The
Epic of Gilgamesh is an
epic poem from
Ancient
Iraq and is among the
earliest
known works of literary writings. Scholars believe that it
originated as a series of
Sumerian legends and
poems about the mythological hero-king
Gilgamesh, which were gathered into a longer
Akkadian poem much later; the most
complete version existing today is preserved on 12 clay tablets in
the
library collection of
the 7th century BCE
Assyrian king
Ashurbanipal. It was originally titled
He who Saw the Deep (
Sha naqba
īmuru) or
Surpassing All Other Kings
(
Shūtur eli sharrī). Gilgamesh might have been a real
ruler in the late
Early Dynastic II
period (ca. 27th century BCE).
The essential story revolves around the relationship between
Gilgamesh, who has become distracted and disheartened by his rule,
and a friend,
Enkidu, who is half-wild and
who undertakes dangerous quests with Gilgamesh. Much of the epic
focuses on Gilgamesh's thoughts of loss following Enkidu's death.
It is about their becoming human together, and has a high emphasis
on
immortality. A large portion of the
poem illustrates Gilgamesh's search for immortality after Enkidu's
death.
The story is widely read in translation, and the protagonist,
Gilgamesh, has become an
icon of popular
culture.
History
Many original and distinct sources exist over a 2,000 year
timeframe, but only the oldest and those from a late period have
yielded significant enough finds to enable a coherent
intro-translation. Therefore, the old
Sumerian version, and a later
Akkadian version, which is now referred to
as the standard edition, are the most frequently referenced. The
standard edition is the basis of modern translations, and the old
version only supplements the standard version when the lacunae—or
gaps in the cuneiform tablet—are great. (Note that revised versions
based on new information have been coming out periodically over the
last decades, and the epic is not considered complete, even
now.)
The earliest Sumerian versions of the epic date from as early as
the
Third Dynasty of Ur
(2150-2000 BCE) (Dalley 1989: 41-42). The earliest Akkadian
versions are dated to the early second millennium (Dalley 1989:
45).
The
"standard" Akkadian version, consisting of twelve tablets, was
edited by Sin-liqe-unninni sometime
between 1300 and 1000 BCE and was found in the library of Ashurbanipal in Nineveh
.
The
Epic of Gilgamesh is widely known today. The first
modern translation of the epic was in the 1880s by
George Smith. More recent
translations into English include one undertaken with the
assistance of the American novelist
John Gardner, and John Maier,
published in 1984. In 2001, Benjamin Foster produced a reading in
the Norton Critical Edition Series that fills in many of the blanks
of the standard edition with previous material. The most definitive
standard edition is the carefully edited two volume critical work
by
Andrew George. This represents
the fullest treatment of the standard edition material, and he
discusses at length the archaeological state of the material,
provides a tablet by tablet
exegesis, and
furnishes a dual language side by side translation. George's
translation was also published in a general reader edition under
the
Penguin Classics imprint in
2000. In 2004,
Stephen
Mitchell released a controversial edition, which is his
interpretation of previous scholarly translations into what he
calls "a new English version".
The
discovery of artefacts (ca. 2600 BCE) associated with Enmebaragesi of Kish
, who is
mentioned in the legends as the father of one of Gilgamesh's
adversaries, has lent credibility to the historical existence of
Gilgamesh (Dalley 1989: 40-41).
Standard 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 Akkadian and earlier Sumerian versions 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 word
nagbu, "deep", is probably
to be interpreted here as referring to "unknown mysteries".
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 twelfth tablet is appended to the epic representing a sequel to
the original eleven, 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 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.
Content of the standard version tablets
Tablet one
The story
starts with an introduction to Gilgamesh of Uruk
, Gilgamesh,
two thirds-god and one third-man, in his loneliness and isolation
becomes a cruel tyrant over the citizens of Uruk. To impress
them forever he orders a great wall to be built, driving his people
to exhaustion and despair so that they cry to the Sun God for help.
