CULTURAL & HISTORICAL CONTEXTS FOR THE EPIC OF

GILGAMESH

GilgameshKing of Uruk 2750 B.C.

What society is credited with the creation of the EOG?

The Sumerians

2. What 2 great river-civilizations flourished in the ancient Middle East?

MESOPOTAMIA IN SOUTHWEST ASIA

EGYPT IN UPPER AFRICA

Contributions by people of the ancient Middle East

Agriculture Scientific and mathematical knowledge Architectural advancements Legal systems Forms of government (independent city-

states) Writing systems (Cuneiform &

Hieroglyphs) Religious systems (Judaism)

What does Mesopotamia mean?

What does it refer to? What is the Fertile Crescent?

IT REFERS TO THE EUPHRATES & TIGRIS RIVERS

AGRICULTURALLY RICH LAND BETWEEN THOSE 2 RIVERS

What type of buildings were Sumerians known for?

Ziggurats:1. Pyramid-like temples not tombs2. Layered like wedding cakes3. Probably brightly colored4. Usually a flat top as opposed to the apex that pyramids had

What form of writing were Sumerians known for?

Cuneiform:It was wedge-shaped

What type of government existed in Mesopotamia? Who later conquered the

Sumerians and translated the Epic of Gilgamesh?

(a)City-states(b)The Babylonians-gate of Ishtar

Code of Hammurabi: 282 laws for life

Who built the great library at Nineveh and what documents did it house?

The Assyrians conquered the Babylonians but preserved their writings and those of the Sumerians

King Nebuchadnezzar created the hanging gardens of Babylon-1 of the 7 wonders of the world.

The other 6 wonders were:2. Statue of Zeus at Olympia3. Temple of Artemis at Ephesus4. Mausoleum of Halicarnassus5. Colossus of Rhodes6. Lighthouse of Alexandria7. The Great Pyramid of Giza (only one that survives)

What waterway was central to Egyptian life and what writing material did it provide?

The Nile River Reeds were used to make Papyrus

How is ancient Egyptian civilization usually divided?

Old Kingdom

Middle Kingdom

New Kingdom

Draw and label a depiction of the Egypt’s social pyramid from the ancient Middle East

What writing and cult were associated with ancient Egyptians?

Hieroglyphs: pictures represented ideas The Cult of the Dead: mummification,

elaborate tombs etc.

The Hebrew Bible consists of what?

The Old Testament

Name 2 places where Hebrews were forced to live in the ancient Middle East?

EGYPT BABYLON

Hebrews:

ARE MONOTHEISTS WHO BELIEVE IN ONE GOD, YAHWEH.

OBEY THE DIVINE LAWS INCLUDING THE TEN COMMANDMENTS AS TERMS OF THE COVENANT.