Gilgamesh Epic

The Gilgamesh Epic is thought to be one of the oldest recorded stories in the world. It tells the fanciful story of Gilgamesh, an ancient king of Uruk.

For centuries the story of Gilgamesh was lost to human memory, except for occasional fragments. It wasn't until the mid-nineteenth century AD that the story was rediscovered and made available to the modern world. It was first translated in German around the beginning of the twentieth century.

One of the first things people noticed when they read this most ancient of stories (older than the Bible) was that the flood story in Gilgamesh was very similar to the flood story in the Hebrew Bible.

Oral and Written Versions

The story of Gilgamesh, in various Sumerian versions, originally existed as part of the repertoire of Sumerian storytellers as early as the third millennium BC. After a long history of being told verbally, the story was finally recorded in a standardized Akkadian version in the seventh century BC.

Without a written version, stories can be told for thousands of years, varying from teller to teller, and adapted to the expectations of the audience. The names of kings, places, and characters can be added or subtracted according to the whim of the storyteller. The story of Gilgamesh was orignially part of such an oral tradition.

It's virtually impossible to say with scientific certainty just when the story was first written, let alone when it was first told. However, scholars assume the written version is a combination of various oral traditions, and was gradually expanded as it was told by various tellers.

Clay Tablets

The story of Gilgamesh was first discovered in the library of King Assurbanipal of Nineveh, written on twelve tablets. The first eleven tablets tell of Gilgamesh's life and adventures during his unsuccessful quest for immortality. The twelfth tablet describes how, after his death, Gilgamesh continues to rule in the nether world. He acts as the divine judge over the dead, guiding and advising them.

Fortunately for us, the story was written on clay tablets and then fired, making them durable. Clay, especially when fired, is one of the cheapest, but most durable, materials used by ancient writers. If it had been written on one of the other materials such as papyrus, leather, wood, parchment, metal, or stone, we might not have the story today.

Another fortuitous reason for the story's survival is that the language itself (cuneiform) was very difficult to learn. Sumerian and Akkadian scribes who attended training sessions to learn to write in cuneiform were expected to copy texts exactly. Accuracy of transcription was highly desired, and probably required if the scribe hoped to obtain employment.

Sumerian and Akkadian Versions

Originally, Gilgamesh was a Sumerian hero-king. However, the kingdom of Sumer was eventually conquered by the Akkadians. The story of Gilgamesh continued to be told, but now in the Akkadian language.

We have to assume that not only did the language of the story change, but also some of the details must have changed to fit the Akkadian themes.

Real King?

Although the epic tale could easily be attributed to various rulers over the millennia, the character might be based on an actual king, for Gilgamesh appears on the Sumerian King List. He appears fifth in line of the First Dynasty of Uruk, following the great flood recorded in the epic.

This places him somewhere in the latter half of the third millennium BC. According to the king list, he ruled a hundred and twenty-six years. He was known as the builder of the wall of Uruk.

His mother was said to be the goddess Ninsun. Although she was the wife of a god named Lugalbanda, he was not Gilgamesh's father. According to the king list, his father was a high priest of Kullab, a district in Uruk. It was from this high priest that Gilgamesh derived his mortality. If he had been the child of his father and mother, a god and goddess, Gilgamesh would have been immortal and he wouldn't have sought immortality. But then, we wouldn't have much of a story.

Mortality

One of the reasons the story still touches so many people profoundly is because, even after so many centuries, it deals with issues that affect everyone. Every human, at one time or another, suffers the anguish of death and loss.

In the story, Siduri the immortal barmaid, in stereotypical barmaid and part-time philosopher style, tells Gilgamesh that he'll never find what he's looking for in life. When the gods created man, they consigned him to die. Immortality they kept for themselves.

Siduri tells him that he should give up the quest to be godlike and instead, cultivate his human side. Do the things that humans can do. Eat, dance, and be merry. Feast and rejoice. Wear clean clothes and bathe himself. Cherish the child who holds his hand. Make his wife happy in his embrace.

Probably the tale is meant to say that even kings, who in the ancient world were often thought to be descended from the gods, must die. Death should not be thought of as a failure, but rather a result of some solemn, divine decree.

The Story

Here is a brief description of the story. Hopefully, these words don't end up in some school homework assignment. :)

Gilgamesh, the King of Uruk, is born of a mortal father and an immortal mother (a goddess). During the course of the story, Gilgamesh is forced to face his own mortality, knowing that it was his mother's chance affair that caused him to miss his claim to eternal life. That thought plagues him all during his life, making him a poor ruler.

A Harsh King

Embittered and angry that he was mortal, Gilgamesh sleeps with every woman he can seduce and takes children away from their families. His subjects soon grow to hate and fear him. Finally the people plead with the gods for help, and the gods respond by having the goddess Aruru create a man, Enkidu, who will be an almost equal match for Gilgamesh.

Enkidu is a wild man, covered with shaggy hair, and as wild as the wilderness in which he was raised. He eats grass with the gazelles and drinks with the animals at the watering hole.

At one point, a trapper discovers that Enkidu is freeing all the animals from his traps. He asks his father what he should do. His father advises him to go to Uruk, find King Gilgamesh, and tell him of the wild man. His father then tells his son how he should go about enticing Enkidu to go into the city, where the wild man will meet Gilgamesh.

