How important was religion in the lives of Mesopotamian people?How did they worship their gods?

History by Geoffrey

Ancient Mesopotamia; Epic of Gilgamesh

 

Read (1) Turner, Chapter 1.1 to 1.2.1 (pages 1-15; 166-171); (2) The following two selections on Blackboard: (a) Shamash Hymn; (b) Epic of Gilgamesh (3)

THEN, answer the following questions with a one or two sentence response to each question:

1) How important was religion in the lives of Mesopotamian people?How did they worship their gods?

 

2) What is Gilgamesh’s quest? Does he find what he is looking for?

 

3) How is the story of the flood in the “Epic of Gilgamesh” similar/different to the story of Noah?

 

4) Based on your reading of the “Epic of Gilgamesh,” would you say the Mesopotamians had a positive or negative view of their gods and the afterlife?