Epic of Gilgamesh
The Epic of Gilgamesh is epic poetry from Mesopotamia and is among the earliest known works of literature. Scholars believe that it originated as a series of Sumerian legends and poems about the protagonist of the story,Gilgamesh, which were fashioned into a longer Akkadian epic much later. The most complete version existing today is preserved on 12 clay tablets from the library collection of 7th-century BC Assyrian king Ashurbanipal. It was originally titled He who Saw the Deep (Sha naqba īmuru) or Surpassing All Other Kings (Shūtur eli sharrī).

The story revolves around a relationship between Gilgamesh (probably a real ruler in the late Early Dynastic II period ca. 27th century BC)[1] and his close companion, Enkidu. Enkidu is a wild man created by the gods as Gilgamesh's equal to distract him from oppressing the citizens of Uruk. Together they undertake dangerous quests that incur the displeasure of the gods. Firstly, they journey to the Cedar Mountain to defeat Humbaba, its monstrous guardian. Later they kill the Bull of Heaven that the goddess Ishtar has sent to punish Gilgamesh for spurning her advances.

The latter part of the epic focuses on Gilgamesh's distressed reaction to Enkidu's death, which takes the form of a quest for immortality. Gilgamesh attempts to learn the secret of eternal life by undertaking a long and perilous journey to meet the immortal flood hero, Utnapishtim. Ultimately the poignant words addressed to Gilgamesh in the midst of his quest foreshadow the end result: "The life that you are seeking you will never find. When the gods created man they allotted to him death, but life they retained in their own keeping." Gilgamesh, however, was celebrated by posterity for his building achievements, and for bringing back long-lost cultic knowledge to Uruk as a result of his meeting with Utnapishtim. The story is widely read in translation, and the protagonist, Gilgamesh, has become anicon of popular culture.

Versions of the epic

Standard Akkadian version

The standard version was discovered by Austen Henry Layard in the library of Ashurbanipal in Nineveh in 1849. It was written in standard Babylonian, a dialect of Akkadian that was only used for literary purposes. This version was compiled by Sin-liqe-unninni sometime between 1300 and 1000 BC out of older legends.

The standard version and earlier old Babylonian version are differentiated based on the opening words, or incipit. The older version begins with the words "Surpassing all other kings", while the standard version's incipit is "He who saw the deep" (ša nagbu amāru). The Akkadian wordnagbu, "deep", is probably to be interpreted here as referring to "unknown mysteries".[citation needed] However, Andrew George believes that it refers to the specific knowledge that Gilgamesh brought back from his meeting with Uta-Napishti (Utnapishtim): he gains knowledge of the realm of Ea, whose cosmic realm is seen as the fountain of wisdom (George 1999: L [pg. 50 of the introduction]). In general, interpreters feel that Gilgamesh was given knowledge of how to worship the gods, of why death was ordained for human beings, of what makes a good king, and of the true nature of how to live a good life. Utnapishtim, the hero of the Flood myth, tells his story to Gilgamesh, which is related to the Babylonian Epic of Atrahasis.

The 12th tablet is appended to the epic representing a sequel to the original 11, and was most probably added at a later date. This tablet has commonly been omitted until recent years. It has the startling narrative inconsistency of introducing Enkidu alive, and bears seemingly little relation to the well-crafted and finished 11-tablet epic; indeed, the epic is framed around a ring structure in which the beginning lines of the epic are quoted at the end of the 11th tablet to give it at the same time circularity and finality. Tablet 12 is actually a near copy of an earlier Sumerian tale, a prequel, in which Gilgamesh sends Enkidu to retrieve some objects of his from the Underworld, but Enkidu dies and returns in the form of a spirit to relate the nature of the Underworld to Gilgamesh — an event which seems to many superfluous given Enkidu's dream of the underworld in Tablet VII.[7]

Content of the standard version tablets

Tablet one

The story starts with the introduction of Gilgamesh, king of Uruk. Gilgamesh, two-thirds god and one-third man, oppresses the city's citizens who cry out to the gods for help. For the young women of Uruk this oppression takes the form of a droit de seigneur — or "lord's right" — to newly married brides on their wedding night. For the young men it is conjectured that Gilgamesh exhausted them through games, tests of strength, or perhaps forced labour on building projects. The gods respond to the citizens' plea for intervention by creating an equal to Gilgamesh who will distract him from these objectionable activities. They create a primitive man, Enkidu, who is covered in hair and lives in the wild with the animals. He is spotted by a trapper, as he has been uprooting traps and thus ruining the trapper's livelihood. The trapper tells Gilgamesh of the man and seduces him with a skilled harlot. His seduction by Shamhat, a temple prostitute, is the first step in his civilization, and she proposes to take him back to Uruk after making love. Gilgamesh, meanwhile, has been having dreams that relate to the imminent arrival of a new companion.

