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User:Whalestate/copy of article on the Epic of Gilgamesh

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Concepts and names in the Epic of Gilgamesh is an article on the subject of conceptual factors and names from within the ancient text the Epic of Gilgamesh.

Concepts edit

The Epic pf Gilgamesh is over and above everything, a story of a person on a quest for immortality, who subsequently learns of the all encompassing truth of human mortality, and there-after the value of life on earth. [1] As such the work concerns elements of the human condition. [2]

As is indicated by the inclusion of the word epic in the title, the work is primarily a story of heroism and heroics. In the context of Gilgamesh, it is in the least, his learning of death and the reality of it. His courage to face the fact of death stemmed from his desire to know of the reality of the life he desired, which is of immortality on earth. [3][4] The eponomous Gilgamesh is, as a hero, described by Jastrow in the analysis he makes of the Sumerian of the name Gilgamesh,which is transliterated from Sumerian as Gish-gì(n)-mash, as something or someone who is more than simply a hero. The name itself conveys the actual idea of one who is a father hero (father of all hero's), an original hero, and more-over the apotheosis of a hero, a hero par excellence. [5]

Additionally the story of Gilgamesh is thought an example of an individual experience of rite de passage, according to one source. (ref. - p. 9).[6] As a continuation of the idea of the work fulfilling an exploration of a rites of passage experience, there is also the recurring theme within the work of journeys.[7] Gilgamesh himself is journeying from one place to another and also he is learning about the fate of himself, to die like all mortals. His physical journey is a mirror of the concept of life being a kind of journey, to which death is the inevitable destination. To understand therefore his life is to find then a renewed purpose in his life, which is to fulfil his role as king to the utmost that exists within his own ability. [4]

The central concepts of the epic are (according to one source) the quest for eternal life, the existence of friendship and relationships, and, occurences of abuse of power. [8]

For N.K.Sandars the story is one of morality coupled with tragedy. [9]

A key concept is Allegory, and another is thought to be the concept of Euhemerism. In the context of the manner to which the text might be interpreted, aitiology i.e. etiology, is a concept within the work.[10][11]

Names edit

The individual entries below number eighty nine in total, although some entries might represent a duplication of the same god, person or thing under a different name. Additionally there may be more names present in any rendering of the work, not currently present in those shown in this article.

  • (Prologue) thirteen names are introduced into the prologue of the story.
  • Tablet 1 - seven names in tablet one
  • Tablet 2 - one name (Ninsun) in tablet 2
  • Tablet 3 - six names in tablet three
  • there are no new names introduced into the text within Tablet 4.
  • Tablet 5 - fourteen names in tablet five
  • Tablet 6 - eight names
  • Tablet 7 - seven names
  • Tablet 8 - four names
  • Tablet 9 - six names
  • Tablet 10 - thirteen names
  • Tablet 11 - nine names

The names below are shown in the order to which they appear to the reader from the beginning to finish of the text.

All primary factual information (names) shown here were taken from the source Robert K. G. Temple, published by Rider 1991,[12] unless otherwise indicated.

Prologue edit

  • Uruk (city) - is the first primary city in history, settlement begun around 5300 B.C., located by the Euphrates river (see below : Tablet 5).[13][14]
  • Eanna (temple) - was located within the boundaries of Uruk.[15]
  • An (is a sky god in the Prologue, Sky Father, and is described as God of Firmament within Tablet 1)
  • Inanna (Goddess of Love and Battle)
  • the Seven sages
  • Gilgamesh (hero)
  • Lugalbanda (parent of Gilgamesh, is additionally described as the Pure within Tablet 6)
  • the revered Cow (parent to Gilgamesh)
  • Rimat-Ninsun (woman)
  • Ziusudra
  • Aruru (the Great Goddess)
  • Shamash (the Sun)
  • Adad (the Storm)

Tablet 1 edit

  • Enkidu (is stated to be of the Steppes within Tablet 2, and that he is the son of a fish within Tablet 5)
  • Ninurta (the God of War, and hunting - Tablet 11)
  • Nisaba (goddess, corn)
  • Samugan (god, cattle)
  • hierodule
  • Enlil (son of An)
  • Enki (son of An, God, is stated to be the son of Enlil within Tablet 7)

