LLT 321 Study Guide: Gilgamesh, Achilles, and Odysseus
 
I. Be able to outline the Gilamesh epic and comment on the following basic terms:
 
Historical Gilgamesh at Uruk ca 2600: 
 Sumerian kinglist shows predecessors 'Dumuzi,' Lugulbanda. 
 Triumph over Agga of Kish
Making of the Epic: literary text ca. 2100; folklore elements; 
 archives of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh, 7th c
Enkidu (creation, domestication, coming to Uruk)
 Aruru; the trapper and the prostitute
 
Slaying of Huwawa(=Humbaba)
Isthtar scorned and the Bull oF Heaven
 Role of the gods: Shamash and Enlil
Death of Enkidu
Journey to Dilmun
 Ale-wife Siduri; ferryman Urshanabi
 Utnapishtim and the Flood
 Herb 'Makes-old-men-young'again'
II. Briefly summarizethe following: 
 'Enkidu and the Netherworld'
 The Egyptian 'Tale of Two Brothers' (Bata and Anubis)
 
III. Explain the Iliad as saga, evolving from historical events:
 historical Trojan Wars ca. 1250
 'Homeric Poems' ca. 700....formulaic composition....Schliemann and Parry
 
Identify key terms and summarize the action from the End of the Iliad (bk. 16 -24)...
 
Briseis and Agamemnon
Patroclus and Achilles
Thetis and Peleus
Shield of Achilles
Hector and Andromache
role of gods, esp. Athena
funeral of Patroclus
Priam reclaims the body of Hector
 
IV. Know the plot, context and characters for the Odyssey, Bk 9 and following:
idealized society of the Phaeacians.
 king Alkinoos and queen Arete
The tale within a tale:  Lotus-Eaters
 Cyclopes ....Polyphemus, son of Poseidon 
 Wine of Maron and Noman's Trick 
Aiolus
Circe, daughter of Helios on the island of Aiaia
Summoning the Dead
 Elpenor's ghost, mother Anticleia
 Teiresias
Souls of the Heroes: Agamemenon tells of Clytemnestra and Aigisthos
 Achilles (yearns for news of son Neoptolemos) 
Prison of the damned in Tartarus:
 ....judge Minos Orion, Tityos, Tantalus, Sisyphus
Final Vengeance (Books 19-24)
role of Telemachus
suitors led by Antinous and Eurymachus
Odysseus in rags interviews Penelope
minor characters: Eumaios, Eurycleia
 Test of the Bow
 Punishment for suitors and servants alike
Test of the Bed
 Peace at last
 
 
V. Discussion: Be prepared to offer a brief comparison of the Gilgamesh epic and Odyssey 
on one of the following topics (bring in other parallels as well)
 
Vision of the Afterlife
Cultural Evolution (Savagery to Paradise)
Lure of the Goddess (Wiles of Woman)
Plunder of the Sacred