In answer, another kind of man, Enkidu, is sent to earth to live
among the animals and learn kindness from them. He falls in love
with Shamhat, a singer from the temple, and he follows her back to
Uruk. There, Enkidu, the "uncivilized" beast from the forest, shows
the evil Gilgamesh through friendship what it means to be
human.
Tablet two
Enkidu and Shamhat leave the wilderness for Uruk to attend a
wedding. When Gilgamesh comes to the party to sleep with the bride,
he finds his way blocked by the mighty Enkidu who opposes
Gilgamesh's ego, his treatment of women and the defamation of the
sacred bonds of marriage Enkidu has come to honor (in at least one
standard version Enkidu's only stated concern is proving he is
stronger than Gilgamesh). Enkidu and Gilgamesh fight each other.
After a mighty battle, Gilgamesh breaks off from the fight after
defeating Enkidu, sparing his life yet also heeding what Enkidu has
said. The event teaches Gilgamesh the virtues of mercy and
humility, along with courage and nobility. Gilgamesh is transformed
for the better through his friendship with Enkidu, and vice-versa,
as they have many lessons to learn from each other. They even begin
to see each other as brothers in time.
Tablet three
Years later, becoming bored of peaceful life in Uruk, and wanting
to make an ever-lasting name for himself, Gilgamesh proposes to
travel to the
Cedar Forest to cut some
great trees and kill the guardian, the
demon
Humbaba. Gilgamesh wants to do this for
glory and renown, and to make great things from the wood of the
Cedar Forest. Enkidu objects as the Cedar Forest is the sacred
realm of the
Anunnaki and not meant for
mortals, but Enkidu cannot convince his friend. They seek the
wisdom of the Elder Council, but Gilgamesh remains stubborn. Enkidu
gives in and both prepare to journey to Cedar Forest. Gilgamesh
tells his mother, who complains about it, but then asks the sun-god
Shamash for support and gives Enkidu some
advice. She also adopts Enkidu as her second son.
Tablet four
Gilgamesh and Enkidu journey to the Cedar Forest. On the way,
Gilgamesh has five bad dreams, but due to the bad construction of
the tablet, the dreams are difficult to reconstruct. Enkidu, each
time, explains the dreams as a good omen. When they reach the
forest, Gilgamesh becomes afraid again and Enkidu must encourage
him.
Tablet five
When the heroes finally run into
Humbaba,
the demon-ogre guardian of the trees, the monster starts to offend
them. This time, Gilgamesh is the one to become afraid. After some
brave words of Enkidu, the battle commences.
Their rage separates
the Syria
mountains
from Lebanon
.Gilgamesh distracts the monster into giving
away his seven layers of armor, or "radiances", by offering his
sisters as wives and concubines. Finally, Shamash sends his
thirteen winds to help the two heroes, and Humbaba is defeated. The
monster begs Gilgamesh for his life, and Gilgamesh pities the
creature. Enkidu, however, gets mad at
Gilgamesh and asks him to kill the beast. Humbaba
then turns to Enkidu and begs him to persuade his friend to spare
his life. When Enkidu repeats his request to Gilgamesh, Humbaba
curses them both before Gilgamesh puts an end to it. When the two
heroes cut a huge cedar tree, Enkidu makes a huge door of it for
the gods and lets it float down the river.
Tablet six
Gilgamesh rejects the sexual advances of
Anu
(the sky-god)'s daughter, the goddess
Ishtar
(goddess of love and war), because of her mistreatment of her
previous lovers like
Dumuzi. Ishtar asks her
father Anu to send the "
Bull of
Heaven" to avenge the rejected sexual advances. When Anu
rejects her complaints, Ishtar threatens to raise the dead. Anu
becomes frightened and gives in. The bull of heaven is a plague for
the lands. Apparently the creature has something to do with drought
because, according to the epic, the water disappeared and the
vegetation died. Whatever the case, Gilgamesh and Enkidu, this time
without divine help, slay the beast and offer its heart to Shamash.
When they hear Ishtar cry out in agony, Enkidu tears off the bull's
hindquarter and throws it in her face and threatens her. The city
of Uruk celebrates, but Enkidu has a bad dream detailed in the next
tablet.
