Tonight I am going to break a rule. This story is not in any book in this Library. Its clay tablets are buried under the ruins of Nineveh, and they won’t be found for eighteen hundred years.
Myths of the Near East · Comparatives
Gilgamesh and the Plant of Life
As… as, not as… as, much and far + comparative, the more… the more, twice as, nowhere near as, and the -est… ever: the grammar of measuring, for the story of the strongest king who ever lived and the one thing he couldn’t have.
🌿 Play the story too: in the gamebook, you are Gilgamesh.Play the gamebook →
SOPHIA
MARCOS
Then how do you know it?
The story
After the Epic of Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh was king of Uruk: two-thirds god and one-third man, stronger than any man alive, and prouder. The gods made a wild man, Enkidu, to match him. They fought, and neither could win, and they became the closest friends in the world. Together they killed the monster Humbaba in the Cedar Forest, and the Bull of Heaven.
But the gods decided that one of them must die, and Enkidu fell ill and died. Gilgamesh wept for him for seven days and seven nights, until a worm fell from his nose. And for the first time, he was afraid: if Enkidu could die, so could he.
He set out to find Utnapishtim, the one man who had survived the great flood and been given eternal life. He crossed the mountains of sunrise and the waters of death. “Stay awake for six days and seven nights,” said Utnapishtim, “and you will have eternal life.” But Gilgamesh fell asleep at once, and slept for seven days.
Out of pity, Utnapishtim told him a secret: at the bottom of the sea grew a plant that could make an old man young again. Gilgamesh tied stones to his feet, walked on the sea floor, and picked it. But on the way home, while he was bathing in a cool pool, a snake smelled the plant, carried it off, and shed its skin.
Gilgamesh sat down and wept. Then he went home to Uruk, and looked at its great walls, and understood: the walls he had built, and the city, would last longer than he would.
The Epic of Gilgamesh, retold in brief from the tablets found at Nineveh.
What we know today
The tablets of the Epic of Gilgamesh were found in the 1850s in the library of King Ashurbanipal at Nineveh. It is one of the oldest stories in the world: parts of it are more than four thousand years old. Readers of Genesis often compare the snake that takes the plant with the serpent in the garden of Eden, and the search for eternal life with the tree of life.
As… as, not as… as
MARCOS
Enkidu was as strong as Gilgamesh. That’s why they became friends.
SOPHIA
As + adjective + as for equal things. Not as / not so… as for unequal: Enkidu was not as proud as Gilgamesh. And for a big difference: nowhere near as: a lion is nowhere near as strong as Gilgamesh.
Much, far, a lot, a bit + comparative
DEMETRIA
The walls of Uruk were far taller than any other city’s.
SOPHIA
To say how big the difference is, put much, far, a lot (big) or a bit, slightly, a little (small) before the comparative: much stronger, far older, slightly faster. Never “very stronger”.
Twice as, three times as
THE CLERK
Gilgamesh is two-thirds god. So he’s twice as much god as man?
SOPHIA
Precisely, and well calculated. Twice as… as, three times as… as: His walls were twice as high as the old ones.
The more…, the more…
PHILO
The harder Gilgamesh looked for eternal life, the further it seemed to be.
SOPHIA
The + comparative…, the + comparative… shows two things changing together. The more he wept, the more afraid he became.
The -est… ever
MARCOS
The strongest king who ever lived.
SOPHIA
Superlatives often go with the present perfect or ever: the oldest story I have ever read, the saddest ending ever. And Philo, I suspect you have something to say about the snake.
PHILO
Only that in our story, too, a serpent stands between people and the tree of life. But that is a comparison for another evening.
Sophia’s summary
| Form | Use | From the fable |
|---|---|---|
| as… as / not as… as / nowhere near as | equal / unequal / very unequal | Enkidu was as strong as Gilgamesh. |
| much / far / a lot / slightly + comparative | how big the difference is | The walls were far taller. |
| twice as… as | multiplying | twice as high as the old walls |
| the + comparative…, the + comparative | two things changing together | The more he searched, the further it seemed. |
| the -est / the most… (ever) | superlatives | the oldest story ever written |
Practice
Answer all the questions, then press “Check my answers”. You can try again as many times as you like.
A · Choose the best form
Choose the form that fits best.
1. Enkidu was ___ Gilgamesh, so neither could win.
2. The walls of Uruk were ___ taller than any other walls.
3. The ___ he searched, the further away it seemed.
4. It is the oldest story I have ___ read.
5. A lion is ___ as strong as Gilgamesh.
6. His new walls were ___ as high as the old ones.
B · Complete the sentence
Write the missing word or words.
7. Enkidu was not as proud Gilgamesh.
8. The he wept, the more afraid he became.
9. The snake was faster than Gilgamesh. (a small difference)
10. It was the saddest journey he had made. (at any time)
C · Right or wrong?
Is the sentence correct English?
11. “Gilgamesh was very stronger than other men.”
12. “The longer he stayed awake, the more tired he became.”
13. “Enkidu was as brave than Gilgamesh.”
Now take the journey yourself, as Gilgamesh, to the edge of the world.Play the gamebook →