Tablet two

Shamhat brings Enkidu to the shepherds' camp where he is introduced to a human diet and becomes the camp's night watchman. Learning from a passing stranger about Gilgamesh's treatment of new brides, Enkidu is incensed and travels to Uruk to intervene at a wedding. When Gilgamesh attempts to visit the wedding chamber, Enkidu blocks his way and they fight. After a fierce battle, Enkidu acknowledges Gilgamesh's superior strength and they become friends. Gilgamesh proposes that they journey together to the Cedar Forest to slay the monstrous demi-god Humbaba, in order to gain fame and renown. Despite warnings from both Enkidu and the council of elders, Gilgamesh will not be deterred.

Tablet three

The elders give Gilgamesh advice for his journey. Gilgamesh visits his mother, the goddess Ninsun, who seeks the support and protection of the sun-god Shamash for the two adventurers. Ninsun adopts Enkidu as her son, Gilgamesh leaves instructions for governing Uruk in his absence, and they embark on their quest.

Tablet four

Gilgamesh and Enkidu journey to the Cedar Forest. Every few days they make camp on a hill or mountain to perform a dream ritual. Gilgamesh has five terrifying dreams that involve falling mountains, thunderstorms, wild bulls, and a thunderbird that breathes fire. Despite similarities between the dream figures and earlier descriptions of Humbaba, Enkidu interprets all of the dreams as good omens, denying that any of the frightening images represent the forest guardian. As they approach the cedar mountain, they hear Humbaba bellowing and have to encourage each other not to be afraid.

Tablet five

The heroes enter the cedar forest and their fears return. Humbaba, the ogre-guardian of the Cedar Forest, insults and threatens them. He accuses Enkidu of betrayal, then vows to disembowel Gilgamesh and feed his flesh to the birds. Gilgamesh is afraid, but with some encouraging words from Enkidu the battle commences. The mountains quake with the tumult and the sky turns black. The god Shamashsends his 13 winds to bind Humbaba and he is captured. The monster pleads for his life, and Gilgamesh pities him. Enkidu, however, is enraged and asks Gilgamesh to kill the beast. Humbaba curses them both and Gilgamesh dispatches him with a blow to the neck. The two heroes cut down many cedars, including a gigantic tree that Enkidu plans to fashion into a door for the temple of Enlil. They build a raft and return home along the Euphrates with the giant tree and the head of Humbaba.

Tablet six

Gilgamesh rejects the advances of the goddess Ishtar because of her mistreatment of previous lovers like Dumuzi. Ishtar asks her father Anuto send Gugalanna the "Bull of Heaven" to avenge her. When Anu rejects her complaints, Ishtar threatens to raise the dead who will "outnumber the living" and "devour them". Anu becomes frightened and gives in. The bull of heaven (apparently the constellation Taurus) is led to Uruk by Ishtar, and causes widespread devastation. It dries up the reed beds and marshes, then dramatically lowers the level of the Euphrates river. It opens up huge pits in the ground that swallow 300 men. Enkidu and Gilgamesh attack and slay the beast without any divine assistance and offer up its heart to Shamash. When Ishtar cries out in agony, Enkidu hurls one of the bull's hindquarters at her. The city of Uruk celebrates, but Enkidu has an ominous dream.

Tablet seven

In Enkidu's dream, the gods decide that one of the heroes must die for slaying the Bull of Heaven and Humbaba. Despite the protestations of Shamash, Enkidu is marked for death. Enkidu considers the great door he fashioned for Enlil's temple, and curses it. He also curses Shamhat and the trapper for removing him from the wild. Then Shamash speaks from heaven, reminding Enkidu of how Shamhat fed and clothed him, and introduced him to Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh will bestow great honors upon him at his funeral, and will later wander the wild consumed with grief. Enkidu regrets his curses and blesses Shamhat, temporarily calmed. In a second dream, however, he sees himself being taken captive to the Netherworld by a terrifying Angel of Death. The underworld is a "house of dust" and darkness whose inhabitants eat clay and are clothed in bird feathers, supervised by terrifying beings. For twelve days, Enkidu's condition worsens. Finally, after a last lament that he could not meet a heroic death in battle, he dies.

Tablet eight

Gilgamesh delivers a long lamentation for Enkidu, in which he calls upon forests, mountains, fields, rivers, wild animals, and all of Uruk to mourn for his friend. Recalling their adventures together, Gilgamesh tears at his hair and clothes in grief. He commissions a funerary statue and provides valuable grave gifts from his treasury to ensure a favourable reception for Enkidu in the realm of the dead. A great banquet is held where the treasures are ceremonially offered to the gods of the Netherworld. There is a possible reference to the damming of a river before the text breaks off, which might suggest a riverbed burial as in the corresponding Sumerian poem, The Death of Gilgamesh.

Tablet nine

Tablet nine opens with Gilgamesh grieving for Enkidu and roaming the wild clothed in animal skins. Fearful of his own death, his object is to find the legendary Utnapishtim ("the Faraway"), and learn the secret of eternal life. Among the few survivors of the Great Flood, Utnapishtim and his wife are the only humans to have been granted immortality by the gods. Early in his travels, Gilgamesh crosses a mountain pass at night and encounters a pride of lions. He prays for protection to the moon god Sin before sleeping. Then, waking from an encouraging dream, he slays the lions and takes their skins for clothing. Eventually, after a long and perilous journey, Gilgamesh comes to the twin peaks of Mt Mashu at the ends of the earth. The entrance, which no man has ever crossed, is guarded by two terrible scorpion-men. After questioning him and recognising his semi-divine nature, they allow Gilgamesh to pass and travel through the mountains along the Road of the Sun. He follows it for twelve "double hours" in complete darkness. Managing to complete the trip before the sun catches up to him, Gilgamesh arrives in a garden paradise full of jewel-laden trees.

