Epic of Gilgamesh

Section A: Identification (5 marks)

Identify the period in world literature that is described in the following statements.
____________1. Sentimental novels became mainstream.
____________2. There was a resurgence of learning based on classical sources.
____________3. Thoughts and writings were turned to nature for self-fulfilment.
____________4. It was when all western canons began.
____________5. This period started from the fall of the Western Roman Empire.
Section B: Completion (10 marks)
Fill in the blanks. Choose from the pool of words provided.
Mesopotamia
Death of
Enlil
Enkidu
Ea
Ishtar

Waters
Uruk
Urshanabi

Anu
Aruru

Utnapishtim

snake
Cedar Forest

A mighty King of (1) _____________________, Gilgamesh, was two-thirds god and

one-third man. Although he was godlike in body and mind, he began his kingship as a
cruel leader. He accomplished his buildings with forced labour, and his exhausted
subjects groaned under his oppression.

(2) _____________________,

the god of firmament, heard the peoples plea and asked

(3)

________________________, goddess of creation, to create a wild man named Enkidu.

When the wild man went to the city and found Gilgamesh forcing his way to a
wedding, he stepped into the doorway and blocked the passage. The two men wrestle
fiercely for a long time, and Gilgamesh finally prevailed. After that, they became
friends.
The two friends decided to steal trees from the distant (5)
_______________________ which was forbidden to mortals. They fought and killed the
terrifying demon guardian of the forest,

(6)

______________________, the devoted servant of (7) ________________________, the god of

earth, wind and air.
Enkidu fell ill and died. The heartbroken Gilgamesh vowed not to share the same
fate as his friend, so he decided to go find (8) ________________________, the
Mesopotamian Noah. After the flood, the gods had granted the ancient man eternal
life, and Gilgamesh hoped that the ancient man could tell him how he might avoid

death too.
(9) _______________________, the ferryman, took Gilgamesh on the boat journey
across the sea through the Waters of Death to meet the ancient man. The ancient man
told the Gilgamesh the story of the flood how the gods met and decided to destroy
humankind. (10) ___________________, the god of wisdom warned the ancient man about
the gods plan and told him to fashion a gigantic boat in which is family and the seed
of the living creature might escape. The ancient man was rewarded with eternal life.
When Gilgamesh insisted that he must be allowed to live forever, the ancient
man gave him a test. He must stay awake for a week, but Gilgamesh failed the test
miserably. Just as Gilgamesh was departing, the ancient man told him about a
miraculous plant that restored youth. Gilgamesh found the plant, but a snake stole it
from him as he was resting from his tiring adventure.
Section C: Comprehension (6 marks)
Read the passage carefully, and then answer the questions that follow.
Answers must be in full sentences.
As the Roman Empire declined, imperial regnal year dating became sloppy,
but remained the norm for 400 years in Christian Church circles. Use of consular
dating ended when the emperor Justinian I discontinued appointing consuls in the
mid-6th century. The last consul nominated was Anicius Albinus Basillius in 541. The
Papacy was in regular contact throughout the Middle Ages with envoys of the
Byzantine world, and had a clear idea sudden deaths and deposals
nothwithstanding of who was the Byzantine Emperor at any one time.
The Anno Domini system was developed by a monk named Dionysus Exiguus
(a Scythian) in Rome in 525, as an outcome of his work on calculating the date of
Easter. Byzantine chroniclers like Theophanes continued to date each year in their
world chronicles on a different and much more popular Judaeo-Christian basis from
the notional creation of the World as calculated by Christian scholars in the five
centuries of the Christian era. These eras, sometimes called Anno Mundi, year of
the world (abbreviated AM), by modern scholars, had their own disagreements. The

most popular formulation was that established by Eusebius of Caesarea, a historian

at the time of Constantine I. The Latin translator Jerome had made a comparison of
Eusebius with certain dates deduced from the Old Testament which helped
popularise Eusebiuss AM count in the West.
Almost all Biblical scholars believe that Dionysus was incorrect in his
calculation, and that the date claimed for Jesus birth was between 8 BC and 4 BC.
The latest bound for the birth of Christ is the death of Herod the Great which
occurred in 4 BC

(extract from Wikipedia, by Jimmy Wales)

1. What type of historical source does the above extract belong to?
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
2. (a) What does the term Anno Domini (paragraph 2 line 1) mean?
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
(b) What is its abbreviation?
_________________________________________________________________________________
(c) How do you write the hundredth year with the term Anno Domini?
_________________________________________________________________________________
3. What does B.C. (paragraph 3) stand for?
_________________________________________________________________________________
4. What is another term used to replace B.C.?
_________________________________________________________________________________
Section D: Choose the letter that best describes the statements in each
number. (4 marks)
A if the first statement is correct and the second statement is wrong
B if the first statement is wrong and the second statement is correct
C if both statements are correct
D if both statements are wrong
__________1

The Epic of Gilgamesh was written on 12 complete Sumerian-language

tablets found in mid-1th century. These tablets where found by Hormuzd

Rassam at Nineveh in the library of Assyrian king Ashurbanipal.

__________2

The historian writes out an account of what he thinks has happened in

the past based on the evidences he collected. The archaeologist looks for
evidence through excavation

__________3

The epic heroes doubt their skills and capacities to carry out the task.

However, they are forced to carry out the adventure despite their refusal.

__________4

Maps, photographs, cave drawings and paintings left behind by the

people in the past are considered to be primary sources. Primary sources

are evidences provided by people who have not been involved in the
event in the past.

Section E: Discuss the following. (15 marks)

1. The symbol of the ring in The Lord of the Ring and how the ring develops the
theme of the story (5 marks)
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
_______

2. The reason why Gilgamesh wanted immortality and whether he was able to
achieve immortality (5 marks)
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
_______
3. The contributions of Sumerian civilisation (5 marks)
____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
_______