Tablet seven
In Enkidu's dream, the gods decide that somebody must be punished
for killing the Bull of Heaven and Humbaba, and in the end they
decide to punish Enkidu. All of this is much against the will of
Shamash. Enkidu tells Gilgamesh all about it, then curses the door
he made for the gods. Gilgamesh is shocked and goes to temple to
pray to Shamash for the health of his friend. Enkidu then starts to
curse the trapper and Shamhat because now he regrets the day that
he became human. Shamash speaks from heaven and points out how
unfair Enkidu is; he also tells him that Gilgamesh will become a
shadow of his former self because of his death. Enkidu regrets his
curses and blesses Shamhat. He becomes more and more ill and
describes his descent into the horrific
Netherworld as he is dying, which he calls the
"House of Dust" where the dead wear feathers like birds, they eat
clay and do without light.
Tablet eight
Gilgamesh delivers a lamentation for Enkidu, offering gifts to the
many gods, in order that he might walk beside Enkidu in the
netherworld. He orders the people of Uruk to also mourn Enkidu,
from the lowest farmer to the highest temple priests, and orders
statues of Enkidu to be built. Gilgamesh is so full of grief and
sorrow over his friend that he refuses to leave Enkidu's side, or
allow his corpse to be buried, until six days and seven nights
after his death when a maggot falls from Enkidu's nose.
Tablet nine
Gilgamesh sets out to avoid Enkidu's fate and makes a perilous
journey to visit Utnapishtim (the Faraway, a Sumerian mythology
counterpart of
Noah) and his wife, the only
humans to have survived the
Great
Flood and who were granted immortality by the gods, in the hope
that he too can attain immortality. The ageless Utnapishtim and his
wife now reside in a beautiful country in another world,
Dilmun, and Gilgamesh travels far to the east,
crossing great rivers and oceans, to the mountain passes at the
ends of the earth where he grapples and slays monstrous mountain
lions, bears and others. Eventually he comes to the twin peaks of
Mount Mashu at the end of the earth, from where the sun rises from
the other world, the gate of which is guarded by two terrible
scorpion-beings. They allow him to proceed after Gilgamesh
convinces them to let him pass, stating his divinity and
desperation, and he travels through the dark tunnel where the sun
travels every night. Just before the sun is about to catch up with
him, and with the North Wind and ice lashing him, he reaches the
end. The world at the end of the tunnel is a bright wonderland full
of trees with leaves of jewels.
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 are not to be touched, or even
passing your hand over them is death, so Urshanabi asks Gilgamesh
to cut 120 trees and fashion them into punting poles so that they
can cross the waters by picking a new pole each time, and also uses
his garment as a sail. Finally, they reach
Dilmun, 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 fate of humans is
futile and ruins the joy in life.
Tablet eleven
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 is furious with him and sends him back to Uruk with
Urshanabi in exile. 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 who loses his old skin and thus
is reborn. Gilgamesh weeps in the presence of Urshanabi. Having
failed at both opportunities, he returns to Uruk, where the sight
of its massive walls prompts him to praise this enduring work to
Urshanabi, he is left to find his companion Enkidu.
Tablet twelve
Note that the content of this last tablet is not connected with
previous ones, and appears to be written by a different author at a
much later date than the previous tablets.
Gilgamesh complains to Enkidu that his ball-game-toys fell in 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 forgets the advice and 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 jumps out of it. The
tablet ends with Gilgamesh questioning Enkidu about what he has
seen in the underworld. The story doesn’t make clear whether Enkidu
reappears only as a ghost or really comes back to life.
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.
- Tablet missing
- Gilgamesh tells his mother Ninsun about two nightmares he had.
His mother explains that they mean that a friend will come to Uruk.
In the meanwhile Enkidu and his woman (here called Shamshatum) are
making love. She civilizes him in company of the shepherds by
offering him human food. Enkidu helps the shepherd by guarding the
sheep. They go to Uruk to marry but Gilgamesh wants to use his
privileges to sleep with Shamshatum first. Enkidu and Gilgamesh
battle but Gilgamesh breaks off the fight. Enkidu praises Gilgamesh
as a special person.