Tablet ten

Gilgamesh meets the alewife Siduri, who first believes Gilgamesh is a murderer from his dishevelled appearance, and tells her the purpose of his journey. Siduri attempts to dissuade him from his quest but sends him to Urshanabi, the ferryman, to help him cross the sea to Utnapishtim. Urshanabi is in the company of stone-giants. Gilgamesh considers them hostile and kills them. When he tells Urshanabi his story and asks for help, he is told that he just killed the only creatures able to cross the Waters of Death. The Waters of Death, analogous to the River Styx of Greek mythology, are deadly to the touch, so Urshanabi asks him to cut 300 trees and fashion them into punting poles. Finally, they reach the island of Utnapishtim. Utnapishtim sees that there is someone else in the boat and asks Gilgamesh who he is. Gilgamesh tells him his story and asks for help, but Utnapishtim reprimands him because fighting the common fate of humans is futile and diminishes life's joys.

Tablet eleven

The earliest Sumerian Gilgamesh stories date from as early as the Third Dynasty of Ur (2100 BC-2000 BC).[4] The earliest Akkadian versions are dated to ca. 2000-1500 BC.[5] The five extant Sumerian Gilgamesh stories do not include a separate account of his journey to Utnapishtim (Ziusudra in Sumerian), but they do refer to it. In a list of Gilgamesh's accomplishments, found in the story of his death, we read of his journey to meet Ziusudra and the cultic knowledge that he brought back to the people of Uruk. There is also a short description of the flood in the same context, as the gods debate whether to grant Gilgamesh eternal life like they did for Ziusudra. The "standard" Akkadian version, of course, included a complete flood story and was edited by Sin-liqe-unninni sometime between 1300 BC and 1000 BC.[6] This longer flood story is, itself, based on the one contained in the Epic of Atrahasis (circa 1800 BC). (see Gilgamesh flood myth for references).

Gilgamesh argues that Utnapishtim is not different from him and asks him his story, and why he has a different fate. Utnapishtim tells him about the great flood. His story is a summary of the story of Atrahasis (see also Gilgamesh flood myth) but skips the previous plagues sent by the gods. He reluctantly offers Gilgamesh a chance for immortality, but questions why the gods would give the same honor as himself, the flood hero, to Gilgamesh and challenges Gilgamesh to stay awake for six days and seven nights first. However, just when Utnapishtim finishes his words Gilgamesh falls asleep. Utnapishtim ridicules the sleeping Gilgamesh in the presence of his wife and tells her to bake a loaf of bread for every day he is asleep so that Gilgamesh cannot deny his failure. When Gilgamesh, after seven days, discovers his failure, Utnapishtim reprimands him and sends him back to Uruk with Urshanabi.

The moment that they leave, Utnapishtim's wife asks her husband to have mercy on Gilgamesh for his long journey. Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh of a boxthorn-like plant at the very bottom of the ocean that will make him young again. Gilgamesh obtains the plant by binding stones to his feet so he can walk the bottom of the sea. He does not trust the plant and plans to test it on an old man's back when he returns to Uruk. Unfortunately he places the plant on the shore of a lake while he bathes, and it is stolen by a serpent. Gilgamesh weeps at the futility of his efforts, having now lost all chance of immortality. He then returns to Uruk, where the sight of its massive walls prompts him to praise this enduring work to Urshanabi.

Tablet twelve

This tablet is to a large extent an Akkadian translation of an earlier Sumerian poem, Gilgamesh and the Netherworld (also known as "Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld" and variants), although it has been suggested that it is based on an unknown version of that story.[8] The contents of this last tablet are inconsistent with previous ones: Enkidu is still alive, despite having been killed off earlier in the epic. Because of this, its lack of integration with the other tablets, and the fact that it is almost a copy of an earlier version, it has been referred to as an 'inorganic appendage' to the epic.[9] Alternatively, it has been suggested that "its purpose, though crudely handled, is to explain to Gil-gamesh (and the reader) the various fates of the dead in the Afterlife" as "an awkward attempt to bring closure"[10], a connection between the Gilgamesh in the epic and the Gilgamesh as King of the Netherworld in Mesopotamian religion,[11] or even "a dramatic capstone whereby the twelve-tablet epic ends on one and the same theme, that of "seeing" (= understanding, discovery, etc.), with which it began."[12]

Gilgamesh complains to Enkidu that various objects he possessed (the tablet is unclear exactly what — different translations include a drum and a ball) fell into the underworld. Enkidu offers to bring them back. Delighted, Gilgamesh tells Enkidu what he must and must not do in the underworld in order to come back. Enkidu does everything he was told not to do. The underworld keeps him. Gilgamesh prays to the gods to give him his friend back. Enlil and Suen don’t bother to reply but Ea and Shamash decide to help. Shamash cracks a hole in the earth and Enkidu's ghost jumps out of it. The tablet ends with Gilgamesh questioning Enkidu about what he has seen in the underworld.

