The Legacy of Mesopotamia Cuneiform and Epics

1. The Legacy of MesopotamiaCuneiform and Epics Lesson 2-3 WS: Gilgamesh the First Superhero Online Story: Gilgamesh and the Cedar Forest TN SPI – 6.4.3, 6.5.10

2. Key Terms • Cuneiform (Qnee i form)– a groups of wedges and lines used to write several languages of the Fertile Crescent • Epic – a long poem that tells a story • Oral traditions – stories passed down through the generations by word of mouth • Primary Source – an eye witness account of an historical event • Secondary Source – information about an historical event from a source who was not an eye witness • Gilgamesh – Sumerian who ruled the city-state of Uruk c2600 BC

3. Sources of Information • Primary Source – an eyewitness account or summary of a historical event based on direct observation • Secondary Source – a second hand account or summary of a historical event not based on direct observation.

4. Oral Traditions • Writing is said to have begun with oral traditions. • Before the invention of writing, history was often passed through generations by word of mouth. • Stories were told of heroes and events of the past. • These stories changed as they were told and retold over the years. • They contained facts mixed with personal beliefs and exaggerations.

5. Origins of Writing • Sumerian became the world’s first written language. • They used symbols to represent words. • Over time the symbols were combined with wedges and lines. • This wedge-shaped writing became known as cuneiform.

6. A Record in Clay • The Tigris and Euphrates rivers provided scribes with the clay they used to write on. • Each spring, the rivers washed down clay from the mountains. • Scribes took the clay and shaped it into flat surfaces called tablets. • Tablets ranged in size from the size of a postcard to larger tablets that were used for reference purposes. (dictionary)

7. Written Language • Scribes decided that the symbols should be set in rows, that each row should be read from left to right, and that a page should be read from top to bottom.

9. Scribes and Writing • Scribes held positions of great respect in Mesopotamia. They kept records of: • Farm animals • Sales and trades • Tax payments • Gifts for gods • Marriages and deaths • Military records • Government records

11. Epic of Gilgamesh • The ancient Sumerians were great story tellers. Thousands of years ago, they created the story of Gilgamesh.  • Gilgamesh is one of the oldest recorded stories in the world. It's about an ancient King of Uruk who may have actually existed and whose name - Gilgamesh - is on the Sumerian King List.   • According to the story, Gilgamesh was not just a hero. He was the first superhero! He was part god and part human. He had many special powers.

12. Epic of Gilgamesh • The story of Gilgamesh was first told aloud in the marketplaces of Mesopotamia and later written down as one of the world’s first epics – a long storytelling poem. • Twelve tablets that tell parts of the tale were found in Nineveh in the library of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal.