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The Epic Of Gilgamesh 


THE EPIC OF GILGAMESH 



N. K. Sanders 


Assyrian International News Agency 
Books Online 
www.aina.org 


1 


The Epic Of Gilgamesh 


CONTENT 

PROLOGUE 3 

GILGAMESH KING IN URUK 3 

1 4 

THE COMING OF ENKIDU 4 

2 7 

THE FOREST JOURNEY 7 

3 12 

ISHTAR AND GILGAMESH, AND THE DEATH OF ENKIDU 12 

4 16 

THE SEARCH FOR EVERLASTING LIFE 16 

5 20 

THE STORY OF THE FLOOD 20 

6 22 

THE RETURN 22 

7 24 

THE DEATH OF GILGAMESH 24 

GLOSSARY OF NAMES 25 


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The Epic Of Gilgamesh 


PROLOGUE 

GILGAMESH KING IN URUK 

I WILL proclaim to the world the deeds of Gilgamesh. This was the man to whom all things were known; this 
was the king who knew the countries of the world. He was wise, he saw mysteries and knew secret things, he 
brought us a tale of the days before the flood. He went on a long journey, was weary, worn-out with labour, 
returning he rested, he engraved on a stone the whole story. 

When the gods created Gilgamesh they gave him a perfect body. Shamash the glorious sun endowed him with 
beauty, Adad the god of the storm endowed him with courage, the great gods made his beauty perfect, surpassing all 
others, terrifying like a great wild bull. Two thirds they made him god and one third man. 

In Uruk he built walls, a great rampart, and the temple of blessed Eanna for the god of the firmament Anu, and 
for Ishtar the goddess of love. Look at it still today: the outer wall where the cornice runs, it shines with the 
brilliance of copper; and the inner wall, it has no equal. Touch the threshold, it is ancient. Approach Eanna the 
dwelling of Ishtar, our lady of love and war, the like of which no latter-day king, no man alive can equal. Climb 
upon the wall of Uruk; walk along it, I say; regard the foundation terrace and examine the. masonry: is it not burnt 
brick and good? The seven sages laid the foundations. 



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The Epic Of Gilgamesh 


1 

THE COMING OF ENKIDU 

GILGAMESH went abroad in the world, but he met with none who could withstand his arms till be came to 
Uruk. But the men of Uruk muttered in their houses, ‘Gilgamesh sounds the tocsin for his amusement, his arrogance 
has no bounds by day or night. No son is left with his father, for Gilgamesh takes them all, even the children; yet the 
king should be a shepherd to his people. His lust leaves no virgin to her lover, neither the warrior's daughter nor the 
wife of the noble; yet this is the shepherd of the city, wise, comely, and resolute.' 

The gods heard their lament, the gods of 
heaven cried to the Lord of Uruk, to Anu the god of 
Uruk: ‘A goddess made him, strong as a savage bull, 
none can withstand his arms. No son is left with his 
father, for Gilgamesh takes them all; and is this the 
king, the shepherd of his people? His lust leaves no 
virgin to her lover, neither the warrior's daughter nor 
the wife of the noble. When Anu had heard their 
lamentation the gods cried to Aruru, the goddess of 
creation, ‘You made him, O Aruru; now create his 
equal; let it be as like him as his own reflection, his 
second self; stormy heart for stormy heart. Let them 
contend together and leave Uruk in quiet.' 

So the goddess conceived an image in her 
mind, and it was of the stuff of Anu of the 
firmament. She dipped her hands in water and 
pinched off clay, she let it fall in the wilderness, and 
noble Enkidu was created. There was virtue in him 
of the god of war, of Ninurta himself. His body was 
rough, he had long hair like a woman's; it waved 
like the hair of Nisaba, the goddess of corn. His 
body was covered with matted hair like Samugan's, 
the god of cattle. He was innocent of mankind; he 
knew nothing of the cultivated land. 

Enkidu ate grass in the hills with the gazelle 
and lurked with wild beasts at the water-holes; he 
had joy of the water with the herds of wild game. 

But there was a trapper who met him one day face to 
face at the drinking-hole, for the wild game had 
entered his territory. On three days he met him face 
to face, and the trapper was frozen with fear. He 
went back to his house with the game that he had 
caught, and he was dumb, benumbed with terror. 

His face was altered like that of one who has made a long journey. With awe in his heart he spoke to his father: 
‘Father, there is a man, unlike any other, who comes down from the hills. He is the strongest in the world, he is like 
an immortal from heaven. He ranges over the hills with wild beasts and eats grass; the ranges through your land and 
comes down to the wells. I am afraid and dare not go near him. He fills in the pits which I dig and tears up-my traps 
set for the game; he helps the beasts to escape and now they slip through my fingers.' 

His father opened his mouth and said to the trapper, ‘My son, in Uruk lives Gilgamesh; no one has ever pre- 
vailed against him, he is strong as a star from heaven. Go to Uruk, find Gilgamesh, extol the strength of this wild 
man. Ask him to give you a harlot, a wanton from the temple of love; return with her, and let her woman's power 
overpower this man. When next he comes down to drink at the wells she will be there, stripped naked; and when he sees 
her beckoning he will embrace her, and then the wild beasts will reject him.' 

So the trapper set out on his journey to Uruk and addressed himself to Gilgamesh saying, ‘A man unlike any other is 
roaming now in the pastures; he is as strong as a star from heaven and I am afraid to approach him. He helps the wild 



King Ashurbampal. 669-62? B C The excavations of his 
library provided a major souroe of Mesopotamian literature, 
including a good portion of tire Epic of Gilgamesh 


4 


The Epic Of Gilgamesh 


game to escape; he fills in my pits and pulls up my traps.' Gilgamesh said, ‘Trapper, go back, take with you a harlot, a 
child of pleasure. At the drinking hole she will strip, and when, he sees her beckoning he will embrace her and the game 
of the wilderness will, surely reject him.' 

Now the trapper returned, taking the harlot with him. After a three days' journey they came to the drinking hole, and 
there they sat down; the harlot and the trapper sat . facing one another and waited for the game to come. For the first day 
and for the second day the two sat waiting, but on the third day the herds came; they came down to drink and Enkidu was 
with them. The small wild creatures of the plains were glad of the water, and Enkidu with them, who ate grass with the 
gazelle and was born in the hills; and she saw him, the savage man, come from far-off in the hills. The trapper spoke to 
her: ‘There he is. Now, woman, make your breasts bare, have no shame, do not delay but welcome his love. Let him see 
you naked, let him possess your body. When he comes near uncover yourself and lie with him; teach him, the savage man, 
your woman's art, for when he murmurs love to you the wild’ beasts that shared his life in the hills will reject him.' 

She was not ashamed to take him, she made herself naked and welcomed his eagerness; as he lay on her murmuring 
love she taught him the woman's art For six days and seven nights they lay together, for Enkidu had forgotten his home in 
the hills; but when he was satisfied he went back to the wild beasts. Then, when the gazelle saw him, they bolted away; 
when the wild creatures saw him they fled. Enkidu would have followed, but his body was bound a s though with a cord, 
his knees gave way when he started to run, his swiftness was gone. And now the wild creatures had all fled away; 
Enkidu was grown weak, for wisdom was in him, and the thoughts of a man were in his heart. So he returned and sat 
down at the woman's feet, and listened intently to what she said. ‘You are wise, Enkidu, and now you have become like a 
god. Why do you want to run wild with the beasts in the hills? Come with me. I will take you to strong-walled Uruk, to the 
blessed temple of Ishtar and of Anu, of love and of heaven there Gilgamesh lives, who is very strong, and like a wild bull 
he lords it over men.' 

When she had spoken Enkidu was pleased; he longed for a comrade, for one who would understand his heart. 
Come, woman, and take me to that holy temple, to the house of Anu and of Ishtar, and to the place where Gilgamesh lords 
it over the people. I will challenge him boldly, I will cry out aloud in Uruk, "I am the strongest here, I have come to 
change the old order, I am he who was born in the hills, I am he who is strongest of all.'" 

She said, ‘Let us go, and let him see your face. 1 know very well where Gilgamesh is in great Uruk. O Enkidu, there 
all the people are dressed in their gorgeous robes, every day is holiday, the young men and the girls are wonderful to see. 
How sweet they smell! All the great ones are roused from their beds. O Enkidu, you who love life, 1 will show you 
Gilgamesh, a man of many moods; you shall look at him well in his radiant manhood. His body is perfect in strength 
and maturity; he never rests by night or day. He is stronger than you, so leave your boasting. Shamash the glorious 
sun has given favours to Gilgamesh, and Anu of the heavens, and Enlil, and Ea the wise has given him deep 
understanding, f tell you, even before you have left the wilderness, Gilgamesh will know in his dreams that you are 
coming.' 

Now Gilgamesh got up to tell his dream to his mother; Ninsun, one of the wise gods. ‘Mother, last night 1 had a 
dream. I was full of joy, the young heroes were round me and I walked through the night under the stars of the 
firmament, and one, a meteor of the stuff of Anu, fell down from heaven. I tried to lift it but it proved too heavy. All 
the people of Uruk came round to see it, the common people jostled and the nobles thronged to kiss its feet; and to 
me its attraction was like the love of woman. They helped me, I braced my forehead and I raised it with thongs and 
brought it to you, and you yourself pronounced it my brother.' 

Then Ninsun, who is well-beloved and wise, said to Gilgamesh, ‘This star of heaven which descended like a 
meteor from the sky; which you tried to lift," but found too heavy, when you tried to move it it would not budge, and 
so you brought it to my feet; I made it for you, a goad and spur, and you were drawn as though to a woman. This is 
the strong comrade, the one who brings help to his friend in his need. He is the strongest of wild creatures, the stuff 
of Anu; born in the grass-lands and the wild hills reared him; when you see him you will be glad; you will love him 
as a woman and he will never forsake you. This is the meaning of the dream.' 

Gilgamesh said, ‘Mother, I dreamed a second dream. In the streets of strong-walled Uruk there lay an axe; the 
shape of it was strange and the people thronged round. I saw it and was glad. I bent down, deeply drawn towards it; I 
loved it like a woman and wore it at my side.' Ninsun answered, ‘That axe, which you saw, which drew you so 
powerfully like love of a woman, that is the comrade whom I give you, and he will come in his strength like one of 
the host of heaven. He is the brave companion who rescues his friend in necessity.' Gilgamesh said to his mother, 'A 
friend, a counsellor has come to me from Enlil, and now I shall befriend and counsel him.' So Gilgamesh told his 
dreams; and the harlot retold them to Enkidu. 

And now she said to Enkidu, ‘When 1 look at you you have become like a god. Why do you yearn to run wild 
again with the beasts in the hills? Get up from the ground, the bed of a shepherd.' He listened to her words with care. 
It was good advice that she gave. She divided her clothing in two and with the one half she clothed him and with the 
other herself, and holding his hand she led him like a child to the sheepfolds, into the shepherds' tents. There all the 


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The Epic Of Gilgamesh 


shepherds crowded round to see him, they put down bread in front of him, but Enkidu could only suck the milk of 
wild animals. He fumbled and gaped, at a loss what to do or how he should eat the bread and drink the strong wine. 
Then the woman said, 'Enkidu, eat bread, it is the staff of life; drink the wine, it is the custom of the land.' So he ate 
till he was full and drank strong wine, seven goblets. He became merry, his heart exulted and his face shone. He 
rubbed down the matted hair of his body and anointed himself with oil. Enkidu had become a man; but when he had 
put on man's clothing he appeared like a bridegroom. He took arms to hunt the lion so that the shepherds could rest at 
night. He caught wolves and lions and the herdsmen lay down in peace; for Enkidu was their watchman, that strong man 
who had no rival. 

He was merry living with the shepherds, till one day lifting his eyes he saw a man approaching. He said to the harlot, 
‘Woman, fetch that man here. Why has he come? 1 wish to know his name.' She went and called the man saying, ‘Sir, 
where are you going on this weary journey?' The man answered, saying to Enkidu, ‘Gilgamesh has gone into the 
marriage-house and shut out the people. He does strange things in Umk, the city of great streets. At the roll of the drum 
work begins for the men, and work for the women. Gilgamesh the king is about to celebrate marriage with the Queen of 
Love, and he still demands to be first with the bride, the king to be first and the husband to follow, for that was ordained 
by the gods from his birth, from the time the umbilical cord was cut. But now the drums roll for the choice of the bride and 
the city groans.' At these words Enkidu turned white in the face. ‘I will go to the place where Gilgamesh lords it over the 
people, I will challenge him boldly, and I will cry aloud in Uruk, "I have come to change the old order, for I am the 
strongest here." 

Now Enkidu strode in front and the woman followed behind. He entered Umk, that great market, and all the folk 
thronged round him where he stood in the street in strong-walled Umk. The people jostled; speaking of him they said, ‘He 
is the spit of Gilgamesh. ‘He is shorter.’ ‘He is bigger of bone.’ This is the one who was reared on the milk of wild beasts. 
His is the greatest strength.' The men rejoiced: ‘Now Gilgamesh has met his match. This great'one, this hero whose beauty 
is like a god, he is a match even for Gilgamesh. ’ 

In Umk the bridal bed was made, fit for the goddess of love. The bride waited for the bridegroom, but in the night 
Gilgamesh got up and came to the house. Then Enkidu stepped out, he stood in the street and blocked the way. Mighty 
Gilgamesh came on and Enkidu met him at the gate. He put out his foot and prevented Gilgamesh from entering the 
house, so they grappled, holding each other like bulls. They broke the doorposts and the walls shook, they snorted like 
bulls locked together. They shattered the doorposts and the walls shook. Gilgamesh bent his knee with his foot planted on 
the ground and with a turn Enkidu was thrown. Then immediately his fury died. When Enkidu was thrown he said to 
Gilgamesh, ‘There is not another like you in the world. Ninsun, who is as strong as a wild ox in the byre, she was the 
mother who bore you, and now you are raised above all men, and Enlil has given you the kingship, for your strength sur- 
passes the strength of men.’ So Enkidu and Gilgamesh embraced and their friendship was sealed. 


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The Epic Of Gilgamesh 


2 

THE FOREST JOURNEY 

ENLIL of the mountain, the father of the gods, had decreed the destiny of Gilgamesh. So Gilgamesh dreamed and 
Enkidu said, 'The meaning of the dream is this. The father of the gods has given you kingship, such is your destiny, 
everlasting life is not your destiny. Because of this do not be sad at heart, do not be grieved or oppressed. He has given 
you power to bind and to loose, to be the darkness and the light of mankind. He has given you unexampled supremacy 
over the people, victory in battle from which no fugitive returns, in forays and assaults from which there is no going back. 
But do not abuse this power, deal justly with your servants in the palace, deal jusdy before Shamash.' 

The eyes of Enkidu were full of tears and his 
heart was sick. He sighed bitterly and Gilgamesh met 
his eye and said,’ My friend, why do you sigh so 
bitterly? But Enkidu opened his mouth and said, 'I am 
weak, my arms have lost their strength, the cry of 
sorrow sticks in my throat, I am oppressed by idleness.' 

It was then that the lord Gilgamesh turned his thoughts 
to the Country of the Living; on the Land of Cedars the 
lord Gilgamesh reflected. He said to his servant 
Enkidu, 'I have not established my name stamped on 
bricks as my destiny decreed; therefore I will go to the 
country where the cedar is felled. I will set up my 
name in the place where the names of famous men are 
written, and where- no man's name is written yet I will 
wise a monument to the gods. Because o£ the evil that 
is in the land, we will go to the forest and destroy the 
evil; for in the forest lives Humbaba whose name is 
"Hugeness", , a ferocious giant. But Enkidu sighed 
bitterly and said, ‘When I went with the wild beasts 
ranging through the wilderness I discovered the forest; 
its length is ten thousand leagues in every direction. 

Enlil has appointed Humbaba to guard it and armed 
him iii sevenfold terrors, terrible to all flesh is 
Humbaba. When he roars it is like the torrent of the 
storm, his breath is like fire, and his jaws are death 
itself. He guards the cedars so well that when the wild 
heifer stirs in the forest, though she is sixty leagues 
distant, he hears her. What man would willingly walk 
into that country and explore its depths? I tell you, 
weakness overpowers whoever goes near it; it is not an 
equal struggle when one fights with Humbaba; he is a 
great warrior, a battering-ram. Gilgamesh, the 
watchman of the forest never sleeps.' 

Gilgamesh replied: 'Where is the man who can clamber to heaven? Only the gods live for ever with glorious 
Shamash, but as for us men, our days are numbered, our occupations are a breath of wind. How is this, already you are 
afraid! I will go first although I am your lord, an4.youmay safely call out, "Forward, there is nothing to fear!" Then if I 
fall I leave behind me a name that endures; men - will say of me, "Gilgamesh has fallen in fight with ferocious Humbaba." 
Long after the child has been bony in my house, they will say it, and remember.' Enkidu spoke again to Gilgamesh, 'O 
my lord, if you will enter that country, go first to the hero Shamash, tell the Sun God, for the land is his. The country 
where the cedar is cut belongs to Shamash.’ 

Gilgamesh took up a kid, white without spot, and a brown one with it; he held them against his breast, and he 
carried them into the presence of the sun. He took i n his hand his silver sceptre and he said to glorious Shamash, Tam 
going to that country, O Shamash, I am going; my hands supplicate, so let it be well with my soul and bring me back to 



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The Epic Of Gilgamesh 


the quay of Uruk. Grant, I beseech, your protection, and let the omen be good.' Glorious Shamash answered, ‘Gilgamesh, 
you are strong, but what i s the Country of the Living to you? 

'O Shamash, hear me, hear me, Shamash, let my voice be heard. Here in the city man dies oppressed at heart, man 
perishes with despair in his heart. I have looked over the wall and I see the bodies floating on the river, and that will be my 
lot also. Indeed I know it is so, for whoever is tallest among men cannot reach the heavens, and the greatest cannot 
encompass the earth. Therefore I would enter that country: because I have not established my name stamped on brick as 
my destiny decreed, I will go to the country where the cedar is cut. 1 will set up my name where the names of famous men 
are written; and where no man's name is written I will raise a monument to the gods.' The tears, ran down his face and he 
said, ‘Alas, it is a long journey that I must take to the Land of Humbaba. If this enterprise is not to be accomplished, 
why did you move me, Shamash, with the restless desire to perform it? How can I succeed if you will not succour 
me? If I die in that country I will die without rancour, but if I return I will make a glorious offering of gifts and of praise 
to Shamash.' 

So Shamash accepted the sacrifice of his tears; like the compassionate man he showed him mercy. He appointed 
strong allies for Gilgamesh, sons of one mother, and stationed them in the mountain caves. The great winds he appointed: 
the north wind, the whirlwind, the stone and the icy wind, the tempest and the scorching wind. Like ' vipers, like dragons, 
like a scorching fire, like a serpent that freezes the heart, a destroying flood and the lightning's fork, such were they and 
Gilgamesh rejoiced. 

He went to the forge and said, ..'I will give orders to the armourers; they shall cast us our weapons while we watch 
them.' So they gave orders to the armourers and the craftsmen sat down in conference. They went into the groves of the 
plain and cut willow and box-wood; they cast for them axes of nine score pounds, and great swords they cast with blades 
of six score pounds each one, with pommels and hilts of thirty pounds. They cast for Gilgamesh the axe ‘Might of Heroes' 
and the bow of Anshan; and Gilgamesh was armed and Enkidu; and the weight of the arms they carried was thirty score 
pounds. 

The people collected and the counsellors in the streets and in the market-place of Uruk; they came through the gate 
of seven bolts and Gilgamesh spoke to them in the market-place: ‘I, Gilgamesh, go to see that creature of whom such 
things are spoken, the rumour of whose name fills the world. I will conquer him in his cedar wood and show the 
strength of the sons of Uruk, all the world shall, know of it. I am committed to this enterprise: to climb the mountain, to cut 
down the cedar, and leave behind me an enduring name.' The counsellors of Uruk; the great market, answered him, 
‘Gilgamesh, you are young, your courage carries you too far, you cannot know what this enterprise means which you 
plan. We have heard that Humbaba is not like men who die, his weapons are such that none can stand against them; the 
forest stretches for ten thousand leagues in every direction; who would willingly go down to explore its depths? As 
for Humbaba, when he roars it is like the torrent of the storm, his breath is like fire and his jaws are death itself. Why 
do you crave to do this thing, Gilgamesh? It is no equal struggle when one fights with Humbaba, that battering-ram: 

When he heard these words of the counsellors Gilgamesh looked at his friend and laughed, ‘How shall I 
answer them; shall I say I am afraid of Humbaba, I will sit at home all the rest of my days?' Then Gilgamesh opened 
his mouth again and said to Enkidu, ‘My friend, let us go to the Great Palace, to Egalmah, and stand before Ninsun 
the queen. Ninsun is wise with deep knowledge, she will give us counsel for the road we must go.' They took each 
other by the hand as they went to Egalmah, and they went to Ninsun the great queen. Gilgamesh approached, he 
entered the palace and spoke to Ninsun. ‘Ninsun, will you listen to me; I have a long journey to go, to the Land of 
Humbaba, I must travel an unknown road and fight a strange battle. From the day I go until I return, till I reach the 
cedar forest and destroy the evil which Shamash abhors, pray for me to Shamash.' 

