The City In Homer's The Epic Of Gilgamesh

‘The Epic of Gilgamesh’ takes place in ancient Mesopotamia, which is a Greek for “between two rivers” because it is located between the river of Tigris and the Euphrates River. Mesopotamia is where one the earliest urban civilizations, so the inhabitants of that area are sophisticated and enterprising. The story in the Epic starts in Uruk, which is a very vividly described in the 17 lines that follow the first 8 lines of the Epic.

“In Uruk he built walls, a great rampart, and the temple of blessed Eanna for the god of the firmament Anu, and for Ishtar the goddess of love. Look at it still today: the outer wall where the cornice runs, it shines with the brilliance of copper; and the inner wall, it has no equal. Touch the threshold, it is ancient.

That means that they have disposable income, attainable resources, and are much progressive than the less-developed people that still live outside the city. Some of the other nicknames for Uruk is "Uruk-Haven" to place emphasis on the safety of the city and contrasting it with the dangers of living outside of the city. The readers are reminded that Uruk is a strong-walled fortress which makes it a safe place and place where humanity conquered

This sets up the conflict between the wild Enkidu and Shamhat’s civilizing forces. She sucks Enkidu into the civilized world by bathing him, clothing him, giving him bread, serving him wine. She seduces him with alcohol, women, and song. Enkidu later on curses when found that he was no longer seen as a fellow animal with the wild animals. Enkidu is a symbol of the wilderness and the uncivilized while Gilgamesh is the king of civilized Uruk. Their friendship is metaphor for the Sumerian's pride in taming the land, though they are still connected to it. Enkidu later dies of a prolonged unpleasant illness after he was cursed by an angry Ishtar. The illness reflects the issues that come with living in the city. Disease probably became prevalent in the city due to the growth of the population, living with animals, and poor sanitation. The existence of the Cedar Forest in the Epic, compared to what we know about the Sumerians, is that they had limited resources of lumber and lumber is essential when building a civilization. Though they may be residing between two rivers, the climate does get extremely hot out there as it is seen in the modern-day Iraq. The text goes on to say "the Cedar brought forth luxurious foliage; its shade was good, extremely pleasant," the readers are reminded of why the Cedar Forest is an appealing yet a dangerous place. It is a forest after all and