Tue., 8/27

Do Now—Exercise 6E:

In “The Journey to the Cedar Forest,” the second tale in the Epic of Gilgamesh (found in Tablets II–V), Gilgamesh fights the giant, Humbaba (Hugeness). See p. 56, ¶ 4-5 for details.

In five complete sentences, explain what historical activity “The Journey to the Cedar Forest” symbolizes. A model answer is provided here:

The second tale in the Epic of Gilgamesh describes the journey of Gilgamesh and Enkidu to the cedar forest where they confront the ogre, Humbaba. After slaying the monster, the heroes cut and hew cedar wood from Humbaba’s forest to build a temple to Enlil in Nippur. The mythical Humbaba probably symbolizes the Elamite tribes in the Zagros Mountains. The historical Gilgamesh seems to have attacked the Elamites and took their timber not for a temple in Nippur but to fortify the walls of Uruk. Demonizing the Elamites in this way very likely helped the Sumerians justify to themselves the violence they visited upon the Elamites.

HW:

Complete Exercise 6E in your Field Notes No. 6.

Optional: Use your answer to complete your study guide.

Finalize your presentation.