History 8 Mesopotamia Gilgamesh
Return to Main Page History 8
1.Power of the King is absolute
- Note: 2 questions below are on the page linked above.
**How does Gilgamesh use the power of the king?
**What do the people do?
2. Man vs. Nature **Why does Enkidu lose the ability to understand and roam with the animals?
**What does this section tell us about man's relationship with nature? Man has the "right" to destroy nature because it has become an "it." Instead of something sacred.
**What does the Demon represent? The demon is made to represent nature. It can also be interpreted to be the "uncivilized."
3. Conflict between political rule and temple rule; i.e. the Church vs the State
**Who is Ishtar and what does she represent?
Ishtar is the goddess of both love and war (any sense of irony here?) as well as procreation. She represents the rule of the gods/goddesses - the religious side of the conflict.
**Who is Gilgamesh and what does he represent?
Gilgamesh is the king of the city of Uruk and is two-thirds god and one-third human. He represents the rule of the kings, tyrants, and royalty - the state side of the conflict.
What is the relationship of religion or the temple and the state or the king?
The relationship between religion or the temple and the state or the king is very difficult and uneasy.
4. Quest for immortality
Lizzy Fallon
5. Love As a Motivating Force
**How do the gods behave and relate to humans?
The gods behave and relate to humans in two ways: worshiper-to-god and human-like-to-human or god-like-to-god.
**How do the humans relate to each other?
Humans relate to each other in tow ways: tyrant-to-subject and friend-to-friend.
**6. The Inevitability of Death
**Why do the gods bring on the Flood? Is any reason given?
There was no exact reason for why the gods brought the flood upon Shuruppak.
**What does it tell us about the nature of history and the relation of the gods to humanity?
The flood story shows that humanity is vastly affected by nature. Nature does whatever it wants and if you don't like it, tough. It also shows that the gods are all powerful, so don't mess with them. But the gods also care about the humans. They want us to survive, because we are their creation.
**What has Gilgamesh achieved at the end of the poem? Gilgamesh had not achieved the immortality he had hoped for, where he would always be physically strong and alive, but instead accomplished a sense of achievement in the city of Uruk. He built the walls and by the end of the poem he had accepted Uruk as his legacy. Man's immortality would only last through his creations and inventions. -Brooke Kushwaha