Ninsun went into her room, she put on a dress becoming to her body, she put on jewels to make her breast 
beautiful, she placed a tiara on her head and her skirts swept the ground. Then she went up to the altar of the Sun, 
standing upon the roof of the palace; she burnt incense and lifted her arms to Shamash as the smoke ascended: ‘O 
Shamash, why did you give this restless heart to Gilgamesh, my son; why did you give it? You have moved him and 
now he sets out on a long journey to the Land of Humbaba, to travel an unknown road and fight a strange battle. 
Therefore from the day that he goes till the day he returns, until he reaches the cedar forest, until he kills Humbaba 
and destroys the evil thing which you, Shamash, abhor, do not forget him; but let the dawn, Aya, your dear bride, 
remind you always, and when day is done give him to the watchman of the night to keep him from harm.' Then 
Ninsun the mother of Gilgamesh extinguished the incense, and she called to Enkidu with this exhortation: ‘Strong 
Enkidu, you are not the child of my body, but I will receive you as my adopted son; you are my other child like the 
foundlings they bring to the temple. Serve Gilgamesh as a foundling serves the temple and the priestess who reared 
him. In the presence of my women, any votaries and hierophants, I declare it.' Then she placed - the amulet for a 
pledge round his neck, and she said to him, ‘I entrust my son to you; bring him back to me safely.’ 

And now they brought to them the weapons, they put in their hands the great swords in their golden scabbards, 
and the bow and the quiver. Gilgamesh took the axe, he slung the quiver from his -shoulder, and the bow of Anshan, 



The Epic Of Gilgamesh 


and buckled the sword to his belt; and so they were armed and ready for the journey. Now all the people came and 
pressed on them and said, ‘When will you return to the city? The counsellors blessed Gilgamesh and warned him, 
‘Do not trust too much in your own strength, be watchful, restrain your blows at first. The one who goes in front 
protects his companion; the good guide who knows the way guards his friend. Let Enkidu lead the way, he knows 
the road to the forest, he has seen Humbaba and is experienced in battles; let him press first into the passes, let him be 
watchful and look to himself. Let-Enkidu protect his friend, and guard his companion, and bring him safe through the 
pitfalls of the road. We, the counsellors of Uruk entrust our king to you, O Enkidu; bring him back safely to us.' Again to 
Gilgamesh, they said, ‘May Shamash give you your heart's desire, may he let you see with your eyes the thing 
accomplished which your lips have spoken; may he open a path for you where it is blocked, and a road for your feet to 
tread. May he open the mountains for your crossing, and may the nighttime bring you the blessings of night, and 
Lugulbanda, your guardian god, stand beside you for victory. May y ou have victory in the battle as though you fought 
with a child. Wash your feet in the river of Humbaba to which you are journeying; in the evening dig a well, and let there 
always be pure water in your water-skin. Offer cold water to Shamash and do not forget Lugulbanda.' 

Then Enkidu opened his mouth and said, ‘Forward, there is nothing to fear. Follow me, for I know the place where 
Humbaba lives and the paths where he walks. Let the counsellors go back. Here is no cause for fear.' When the counsellors 
heard this they sped the hero on his way. ‘Go, Gilgamesh, may your guardian god protect you on the road and bring you 
safely back to the quay of Uruk.' 

After twenty leagues they broke their fast; after another thirty leagues they stopped for the night. Fifty leagues they 
walked in one day; in three days they had walked as much as a journey of a month and two weeks. They crossed seven 
mountains before they came to the gate of the forest. Then Enkidu called out to Gilgamesh, ‘Do not go down into the 
forest; when 1 opened the gate my hand lost its strength.' Gilgamesh answered him, ‘Dear friend, do not speak like a 
coward. Have we got the better of so many dangers and travelled so far, to turn back at last? You, who are tried in wars 
and battles, hold dose to me now and you will feel no fear of death; keep beside me and your weakness will pass, the 
trembling will leave your hand. Would my friend rather stay behind? No, we will, go down together into the heart of the 
forest. Let your courage be roused by the battle to come; forget death and follow me, a man resolute in action, but one who 
is not foolhardy. When two go together each will protect himself and shield his companion, and if they fall they leave an 
enduring name.' 

Together they went down into the forest and they came to the green mountain. There they stood still, they were 
struck dumb; they stood still and gazed at the forest. They saw the height of the cedar, they saw the way into the forest and 
the track where Humbaba was used to walk. The way was broad and the going was good. They gazed at the mountain of 
cedars, the dwelling-place of the gods and the throne of Ishtar. The hugeness of the cedar rose in front of the mountain, its 
shade was beautiful, full of comfort; mountain and glade were green with brushwood: 

There Gilgamesh dug a well before the setting sun. He went up the mountain and poured out fine meal on the 
ground and said, ‘O mountain, dwelling of the gods, bring me a favourable dream.' Then they took each other' by the hand 
and lay down to sleep; and sleep that flows from the night lapped over them. Gilgamesh dreamed, and at midnight sleep 
left him, and he told his dream to his friend. ‘Enkidu, what was it that woke me if you did not? My friend, 1 have dreamed 
a dream. Get up, look at the mountain precipice. The sleep that the gods sent me is broken. Ah, my friend, what a dream I 
have had ! Terror and confusion; I seized hold of a wild bull in the wilderness. It bellowed and beat up the dust till the 
whole sky was dark, my arm was seized and my tongue bitten. I fell back on' my knee; then someone refreshed me 
with water from his water-skin.' 

Enkidu said, ‘Dear friend, the god to whom we are travelling is no wild bull, though his form is mysterious. 
That wild bull which you saw is Shamash the Protector; in our moment of peril he will take our hands. The one who 
gave water from his water-skin, that is your own god who cares for your good name, your Lugulbanda. United with 
him, together we will accomplish a work the fame of which will never die.' 

Gilgamesh said, ‘I dreamed again. We stood in a deep gorge of the mountain, and beside it we two were like 
the smallest of swamp flies; and suddenly the mountain fell, it struck me and caught my feet from under me. Then 
came an intolerable light blazing out, and in it was one whose grace and whose beauty were greater than the beauty 
of this world. He pulled me out from under the mountain, he gave me water to drink and my heart was comforted, 
and he set my feet on theground.' 

Then Enkidu the child of the plains said, ‘Let us go down from the mountain and talk this thing over together.' 
He said to Gilgamesh the young god, ‘Your dream is good, your dream is excellent, the mountain which you saw is 
Humbaba. Now, surely, we will seize and kill him, and throw his body down as the mountain fell on the plain.' 

The next day after twenty leagues they broke their fast, and after another thirty they stopped for the night. They 
dug a well before the sun had set and Gilgamesh ascended the mountain. He poured out fine meal on the ground and 
said, ‘O mountain, dwelling of the gods, send a dream for Enkidu, make him a favourable dream.' The mountain 
fashioned a dream for Enkidu; it came, an ominous dream; a cold shower passed over him, it caused him to cower 


9 



The Epic Of Gilgamesh 


tike the mountain barley under a storm of rain. But Gilgamesh sat with his chin on his knees till the sleep which 
flows over all mankind lapped over him. Then, at midnight, sleep left him; he got up and said to his friend, ‘Did you 
call me, or why did I wake? Did you touch me, or why am I terrified? Did not some god pass by, for my limbs are 
numb with fear? My friend, I saw a third dream and this dream was altogether frightful. The heavens roared and the 
earth roared again, daylight failed and darkness fell, lightnings flashed, fire blazed out, the clouds lowered, they 
rained down death. Then the brightness departed, the fire went out, and all was turned to ashes fallen about us. Let 
us go down from the mountain and talk this over, and consider what we should do.' 

When they had come down from the mountain Gilgamesh seized the axe in his hand: he felled the cedar. When 
Humbaba heard the noise far off he was enraged; he cried out, ‘Who is this that has violated my woods and cut 
down my cedar?' But glorious Shamash called to them out of heaven, ’Go forward, do not be afraid.’ But now’ 
Gilgamesh was overcome by weakness, for sleep had seized him suddenly, a profound sleep held him; he lay on the 
ground, stretched out speechless, as though in a dream. When Enkidu touched him he did not rise, when he spoke to 
him he did not reply. ‘O Gilgamesh, Lord of the plain of Kullab, the world grows dark, the shadows have spread 
over it, now is the glimmer of dusk. Shamash has departed, his bright head is quenched in the bosom of his mother 
Ningal. O Gilgamesh, how long will you lie like this, asleep? Never let the mother who gave you birth be forced in 
mourning into the city square.’ 

At length Gilgamesh heard him; lie put on his breastplate, ‘The Voice of Heroes', of thirty shekels' weight; he put it 
on as though it had been a light garment that he carried, and it covered him altogether. He straddled the earth like a bull 
that snuffs the ground and his teeth were clenched. ‘By the life of my mother Ninsun who gave me birth, and by the life of 
my father, divine Lugulbanda, let me live to be the wonder of my mother, as when she nursed me on her lap.' A second 
time he said to him, ‘By the life of Ninsun my mother who gave me birth, and by the life of my father, divine Lugulbanda, 
until we have fought thus man, if man he is, this god, if god he is, the way that I took to the Country of the Living will not 
turn back to the city.' 

Then Enkidu, the faithful companion, pleaded, answering him, ‘O my lord, you do not know this monster and that 
is the reason you are not afraid. I who know him, I am terrified. His teeth are dragon's fangs, his countenance is like a lion, 
his charge i s the rushing of the flood, with his look he crushes alike the trees of the forest and reeds in the swamp. O my 
Lord, you may go on if you choose into thus land, but I will go back to the city. I will tell the lady your mother all your 
glorious' deeds till she shouts for joy: and then I will tell the death that followed till she weeps for bitterness.' But 
Gilgamesh said, ‘Immolation and sacrifice are not yet for me, the boat of the dead shall not go down, nor the three-ply 
cloth be cut for my shrouding. Not yet will my people be desolate, nor the pyre be lit in my house and my dwelling burnt 
on the fire. Today, give me your aid and you shall have mine: what then can go amiss with us two? All living creatures 
born of the flesh shall sit at last in the boat of the West, and when it sinks, when the boat of Magilum sinks, they are 
gone; but we shall go forward and fix our eyes on this monster. If your heart is fearful throw away fear; if there is terror in 
it throw away terror. Take your axe in your hand and attack. He who leaves the fight unfinished is not at peace.' 

