Epic of Gilgamesh - Type Study Guide
1. Background Information First appearance around 2000 BCE Original poem had 3000 lines, we only have 2000 Makes the job of translator more important, they have to interpret a lot. Mason made the story even more great by not just translating like the textbook Enkidu defeats Humbaba and the Bull of Heaven by himself- to increase Enkidu?s heroism and Gilgamesh?s guilt when he dies ?Was I really a friend to Enkidu?? important Loosely connected cycle of songs written in Sumerian in Mesopotamia Over the course of the Old Babylonian period (2000-1600 bce) poet(s) connected the poems to create and epic written in Akkadian, the dominant language of the region Around 1200 bce the epic was revised into its definitive form by a Babylonian priest named S?n-liqe-unninni