The hero of the story is Gilgamesh, king of Uruk. When the story begins, Gilgamesh is a young king. He is a bully. The people of Uruk protest. A wild man, Enkidu, is created from clay to be Gilgamesh’s equal. Enkidu lives in the wide open country with gazelles. Enkidu is humanised by the lovely lady Shamkat. But then the gazelles run away from Enkidu. Shamkat persuades Enkidu to go to Uruk. In Uruk he confronts Gilgamesh. They fight and become friends.

Read a written retelling of Part 1—The story begins…

View a storytelling performance of Part 1—The story begins…

View a reading of Part 1—The story begins… from the book which was a project learning resource (20m 30s).