## The Geography of the Epic
The Epic of Gilgamesh moves across the known world of ancient Mesopotamia — from Uruk in the south to the Cedar Forest in the west, across the Waters of Death, and to the mountain of Mashu at the world's edge. The geography is both real and mythological — a landscape that is at once the alluvial plain between the Tigris and Euphrates and the liminal space between life and death.
Map — Key Locations
The Ancient Near East during the time of the Gilgamesh Epic (c. 2100–1200 BCE). Major cities and geographical features mentioned in the text are marked. The Cedar Forest (Lebanon) and the proposed location of the distant realm of Utnapishtim (Bahrain/Dilmun) are shown with their mythological designations.
Uruk — Biblical Erech, modern Warka, Iraq. Gilgamesh's city. Archaeological evidence places the first urban settlement here around 4000 BCE, making it one of the world's earliest cities.Nippur — Modern Nuffar, Iraq. Religious center of Sumer. Home of the temple of Enlil.Shuruppak — Modern Tell Fara, Iraq. Utnapishtim's city before the Flood.Ur — Modern Tell el-Muqayyar, Iraq. The great Sumerian port city on the Persian Gulf.Cedar Forest — The Lebanon range. Home of the guardian Humbaba. The cedars of Lebanon were prized throughout the ancient Near East for temple and palace construction.Mashu — The twin-peaked mountain at the world's edge. Guarded by scorpion-men. Possibly the Zagros Mountains to the east of Mesopotamia.Dilmun — The paradise at the mouth of the rivers where Utnapishtim dwells after the Flood. Modern Bahrain. The Sumerian paradise was a real place of refuge and refreshment.Map — Uruk — The Walled City
The city of Uruk at its height (c. 3000 BCE). The city walls — built, according to the epic, by Gilgamesh himself — enclosed approximately 5.5 square kilometers. The Eanna temple complex, dedicated to Inanna/Ishtar, dominates the center of the city. The great platform of the Anu Ziggurat rises in the western district.
City Wall — 9.5 km circumference. The epic opens and closes at this wall: "Ascend and walk about on the wall of Uruk."Eanna Temple — The House of Heaven, sanctuary of Ishtar. The harlot Shamhat was a priestess of this temple.Anu Ziggurat — The White Temple, dedicated to the sky god Anu. Visible from miles across the plain.The Plazas — Where Gilgamesh and Enkidu wrestled. The people of Uruk gathered here.Euphrates River — The eastern boundary of the city. The river that connected Uruk to the wider world.