Old-Babylonian versions

All tablets except for the second and third are from different origins than the above, so this summary is made up out of different versions.

1. Tablet missing 2. Gilgamesh tells his mother Ninsun about two dreams he had. His mother explains that they mean that a new companion will soon arrive at Uruk. In the meanwhile Enkidu and the harlot (here called Shamkatum) are making love. She civilizes him in company of the shepherds by offering him bread and beer. Enkidu helps the shepherds by guarding the sheep. They travel to Uruk where Gilgamesh and Enkidu finally meet. Enkidu and Gilgamesh battle but Gilgamesh breaks off the fight. Enkidu praises Gilgamesh as a special person. 3. The tablet is broken here but it seems that Gilgamesh has offered the plan to go the Pine Forest to cut trees and kill Humbaba (known here as Huwawa). Enkidu protests, he knows Humwawa and is aware of his power. Gilgamesh talks Enkidu into it with some words of encouragement but Enkidu remains reluctant. They start preparation and call for the elders. The elders also protest but after Gilgamesh talks to them they wish him good luck. 4. 1(?) tablet missing 5. Fragments from two different versions/tablets tell how Enkidu encourages Gilgamesh to slay Humwawa. Notable here is mention of Huwawa's "seven auras" that are not referred to in the standard version. When Gilgamesh slays Huwawa they cut part of the forrest. Enkidu cuts a door of wood for Enlil and lets it float down the Euphrates. 6. Tablets missing 7. Gilgamesh argues with Shamash the futility of his quest. The tablet is damaged. We then find Gilgamesh talking with Siduri about his quest and his journey to meet Ut-Napishtim (here called Uta-na’ishtim). Siduri also questions his goals. Gilgamesh smashes the stone creatures and talks to the ferryman Urshanabi (here called Sur-sunabu). After a short discussion Sur-sunabu asks Gilgamesh to cut 300 oars so that they may cross the waters of death without the crew of stone creatures. The rest of the tablet is damaged. 8. Tablet(s)

The Sumerian poems

There are five extant Gilgamesh poems in Sumerian. These probably circulated independently, rather than in the form of a unified epic. Note that the names of some of the main characters in these poems differ slightly from later Akkadian names, and that there are some significant differences in the underlying stories (e.g. in Sumerian Enkidu is simply Gilgamesh's servant) :

1. Bilgamesh and Huwawa (version A translation, version B translation) (Corresponds to the Cedar Forest episode (tablets 3-5) in the Akkadian version.) 2. Bilgamesh and the Bull of Heaven (translation) (Corresponds to the Bull of Heaven episode (tablet 6) in the Akkadian version. The Bull's voracious appetite causes drought and hardship in the land.) 3. Bilgamesh and Aga (translation) (Gilgamesh vs. Aga of Kish, no corresponding episode in the epic, but the themes of whether to show mercy to captives, and cautious counsel from the city elders reoccur in the standard version of the Humbaba story). 4. Bilgamesh, Enkidu and the Netherworld (translation) (Corresponds to tablet 12 in the Akkadian version.) 5. The Death of Bilgamesh (translation) (This is the story of Gilgamesh's, rather than Enkidu's death)

Gilgamesh flood myth

The Gilgamesh flood myth is a deluge story in the Epic of Gilgamesh. Many scholars believe that the flood myth was added to Tablet XI in the "standard version" of the Gilgamesh Epic by an editor who utilized the flood story from the Epic of Atrahasis.[1] A short reference to the flood myth is also present in the much older Sumerian Gilgamesh poems, from which the later Babylonian versions drew much of their inspiration and subject matter.

History

Gilgamesh's supposed historical reign is believed to have been approximately 2700 BC,[2]shortly before the earliest known written stories. The discovery of artifacts associated with Agaand Enmebaragesi of Kish, two other kings named in the stories, has lent credibility to the historical existence of Gilgamesh.[3]

The earliest Sumerian Gilgamesh poems date from as early as the Third dynasty of Ur (2100-2000 BC).[4] One of these poems mentions Gilgamesh's journey to meet the flood hero, as well as a short version of the flood story.[5] The earliest Akkadian versions of the unified epic are dated to ca. 2000-1500 BC.[6] Due to the fragmentary nature of these Old Babylonian versions, it is unclear whether they included an expanded account of the flood myth — although one fragment definitely includes the story of Gilgamesh's journey to meet Utnapishtim. The "standard" Akkadian version included a long version of the flood story and was edited by Sin-liqe-unninni sometime between 1300 and 1000 BC.[7]

