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| A Latin inscription honoring Emperor Tiberius (David Harris) |
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Learning Activity 3:
Ancient Civilizations, Ancient Texts
Session 1
Tell students that they will now compare two texts from the ancient world - one from a polytheistic society, and one from a monotheistic society.
- Tell students that they will be reading a portion of the Epic of Gilgamesh, thought by scholars to be the oldest written story. It was authored by the Sumerians, a civilization that believed in many gods. You may want to remind students that this is the same civilization that first developed writing.
- Have students read the synopsis of the story of Gilgamesh and the accompanying background information at http://fajardo-acosta.com/worldlit/gilgamesh/. Point out that Gilgamesh was a king of Uruk, and remind students that they saw the location of and read about this city (also known as Erech) in the first Learning Activity. You can go back to the
 Atlas, 3100 BCE, click twice on Sumer, and click on Erech to jog their memories.
- Distribute the Epic of Gilgamesh (PDF) handout to students. Have students read the portion of the Gilgamesh story in which Utanapishtim tells the flood story (Tablet XI on the website http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/
mesopotamian/gilgamesh/). You should print out/photocopy the story (you can end the story when Enlil arrives - "Just then Enlil arrived.") Once they have finished reading, pose the following questions:
- Can you summarize what happened in this story?
- What does this story tell us about Sumerian religion - about their gods and beliefs?
- Does this sound like another story you may have heard before?
- Have students read Genesis chapters 6-9, the story of Noah and the flood. Once students have finished reading, pose the following questions:
- Can you summarize what happened in this story?
- Can you describe some of the parallels between the story of Noah and the flood and the story that Utanapishtim tells in the Epic of Gilgamesh?
- What are some of the differences between the two stories? Are the differing belief structures - one polytheistic, one monotheistic - the cause of some of the differences?
- Why do you think two different cultures, one polytheistic, one monotheistic, would have had and preserved such similar stories?
Culminating Activity
The goal of this activity is for students to create their own religious text or ancient myth that has historical feasibility relative to a civilization that the students studied in this lesson (e.g. Canaanite, Sumerian, Israelite, etc).
- Divide students into small groups and distribute the Culminating Activity handout (PDF). Ask each group to develop their own religious text or myth based upon one of the civilizations, texts, and/or situations studied in this lesson. Students should use the following questions to guide their work:
- What are the sources for your ancient text?
- How does the text reflect its society's religious beliefs, political situation, culture, or another aspect of the society?
- Why would this society have generated such a text? What was its purpose?
- After completion, display the students' work and enjoy their success as burgeoning anthropologists.
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