Get your journals and return to your seats. Read the blurb below:

The Epic of Gilgamesh is one of the world’s oldest pieces of literature from Ancient Mesopotamia. It describes the

life of a legendary king, Gilgamesh around 2700 BC. The main theme of the

poem is death and the understanding that death comes to all people.

Utnapishtim said to him, to Gilgamesh:…“A secret of the gods let me tell you. There is a plant. Its roots go deepIts [thorn] will prick you hand like a brambleIf you get your hands on this plant, you’ll have eternal life”

Gilgamesh, on hearing this…bound heavy stones to his feetThey dragged him down into the abyss and he saw the plant.He seized the plant, though it cut his hand;He cut the heavy stones from his feet;The sea cast him up onto its shore.

Gilgamesh said to Urshanabi the boatman:“Urshanabi, this is the plant…by which man can get life within…Its name is The-Old-Man-Will-Be-Made-Young.I too will eat it, and return to what I was in my youth.”

Gilgamesh saw a pool of cool water.He went down into it and bathed in the water.A snake smelled the fragrance of the plant. It came up through the water and carried the plant away.As it turned it threw off its skin

That day Gilgamesh sat down weeping.Over his face the tears flowed.He took the hand of Urshanabi the Boatman.“For whom, Urshanabi, do my arms toil?For whom has the blood of my heart dried up?I have not won any good for myself;It’s the snake who has won good fortune.”

Now think about what you heard and answer the following questions in your journals

1. Why does Gilgamesh want the plant Utnapishtim tells him about?

2. Why does Gilgamesh weep at the end of the passage?

3. What does a snake do in nature that makes it a good choice as the animal who ate the plant?

4. What is it about the geography of the ancient world that might help you understand why The Epic of Gilgamesh is centered on death?

Mesopotamia

“Land between two rivers”

Between Tigris and Euphrates RiversFlood regularly

(but unpredictable)

Also known as the Fertile Crescentrich soil

Sumer (Cradle of Civilization)

Geography

Cuneiform Pictographic Record keeping

The Epic of Gilgamesh—earliest written literature

Scribes important figures

Writing

Major Cities

City-States: City with a central

government

Polytheistic (many gods)Control all parts of life &

natureZiggurats—temples Priests first rulers in

societyJudaism develops

Religion

Social Class Ruling family, high priests, leading gov officials

Peasants, Farmers

Slaves

Lesser Priests, scribes, merchants, & artisans (carpenters, weavers, etc)

Sumerians: Wheel bronze (copper and tin) 60 minute hour

Hittites: Iron workHorse drawn chariots

AssyriaFierce Conquests

Important Facts

Sargon Unifies into empire

AssurbanipalAssyrian, First

librariesNebuchadnezzar

Babylonian, rebuilds city, Hanging gardens

Important Leaders

First written lawsCriminal Law (Murder, Theft) Civil Law (divorce, land

grants)Unequal across social classes

The Code of Hammurabi

Indus River Valley

Indus RiverGanges RiverHimalayan

Mountains—natural barrier

Monsoons—seasonal winds, make the seasons predictable

Largest ancient civilization

Geography

Cannot translateFound on seals

used by traders

Writing

Major Cities

Can’t know for sure BUT based on archeology:Polytheistic: mother

goddess, some animals seem to

be sacred (buffalo & bull)

Group known as Aryans migrate into area develop beginnings of

Hinduism

Religion

Aryans: migrate to Indus valley, Caste System develops

1. Brahmins—priests2. Kshatriyas—Warriors3. Vaisyas—farmers,

merchants, artisans4. Sudras—little or no

Aryan heritage

Social Class

Well-planned cities (streets, blocks)

Complex plumbing, bathsEvidence of well-organized

governmentMain occupation: Farmers

and Traders Indus civilization declines

mysteriously, replaced by the Aryans

Important Info

Without translating writing, none are known by nameOf course we can make

guesses

Important Leaders

China

Warning:Chinese and English are not perfect translations, many words will be spelled differently (sometimes very)For Example: Zhou and Jo

Geography• Huang River (Yellow River)

—“river of sorrows”• Yangtze River• Isolated

Writing • Oldest exams on Oracle Bones• Calligraphy—uses

characters/symbols

Major Cities• Xian• Zhengzhou

Religion

• Ancestor veneration (worship)– rituals of food sacrifices

to please spirits– Pray to spirits to ask for

help with the gods

• Polytheistic & Spiritual• Gods did not listen to man, but would listen to spirits of

important men, leads to…

Social Class1. Royal family and warriors2. Artisans and merchants3. Peasants, most farmers

Important Facts• Mandate of Heaven—divine right to rule, if

the kings displeased the gods, another king would take his place

• Achievements – Silk-Making– Astronomy—accurate calendars– Bronze – Gunpowder (fireworks)

Important Leaders• Early Dynasties:

– Shang—Zhou—{Warring States Period, no royal family}—Qin—Han—Sui

• Shi Huangdi—unifies China, legalistic, book burnings, distributed lands to peasants, unified money, built Great Wall

• Wudi—improved roads and canals, trained scholars, increased economy

Egypt

Geography

• Flows north– Easy transportation

• Experiences annual floods– Good irrigation– Easy to control

•What is the green?

•Where do you think most city-states where?

Writing

• Hieroglyphics—usually for religious practices• Translated with Rosetta Stone

Major Cities

Where kings and queens were buried

Religion

• Polytheistic• Pharaoh considered a god—Theism

(government and religion are linked) • Belief in afterlife, optimistic • Egyptian Creation Myth

Social Class

Important Facts• Women had more freedoms (own biz or property)• Developed 365 day calendar • Advanced medicine • Built pyramids (duh…)

Looks pretty good for 3000 years old, IMO.

Important LeadersHatshepsut

—first female

pharaoh

Tutankhamen—child king,

tomb considered

greatest archeological

find

Ramses the Great (II)—most powerful pharaoh in New Kingdom, built great monuments (to himself), 90+ children & lots of wives (some sisters or daughters)

Akhenaten—tried to make religion monotheistic, was unpopular, married to Nefertiti Tut’s grandpop,