: Vintage Books, 1984.
Gray, John. Near Eastern Mythology. New York: Peter Bedrick Books, 1985.
Mason, Herbert. Gilgamesh A Verse Narrative. New York, N.Y.: A Mentor Book, 1972.
McCall, Henrietta. Mesopotamian Myths. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1990
Osze, Andrew and Leslie Konnyu. Gilgamesh. St. Louis, Mo.: American Hungarian Review, 1980.
Sandars, N.K. The Epic of Gilgamesh. New York, N.Y.: Viking Penguin Classics,1972.
Saxby, Maurice and Robert Ingpen. The Great Deeds of the Superheroes. New York, N.Y.: Peter Bedrick Books, 1989.
Zeman, Ludmila. Gilgamesh the King. Montreal: Tundra Books, Inc. 1992.