Gilgamesh

TABLET I

Out I went, into the world, but there was none better, none whom he, Gilgamesh, could not best. And so, with his arms, he returned to Uruk.

But in their houses, the men of Uruk muttered: "Gilgamesh, noisy Gilgamesh! Arrogant Gilgamesh! All young men gone - defeated by Gilgamesh, and no son was left to his father. All young girls made women by Gilgamesh, his lusts are such, and no virgin left to her lover! Not the daughter of a warrior, nor the wife of a nobleman! Yet he is king and should be the people's careful shepherd. He is king and should be shepherd of the city. He is wise, he is handsome, he is firm as a rock."

In heaven the gods heard, heard the lament of the people, and the gods cried out to the Great God, higher king of Uruk: "Strong as a wild bull is this Gilgamesh. So he was made by Aruru, the Goddess. None there is who can - not one - none who can survive him in fighting. No son left to his father. Gilgamesh, he takes them all. And is he the king? Shepherd of the people? No virgin left to her lover, for he lusts strongly! No, nor the wife of the nobleman!"

The Great God heard this. Then to the Goddess of Creation, Aruru - cried all the gods: "You created this Gilgamesh! Well, create him his equal! Let him look as into mirrors. Give a second self to him, yes; rushing winds meet rushing winds! Let them flow heart to heart against - give them each other to fight, leaving Uruk in peace!"

So the Goddess of Creation took and formed in her mind this image, and there it was conceived - in her mind, and it was made of material that composes the Great God, He of the Firmament. She then plunged her hands down into water and pinched off a little clay. She let it drop in the wilderness. Thus the noble Enkidu was made.

For this was he the very strength of Ninurta, the God of War, was this his form, rough bodied, long haired, his hair waved like corn filaments. Yes, like the hair of that goddess who is the corn, She, Nisaba. Matted hair was all over his body, like the skins of the cattle. Yes, like the body of that god who is the cattle, He, Samugan. This Enkidu was innocent of mankind. He knew not the cultivated land. Enkidu was in the hills with the gazelles. They jostled each other with all the herds.

He too loved the water-hole. But one day by a water hole, a trapper met him - yes, face to face, because the herds of wild game had strayed into his territory. On three days face to face - each day the trapper was terrified, frozen stiff with fear. With his game he went home, unable to speak, numb with fright.

The trapper's face altered, new - a long journey does that to one, gives a new visage upon returning. The trapper, his heart all awe, told his father: "Father, what a man! No other like him! He comes from the hills, strongest alive! A star in heaven his strength, of the star essense of An, the Sky Father. Over the hills with the beasts, eating grass, ranges across all your land, goes to the wells. I fear him. Stay far away. He fills in my pits, tears up my game traps, helps the beasts escape. Now all the game slips away - through my fingers."

His father opened his mouth, told the son, the trapper: "My son, in Uruk lives Gilgamesh. None can withstand him; none has surpassed him. As a star in heaven his strength of the star-essence of An, the Sky Father. Go to Uruk and find Gilgamesh. Praise the wild man's strength. Ask for a temple hierodule from the Temple of Love, such a child of pleasure. Bring her and let her power of woman subdue this wild man. When he goes to the wells, he will embrace the priestess, and the wild beasts will reject him."

To Uruk the trapper went and said to Gilgamesh: "Like no other, wild, roaming in the pastures, a star in heaven his strength of the star-essence of An, the Sky Father. I am afraid. Stay far away. He helps the beasts escape, fills in my pits, tears up my game traps."

Gilgamesh said: "Trapper, return. Take a priestess, child of pleasure. When he goes to the wells, he will embrace the priestess, and the wild beasts will reject him."

Then returned with the hierodule, and three days to the drinking hole, there sat down, hierodule facing the trapper, waiting for the game.

First day, nothing.

Second day, nothing.

Third day, yes!

The herds came to drink, and Enkidu - glad for the water were the small wild beasts, and Enkidu was glad for the water - he of the gazelles and wild grass, born in the hills.

The priestess saw this man, wild from the hills.

