Transcript The Epic of Gilgamesh

The Epic of Gilgamesh
What is Myth?
• Symbolize and embody the spiritual
values of a culture.
• Society preserves myths because it
believes world views found in them are
crucial to the survival of the culture.
• They attempt to answer key questions
of life .
Functions of Myth
• Transmit Culture
• Explain the world
• Provide Role Models
• Entertain
Common Themes in Myth
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Gods of sky and earth
Creator gods
Flood story
Death and rebirth
Heroes and hero’s journey
History of Gilgamesh
• Earliest
recorded word of
literature – dates
to 2100 b.c.
• Written in
cuneiform
• Sumer (Middle
Eastern)
History of Gilgamesh
• Borrows the name of an
apparent king of Uruk
circa 2500 b.c.
• Recounts a flood that
may have occurred in the
region in 2900 b.c.
• Uncovered in Nineveh in
1845
• First outlined in 1862
Biblical Parallels
Noah
– Flood Narrative with human “savior”
Adam and Eve
– Creation of man from god and natural elements.
– Tempted by a female
– Man must leave former self never to return
The Hero’s Journey
What is a Hero? According to Joseph Campbell
1. A hero is someone who has given his or her life to
something greater than oneself
2. They set out to recover something that has been
lost or to discover a life-giving elixir
3. They must die to an infantile personality and
psyche and come back having gained wisdom
4. They undergo trials that serve to purify the hero
to gain the ultimate boon.
5. The hero’s morals come from sacrificing the self to
save a people, a person, or to support an ideal that
they believe in.