Study Guide to the Gilgamesh Epic
HUMAN BEINGS
| Gilgamesh - youthful, bullish king of Uruk | Utnapishtim - mortal given immortality by the gods |
| Enkidu - nature boy | Mrs. Utnapishtim - baker of bread |
| Shamhat -"harlot" who civilizes Enkidu | Siduri - bartender at the edge of the world |
| Urshanabi - the ferryman of Utnapishtim |
GODS AND MONSTERS
| Ishtar - goddess of beauty and love | Humbaba - monster guarding the Cedar Forest |
| Shamash - sun god | Bull of Heaven - Sphinxy symbol of drought |
| Anu - king of the Sumerian gods | Scorpion-Man - guardian of the gates at Mt. Mashu |
PLACES
| Uruk - city in Mesopotamia ruled by Gilgamesh |
| Cedar Forest - probably Lebanon |
| Mount Mashu - symbolic division between the setting and rising of the sun |
| Dilmun - the faraway land in the garden of the sun, where Utnapishtim lives |
| Kur - Sumerian word meaning "foreign land" or "underworld" |
| Map of Gilgamesh's World - http://atlantis.haktanir.org/sum_map.gif |
PRINCIPAL STORYLINES
| The civilizing of Enkidu by Shamhat |
| How Enkidu and Gilgamesh became friends |
| Journey to the Cedar Forest and the killing of Humbaba |
| Ishtar, Gilgamesh, and the Bull of Heaven |
| The illness and death of Enkidu |
| Gilgamesh's journey to Utnapishtim and encounter with Siduri |
| Utnapishtim's tale of the flood and its implications for Gilgamesh |