- 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. Enkidu protests, he knows Humbaba 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.
- 1(?) tablet missing
- Fragments from the two different versions/tablets that tell how
Enkidu encourages Gilgamesh to slay Humbaba. When Gilgamesh does so
they cut some trees and find the dwellings of the Annunaki. Enkidu cuts a door of wood for Enlil and let it float down the Euphrates.
- Tablets missing
- 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 travel to Ut-Napishtim (here called
Uta-na’ishtim). Siduri also questions his goals. Another hole in
the text. Gilgamesh has smashed 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 dead without the stone creatures. The rest
of the tablet is damaged.
- Tablet(s)
Sumerian version
There are five extant stories from the Sumerian version of the
Gilgamesh epic cycle:
- Gilgamesh and Huwawa ( version A translation, version B translation) (Corresponds to the
Cedar Forest episode (tablets 3-5) in
the Akkadian version.)
- Gilgamesh 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.)
- Gilgamesh and Aga ( translation) (Gilgamesh vs. Aga of Kish, no correspondence with the Akkadian
version.)
- Gilgamesh, Enkidu and the Netherworld ( translation) (Corresponds to tablet 12 in the
Akkadian version.)
- The Death of Gilgamesh ( translation) (This is the story of Gilgamesh's,
rather than Enkidu's death. The Sumerian flood hero, Zi-ud-sura, is invoked, but only as a contrast
between the flood hero who saved life and was giving eternal life
in return, and the mortal Gilgamesh.
Influence on later epic 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.
Some aspects of the story of
Noah's ark
in the
Bible seem to be based on the Gilgamesh
flood epic; see
deluge .
The
Alexander the Great myth in
Islamic and Syrian
cultures is
also considered to be influenced by the Gilgamesh story.
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.
In popular culture
The
Epic of Gilgamesh and its characters have been
featured in popular culture across all media.
See also
Notes
- Gilgamesh (translated from the Sin-Leq-Unninnt version) by John
Gardner and John Maier w/ assistance from Robert Henshaw ISBN
0-394-74089-0(pbk) p.4
- Dalley, Stephanie, Myths from Mesopotamia, Oxford
University Press, 1989
- MythHome: Gilgamesh the 12th Tablet
- Ioannis Kakridis: "Eisagogi eis to Omiriko
Zitima" (Introduction to the Homeric Question) In: Omiros:
Odysseia. Edited with translation and comments by Zisimos Sideris,
Daidalos Press, I. Zacharopoulos Athens.
- Jastrow M.The religion of Babylonia and Assyria.GIN &
COMPANY. Boston 1898
- Sattari J. Astudy on the epic of Gilgamesh and the legend of
Alexander. Markaz Publications 2001 (In Persian)
Bibliography
Editions
- Glossary, Appendices, Appendix (Chapter XII=Tablet XII). A
line-by-line translation (Chapters I-XI).
- First published in 1970 by Houghton Mifflin; Mentor Books
paperback published 1972.
- Sandars, N. K. (2006). The Epic of Gilgamesh (Penguin
Epics). ISBN 0141026286 - re-print of the Penguin Classic
translation (in prose) by N. K. Sandars 1960 (ISBN 014044100X)
without the introduction.
Other
External links
- Translations of the legends of Gilgamesh in the Sumerian language can be found in Black,
J.A., Cunningham, G., Fluckiger-Hawker, E, Robson, E., and Zólyomi,
G., The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian
Literature, Oxford 1998-.
- The Project Gutenberg eBook, An Old Babylonian Version of
the Gilgamesh Epic, by Anonymous, Edited by Morris Jastrow,
Translated by Albert T. Clay
- Epic of Gilgamesh, summary by M. McGoodwin
- Gilgamesh by Richard Hooker (wsu.edu)
- The Epic of Gilgamesh: A Spiritual
Biography
- Lectures on the Gilgamesh epic by Clay Burell.
A very personal but interesting approach.
- Dencio, D. World of Gilgamesh, Clio History Journal,
2007.