Tablet eleven (XI), the flood tablet

The Gilgamesh flood tablet XI contains additional story material besides the flood. The flood story was included because in the story the flood hero Utnapishtim is granted immortality by the gods and that fits the immortality theme of the Gilgamesh Epic. In Tablet XI Gilgamesh meets Utnapishtim, who tells him about the great flood and reluctantly gives him a chance for immortality. He tells Gilgamesh that if he can stay awake for six days and seven nights he will become immortal. However, Gilgamesh falls asleep and Utnapishtim tells his wife to bake a loaf of bread for every day he is asleep so that Gilgamesh cannot deny his failure. When Gilgamesh wakes up, Utnapishtim decides to tell him about a plant that will rejuvenate him. Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh that if he can obtain the plant from the bottom of the sea and eat it he will be rejuvenated, be a younger man again. Gilgamesh obtains the plant, but doesn't eat it immediately. He places the plant on the shore of a lake while he bathes and it is stolen by a serpent who loses his old skin and thus is reborn. Gilgamesh, having failed both chances, returns to Uruk, where the sight of its massive walls provokes him to praise this enduring work of mortal men. The implication may be that mortals can achieve immortality through lasting works of civilization and culture.

Comparison between Atrahasis and Gilgamesh

These are some of the sentences copied more or less directly from the Atrahasis to the Gilgamesh epic:[8]

|Atrahasis Epic |Gilgamesh Epic, tablet XI |
|"Wall, listen to me." Atrahasis III,i,20 |"Wall, pay attention" Gilgamesh XI,22 |
|"Like the apsu you shall roof it" Atrahasis |"Like the apsu you shall roof it" Gilgamesh XI,31 |
|III,i,29 | |
|"I cannot live in [your city]" Atrahasis III,i,47 |"I cannot live in your city" Gilgamesh XI,40 |
|"Ninurta went forth making the dikes [overflow]" |"Ninurta went forth making the dikes overflow" |
|Atrahasis U rev,14 |Gilgamesh XI,102 |
|"One person could [not] see another" Atrahasis |"One person could not see another" Gilgamesh XI,111 |
|III,iii,13 | |
|"For seven days and seven nights came the storm" |"Six days and seven nights the wind and storm flood"|
|Atrahasis III,iv,24 |Gilgamesh XI,127 |
|"He offered [a sacrifice]" Atrahasis III,v,31 |"And offered a sacrifice" Gilgamesh XI,155 |
|"the lapis around my neck" Atrahasis III,vi,2 |"the lapis lazuli on my neck" Gilgamesh XI,164 |
|"How did man survive the destruction?" Atrahasis |"No man was to survive the destruction" Gilgamesh |
|III,vi,10 |XI,173 |

Material altered or omitted

The Epic of Atrahasis provides additional information on the flood and flood hero that is omitted in Gilgamesh XI and other versions of the Ancient Near East flood myth. According to Atrahasis III ii, lines 40–47 the flood hero was at a banquet when the storm and flood began: "He invited his people ... to a banquet ... He sent his family on board. They ate and they drank. But he (Atrahasis) was in and out. He could not sit, could not crouch, for his heart was broken and he was vomiting gall."[9]

According to Tigay, Atrahasis tablet III iv, lines 6-9 clearly identify the flood as a local river flood: "Like dragonflies they [dead bodies] have filled the river. Like a raft they have moved in to the edge [of the boat]. Like a raft they have moved in to the riverbank." The sentence "Like dragonflies they have filled the river." was changed in Gilgamesh XI line 123 to "Like the spawn of fishes, they fill the sea."[10] Tigah holds that we can see the mythmaker's hand at work here, changing a local river flood into an ocean deluge.

It should be noted, however, that most other authorities interpret the Atrahasis flood as universal. A. R. George, and Lambert and Millard make it clear that the gods' intention in Atrahasis is to "wipe out mankind".[11] The flood destroys "all of the earth".[12] In the context of the larger story, it is difficult to see how a local river flood could accomplish these purposes. The use of a comparable metaphor in the Gilgamesh epic suggests that the reference to "dragonflies [filling] the river" is simply an evocative image of death rather than a literal description of the flood[13]

Other editorial changes were made to the Atrahasis text in Gilgamesh to lessen the suggestion that the gods may have experienced human needs. For example, Atrahasis OB III, 30–31 "The Anunnaki, the great gods [were sitt]ing in thirst and hunger" was changed in Gilgamesh XI, line 113 to "The gods feared the deluge." Sentences in Atrahasis III iv were omitted in Gilgamesh, e.g. "She was surfeited with grief and thirsted for beer" and "From hunger they were suffering cramp."[14]

These and other editorial changes to Atrahasis are documented and described in the book by Prof. Tigay (see below) who is associate professor of Hebrew and Semitic Languages and Literature in the University of Pennsylvania. Prof. Tigay comments: "The dropping of individual lines between others which are preserved, but are not synonymous with them, appears to be a more deliberate editorial act. These lines share a common theme, the hunger and thirst of the gods during the flood."[14]

Although the 18th century BC copy of the Atrahasis (Atra-Hasis) epic post-dates the early Gilgamesh epic, we do not know whether the Old-Akkadian Gilgamesh tablets included the flood story, because of the fragmentary nature of surviving tablets. Some scholars argue that they did not.[15] Tigay, for example, maintains that three major additions to the Gilgamesh epic, namely the prologue, the flood story (tablet XI), and tablet XII, were added by an editor or editors, possibly by Sin-leqi-unninni, to whom the entire epic was later attributed. According to this view, the flood story in tablet XI was based on a late version of the Atrahasis story.[16]

Alternative translations

As with most translations, especially from an ancient, dead language, scholars differ on the meaning of ambiguous sentences.

