WHO ARE THE SUMERIANS?

  Reading literature, and especially epic literature, is like looking through a window at the culture from which it emerged. Based on your reading of this ancient text, write an essay in which you discuss what The Epic of Gilgamesh reveals about the values – the moral ideas and standards of behavior – of ancient Sumerians. What ideas were important to the Sumerians? What did they expect of their rulers? What values did they want their heroes to embody? What kind of gods did they have faith in?