"There, woman," said the trapper, "bare your breasts now; this is he! Have no shame; delay not. Welcome his love. Let him see you naked. Let him possess your body. As he approaches, take off your clothes. Lie with him. Teach him - the savage - your art of woman, for as he loves you, then the wild beasts, his companions, they will reject him."

She had no shame for this, made herself naked, welcomed his eagerness, incited him to love, taught the woman's art.

Six days, seven nights, that time lying together, Enkidu had forgotten his home, had forgotten the hills. After that time he was satisfied.

Then he went back to the wild beasts - but the gazelles saw him and ran. The wild beasts saw him and ran. Enkidu would follow, but weak, his strength gone through woman. Wisdom was in him. Thoughts in his heart - a man's. So he returned to the priestess. At her feet he listened intently.

"You have wisdom, Enkidu. Now you are as a god. Why the beasts? Why the hills? Come to Uruk of the strong walls, to Inanna's Temple of Love, and to the Eanna where the Sky God An can be found. Gilgamesh is there, strong, raging like a wild bull, over all is his strength."

Favourably as he speaks, he hears her words. He comes to know his own heart, and his desire to find a friend.

He tells her, the priestess: "Take me, girl, to the sacred pure dwelling of Love and Sky God's house where lives Gilgamesh of perfect strength, he who rages like a bull over all, and I will summon him forth and challenge him, and I will shout in Uruk: "I am the mightiest! Yes, I can change the order of what is! Anyone born on the steppe is mighty and has strength!"'

"Then let us go that he may see your face, and I will show you Gilgamesh, for I know well where he is. Come Enkidu, to Uruk of ramparts, where all are dressed for festival, where each day is a festival, where there are boys, where there are girls, deliciously ripe and perfumed, who drive the great ones from their fretted couches. To you, Enkidu, of joy in life I will show Gilgamesh of joy in life. See him, see his face! Radiant is his manhood, of full-bodied vigour, his body ripe with beauty in every part, so exceeding you in strength, needing no sleep by day or by night.

"Restrain your folly, Enkidu. Of Gilgamesh, Shamash the Sun is proud, also An, the God of Firmament, also valiant Enlil, his son, and Enki, his son also. All have given wisdom. Before you come from the open plains, Gilgamesh will have dreamed of it."

And so Gilgamesh rose from his bed, and to his mother, in revealing dreams, said: "Mother, I saw in a dream last night that there were stars in heaven. And a star descended upon me like unto the essence of An, the Sky God. I tried to lift it up, but it was too heavy for me. I tried to move it, but it would not be moved. The land of Uruk was around it, the land was placed round about it. All the people were pressing towards it. All the nobles also came round it, and all my friends kissed its feet. I was drawn towards it as to a woman, and I laid it at your feet. And you said it was my equal."

She, the Wise, the Custodian of Knowledge, says to her lord - she, Ninsun, Custodian of Knowledge, says to Gilgamesh: "Your equal was a star of heaven which descended upon you like unto the essence of An who his the God of the Firmament. You tried to lift it but it would not be moved. And I called it your equal, comparing it to you. You were drawn to it as to a woman. The meaning of this is of a strong friend who saves his companion. He is the strongest of the land; he has strength - as a star in heaven his strength, the strength of An of the Firmament and his host - so that you are drawn to him overwhelmingly. And this means he will never forsake you. Such is your dream."

Gilgamesh says again to his mother: "Mother, another dream...in Uruk of the ramparts lay an axe. All were gathered around it, Uruk-land was standing round about it. The people pressed towards it. I laid it at your feet. I was drawn to it as to a woman, for you called it my equal."

She, the Wise Custodian of Knowledge, says to her son: "The axe is a man. You were drawn to it as to a woman, for I called it your equal, and it was to rival you. This means a strong friend standing by his friend. He is the strongest of the land; he has strength. The essence of An of the Firmament is his, so strong is he."

Gilgamesh then spoke to his mother: "Now according to the word of God Enli, let a counsellor and friend come to me that I may acquire a companion, and to him I shall be friend and counsellor also."

And as Gilgamesh revealed his dream to his mother, the priestess was speaking to Enkidu as they sat together.

Gilgamesh
Prologue
Tablet II
How Gilgamesh Became the Lord of the Dead by John D. Ebert
Part One: Our Failure to Understand the Epic

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