For example, line 57 in Gilgamesh XI is usually translated (with reference to the boat) "ten rods the height of her sides",[17] or "its walls were each 10 times 12 cubits in height".[18] A rod was a dozen cubits, and a Sumerian cubit was about 20 inches. Hence these translations imply that the boat was about 200 feet high, which would be impractical[19] with the technology in Gilgamesh's time (about 2700 BC).[20] There is no Akkadian word for "height" in line 57. The sentence literally reads "Ten dozen-cubits each I-raised its-walls."[21] A similar example from an unrelated house building tablet reads: "he shall build the wall [of the house] and raise it four ninda and two cubits." This measurement (about 83 feet) means wall length not height.[22]

Line 142 in Gilgamesh XI is usually translated "Mount Niṣir held the boat, allowing no motion." Niṣir is often spelled Nimush.[23] The Akkadian words translated "Mount Niṣir" are "KUR-ú KUR ni-ṣir".[24] The word KUR is capitalized because it was a Sumerian word and could mean hill or country.[25] The first KUR is followed by a phonetic complement -ú which indicates that KUR-ú is to be read in Akkadian as šadú (hill) and not as mātu (country). Since šadú (hill) could also be translated as mountain in Akkadian and scholars knew the Biblical expression Mount Ararat, it has become customary to translate šadú as mountain or mount. The flood hero was Sumerian, according to the WB-62 Sumerian King List,[26] and in Sumerian the word KUR meant hill or country, not mountain. The second KUR lacks a phonetic complement and is therefore read in Akkadian as mātu (country). Hence, the entire clause reads "The hill/mound country niṣir held the boat".

Lines 146-147 in Gilgamesh XI are usually translated "I ... made sacrifice, incense I placed on the peak of the mountain."[27] Similarly "I poured out a libation on the peak of the mountain."[28] But Kovacs[29] provides this translation of line 156: "I offered incense in front of the mountain-ziggurat." Parpola provides the original Akkadian for this sentence: "áš-kun sur-qin-nu ina UGU ziq-qur-rat KUR-i"[30] Áš-kun means I-placed; sur-qin-nu means offering; ina-(the preposition) means on-(upon); UGU means top-of; ziq-qur-rat means temple tower; and KUR-i means mountainous. Parpola's glossary (page 145) defines ziq-qur-rat as "temple tower, ziggurat" and refers to line 157 so he translates ziq-qur-rat as temple tower in this context. The sentence literally reads "I placed an offering on top of a mountainous ziggurat." A ziggurat was an elevated platform or temple tower where priests made offerings to the temple god. Most translators of line 157 disregard ziq-qur-rat as a redundant metaphor for peak. There is no authority for this other than previous translations of line 157.[31] Kovacs' translation retains the word ziggurat on page 102.

One of the Sumerian cities with a ziggurat was Eridu located on the southern branch of the Euphrates River next to a large swampy low-lying depression known as the apsû.[32] The only ziggurat at Eridu was at the temple of the god Ea (Enki), known as the apsû-house.[33] In Gilgamesh XI, line 42 the flood hero said "I will go down [the river] to the apsû to live with Ea, my Lord."[34]

Lines 189-192 (lines 198-201) in Gilgamesh XI are usually translated "Then godEnlil came aboard the boat. He took hold of my hand and brought me on board. He brought aboard my wife and made her kneel at my side. Standing between us, he touched our foreheads to bless us."[35] In the first sentence "Then dingir-kabtu came aboard the boat" the Akkadian determinative dingir is usually translated as "god", but can also mean "priest"[36] Dingir-kabtu literally means "divine important-person".[37] Translating this as Enlil is the translator's conjecture.

Influence on later literature

According to the Greek scholar Ioannis Kakridis, there are a large number of parallel verses as well as themes or episodes which indicate a substantial influence of the Epic of Gilgamesh on the Odyssey, the Greek epic poem ascribed to Homer.[13]

"No Babylonian text provides so close a parallel to Genesis as does the flood story of Gilgamesh XI" according to Professor Alan Millard[14]. Professor Andrew R. George, known for his translations of the epic, notes that the story of the deluge preserved in Atrahasis and reused in Gilgamesh "...[provides] a striking model for the story of Noah's Flood" [15]. What is particularly noticeable, according to another scholar, is the way the Genesis flood story follows the Gilgamesh flood tale "point by point and in the same order", even when the logic of the story permits other alternatives [16].

Matthias Henze suggests that the story of Nebuchadnezzar's madness in the biblical book of Daniel draws on the epic of Gilgamesh. He argues that the author of Daniel uses elements from the description of primitive, uncivilized Enkidu to paint a sarcastic and mocking portrait of the king of Babylon.[17]

The Alexander the Great myth in Islamic and Syrian cultures is also considered to be influenced by the Gilgamesh story.[18][19] Alexander wanders through a region of darkness and terror in search of the water of life. He faces strange encounters, reaches the water but, like Gilgamesh, fails to become immortal. He also comes to the spot at which the sun rises from the Earth.

Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh (Akkadian cuneiform: ������ [[pic]��[pic]], Gilgameš, also known as Bilgames in the earliest text[1]) was the fifth king of Uruk (Early Dynastic II, first dynasty of Uruk), ruling 126 years, according to theSumerian king list. He was said to be contemporary with some of the earliest archaeologically-known figures, placing his reign ca. 2500 BC. According to the Tummal Inscription,[2] Gilgamesh, and his son Urlugal, rebuilt the sanctuary of the goddess Ninlil, in Tummal, a sacred quarter in her city of Nippur. Gilgamesh is the central character in the Epic of Gilgamesh, the greatest surviving work of early Mesopotamian literature. In the epic his father was Lugalbanda and his mother was Ninsun (whom some call Rimat Ninsun), a goddess. InMesopotamian mythology, Gilgamesh is credited with having been a demigod of superhuman strength who built a great city wall to defend his people from external threats and travelled to meet Utnapishtim, the sage who had survived the Great Deluge.

In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh is credited with the building of the legendary walls of Uruk. An alternative version has Gilgamesh telling Urshanabi, the ferryman, that the city's walls were built by the Seven Sages. In historical times, Sargon of Akkad claimed to have destroyed these walls to prove his military power..

[[Fragments of an epic text found in Me-Turan (modern Tell Haddad) relate that at the end of his life Gilgamesh was buried under the river bed. The people of Uruk diverted the flow of the Euphrates passing Uruk for the purpose of burying the dead king within the river bed. In April 2003, a German expedition claimed to have discovered his last resting place.]][3]

It is generally accepted that Gilgamesh was a historical figure, since inscriptions have been found which confirm the historical existence of other figures associated with him: such as the kingsEnmebaragesi and Aga of Kish. If Gilgamesh was a historical king, he probably reigned in about the 26th century BC. Some of the earliest Sumerian texts spell his name as Bilgames. Initial difficulties in reading cuneiform resulted in Gilgamesh making his re-entrance into world culture in 1891 as "Izdubar".[4]

In most texts, Gilgamesh is written with the determinative for divine beings (DINGIR) - but there is no evidence for a contemporary cult, and the Sumerian Gilgamesh myths suggest that deification was a later development (unlike the case of the Akkadian god kings). Over the centuries there was a gradual accretion of stories about him, some probably derived from the real lives of other historical figures, in particular Gudea, the Second Dynasty ruler of Lagash (2144–2124 BC).[5]

Later (non-cuneiform) references

In the Qumran scroll known as Book of Giants (ca. 100 BC) the names of Gilgamesh and Humbaba appear as two of the antediluvian giants (in consonantal form), rendered as glgmš and ḩwbbyš. This same text was later used in the Middle East by the Manichaean sects, and the Arabic form Jiljamish survives as the name of a demon according to the Egyptian cleric Al-Suyuti (ca. 1500).[6]

The name Gilgamesh appears once in Greek, as "Gilgamos" (Γίλγαμος), in Aelian, De Natura Animalium (On animals) 12.21 (ca. AD 200).[7]In Aelian's story, the King of Babylon, Seuechorus or Euechorus, determined by oracle that his grandson Gilgamos would kill him, so he threw him out of a high tower. An eagle broke his fall, and the infant was found and raised by a gardener, eventually becoming king.

Theodore Bar Konai (ca. AD 600), writing in Syriac, also mentions a king Gligmos, Gmigmos or Gamigos as last of a line of 12 kings who were contemporaneous with the patriarchs from Peleg to Abraham; this occurrence is also considered a vestige of Gilgamesh's former memory.[8][9]

Facts

Gilgamesh ruled in Uruk around year 2650 BC.
He was son of Lugalbanda and the goddess Rimat Ninsun.
He made his people work very much to build new monuments and became then a tyrant.
When he meets Enkidu, he stops being a tyrant.
With his friend, he killed the king Huwawa and a giant Bull.
When Enkidu died, he was afraid to die and searched for the plant of immortality.
After bringing it from the waters of death, a snake ate the plant.
Gilgamesh died lying next to his beloved friend Enkidu.

The Historical Gilgamesh

The reining kings of the Third dynasty of Ur (2111-2004 B.C.) universally avowed themselves and their city as descended from the semi-divine heroes Enmerkar, Lugalbanda and Gilgamesh, who lived around 2700 B.C. Their tales were originally transmitted orally, and later modified by successive generations. During the Third Dynasty they may have been first codified, written down, and then spread abroad. The earliest discovered versions come from 18th and 17th centuries B.C. The Epics of Enmerkar and Lugalbanda deal with historical events of the 4th and 3rd millennia B. C. (4th millennia = 3999 to 3000 B.C., 3rd 2999-2000 B. C.) These historical epics describe relations between Mesopotamia and Iran. Most scholars accept these as having some remote yet valid historical sources. From what I have researched it appears that Gilgamesh himself was indeed a very real historical person, the leader of a proto-literate Uruk of around 2700 B.C.