Humbaba came out from his strong house of cedar. Then Enkidu called out, ‘O Gilgamesh, remember now your 
boasts in Uruk. Forward, attack, son of Uruk, there is nothing to fear.' When he heard these words his courage rallied; he 
answered, ‘Make haste, close in, if the watchman is there do not let him escape to the woods where he will vanish. He 
has put on the first of his seven splendours but not yet the other six, let us trap him before he is armed.' Like a raging wild 
bull he snuffed the ground; the watchman of the woods turned full of threatenings, he cried out. Humbaba came from his 
strong house of cedar. He nodded his head and shook it, menacing Gilgamesh; and on him he fastened his eye, the eye of 
death. Then Gilgamesh called to Shamash and his tears were flowing, ‘O glorious Shamash, 1 have followed the road you 
commanded but now if you send no succour how shall I escape? Glorious Shamash heard his prayer and he summoned 
the great wind, the north wind, the whirlwind, the storm and the icy wind, the tempest and the scorching wind; they came 
like dragons, like a scorching fire, like a serpent that freezes the heart, a destroying flood and the lightning's fork. The eight 
winds rose up against Humbaba, they beat against his eyes; he was gripped, unable to go forward or back. Gilgamesh 
shouted, ‘By the life of Ninsun my mother and divine Lugulbanda my father, in the Country of the Living, in this Land I 
have discovered your dwelling; my weak arms and my small weapons I have brought to this Land against you, and now I 
will enter your house'. 

So he felled the first cedar and they cut the branches and laid them at the foot of the mountain. At the first stroke 
Humbaba blazed out, but still they advanced. They felled seven cedars and cut and bound the branches and laid them at 
the foot of the mountain, and seven times Humbaba loosed his glory on them. As the seventh blaze died out they 
reached his lair. He slapped his thigh in scorn. He approached like a noble wild bull roped on the mountain, a warrior 
whose elbows are bound together. The tears started to his eyes and he was pale, ‘Gilgamesh, let me speak. 1 have never 
known a mother, no, nor a father who reared me. I was born of the mountain, he reared me, and Enlil made me the keeper 
of this forest. Let me go free, Gilgamesh, and I will be your servant, you shall be my lord; all the trees of the forest that I 
tended on the mountain shall be yours. 1 will cut them down and build you a palace.' He took him by the hand and led him 


10 



The Epic Of Gilgamesh 


to his house, so that the heart of Gilgamesh was moved with compassion. He swore by the heavenly life, by the earthly 
life, by the underworld itself: ‘O Enkidu, should not the snared, bird return to its nest and the captive man return to his 
mother's arms?' Enkidu answered, ‘The strongest of men will fall to fate if he has no judgement. Namtar, the evil fate that 
knows no distinction between men, will devour him. If the snared bird returns to its nest, if the captive man returns to his 
mother's arms, then you my friend will never return to the city where the mother is waiting who gave you birth. He will 
bar the mountain road against you, and make the pathways impassable.' 

Humbaba said, 'Enkidu, what you have spoken is evil: you, a hireling, dependent for your bread! In envy and for fear 
of a rival you have spoken evil words.' Enkidu said, ‘Do not listen, Gilgamesh: this Humbaba must die. Kill Humbaba first 
and his servants after.' But Gilgamesh said, 'If we touch him the blaze and the glory of light will be put out in confusion, 
the glory and glamour will vanish, its rays will be quenched.' Enkidu said to Gilgamesh, ‘Not so, my friend. First entrap 
the bird, and where shall the chicks mn then? Afterwards we can search out the glory and the glamour, when the chicks 
run distracted through the grass.' 

Gilgamesh listened to the word of his companion, he took the axe in his hand, he drew the sword from his belt, and 
he struck Humbaba with a thrust of the sword to the neck, and Enkidu his comrade struck the second blow. At the third 
blow Humbaba fell. Then there followed confusion for this was the guardian of the forest whom they had felled to the 
ground. For as far as two leagues the cedars shivered when Enkidu felled the watcher of the forest, he at whose voice 
Hermon and Lebanon used to tremble. Now the mountains were moved and all the hills, for the guardian of the forest was 
killed. They attacked the cedars, the seven splendours of Humbaba were extinguished. So they pressed on into the forest 
bearing the sword of eight talents. They uncovered the sacred dwellings of the Anunnaki and while Gilgamesh felled the 
first of the trees of the forest Enkidu cleared their roots as far as the banks of Euphrates. They set Humbaba before the 
gods, before Enlil; they kissed the ground and dropped the shroud and set the head before him. When he saw the head of 
Humbaba, Enlil raged at them. ‘Why did you do this thing? From henceforth may the fire be on your faces, may it eat the 
bread that you eat, may it drink where you drink.' Then Enlil took again the blaze and the seven splendours that had been 
Humbaba's: he gave the first to the river, and he gave to the lion, to the stone of execration, to the mountain and to the 
dreaded daughter of the Queen of Hell. 

O Gilgamesh, king and conqueror of the dreadful blaze; wild bull who plunders the mountain, who crosses the sea, 
glory to him, and from the brave the greater glory is Enki's! 


11 



The Epic Of Gilgamesh 


3 

ISHTAR AND GILGAMESH, AND THE DEATH OF ENKIDU 

GILGAMESH Washed out his long locks and cleaned his weapons; he flung back his hair from his shoulders; he 
threw off his stained clothes and changed them for new. He put on his royal robes and made them fast. When Gilgamesh 
had put on the crown, glorious Ishtar lifted her eyes, seeing the beauty of Gilgamesh. She said, ‘Come to me Gilgamesh, 
and be my bridegroom; grant me seed of your body, let me be your bride and you shall be my husband. I will harness for 
you a chariot of lapis lazuli and of gold, with wheels of gold and horns of copper; and you shall have mighty demons of 
the storm for draft mules. When you enter our house in the fragrance of cedar-wood, threshold and throne will kiss your 
feet. Kings, rulers, and princes will bow down before you; they shall bring you tribute from the mountains and the plain. 
Your ewes shall drop twins and your goats triplets; your pack-ass shall outrun mules; your oxen shall have no rivals, and 
your chariot horses shall be famous far-off for their swiftness.' 

Gilgamesh opened his mouth and answered glorious Ishtar, ‘If I take you in marriage, what gifts can 1 give in return? 
What ointments and clothing for your body? I would gladly give you bread and all sorts of food fit for a god. I would give 
you wine to drink fit for a queen. I would pour out barley to stuff your granary; but as for making you my wife - that I will 
not. How would it go with me? Your lovers have found you like a brazier which smoulders in the cold, a backdoor which 
keeps out neither squall of wind nor storm, a castle which crushes the garrison, pitch that blackens the bearer, a water-skin 
that chafes the carrier, a stone which falls from the parapet, a battering-ram turned back from the enemy, a sandal that trips 
the wearer. Which of your lovers did you ever love for ever? What shepherd of yours has pleased you for all time? Listen 
to me while I tell the tale of your lovers. There was Tammuz, the lover of your youth, for him you decreed wailing, year 
after year. You loved the many coloured roller, but still you struck and broke his wing; now in the grove he sits and cries, 
"kappi, kappi, my wing, my wing." You have loved the lion tremendous in strength: seven pits you dug for him, and 
seven. You have loved the stallion magnificent in battle, and for him you decreed whip and spur and a thong, to gallop 
seven leagues by force and to muddy the water before he drinks; and for his mother Silili lamentations. You have loved 
the shepherd of the flock; he made meal-cake for you day after day, he killed kids for your sake. You struck and turned 
him into a wolf, now his own herd-boys chase him away, his own hounds worry his flanks. And did you not love 
Ishullanu, the gardener of your father's palm grove? He brought you baskets filled with dates without end; every day he 
loaded your table. Then you turned your eyes on him and said, "Dearest Ishullanu, come here to me, let us enjoy your 
manhood, come forward and take me, I am yours.' Ishullanu answered, "What are you asking from me? My mother has 
baked and I have eaten; why should I come to such as you for food that is tainted and rotten? For when was a screen of 
rushes sufficient protection from frosts?" But when you had beard his answer you struck him. He was changed to a blind 
mole deep in the earth, one whose desire is always beyond his reach. And if you and I should be lovers, should not I be 
served in the same fashion as all these others whom you loved once?’ 

When Ishtar heard this she fell into a bitter rage, she went up to high heaven. Her tears poured down in front of her 
father Anu, and Antum her mother. She said, ‘My father, Gilgamesh has heaped insults on me, he has told over all my 
abominable behaviour, my foul and hideous acts.' Anu opened his mouth and said, ‘Are you a father of gods? Did not you 
quarrel with Gilgamesh the king, so now he has related your abominable behaviour, your foul and hideous acts.' 

Ishtar opened her mouth and said again, ‘My father, give me the Bull of Heaven to destroy Gilgamesh. Fill 
Gilgamesh, I say, with arrogance to his destruction; but if you refuse to give me the Bull of Heaven I will break in the 
doors of hell and smash the bolts; there will be confusion of people, those above with those from the lower depths. I shall 
bring up the dead to eat food like the living; and the hosts of dead will outnumber the living.' Anusa d to great Ishtar, ‘If I 
do what you desire there will be seven years of drought throughout Uruk when corn will be seedless husks. Have you 
saved grain enough for the people and grass for the cattle? Ishtar replied. ‘I have saved grain for the people, grass for the 
cattle; for seven years o£ seedless husks' there is grain and there is grass enough.' 

When Anu heard what Ishtar had said he gave her the Bull of Heaven to lead by the halter down to Uruk: When they 
reached the gates of Uruk the Bull went to the river; with his first snort cracks opened in the earth and, a hundred young 
men fell down to death. With his second snort cracks opened and two hundred fell down to death. With his third snort 
cracks opened, Enkidu doubled over but instantly recovered, he dodged aside and leapt on the Bull and seized it by the 
horns. The Bull of Heaven foamed in his face, it brushed him with the thick of its tail. Enkidu cried to Gilgamesh, 'my 
friend, we boasted that we would .leave enduring names behind us. Now thrust in your sword between the nape and the 
horns.' So Gilgamesh followed the Bull, he seized the thick of its tail, he thrust the sword between the nape and the horns 
and slew the Bull. When they had killed the Bull of Heaven they cut out its heart and gave it to Shamash, and the brothers 
rested. 


