 This long epic poem is about a Sumerian king who lived between 2700 and 2500 B.C.  The universal themes are:  how to become known and respected  how to cope with the loss of a dear friend  how to accept one’s own inevitable death  Oral tradition of ancient times  Most people could not read - stories and culture were passed down through the telling of tales.

 This story was recorded on clay tablets found in the mid-1880s.  Mesopotamia and Egypt are believed to be the world’s first civilizations.  Mesopotamia (between rivers) is the territory located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in modern day Iraq.

 Sumer, the area of Southern Mesopotamia, is believed to be where world’s first writing system originated.  Initially, Sumerians wrote on clay tablets with a stylus.  Around 3300, clay tablets had pictures on them representing different animals.

 Next to animals would be tally markings  Eventually, a writing system with over 700 signs emerged.  By 700 BCE, a phonetic system had developed.  Later Sumerian writing was known as cuneiform.  Cuneiform is the Latin term for “wedge shaped.”