Imagine what a day in the life of a citizen of Uruk must have been like. Waking up in the morning, looking outside and seeing, once again, that the scorpion-men of the East Mountain had opened the gates and Shamash the sun god had been pulled across the sky in his chariot (University 1). Walking towards the Eanna temple, hoping that one of the priests would be available to interpret a dream you had during the night, imagine the awe you would feel seeing the sun glinting on the walls of the temple like copper. Carrying your offering, you would go through the open area towards the cella, admiring the interior walls along the way and smelling the burning incense (Kovacs 1:12).
In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the oldest-known work of literature found to date, we can find a surprising amount of information about what life in Sumer was like.
The Sumerians created the oldest-known cities. Like any modern-day city, the Sumerians had a large variety of services available. Hunters, trappers, bakers, butchers, farmers, and date gardeners would have provided food; wine and beer was the choice of drink for the civilized man. Pottery, jewelry, cloth, sculpture, and furniture would have been available from a variety of artisans, craftsmen and merchants. They had mathematics, organized construction, agriculture, writing, rudimentary science, calendars, government, education, history, literature, and education. In short, they had all the “trappings” of modern civilization, albeit without our level of technology.
In Gilgamesh we find the oldest reference to Monarchy as a form of government, although they apparently had a senate-like group of Elders. The King was not under any obligation to follow the word of the Elders, but he would go to them for advice and often took their advice to heart. Even though the King’s word was law and he was entitled to do whatever he wanted to do, the people would – and did – express outrage when he went overboard in his indulgences. This is especially apparent in how the people reacted to his constant exercise of his right to take the virginity of a newly-married young woman before her husband could.
It is obvious throughout Gilgamesh that religion played a very important role in their lives. Large, ornate temples were built to worship a city’s chosen deity. The Sumerian Gods and Goddesses, while worshiped, were not “perfect” as we often view God today. On the contrary, even though the Gods and Goddesses were capable of feats beyond human capacity, the “gods and goddesses look and behave like human beings … and they … are swayed by passions and desires like those of men” (Bowra 313).
This view of gods and goddesses as being in human form, with much the same motivations and emotions of humans, indicates that the Sumerians may have been the first civilization with Humanism as a cultural value, although not as fully developed a value as in Greek society. There are other hints of humanistic thinking throughout Gilgamesh, from how they honored their physical creations – the city walls, the temple – to how they gloried in and deified the accomplishments and adventures of Gilgamesh. Even though the gods and goddesses assisted Gilgamesh at times – Shamash lighting his path, for example – ultimately his achievements were his own doing.
More than just recognizing the achievements of an individual, the Sumerians valued the ideas of working together, that a “slippery path is not feared by two people who help each other” (Kovacs 4:764). This concept is further enhanced by the deep grief felt by Gilgamesh upon the loss of Enkidu, upon the loss of his partner, his companion, his team-mate.
The Sumerians had no problem with questioning the will of the gods and going against their wishes, even mocking them. At the same time, they recognized that there could be negative consequences for those who would dare to go against the wishes of the gods. With some hilarity, this is shown best when Ishtar offers herself as lover and wife to Gilgamesh, who promptly recounts how badly she treated her prior lovers and tells her no. (Kovacs 6.948-1015). Like billions of women scorned throughout the ages, Ishtar reacts first by getting angry, then by getting even.
The concepts of an afterlife are apparent, although it seems more like a hell where one becomes a shadow of their former self, a bare ghost. They do not welcome death and the afterlife, on the contrary, the most desired life is here and now on Earth. Death is so undesirable and feared that Gilgamesh pursues immortality; for even though he has the divine within him from birth, he is not a god. However, immortality – to live forever - is not his fate, no matter how hard he struggled to achieve it. It is ironic that through the thousands of years since his death, Gilgamesh ends up with a sort of immortality after all – the stories of his life, his adventures and achievements have been handed down through the ages and still told today.
The Sumerians had a vibrant economy, formal government, complex thoughts and beliefs about themselves, their place in the universe, and a well-developed religious belief system. They are the oldest-known civilization, and in many ways set standards – both through their science and their moral standards - that are still in use today.
Works Cited
Bowra, C.M. Untitled Essay Extract. 1952. Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism. Vol. 3. Ed. Jelena O. Krstovic. 1989. 313.
The Epic of Gilgamesh. Trans. Maureen Gallery Kovacs. 25 Aug. 2003 University of North Florida 25 Aug. 2003
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. “Shamash.” Windows to the Universe. 22 Sep. 2003 The Regents of the University of Michigan. 22 Sep. 2003
Written for Professor Stephenson's Literature I class at Pikes Peak Community College, 29th September 2003.
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