12 



The Epic Of Gilgamesh 


But Ishtar rose tip and mounted the great wall of Uruk; she sprang on to the tower and uttered a curse: ‘Woe to 
Gilgamesh, for he has scorned me in killing the Bull of Heaven.' When Enkidu heard these words he tore out the Bull's 
right thigh and tossed it in her face saying, ‘If 1 could lay my hands on you, it is this I should do to you, and lash the 
entrails to your side.' Then Ishtar called together her people, the dancing and singing girls, the prostitutes of the temple, 
the courtesans. Over the thigh of the Bull of Heaven she set up lamentation. 

But Gilgamesh called the smiths and the armourers, all of them together. They admired the immensity of the horns. 
They were plated with lapis lazuli two fingers thick. They were thirty pounds each in weight, and their capacity in oil was 
six measures, which he gave to his guardian god, Lugulbanda. But he carried the horns into the palace and hung them on 
the wall. Then they washed their hands in Euphrates, they embraced each other and went away. They drove through the 
streets of Uruk where the heroes were gathered to see them, and Gilgamesh called to the singing girls, ‘Who is most 
glorious of the heroes, who is most eminent among men?' ‘Gilgamesh is the most glorious of heroes, Gilgamesh is most 
eminent among men.' And now there was feasting, and celebrations and joy in the palace, till the heroes lay down saying, 
‘Now we will rest for the night.' 

When the daylight came Enkidu got up and cried to Gilgamesh, ‘O my brother, such a dream 1 had last night. Anu, 
Enlil, Ea and heavenly Shamash took counsel together, and Anu said to Enlil, "Because they have killed the Bull of 
Heaven, and because they have killed Humbaba who guarded the Cedar Mountain one of the two must , die." Then 
glorious Shamash answered the hero Enlil, "It was by your command they killed the Bull of Heaven, and killed Humbaba, 
and must Enkidu die although innocent?" Enlil flung round in rage at glorious Shamash, "You dare to say this, you who 
went about with them every day like one of themselves!"' 

So Enkidu lay stretched out before Gilgamesh; his tears ran down in streams and he said to Gilgamesh, ' O my 
brother, so dear as you are to me, brother, yet they will take me from you.' Again he said, T must sit down on the threshold 
of the dead and never again will I see my dear brother with my eyes.' 

While Enkidu lay alone in his sickness he cursed the gate as though it was living flesh, ‘You there, wood of the 
gate, dull and insensible, witless, I searched for you over twenty leagues until I saw the towering cedar. There is no wood 
like you in our land. Seventy -two cubits high and twenty-four wide, the pivot and the ferrule and the jambs are perfect. A 
master craftsman from Nippur has made you; but O, if I had known the conclusion! If I had known that this was all the 
good that would come of it, I would have raised the axe and split you into little pieces and set up here a gate of wattle 
instead. Ah, if only some future king had brought you here, or some god- had fashioned you. Let him obliterate my name 
and write his own, and the curse fall on him instead of on Enkidu.' 

With the first brightening of dawn Enkidu raised his head and wept before the Sun God, in the brilliance of the 
sunlight his tears streamed down. ‘Sun God, I beseech you, about that vile Trapper, that Trapper of nothing because of 
whom I was to catch less than my comrade; let him catch least, make his game scarce, make him feeble, taking the smaller 
of every share, let his quarry escape from his nets.' 

When he had cursed the Trapper to his heart's content he turned on the harlot. He was roused to curse her also. ‘As 
for you, woman, with a great curse I curse you! I will promise you a destiny to all eternity. My curse shall come on you 
soon and sudden. You shall be without a roof for your commerce, for you shall not keep house with other girls in the 
tavern, but do your business in places fouled by the vomit of the drunkard. Your hire will be potter's earth, your thievings 
will be flung into the hovel, you will sit at the cross-roads in the dust of the potter's quarter, you will make your bed on the 
dunghill at night, and by day take your stand in the wall's shadow. Brambles and thorns will tear your feet, the drunk and 
the dry will strike your cheek and your mouth will ache. Let you be stripped of your purple dyes, for I too once in the 
wilderness with my wife had all the treasure I wished.' 

When Shamash heard the words of Enkidu he called to him from heaven: ‘Enkidu, why are you cursing the woman, 
the mistress who taught you to eat bread fit for gods and drink wine of kings? She who put upon you a ‘magnificent 
garment, did she not give you glorious Gilgamesh for your companion, and has not Gilgamesh, your own brother, made 
you rest on a 'royal bed and recline on a couch at his left hand? He has made the princes of the earth kiss your feet, and 
now all the people of Uruk lament and wail over you. When you are dead he will let his hair grow long for your sake, he 
will wear a lion's pelt and wander through the desert.' 

When Enkidu heard glorious Shamash his angry heart grew quiet, he called back the curse and said, ‘Woman, I 
promise you another destiny. The mouth which cursed you shall bless you! Kings, princes and nobles shall adore you. On 
your account a man though twelve miles off will clap his hand to his thigh and his hair will twitch. For you he will undo 
his belt and open his treasure and you shall have your desire; lapis lazuli, gold and' carnelian from the heap in the treasury. 
A ring for your hand and a robe shall be yours. The priest will lead you into the presence of the gods. On your account a 
wife, a mother of seven, was forsaken.' 

As Enkidu slept alone in his sickness, in bitterness of spirit he poured out his heart to his friend. 'It was I who cut 
down the cedar, I who levelled the forest, I who slew Humbaba and now see what has become of me. Listen, my friend, 
this is the dream I dreamed last night. The heavens roared, and earth rumbled back an answer; between them stood I 


13 



The Epic Of Gilgamesh 


before an awful being, the sombre-faced man-bird; he had directed on me his purpose. His was a vampire face, his foot 
was a lion's foot, his hand was an eagle's talon. He fell on me and his claws were in my hair, he held me fast and I 
smothered; then he transformed me so that my arms became wings covered with feathers. He turned his stare towards me, 
and he led me away to the palace of Irkalla, the Queen of Darkness, to the house from which none who enters ever returns, 
down the road from which there is no coming back. 

‘There is the house whose people sit in darkness; dust is their food and clay their meat. They are clothed like birds " 
with wings for covering, they see no light, they sit in darkness. I entered the house of dust and I saw the kings of the earth, 
their crowns put away for ever; rulers and princes, all those who once wore kingly crowns and ruled the world in the days 
of old. They who had stood in the place of the gods like Ann and Enlil stood now like servants to fetch baked meats in the 
house of dust, to carry cooked meat and cold water from the water-skin. In the house of dust which I entered were high 
priests and acolytes, priests of the incantation and of ecstasy; there were servers of the temple, and there was Etana, that 
king of Dish whom the eagle carried to heaven in the days of old. I saw also Samuqan, god of cattle, and there was 
Ereshkigal the Queen of the Underworld; and Befit-Sheri squatted in front of her, she who is recorder of the gods and 
keeps the book of death. She held a tablet from which she read. She raised her head, she saw me and spoke:" Who has 
brought this one here?" Then I awoke like a man drained of blood who wanders alone in a waste of rashes; like one 
whom the bailiff has seized and his heart pounds with terror.' 

Gilgamesh had peeled off his clothes, he listened to his words and wept quick tears, Gilgamesh listened and his tears 
flowed. He opened his mouth and spoke to Enkidu: ‘Who is there in strong-walled Uruk who has wisdom like this? 
Strange things have been spoken, why does your heart speak strangely? The dream was marvellous but the terror was 
great; we must treasure the dream whatever the terror; for the dream has shown that misery comes at last to the healthy 
man, the end of life is sorrow.' And Gilgamesh lamented, ‘Now I will pray to the great gods, for my friend had an 
ominous dream.' 

This day on which Enkidu dreamed came to an end and be lay stricken with sickness. One whole day he lay on his 
bed and his suffering increased. He said to Gilgamesh, the friend on whose account he had left the wilderness, 'Once I ran 
for you, for the water of life, and I now have nothing:' A second day he lay on his bed and Gilgamesh watched over him 
but the sickness increased. A third day he lay on his bed, he called out to Gilgamesh, rousing him up. Now he was weak 
and his eyes were blind with weeping. Ten days he lay and his suffering increased, eleven and twelve days he lay on his 
bed of pain. Then he called to Gilgamesh, 'My friend, the great goddess cursed me and I must die in shame. I shall not die 
like a man fallen in battle; I feared to fall, but happy is the man who falls in the battle, for I must die in shame.' And 
Gilgamesh wept over Enkidu. With the first light of dawn he raised his voice and said to the counsellors of Uruk: 

‘Hear me, great ones of Uruk, 

I weep for Enkidu, my friend. 

Bitterly moaning like a woman mourning 
I weep for my brother. 

O Enkidu, my brother, 

You were the axe at my side, 

My hand's strength, the sword in my belt, 

The shield before me, 

A glorious robe, my fairest ornament; 

An evil Fate has robbed me. 

The wild ass and the gazelle 
That were father and mother, 

All long-tailed creatures that nourished you 
Weep for you, 

All the wild things of the plain and pastures; 

The paths that you loved in the forest of cedars 
Night and day murmur. 

Let the great ones of strong-walled Uruk 
Weep for you; 

Let the finger of blessing 
Be stretched out in mourning; 

Enkidu, young brother. Hark, 

There is an echo through all the country 
Like a mother mourning. 

Weep all the paths where we walked together; 


14 



The Epic Of Gilgamesh 


And the beasts we hunted, the bear and hyena, 

Tiger and panther, leopard and lion, 

The stag and the ibex, the bull and the doe. 

The river along whose banks we used to walk, 

Weeps for you, 

Ula of Elam and dear Euphrates 

Where once we drew water for the water-skins. 

The mountain we climbed where we slew the Watchman, 

Weeps for you. 

The warriors of strong-walled Uruk 
Where the Bull of Heaven was killed, 

Weep for you. 

All the people ofEridu 
Weep for you Enkidu. 

Those who brought grain for your eating 
Mourn for you now; 

Who rubbed oil on your back 
Mourn for you now; 

Who poured beer for your drinking 
Mourn for you now. 

The harlot who anointed you with fragrant ointment 
Laments for you now; 

The women of the palace, who brought you a wife, 

A chosen ring of good advice, 

Lament for you now. 

And the young men your brothers 
As though they were women 
Go long-haired in mourning. 

What is this sleep which holds you now? 

You are lost in the dark and cannot hear me. ' 

He touched his heart but it did not beat, nor did he lift his eyes again. When Gilgamesh touched his heart it did not 
beat. So Gilgamesh laid a veil, as one veils the bride, over his friend. He began to rage like a lion, like a lioness robbed of 
her whelps. This way and that he paced round the bed, he tore out his hair and strewed it around. He dragged of his 
splendid robes and flung them down as though they were abominations. 

