10 The Epic of Gilgamesh Questions | Literature Before 1900 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Uruk

Gilgamesh was the King of Uruk. In the early stages of his rule, he was known as an evil tyrant. He was feared by his people and he would take advantage of their fear in several ways. Gilgamesh was known to sound the alarm just to watch the townspeople panic. He would also take boys from their families and enlist them in his army from a young age.

Answer: Enkidu

Enkidu was molded from clay by the Gods. He roamed with animals until a woman taught him how to be civilized. In the city, he met Gilgamesh and they fought to see which was stronger. The fight was so evenly matched that they respected each other's strength and became friends.

Answer: Ninsun

Ninsun, the Goddess, had Gilgamesh with a human father. Apparently the God's genes are more prominent than human's genes, because Gilgamesh turned out one-third human and two-thirds God. This allowed him to be superior both mentally and physically to his fellow Earth-dwellers.

Answer: Enlil

Enlil is the father of Humbaba. Humbaba, the giant, prevented people from destroying the forest or chopping down any trees. Many people refused to go near the forest because of Humbaba's fierce reputation. This allowed the cedar trees to grow bountifully year after year, and the forest was quite a sight to behold.

Answer: Beheaded

Gilgamesh and Enkidu both take chops at his head, and at the third chop his head falls off and he dies. The only reason that Gilgamesh and Enkidu are able to slay this beast is the fact that they have the blessing of Ninsun, Gilgamesh's Goddess mother. After finding out, Enlil became enraged that his son had been slain, and vowed to get revenge on Gilgamesh and Enkidu.

Answer: Ishtar

Gilgamesh declines and Ishtar becomes angry. She had offered him riches beyond imagine and everything he could ever want. Although the offer sounds sweet, the fact that Ishtar is quick to turn her ex's into animals, or a fate much worse, is enough to cause Gilgamesh to decline. Gilgamesh had begun to accumulate enemies in high places, which can easily foreshadow unfortunate events in the near future.

Answer: Bull

The Bull of Heaven is unsuccessful in killing Gilgamesh. Enkidu and Gilgamesh kill the Bull of Heaven and this angers Ishtar even more. Ishtar had planned on killing Gilgamesh with the Bull of Heaven as revenge for not marrying her. Ishtar is fuming mad at this point because Gilgamesh has embarrassed her. So she goes to the other Gods for help.

Answer: Enkidu

The Gods are angered by Enkidu's role in the slaying of Humbaba and the Bull of Heaven, so they kill him. Specifically, Ishtar talks them into killing Gilgamesh's best friend. This deed hurts Gilgamesh more than she had imagined. Gilgamesh became depressed and scared. If Enkidu, with similar strength and intelligence, can be killed so easily, what of Gilgamesh? He develops a massive fear of death and sets off on a journey to find a man with immortality and ask him how he obtained it.

Answer: Utnapishtim

Utnapishtim obtained immortality as a gift from the Gods. He saved the human population from extinction by building an ark to survive the great flood. His tale is very similar to the Biblical tale of Noah and his ark.

Answer: Tablets

These tablets were recovered from thousands of years ago and had to be translated into English and various other languages. Not all of the tablets have been found, which leads to odd gaps in the story.