The Epic of Gilgamesh Lesson Plan

Now that you have been introduced to Gilgamesh, the hero of this story, what do you think of him? Which of his qualities appear to be unusual for a hero?

We are told, repeatedly, that Gilgamesh is strong, wise, great, beautiful, and generally worthy of praise. However, his actions so far have been pretty despicable. He comes across as a rapist, a bully, and a tyrant, and students may understandably find him difficult to like.

We are told that Gilgamesh is two-thirds god and one-third human. Does this proportion seem a little odd, mathematically speaking? We know that Gilgamesh's mother is a goddess, and if his father is a human king--wouldn't that make him half god...