In the first light of dawn Gilgamesh cried out, ‘I made you rest on a royal bed, you reclined on a couch at my left 
hand, the princes of the earth kissed your feet. 1 will cause all the people of Uruk to weep over you and raise the dirge of 
the dead. The joyful people will stoop with sorrow; and when you have gone to the earth I will let my hair grow long for 
your sake, 1 will wander through the wilderness in the skin of a lion.' The next day also, in the first light, Gilgamesh 
lamented; seven days and seven nights he wept for Enkidu, until the worm fastened on him. Only then he gave him up to 
the earth, for the Anunnaki, the judges, had seized him. 

Then Gilgamesh issued a proclamation through the land, he summoned them all, the coppersmiths, the goldsmiths, 
the stone-workers, and commanded them, ‘Make a statue of my friend.' The statue was fashioned with a great weight of 
lapis lazuli for the breast and of gold for the body. A table of hard-wood was set out, and on it a bowl of carnelian filled 
with honey, and a bowl of lapis lazuli filled with butter. These he exposed and offered to the Sun; and weeping he went 
away. 


15 



The Epic Of Gilgamesh 


4 

THE SEARCH FOR EVERLASTING LIFE 

BITTERLY Gilgamesh wept for his friend Enkidu; he wandered over the wilderness as a hunter, he roamed over 
the plains; in his bitterness he cried, ‘How can I rest, how can I be at peace? Despair is in my heart. What my brother is 
now, that shall I be when I am dead. Because I am afraid of death I will go as best I can to find Utnapishtim whom they 
call the Faraway, for he has entered the assembly of the gods.' So Gilgamesh travelled over the wilderness, he wandered 
over the grasslands, a long journey, in search of Utnapishtim, whom the gods took after the deluge; and they set him to 
live in the land of Dilmun, in the garden of the sun; and to him alone of men they gave everlasting life. 

At night when he came to the mountain passes Gilgamesh prayed: ‘In these mountain passes long ago I saw lions, I 
was afraid and I lifted my eyes to the moon; I prayed and my prayers went up to the gods, so now, O moon god Sin, 
protect me.' When he had prayed he lay down to sleep, until he was woken from out of a dream. He saw the lions round 
him glorying in life; then he took his axe in his hand, he drew his sword from his belt, and he fell upon them like an arrow 
from the string, and struck and destroyed and scattered them. 

So at length Gilgamesh came to Mashu, the great mountains about which he had heard many things, which guard the 
rising and the setting sun. Its twin peaks are as high as the wall of heaven and its paps reach down to the underworld. At its 
gate the Scorpions stand guard, half man and half dragon; their glory is terrifying, their stare strikes death into men, their 
shimmering halo sweeps the mountains that guard the rising sun. When Gilgamesh saw them he shielded his eyes for the 
length of a moment only; then he took courage and approached. When they saw him so undismayed the Man-Scorpion 
called to his mate, ‘This one who comes to us now is flesh of the gods.' The mate of the Man-Scorpion answered, ‘Two 
thirds is god but one third is man.' 

Then he called to the man Gilgamesh, he called to the child of the gods: ‘ Why have you come so great a journey; 
for what have you travelled so far, crossing the dangerous waters; tell me the reason for your coming?’ Gilgamesh 
answered, ‘For Enkidu; 1 loved him dearly, together we endured all kinds of hardships; on his account I have come, for the 
common lot of man has taken him. I have wept for him day and night, I would not give up his body for burial, I thought 
my friend would come back because of my weeping. Since he went, my life is nothing; that is why I have travelled here in 
search of Utnapishtim my father; for men say he has entered the assembly of the gods, and has found everlasting life: I 
have a desire to question him, concerning the living and the dead.’ The Man-Scorpion opened his mouth and said, 
speaking to Gilgamesh, ‘No man born of woman has done what you have asked, no mortal man has gone into the 
mountain; the length of it is twelve leagues of darkness; in it there is no light, but the heart is oppressed with darkness. 
From the rising of the sun to the setting of the sun there is no light. 1 Gilgamesh said, ‘Although I should go in sorrow and 
in pain, with sighing and with weeping, still I must go. Open the gate 1 of the mountain:’ And the Man-Scorpion said, ‘Go, 
Gilgamesh, I permit you to pass through the mountain of Mashu and through the high ranges; may your feet carry you 
safely home. The gate of the mountain is open.’ 

When Gilgamesh heard this he did as the Man-Scorpion had said, he followed the sun’s road to his rising, through 
the mountain. When he had gone one league the darkness became thick around him, for there was no light, he could see 
nothing ahead and nothing behind him. After two leagues the darkness was thick and there was no light, he could see 
nothing ahead and nothing behind him. After three leagues the darkness was thick, and there was no w light, he could see 
nothing ahead and nothing behind him. After four leagues the darkness was thick and there was no light, he could see 
nothing ahead and nothing behind him. At the end of five leagues the darkness was thick and there was no light, he could 
see nothing ahead and nothing behind him. At the end of six leagues the darkness was thick and there was no light, he 
could see nothing ahead and nothing behind him. When he had gone seven leagues the darkness was thick and there was 
no light, he could see nothing ahead and nothing behind him. When he had gene eight leagues Gilgamesh gave a great cry, 
for the darkness was thick and he could see nothing ahead and nothing behind him. After nine leagues he felt the north- 
wind on his face, but the darkness was thick and there was no light, he could see nothing ahead and nothing behind him. 
After ten leagues the end was near: After eleven leagues the dawn light appeared. At the end of twelve leagues the sun 
streamed out. 

There was the garden of the gods; all round him stood bushes bearing gems. Seeing it he went down at once, for 
there was fruit of carnelian with the vine hanging from it, beautiful to look at; lapis lazuli leaves hung thick with fruit, 
sweet to see. For thorns and thistles there were haematite and rare stones, agate, and pearls from out of the sea. While 
Gilgamesh walked in the garden by the edge of the sea Shamash saw him, and he saw that he was dressed in the skins of 
animals and ate their flesh. He was distressed, and he spoke and said, ‘No mortal man has gone this way before, nor will, 
as long as the winds drive over the sea.’ And to Gilgamesh he said, ‘You will never find the life for which you are 


16 



The Epic Of Gilgamesh 


searching.' Gilgamesh said to glorious Shamash, ‘Now that 1 have toiled and strayed so far over the wilderness, am I to 
sleep, and let the earth cover my head for ever? Let my eyes see the sun until they are dazzled with looking. Although I am 
no better than a dead man, still let me see the light of the sun.' 

Beside the sea she lives, the woman of the vine, the maker, of wine; Siduri sits in the garden at the edge of the sea, 
with the golden bowl and the golden vats that the gods gave her. She is covered with a veil; and where she sits she sees 
Gilgamesh coming towards her, wearing skins, the flesh of the gods in his body, but despair in his heart, and his face like 
the face of one who has made a long journey. She looked, and as she scanned the distance she said in her own heart, 
‘Surely this is some felon; where is he going now? And she barred her gate against him with the cross-bar and shot home 
the bolt. But Gilgamesh, hearing the sound of the bolt, threw up his head and lodged his foot in the gate; he called to her, 
‘Young woman, maker of wine, why do you bolt your door; what did you see that made you bar your gate? 1 will break in 
your door and burst in your gate, for I am Gilgamesh who seized and killed the Bull of Heaven, I killed the watchman of 
the cedar forest, I overthrew Humbaba who lived in the forest, and I killed the lions in the passes of the mountain.' 

Then Siduri said to him, ’If you are that Gilgamesh who seized and killed the Bull of Heaven, who killed the 
watchman of the cedar forest, who overthrew Humbaba that lived in the forest, and killed the lions in the passes of the 
mountain, why are your cheeks so starved and why is your face so drawn? Why is despair in your heart and your face like 
the face of one who has made a long journey? Yes, why is your face burned from heat and cold, and why do you come 
here wandering over the pastures in search of the wind? 

Gilgamesh answered her, ‘And why should not my cheeks be starved and my face drawn? Despair is in my heart and 
my face is the face of one who has made a long journey, it was burned with heat and with cold. Why should I not wander 
over the pastures in search of the wind? My friend, my younger brother, he who hunted the wild ass of the wilderness and 
the panther of the plains, nay friend, my younger brother who seized and killed the Bull of Heaven and overthrew 
Humbaba in the cedar forest, my friend who was very dear to me and who endured dangers beside me, Enkidu my 
brother, whom I laved, the end of mortality has overtaken him. I wept far him seven days and nights till the worm fastened 
on him. Because of my brother I am afraid of death, because of my brother I stray through the wilderness and cannot rest. 
But now, young woman, maker of wine, since I have seen your face do not let me see the face of death which I dread so 
much.' 

She answered, ‘Gilgamesh, where are you hurrying to? You will never find that life for which you are looking. 
When the gods created man they allotted to him death, but life they retained in their own keeping. As for you, Gilgamesh, 
fill your belly with good things; day and night, night and day, dance and be merry, feast and rejoice. Let your clothes be 
fresh, bathe yourself in water, cherish the little child that holds your hand, and make your wife happy in your embrace; for 
this too is the lot of man.' 

But Gilgamesh said to Siduri, the young woman, ‘How can I be silent, how can 1 rest, when Enkidu whom 1 love is 
dust, and I too shall die and be laid in the earth. You live by the sea-shore and look into the heart of it; young woman, tell 
me now, which is the way to Utnapishtim, the son of Ubara-Tutu? What directions are there for the passage; give me, oh, 
give me directions. I will cross the Ocean if it is possible; if it is not I will wander still farther in the wilderness.' The wine- 
maker said to him, 'Gilgamesh, there is no crossing the Ocean; whoever has come, since the days of old, has not been able 
to pass that sea. The Sun in his glory crosses the Ocean, but who beside Shamash has ever crossed it? The place and the 
passage are difficult, and the waters of death are deep which flow between. Gilgamesh, how will you cross the Ocean? 
When you come to the waters of death what will you do? But Gilgamesh, down in the woods you will find Urshanabi, the 
ferryman of Utnapishtim; with him are the holy things, the things of stone. He is fashioning the serpent prow of the boat. 
Look at him well, and if it is possible, perhaps you will cross the waters with him; but if it is not possible, then you must 
go back.' 

When Gilgamesh heard this he was seized with anger. He took his axe in his hand, and his dagger from his belt. He 
crept forward and he fell on them like a javelin. Then he went into the forest and sat down. Urshanabi saw the dagger flash 
and heard the axe, and he beat his head, for Gilgamesh had shattered the tackle of the boat in his rage. Urshanabi said to 
him, ‘Tell me, what is your name? I am Urshanabi, the ferryman of Utnapishtim the Faraway." He replied to him, 
‘Gilgamesh is my name, I am from Uruk, from the house of Anu.' Then Urshanabi said to him, ‘Why are your cheeks so 
starved and your face drawn? Why is despair in your heart and your face like the face of one who has made a long 
journey; yes, why is your face burned with heat and with cold, and why do you come here wandering over the pastures in 
search of the wind? 