Gilgamesh Saga

The following is a translation of an article in the Brazilian language newspaper "Jornal do Brasil" that appeared 2 Feb 1993, pg 9.

Gilgamesh Saga

Ruins Reveal Details About the Assyrian Hero

ROME—An Italian archeologist managed to decipher a series of clay tablets with cuneiform inscriptions found close to Baghdad. The discovery of the tablets in the ruins of an ancient library in Sippar revealed new details about the adventures of the mythological hero Gilgamesh. The results of this research appear in the book “The Saga of Gilgamesh,” that went on sale yesterday in Milan by archeologist Giovanni Pettinato, who holds the Assyriology chair at the La Sapienza University in Rome. Gilgamesh was the main mythological hero of the civilizations in Sumeria, Assyria and Babylon. He was a man of great knowledge who tried to penetrate the mysteries of the universe. The main new concept in the recently deciphered tablets is the notion that a man can become a god by eating the flesh of a dead god. This idea of the Mesopotamian culture has similarities in the bible story about the tree of life. According to the serpent’s promise, Adam and Eve would become gods if they ate the forbidden fruit of the tree. The clay tablets were discovered in 1988 by a group of Iraqi archeologists who were working in the ancient city of Sippar, close to the temple dedicated to the sun god, Shamash. Within a hermetically sealed chamber there were more than a thousand tablets placed on shelves carved into the walls. The tablets date back to the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II, who oppressed the Jews and was king of Babylon in 604 B.C. In addition to the mythological story there are works on medicine, mathematics, history and legal texts.

Gilgamesh was an historical king of Uruk in Babylonia, on the River Euphrates in modern Iraq; he lived about 2700 B.C. Although historians (and your textbook) tend to emphasize Hammurabi and his code of law, the civilizations of the Tigris-Euphrates area, among the first civilizations, focus rather on Gilgamesh and the legends accruing around him to explain, as it were, themselves. Many stories and myths were written about Gilgamesh, some of which were written down about 2000 B.C. in the Sumerian language on clay tablets which still survive; the Sumerian language, as far as we know, bears no relation to any other human language we know about. These Sumerian Gilgamesh stories were integrated into a longer poem, versions of which survive not only in Akkadian (the Semitic language, related to Hebrew, spoken by the Babylonians) but also on tablets written in Hurrian and Hittite (an Indo-European language, a family of languages which includes Greek and English, spoken in Asia Minor). All the above languages were written in the script known as cuneiform, which means "wedge-shaped." The fullest surviving version, from which the summary here is taken, is derived from twelve stone tablets, in the Akkadian language, found in the ruins of the library of Ashurbanipal, king of Assyria 669-633 B.C., at Nineveh. The library was destroyed by the Persians in 612 B.C., and all the tablets are damaged. The tablets actually name an author, which is extremely rare in the ancient world, for this particular version of the story: Shin-eqi-unninni. You are being introduced here to the oldest known human author we can name by name!

As you read this short summary, ask yourself the following questions: 1. Themes. The first things you want to sort out are the ideas which seem to animate the work. One of the problems with literature, art, mythology, etc., is that you can never be quite sure that you've correctly identified the central ideas or philosophy of the work, but you should take a stab at it anyway. Keep in mind that there is no such thing as one and only one idea in a work of literature, and that in most art and literature, like life, there is no one correct answers concerning any single issue. To identify an idea, question, or theme that the work seems to treat, look for specific places where that idea seems to be a concern; mark these passages and combine and contrast them when you begin to try to resolve what the work seems to be about. The questions I provide in these reading notes are meant to organize the families of questions you can bring to these texts. 2. Structure. Try to define for yourself the overall structure of the story. This narrative has two distinct parts; what are these parts and how are they separated? How do events in the second part of the narrative repeat or develop ideas in the first part of the narrative? Do these events contrast with or develop themes and values articulated in the first part of the narrative?

3. The Nature of the Heroic. When you read the myth, notice how Gilgamesh is presented as superhuman, so powerful that the gods create a counterpart to moderate his desires and actions. Do you get the sense that Gilgamesh and Enkidu should have spared the demon of the cedar forest? Despite all of Gilgamesh's power, he is unable to prevent Enkidu's death, and the narrative changes direction. How can one describe Gilgamesh as a hero in the last half of the work? What has he achieved at the end of the poem? Why is this important?

4. The Gods. The gods in Gilgamesh are a bit problematic. How do the gods behave? What is their relation to humans? How much freedom do humans have, or are they merely subject to the will of these gods?

6. The Flood. The story of the Flood is a familiar one, as we shall see in Genesis and Popol Vuh (Plato also gives an account of the Flood and the city of Atlantis in the dialogue, Critias ; the Nez Perce of the Palouse also have a flood story in which the only humans that survived did so by climbing the mountain, Yamustus, that is, Steptoe Butte). The earliest surviving reference to the Flood goes back to 1900 B.C. Why is it brought in here? Why do the gods bring on the Flood? Is any reason given? (Later compare the reasons for the floods in Genesis and Popol Vuh.) What does it tell us about the nature of history and the relation of the gods to humanity?