Module 3 Early Classical Era. Quiz 1on WW Prologue to Chapter 6.
(May 25-29) Due: Module 3, WW Intro to Part 2, Ch 3 (State & Empire),
Ch 4 (Culture & Religion), Ch 5 (Society & Inequality), Ch 6 (Africa & Americas)
Thanks for all your great blogging in response to the questions from last week. I was happy with the many different insights you all brought and directions you took with your reflections on the reading. It’s for that reason I often like using broad, open ended prompts. We will also look at some more specific questions this week when we look at (already!) Quiz 1.
1) First up this week, however, have a look at your group effort from the Epic of Gilgamesh. Click on the four links below and watch each of the four scenes in sequence. There will be some overlap between scenes. Gilgamesh is one of the oldest stories of the human record, and it was conveyed via oral telling long before it was ever written down. That means it was developed during a time when, as many of you noted in your blogs, there were more than one species of human living on the planet at the same time. How did the homo sapiens of early Mesopotamia relate to these other humans? How did they understand themselves as “civilized people” when people were just becoming civilized for the first time? Are there elements of their "being civilized" that you recognize in your own way of being today? They reflected on these questions at the time, just as we today consciously reflect on how we understand ourselves as, for example, “people who use technology.”
If you’d like a good visual, see Sergio’s blog post with an image of a story-teller entertaining a group of Paleolithic people. Try to channel your inner-paleo-person while you watch the following four scenes from our sheltering-in-place class version of Gilgamesh.
Thank you to Claudia, Les, Oliver and Daisy, along with their camera, narration and acting crews, for bringing our story to life in four very different ways!
Scene 1
Scene 2
Scene 3
Scene 4
2) After watching the class production via the links, read the entire excerpt, which is copied below. As you read, take note of all the many words and phrases in the passage that can help us understand what it meant to the Mesopotamians who created this story to be civilized… and to co-exist with other humans who might be less sophisticated. One of the reasons Gilgamesh is such an important piece of the human record is that it marks one of the very first times we have written evidence available to help us answer such questions about our ancestors. If we want evidence from the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods, we have to rely on such things as artifacts, footprints and remains of settlements, and to that we add a lot of conjecture about what those things really meant to the people of the time. With the advent of writing, we don’t have to wonder anymore… the people who wrote the Gilgamesh story, for example, tell us quite clearly what it means to be a civilized human… eating and drinking processed food, such as bread and alcohol, living in a city with a wall, having understanding, anointing oneself with oil, these are some of the many things we see in this passage. See how many words or phrases you can find from the passage that help you understand what it meant to be a civilized human to the people who wrote the Gilgamesh story. Highlight these, or note them down using quotation marks to indicate exact quotes. Can you find more than 20 of them? More than 30? You’ll use these when you do your Quiz later in the module.
From The Epic of Gilgamesh
(abbreviated version)
In the wildness she created valiant Enkidu,
born of Silence, endowed with strength by Ninurta.
His whole body was shaggy with hair,
he had a full head of hair like a woman,
his locks billowed in profusion like Ashnan.
He knew neither people nor settled living,.
He ate grasses with the gazelles,
and jostled at the watering hole with the animals;
as with animals, his thirst was slaked with mere water.
A notorious trapper came face-to-face with him opposite the watering hole.
On seeing him the trapper's face went stark with fear,
and he and his animals drew back home.
The trapper was rigid with fear; though stock-still
his heart pounded and his face drained of color.
He addressed his father saying:
"Father, a certain fellow has come from the mountains.
He is the mightiest in the land,
his strength is as mighty as the meteorite of Anu!
He continually goes over the mountains,
he continually jostles at the watering place with the animals,
he continually plants his feet opposite the watering place.
I was afraid, so I did not go up to him.
He filled in the pits that I had dug,
wrenched out my traps that I had spread,
released from my grasp the wild animals.
He does not let me make my rounds in the wilderness!"
The trapper's father spoke to him saying:
"My son, there lives in Uruk a certain Gilgamesh.
There is no one stronger than he,
he is as strong as the meteorite of Anu.
Go, set off to Uruk,
tell Gilgamesh of this Man of Might.
He will give you the harlot Shamhat, take her with you.
She will overcome the fellow as if she were strong.
When the animals are drinking at the watering place
have her take off her robe and expose her sex.
When he sees her he will draw near to her,
and his animals who grew up in his wilderness will be alien to him."
The trapper heeded his father's advice.
He made the journey, stood inside
of Uruk,
and declared to Gilgamesh:
"There is a certain fellow who has come from the mountains--
he is the mightiest in the land,
his strength is as mighty as the meteorite of Anu!
He continually goes over the mountains,
he continually jostles at the watering place with the animals,
he continually plants his feet opposite the watering place.
I was afraid, so I did not go up to him.
He filled in the pits that I had dug,
wrenched out my traps that I had spread,
released from my grasp the wild animals.
He does not let me make my rounds in the wilderness!"
Gilgamesh said to the trapper:
"Go, trapper, bring the harlot, Shamhat, with you.
When the animals are drinking at the watering place
have her take off her robe and expose her sex.
When he sees her he will draw near to her,
and his animals, who grew up in his wilderness, will be alien to him."
The trapper went, bringing the harlot, Shamhat, with him.
They set off on the journey, making direct way.
On the third day they arrived at the appointed place,
and the trapper and the harlot sat down at their posts.
A first day and a second they sat opposite the watering hole.