Gilgamesh said to him, ‘Why should not my cheeks be starved and my face drawn? Despair is in my heart, and my 
face is the face of one who has made a long journey. I was burned with heat and with cold. Why should I not wander over 
the pastures? My friend, my younger brother who seized and killed the Bull of Heaven, and overthrew Humbaba in the 
cedar forest, my friend who was very dear to me, and who endured dangers beside me, Enkidu my brother whom I loved, 
the end of mortality has overtaken him. I wept for him seven days and nights till the worm fastened on him. Because of 
my brother I am afraid of death, because of my brother I stray through the wilderness. His fate lies heavy upon me. How 


17 



The Epic Of Gilgamesh 


can I be silent, how can I rest? He is dust and I too shall die and be laid in the earth for ever. I am afraid of death, therefore, 
Urshanabi, tell me which is the road to Utnapishtim? If it is possible I will cross the waters of death; if not I will wander 
still farther through the wilderness.' 

Urshanabi said to him, ‘Gilgamesh, your own hands have prevented you from crossing the Ocean; when you 
destroyed the tackle of the boat you destroyed its safety.' Then the two of them talked it over and Gilgamesh said, ‘Why 
are you so angry with me, Urshanabi, for you yourself cross the sea by day and night, at all seasons you cross it' 
‘Gilgamesh, those things you destroyed, their property is to carry me over the water, to prevent the waters of death from 
touching me. It was for this reason that I preserved them, but you have destroyed them, and the urnu snakes with them. 
But now, go into the forest, Gilgamesh; with your axe cut poles, one hundred and twenty, cut them sixty cubits long, paint 
them with bitumen, set on them ferrules and bring them back.' 

When Gilgamesh heard this he went into the forest, he cut poles one hundred and twenty; he cut them sixty cubits 
long, he painted them with bitumen, he set on them ferrules, and he brought them to Urshanabi. Then they boarded the 
boat, Gilgamesh and Urshanabi together, launching it out on the waves of Ocean. For three days they ran on as it were a 
journey of a month and fifteen days, and at last Urshanabi brought the boat to the waters of death: Then Urshanabi said to 
Gilgamesh, ‘Press on, take a pole and thrust it in, but do not let your hands touch the waters. Gilgamesh, take a second 
pole, take a third, take a fourth pole. Now, Gilgamesh, take a fifth, take a sixth and seventh pole. Gilgamesh, take an 
eighth, and ninth, a tenth pole. Gilgamesh, take an eleventh, take a twelfth pole.' After one hundred and twenty thrusts 
Gilgamesh had used the last pole. Then he stripped himself, he held up his arms for a mast and his covering for a sail. So 
Urshanabi the ferryman brought Gilgamesh to Utnapishtim, whom they call the Faraway, who lives in Dihnun at the place 
of the sun's transit, eastward of the mountain. To him alone of men the gods had given everlasting life. 

Now Utnapishtim, where he lay at ease, looked into the distance and he said in his heart, musing to himself, ‘Why 
does the boat sail here without tackle and mast; why are the sacred stones destroyed, and why does the master not sail 
the boat? That man who comes is none of mine; where I look I see a man whose body is covered with skins of beasts. 
Who is this who walks up the shore behind Urshanabi, for surely he is no man of mine? So Utnapishtim looked at him and 
said, ‘What is your name, you who come here wearing the skins of beasts, with your cheeks starved and your face drawn? 
Where are you hurrying to now? For what reason have you made this great journey, crossing "the seas whose passage is 
difficult? Tell me the reason for your coming.’ 

He replied, ’Gilgamesh is my name. I am from Uruk, from the house of Anu.’ Then Utnapishtim said to him, ‘If you 
are Gilgamesh, why are your cheeks so starved and your face drawn? Why is despair in your heart and your face like the 
face of one who has made a long journey? Yes, why is your face burned with heat and cold; and why do you come here, 
wandering over the wilderness in search of the wind? 

Gilgamesh said to him, ‘Why should not my cheeks be starved and my face drawn? Despair is in my heart and my 
face is the face of one who has made a long journey. It was burned with heat and with cold. Why should I not wander over 
the pastures? My friend, my younger brother who seized and killed the Bull of Heaven and overthrew Humbaba in the 
cedar forest, my friend who was very dear to me and endured dangers beside me, Enkidu, my brother whom I loved, the 
end of mortality has overtaken him. I wept for him seven days and nights till the worm fastened on him. Because of my 
brother I am afraid of death; because of my brother I stray through the wilderness. His fate lies heavy upon me. How can I 
be silent, how can I rest? He is dust and I shall die also and be laid in the . earth for ever.’ Again Gilgamesh said, speaking 
to Utnapishtim, ‘It is to see Utnapishtim whom we call the Faraway that I have come this journey. For. this 1 have 
wandered over the world, I have crossed many difficult ranges, I have crossed the seas, I have wearied myself with 
travelling; my joints are aching, and I have lost acquaintance with sleep which is sweet. My clothes were worn out before 
I came to the house of Siduri. I have killed the bear and hyena, the lion and panther, the tiger, the stag and the ibex, all 
sorts of wild game and the small creatures of the pastures. I ate their flesh and I wore their skins; and that was how I came 
to the gate of the young woman, the maker of wine, who barred her gate of pitch and bitumen against me. But from her I 
had news of the journey; so then I came to Urshanabi the ferryman, and with him I crossed over the waters of death. Oh, 
father Utnapishtim, you who have entered the assembly of the gods, I wish to question you concerning the living and the 
dead, how shall I find the life for which I am searching? 

Utnapishtim said, ‘There is no permanence. Do we build a house to stand for ever, do we seal a contract to hold for 
all time? Do brothers divide an inheritance to keep for ever, does the flood-time of rivers endure? It is only the nymph of 
the dragon-fly who sheds her larva and sees the sun in his glory. From the days of old there is no permanence. The 
sleeping and the dead, how alike they are, they are like a painted death. What is there between the master and the servant 
when both have fulfilled their doom? When the Anunnaki, the judges, come together, and Mammetun the mother of 
destinies, together they decree the fates of men. Life and death they allot but the day of death they do not disclose.’ 

Then Gilgamesh said to Utnapishtim the Faraway, ‘I look at you now, Utnapishtim, and your appearance is no 
different from mine; there is nothing strange in your features. I thought I should find- you like a hero prepared for battle, 
but you he here taking your ease on your back. Tell me truly, how was it that you came to enter the company of the gods 


18 



The Epic Of Gilgamesh 


and to possess everlasting life?' Utnapishtim said to Gilgamesh, ‘I will reveal to you a mystery, I will tell you a secret of 
the gods.' 


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The Epic Of Gilgamesh 


5 

THE STORY OF THE FLOOD 

‘You know the city Shurrupak, it stands on the banks of Euphrates? That city grew old and the gods that were in it 
were old. There was Anu,-lord of the firmament, their father, and warrior Enlil their counsellor, Ninurta the helper, and 
Ennugi watcher over canals; and with them also was Ea. In those days the world teemed, the people multiplied, the world 
bellowed like a wild bull, and the great god was aroused by the clamour. Enlil heard the clamour and he said to the gods in 
council, "The uproar of mankind is intolerable and sleep is no longer possible by reason of the babel." So the gods agreed 
to exterminate mankind. Enlil did this, but Ea because of his oath warned me in a dream. He whispered their words to my 
house of reeds, "Reed-house, reed-house! Wall, O wall, hearken reed-house, wall reflect; O man of Shurrupak, son of 
Ubara-Tutu; tear down your house and build a boat, abandon possessions and look for life, despise worldly goods and save 
your soul alive. Tear down your house, I say, and build a boat. These are the measurements of the barque as you shall 
build her: let hex beam equal her length, let her deck be roofed like the vault that covers the abyss; then take up into the 
boat the seed of all living creatures." 

‘When 1 had understood I said to my lord, 

"Behold, what you have commanded I will honour 
and perform, but how shall I answer the people, the 
city, the elders?" Then Ea opened his mouth and said 
to me, his servant, "Tell them this: I have learnt that 
Enlil is wrathful against me, I dare no longer walk in 
his land nor live in his city; I will go down to the 
Gulf to dwell with Ea my lord. But on you he will 
rain down abundance, rare fish and shy wild-fowl, a 
rich harvest-tide. In the evening the rider of the storm 
will bring you wheat in torrents." 

‘In the first light of dawn all my household 
gathered round me, the children brought pitch and 
the men whatever was necessary. On the fifth day I 
laid the keel and the ribs, then I made fast the 
planking. The ground-space was one acre, each side 
of the deck measured one hundred and twenty cubits, 
making a square. I built six decks below, seven in all, 

I divided them into nine sections with bulkheads 
between. I drove in wedges where needed, I saw to 
the punt poles, and laid in supplies. The carriers 
brought oil in baskets, I poured pitch into the furnace 
and asphalt and oil; more oil was consumed in 
caulking, and more again the master of the boat took 
into his stores. I slaughtered bullocks for the people 
and every day I killed sheep. I gave the shipwrights 
wine to drink as though it were river water, raw wine 
and red wine and oil and white wine. There was 
feasting then as -there is at the time of the New Year's festival; I myself anointed my head. On the seventh day the boat 
was complete. 

-’Then was the launching full of difficulty; there was shifting of ballast above and below till two thirds was 
submerged. I loaded into her all that 1 had of gold and of living things, my family, my kin, the beast of the field both wild 
and tame, and all the craftsmen. I sent them on board, for the time that Shamash had ordained was already fulfilled 
when he said, "in the evening, when the rider of the storm sends down the destroying rain, enter the boat and batten 
her down." The time was fulfilled, the evening came, the rider of the storm sent down the rain. I looked out at the 
weather and it was terrible, so I too boarded the boat and battened her down. All was now complete, the battening 
and the caulking; so I handed the tiller to Puzur-Amurri the steersman, with the navigation and the care of the whole 
boat. 