Tablet 2 edit

  • Ninsun (the Wise, the Great Queen)

Tablet 3 edit

Tablet 5 edit

Tablet 6 edit

Tablet 7 edit

Tablet 8 edit

  • Enkidu (mother of Gilgamesh, gazelle)
  • various animals - bear, hyena, panther, tiger, stag, leopard, lion, ox, deer, ibex
  • River Ulla
  • Eridu
  • various materials - copper, gold, lapis lazuli, red ochre, gaz-stones, jasper
  • Babylon

Tablet 9 edit

Tablet 10 edit

Tablet 11 edit

See also edit

Will to power

Sources edit

  1. ^ Alexander Heidel - Gilgamesh Epic and Old Testament Parallels University of Chicago Press, 1949 (reprint), 269 pages ISBN 0226323986 Volume 136 of Phoenix books: University of Chicago Press [Retrieved 2015-06-09]
  2. ^ an exposition on the human condition might be found in Tom Stoppard - RosenCrantz and Guildenstern are dead
  3. ^ American University of Beirut. The Epic of Gilgmesh (PDF). American University of Beirut. Retrieved 2015-06-07.
  4. ^ a b SparkNotes Editors. SparkNote on The Epic of Gilgamesh. SparkNotes.com SparkNotes LLC. 2004. Web. 11 May 2015. Retrieved 2015-06-07. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  5. ^ Morris Jastrow. An Old Babylonian Version of the Gilgamesh Epic On the Basis of Recently Discovered Texts. Yale University Press 1920 (Project Gutenburg). Retrieved 2015-06-08.
  6. ^ D.P. Jackson. The Epic of Gilgamesh (p.9). Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, 1 Jan 1997 ISBN 0865163529 (illustrated, revised 1992 ed., 100 pages). Retrieved 2015-05-18. {{cite book}}: horizontal tab character in |publisher= at position 46 (help)
  7. ^ Timothy Insoll - The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of Ritual and Religion (p.264-265) OUP Oxford, 27 Oct 2011, 1108 pages, ISBN 019923244X [Retrieved 2015-06-07](ed. reference was located after writing sentence, so doesn't represent the source)
  8. ^ Kristen Grandfield. Curriculum Unit 07.02.01:Teaching the Epic of Gilgamesh (first sentence of sub-heading: Gilgamesh). Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute. Retrieved 2015-06-08.
  9. ^ Anonymous author translated by N. Sandars. The Epic of Gilgamesh. Penguin UK, 25 Oct 1973, 128 pages ISBN 0141907185. Retrieved 2015-06-09. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help); horizontal tab character in |publisher= at position 40 (help)
  10. ^ Duke University & W Johnson - Study Guide: Key Names, Concepts, Episodes [Retrieved 2015-05-18]
  11. ^ Aitiology > aetiology > etiology The Free Dictionary [Retrieved 2015-05-18]
  12. ^ Robert Temple. Epic of Gilgamesh. Rider, an imprint of Random Century Group Ltd, 1991. Retrieved 2015-05-16. from California University
  13. ^ M Liverani, Z Bahrani, M Van de Mieroop - Uruk: The First City Equinox, 2006 ISBN 1845531930 [Retrieved 2015-05-17]
  14. ^ B. Stanley - Cities of the Middle East and North Africa: A Historical Encyclopedia ABC-CLIO, 2007 ISBN 1576079198 (439 pages) [Retrieved 2015-05-17]
  15. ^ R.H. Sack - Images of Nebuchadnezzar: The Emergence of a Legend (p.90) Susquehanna University Press, 2004 ISBN 1575910799 (illustrated, revised, 175 pages) [Retrieved 2015-05-17]
  16. ^ J Harris. The Epic of Gilgamesh: A Prose Rendition Based upon the Original Akkadian, Babylonian, Hittite and Sumerian Tablets (p.47). Writers Club Press, an Imprint of iUniverse 29 May 2001. Retrieved 2015-05-18.


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