He tells his son to hire a temple harlot to come with him to the wilderness where she can seduce Enkidu. That will make the animals reject Enkidu and he'll be forced to go to the city.

Enkidu Wrestles Gilgamesh

The harlot does seduce Enkidu, and like the trapper's father had said, the animals reject Enkidu. The harlot then teaches Enkidu how to live in civilization. Things like wearing clothing, eating bread, and drinking wine. Then she tells him about the strength of Gilgamesh, knowing that Enkidu will want to challenge Gilgamesh.

Enkidu hears about how Gilgamesh is a blatant womanizer, sleeping with all the women of Uruk and decides to challenge Gilgamesh, conquer him, and force him to behave properly. Gilgamesh accepts Enkidu's challenge. They struggle together, wrestling as near equals, but finally Gilgamesh defeats Enkidu.

Instead of being angry for being beaten, and much to the dismay of the gods, Enkidu develops great respect for Gilgamesh. They embrace and become best friends. They are opposites, but provide a sense of balance for each other.

Slaying of Humbaba

Gilgamesh longs for fame and decides that one way to gain it is to go into the cedar forest and slay its guardian, a monster named Humbaba. Now Enkidu knows Humbaba personally from when he lived in the wilderness, and he fears the monster. But Gilgamesh is insistant, so the two men prepare for their adventure.

As soon as Enkidu touches the ceder forest gate, his hand becomes paralyzed, but Gilgamesh helps him and they continue on. Despite having nightmares about it, they cut down a cedar tree. Of course, when Humbaba hears that they've cut down the tree, he challenges them. They fight, but Gilgamesh and Enkidu win the battle and cut off Humbaba's head.

Bull of Heaven (Drought)

Gilgamesh then bathes and puts on clean clothes and his crown. He is so handsome that he catches the eye of Ishtar, the goddess of love, who wants desperately to marry him. Gilgamesh spurns her, pointing out how she had ruined the lives of her previous husbands.

This episode might have been the beginning of the saying about "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." Ishtar goes to her father, Anu, demanding that he send the Bull of Heaven (a drought) to punish Gilgamesh. She is so adamant that she threatens to smash down the gates to the god's underworld if her father doesn't do as she asks.

Anu does send the Bull of Heaven, but Enkidu manages to grab it by the horns while Gilgamesh kills it.

Enkidu Dies

The gods are angry and hold a council to determine who should die for killing the Bull of Heaven. Should it be Gilgamesh or Enkidu? But Gilgamesh discovers their plot in a dream, but can do nothing to alter their plan. They decide that since Gilgamesh is part divine, while Enkidu is part animal, that Enkidu should die.

Enkidu curses the harlot who led him to civilization and to death, but he then blesses her for the joy of his friendship with Gilgamesh. Soon he gets sick and dies.

Distraught with grief, Gilgamesh keeps the body of his friend for a full week, until the body crawls with worms. After burying Enkidu, Gilgamesh leaves Uruk to live in the wilderness as a hunter, and dresses in animal skins. While in the wilderness, faced with the recent death of his friend, Gilgamesh contemplates his own mortality.

Gilgamesh Seeks Utnapishtim

Not wanting to die, Gilgamesh decides to seek out a man by the name of Utnapishtim, who is the only human being (who is not partly a god) who had ever been granted eternal life by the gods. Gilgamesh hopes to learn the secret of how he too can avoid death.

Eventually, Gilgamesh's quest takes him to the entrance to the land of the gods. The god-world is under a mountain, guarded by a man-scorpion and his mate. Gilgamesh gains entrance to the mountain and has to travel in the darkness until he arrives at the jeweled garden of the gods.

In the land of the gods, Gilgamesh meets Siduri, a divine wine-maker. She gives him shelter and advises him to accept his human side and to enjoy life while he's alive. But he insists he has to find Utnapishtim, so Siduri tells him about Urshanabi, a boatman who can ferry him across the Sea of Death to the island where Utnapishtim lives alone with his wife.

Urshanabi agrees to take Gilgamesh to the island. Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh his story of how he and his family became immortal after surviving a great, global Flood (remarkably similar to the Noah story in the Bible). Utnapishtim says he cannot help Gilgamesh because the Flood was a one-time event and one which the gods had assured him would never occur again.

Gilgamesh falls into a deep sleep and sleeps for seven days. When he awakens, Utnapishtim asks him how he can expect to live forever when he can't even stay awake for seven days.

However, Utnapishtim's wife takes pity on Gilgamesh and pleads with her husband to share the knowledge of a plant that will make Gilgamesh young again, though not immortal. Gilgamesh dives into the sea to retrieve the plant. Unfortunately, while Gilgamesh was later bathing, a snake shows up and steals the sacred plant.

Gilgamesh Returns to Uruk

After losing his last chance at immortality, Gilgamesh returns to Uruk with the boatman, Urshanabi, and points to the mighty walls of the city. Gilgamesh confesses that the walls are the proper legacy of a human being, not the search for eternal life.

In the final segment of the story, Gilgamesh dies and all the people of Uruk mourn is death.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope to see you again.

Incidently, if you read the actual translated text of the Epic, you'll find that it uses rhythms of the period. You'll find yourself thinking someone is repeating themselves. They are. That's just the way they did things 5,000 years ago.