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The First Civilizations - Baby's First Year

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CHAPTER 1<br />

Name Date Class<br />

ACTIVITY FOR DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION 1<br />

<strong>The</strong> Epic of Gilgamesh<br />

<strong>The</strong> Epic of Gilgamesh is a Sumerian poem dating from about<br />

2000 B.C. It is one of the world’s oldest known stories. <strong>The</strong> hero, Gilgamesh,<br />

is a king who traveled the world performing great deeds.<br />

In one of the most famous parts of the epic, Gilgamesh tries to<br />

learn the secret of eternal life from an immortal wise man. This<br />

man tells Gilgamesh about a great flood that destroyed the world.<br />

Warned by the god of wisdom, the man had saved himself and his<br />

family by building an ark. <strong>The</strong> gods eventually gave the man eternal<br />

life. Here is part of the man’s story:<br />

Six days and six nights<br />

Blows the flood wind, as the south-storm<br />

sweeps the land.<br />

When the seventh day arrived,<br />

<strong>The</strong> flood (-carrying) south-storm subsided<br />

in the battle,<br />

Which it had fought like an army.<br />

<strong>The</strong> sea-grew quiet, the tempest was still,<br />

the flood ceased.<br />

I looked at the weather. Stillness had set in,<br />

And all of mankind had returned to clay.<br />

<strong>The</strong> landscape was as level as a flat roof.<br />

I opened a hatch, and light fell on my face.<br />

Bowing low, I sat and wept,<br />

Tears running down my face.<br />

I looked about for coast lines in the expanse<br />

of the sea:<br />

In each of fourteen (regions)<br />

<strong>The</strong>re emerged a region (-mountain).<br />

6<br />

On Mount Nisir the ship came to a halt.<br />

Mount Nisir held the ship fast,<br />

Allowing -no motion.<br />

[For six days the ship rests atop Mount Nisir.]<br />

When the seventh day arrived,<br />

I sent forth and set free a dove.<br />

<strong>The</strong> dove went forth, but came back;<br />

<strong>The</strong>re was no resting-place for it and she<br />

turned round.<br />

<strong>The</strong>n I sent forth and set free a swallow.<br />

<strong>The</strong> swallow went forth, but came back,<br />

<strong>The</strong>re was no resting-place for it and she<br />

turned round.<br />

<strong>The</strong>n I sent forth and set free a raven.<br />

<strong>The</strong> raven went forth and, seeing that the<br />

waters had diminished,<br />

He eats, circles, caws, and turns not round.<br />

Source: Translated by E.A. Speiser, in Ancient Near Eastern Texts (Princeton, 1950), as reprinted in Isaac Mendelsohn (ed.), Religions<br />

of the Ancient Near East (New York, 1955).<br />

Directions: Use the information in the passage to answer the following<br />

questions on a separate sheet of paper.<br />

1. Making Connections Review the information in your textbook<br />

about the geography of Sumeria. How do you think the<br />

Sumerians’ physical environment might have inspired the<br />

Gilgamesh flood story?<br />

2. Analyze What does this story tell us about the relationship<br />

Sumerians might have had with their gods? Explain your<br />

answer.<br />

Copyright © by <strong>The</strong> McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

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