The animals arrived and drank at the watering hole,
the wild beasts arrived and slaked their thirst with water.
Then he, Enkidu, offspring of the mountains,
who eats grasses with the
gazelles,
came to drink at the watering hole with the animals,
with the wild beasts he slaked his thirst with water.
Then Shamhat saw him--a primitive,
a savage fellow from the depths of the wilderness!
"That is he, Shamhat! Release your clenched arms,
expose your sex so he can take in your voluptuousness.
Do not be restrained--take his energy!
When he sees you he will draw near to you.
Spread out your robe so he can lie upon you,
and perform for this primitive the task of womankind!
His animals who grew up in his wilderness will become alien to him,
and his lust will groan over you."
Shamhat unclutched her bosom, exposed her sex, and he took in her voluptuousness.
She was not restrained, but took his energy.
She spread out her robe and he lay upon her. She performed for him, the primitive, the task of womankind.
His lust groaned over her.
For six days and seven nights Enkidu stayed aroused,
and had intercourse with the harlot
until he was sated with her charms.
But when he turned his attention to his animals,
the gazelles saw Enkidu and darted off,
the wild animals distanced themselves from his body.
Enkidu ... his utterly depleted body,
his knees that wanted to go off with his animals went rigid;
Enkidu was diminished, his running was not as before.
But then he drew himself up, for his understanding had broadened. Turning around, he sat down at the harlot's feet,
gazing into her face, his ears attentive as the harlot spoke.
The harlot said to Enkidu:
"You are beautiful, Enkidu, you are become like a god.
Why do you gallop around the wilderness with the wild beasts?
Come, let me bring you into Uruk-Haven,
to the Holy Temple, the residence of Anu and Ishtar,
the place of Gilgamesh, who is wise to perfection,
but who struts his power over the people like a wild bull."
What she said found favor with him.
Becoming aware of himself, he sought a friend.
Shamhat pulled off her clothing,
and clothed him with one piece
while she clothed herself with a second.
She took hold of him as the gods do
and brought him to the hut of the shepherds.
The shepherds gathered all around about him,
they marveled to themselves:
"How the youth resembles Gilgamesh--
tall in stature, towering up to the battlements over the wall!
Surely he was born in the mountains;
his strength is as mighty as the meteorite of Anu!"
They placed food in front of him,
they placed beer in front of him;
Enkidu knew nothing about eating bread for food,
and of drinking beer he had not been taught.
The harlot spoke to Enkidu, saying:
"Eat the food, Enkidu, it is the way one lives.
Drink the beer, as is the custom of the land."
Enkidu ate the food until he was sated,
he drank the beer-seven jugs!—
and became expansive and sang with joy!
He was elated and his face glowed.
He splashed his shaggy body with water,
and rubbed himself with oil, and turned into a human.
He put on some clothing and became like a warrior.
He took up his weapon and chased lions so that the shepherds could eat.
He routed the wolves, and chased the lions.
With Enkidu as their guard, the herders could lie down.
Enkidu spoke to the harlot:
"Come, Shamhat, take me away with you
to the sacred Holy Temple, the residence of Anu and Ishtar,
the place of Gilgamesh, who is wise to perfection,
but who struts his power over the people like a wild bull.
I will challenge him...
Let me shout out in Uruk: I am the mighty one!'
Lead me in and I will change the order of things;
he whose strength is mightiest is the one born in the wilderness!"
3) With Part II of our textbook, we move into the Classical Era of human history, and many new and, in Strayer’s mind at least undesirable, features of human society emerge. For this week’s blog posts, try reflecting on the reading using the “Big Picture” questions Strayer includes at the end of each chapter. Respond to at least one “Big Picture” question for each chapter… so yes, that is a separate blog post for each chapter. Remember that you do not have to read every page of every chapter in detail… just be sure to drill down on the sections that you find most motivating.
4) Finally, this recent open-access article from the New York Timesabout the collapse of the 1% at Mycenae explores the thing that made many of you angry about last week’s reading. It’s also a phenomenon (and a statistic) that is not only still with us but some historians argue is an innate feature of human societies. The article is optional, but interesting, and you can do an extra credit blog post about it if you like.
5) Finally – really finally – there is your Quiz 1on the first 6 chapters of our textbook. Can you believe you’ll have already read 6 chapters by the end of this week? Please do not stress about this or future quizzes. It is open book and open internet. You can use information from your own or your classmates’ blog posts. Just be sure to cite your source (yourself with your blog link, your classmate with his or her blog link, Strayer, a web source, whatever the source is if you use sources of information while taking the quiz). You can also just answer the questions based on the information you recall. My intention is that you do not spend more than ten minutes on each question… I am not expecting essays, just whatever you can write in 10 minutes. If you want to take more time, that’s fine, but you do not have to. I will post Quiz 1 on Wednesday, to make sure everyone has had time to look at this module (Module 3) before looking at the quiz.
Now go back to your bar-b-que, don’t worry about class for tonight, and perhaps take a moment to remember all the many, many human beings throughout history who were so much like you, me and all of us in almost every way, whose lives were cut short because of their commitment to their country. That’s a lot of people, and every single one of them was someone’s child, and most had similar human experiences with us and our Paleolithic ancestors – knowing hunger, fear, love, being moved by a sunrise, experiencing the satisfaction and pain of being alive, knowing what it means to be tired, excited, rest, have a beer or a glass of wine, or a deep drink of water, win an argument, lose an argument, be disgusted by something other people don’t mind, or celebrate a day of rest.
