Storiascopio · Era 3 of 12 · primary year 4
The Epic of Gilgamesh
about 2100 BC · Nippur and Ur, Mesopotamia (now Iraq)
In short
Gilgamesh was probably a real king of Uruk, but the stories about him became legend. In the poems he fights a forest monster with his friend Enkidu and then sets off in search of the secret of never dying. The first tales were written in Sumerian; the most complete version, on twelve tablets, was found in the library of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal at Nineveh. It also contains the story of a great flood.
Why it matters It is one of the oldest works of literature in the world and speaks of friendship and the fear of death, themes that still matter to us.
Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Epic of Gilgamesh”
Where we are in the era “River civilisations”
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about 4000 BCEvent 15 of 25about 1200 BC
Your turn
Name ______________________ Class ______ Date __________
When did it happen? Find the date at the top and write it here:
Tell it in your own words: what happened?
Draw the scene below.
storiascopio.com/en/event/the-epic-of-gilgamesh/ · free worksheet, you may photocopy it for your class