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The Epic Of Gilgamesh 


‘With the first light of dawn a black cloud came from the horizon; it thundered within where Adad, lord of the 
storm was riding. In front over hill and plain Shullat and Hanish, heralds of the storm, led on. Then the gods of the 
abyss rose up; Nergal pulled out the dams of the nether waters, Ninurta the war-lord threw down the dykes, and the 
seven judges of hell, the Annunaki, raised their torches, lighting the land with their livid flame. A stupor of despair 
went up to heaven when the god of the storm turned daylight to darkness, when he smashed the land like a cup. One 
whole day the tempest raged, gathering fury as .it went, it poured over the people like the tides of battle; a imam 
could not see his brother nor the people be seen from heaven. Even the gods were terrified at the flood, they fled to 
the highest heaven, the firmament of Ann; they crouched against the walls, cowering like curs. Then Ishtar the 
sweet-voiced Queen of Heaven cried out like a woman in travail: "Alas the days -of old are turned to dust because I 
commanded evil; why did I command thus evil in the council of all the gods? I commanded wars to destroy the 
people, but are they not my people, for I brought them forth? Now like the spawn of fish they float in the ocean." 
The great gods of heaven and of hell wept, they covered their mouths. 

‘For six days and six nights the winds blew, torrent and tempest and flood overwhelmed the world, tempest 
and flood raged together like warring hosts. When the seventh day dawned the storm from the south subsided, the 
sea grew calm, the, flood was stilled; I looked at the face of the world and there was silence, all mankind was turned 
to clay. The surface of the sea stretched as flat as a roof-top; 1 opened a hatch and the light fell on my face. Then I 
bowed low, I sat down and I wept, the tears streamed down my face, for on every side was the waste of water. I 
looked for land in vain, but fourteen leagues distant there appeared a mountain, and there the boat grounded; on the 
mountain of Nisir the boat held fast, she held fast and did not budge. One day she held, and -a second day on the 
mountain of Nisir she held fast and did not budge. A third day, and a fourth day she held fast on the mountain and 
did not budge; a fifth day and a sixth day she held fast on the mountain. When the seventh day dawned I loosed a 
dove and let her go. She flew away, but finding no resting-place she returned. Then I loosed a swallow, and she flew 
away but finding no resting-place she returned. I loosed a raven, she saw that the waters had retreated, she ate, she 
flew around, she cawed, and she did not come back. Then I threw everything open to the four winds, I made a 
sacrifice and poured out a libation on the mountain top. Seven and again seven cauldrons I set up on their stands, I 
heaped up wood and cane and cedar and myrtle. When the gods smelled the sweet savour, they gathered like flies 
over the sacrifice. Then, at last, Ishtar also came, she lifted her necklace with the jewels of heaven that once Anu 
had made to please her. "O you gods here present, by the lapis lazuli round my neck I shall remember these days as I 
remember the jewels of my throat; these last days I shall not forget. Let all the gods gather round the sacrifice, except 
Enlil. He shall not approach this offering, for without reflection he brought the flood; he consigned my people to 
destruction." 

‘When Enlil had come, when he saw the boat, he was wrath and swelled with anger at the gods, the host of heaven, 
"Has any of these mortals escaped? Not one was to have survived the destruction." Then the god of the wells and canals 
Ninurta opened his mouth and said to the warrior Enlil, "Who is there of the gods that can devise without Ea? It is Ea 
alone who knows all things." Then Ea opened his mouth and spoke to warrior Enlil, "Wisest of gods, hero Enlil, how 
could you so senselessly bring down the flood? 

Lay upon the sinner his sin, 

Lay upon the transgressor his transgression, 

Punish him a little when he breaks loose, 

Do not drive him too hard or he perishes, 

Would that a lion had ravaged mankind 
Rather than the f loud, 

Would that a wolf had ravaged mankind 
Rather than the flood, 

Would that famine had wasted the world 
Rather than the flood, 

Would that pestilence had wasted mankind 
Rather than the flood. 

It was not I that revealed the secret of the gods; the wise man learned it in a dream. Now take your counsel 
what shall be done with him." 

‘Then Enlil went up into the boat, he took me by the hand and my wife and made us enter the boat and kneel down 
on either side, he standing between us. He touched our foreheads to bless us saying, "In time past Utnapishtim was a 
mortal man; henceforth he and his wife shall live in the distance at the mouth of the rivers." Thus it was that the gods took 
me and placed me here to live in the distance, at the mouth of the rivers.' 


21 



The Epic Of Gilgamesh 


6 

THE RETURN 

UTNAPISHTIM said, ‘As for you, Gilgamesh, who will assemble the gods for your sake, so that you may find that 
life for which you are searching? But if you wish, come and put into the test: only prevail against sleep for six days and 
seven nights.' But while Gilgamesh sat there resting on his haunches, a mist of sleep like soft wool teased from the fleece 
drifted over him, and Utnapishtim said to his wife, ‘Look at him now, the strong man who would have everlasting life, 
even now the mists of sleep are drifting over him.' His wife replied, ‘Touch the man to wake him, so that he may return to 
his own land in peace, going back through the gate by which he came.' Utnapishtim said to his wife, ‘All men are 
deceivers, even you he will attempt to deceive; therefore bake loaves of bread, each day one loaf, and put it beside his 
head; and make a mark on the wall to number the days he has slept.' 

So she baked loaves of bread, each day one loaf, and put it beside his head, and she marked on the wall the days that 
he slept; and there came a day when the first loaf was hard, the second loaf was like leather, the third was soggy, the crust 
of the fourth had mould, the fifth was mildewed, the sixth was fresh, and the seventh was still on the embers. Then 
Utnapishtim touched him and he woke. Gilgamesh said to Utnapishtim the Faraway, T hardly slept when you touched and 
roused me.' But Utnapishtim said, ‘Count these loaves and leam how many days you slept, for your first is hard, your 
second like leather, your third is soggy, the crust of your fourth has mould, your fifth is mildewed, your sixth is fresh and 
your seventh was still over the glowing embers when I touched and woke you.' Gilgamesh said, ‘What shall I do, O 
Utnapishtim, where shall I go? Already the thief in the night has hold of my limbs, death inhabits my room; wherever my 
foot rests, there I find death.' 

Then Utnapishtim spoke to Urshanabi the ferryman: ‘Woe to you Urshanabi, now and for ever more you have 
become hateful to this harbourage; it is not for you, nor for you are the crossings of this sea. Go now, banished from the 
shore. But this man before whom you walked, bringing him here, whose body is covered with foulness and the grace of 
whose limbs has been spoiled by wild skins, take him to the washing-place. There he shall wash his long hair clean as 
snow in the water, he shall throve off his skins and let the sea carry them away, and the beauty of his body shall be shown, 
the fillet on his forehead shall be renewed, and he shall be given clothes to cover his nakedness. Till he reaches his own 
city and his journey is accomplished, these clothes will show no sign of age, they will wear like a new garment.' So 
Urshanabi took Gilgamesh and led him to the washing-place, he washed his long hair as clean as snow in the water, he 
threw off his skins, which the sea carried away, and showed the beauty of his body. He renewed the fillet on his 
forehead, and to cover his nakedness gave him clothes which would show no sign of age, but would war like a new 
garment till he reached his own city, and his journey was accomplished. 

Then Gilgamesh and Urshanabi launched the boat on to the water and boarded it, and they made ready to sail away; 
but the wife of Utnapishtim the Faraway said to him, 'Gilgamesh came here wearied out, he is worn out; what will you 
give him to carry him back to his own country? So Utnapishtim spoke, and Gilgamesh took a pole and brought the boat in 
to the bank. 'Gilgamesh, you came here a man wearied out, you have worn yourself out; what shall I give you to carry 
you back to your own country? Gilgamesh, I shall reveal a secret thing, it is a mystery of the gods that I am telling you. 
There is a plant that grows under the water, it has a prickle like a thorn, like a rose; it will wound your hands, but if you 
succeed in taking it, then your hands will hold that which restores his lost youth to a man: 

When Gilgamesh heard this he opened the sluices so that a sweet water current might carry him out to the deepest 
channel; he tied heavy stones to his feet and they dragged him down to the water-bed. There he saw the plant growing;; 
although it pricked him he took it in his hands; then he cut the heavy stones from his feet, and the sea carried him and 
threw him on to the shore. Gilgamesh said to Urshanabi the ferryman, 'Come here, and see this marvellous plant. By its 
virtue a man may win back all his former strength. I will take it to Uruk of the strong walls; there I will give it to the old 
men to eat. Its name shall be "The Old Men Are Young Again"; and at last I shall eat it myself and have back all my lost 
youth.’ So Gilgamesh returned by the gate through which he had come, Gilgamesh and Urshanabi went together. They 
travelled their twenty leagues and then they broke their fast; after thirty leagues they stopped for the night. 

Gilgamesh saw a well of cool water and he went down and bathed; but deep in the pool there was lying a serpent, 
and the serpent sensed the sweetness of the flower. It rose out of the water and snatched it away, and immediately it 
sloughed its skin and returned to the well. Then Gilgamesh sat down and wept, the tears ran down his face, and he took the 
hand of Urshanabi; ‘O Urshanabi, was it for this that I toiled with my hands, is it for this I have wrung out my heart's 
blood? For myself I have gained nothing; not I, but the beast of the earth has joy of it now. Already the stream has carried 


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The Epic Of Gilgamesh 


it twenty leagues back to the channels where I found it. I found a sign and now I have lost it. Let us leave the boat on the 
bank and go.' 

After twenty leagues they broke their fast, after thirty leagues they stopped for the night; in three days they had 
walked as much as a journey of a month and fifteen days. When the journey was accomplished they arrived at Umk, the 
strong-walled city. Gilgamesh spoke to him, to Urshanabi the ferryman, ‘Urshanabi, climb up on to the wall of Umk, 
inspect its foundation terrace, and examine well the brickwork; see if it is not of burnt bricks; and did not the seven wise 
men lay these foundations? One third of the whole is city, one third is garden, and one third is field, with the precinct of 
the goddess Ishtar. These parts and the precinct are all Umk' 

This too was the work of Gilgamesh, the king, who knew the countries of the world. He was wise,, he saw mysteries 
and knew secret things, he brought us a tale of the days before the flood. He went a long journey, was weary, worn out 
with labour, and returning engraved on a stone the whole story. 


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The Epic Of Gilgamesh 


7 

THE DEATH OF GILGAMESH 

THE destiny was fulfilled which the father of the gods, Enlil of the mountain, had decreed for Gilgamesh: ‘In 
nether-earth the darkness will show him a light: of mankind, all that are known, none will leave a monument for 
generations to come to compare with his. The heroes, the wise men, like the new moon have their waxing and 
waning. Men will say, "Who has ever ruled with might and with power like him?" As in the dark month, the month 
of shadows, so without him there is no light. O Gilgamesh, this was the meaning of your dream. You were given 
the kingship, such was your destiny, everlasting life was not your destiny. Because of this do not be sad at heart, do 
not be grieved or oppressed; he has given you power to bind and to loose, to be the darkness and the light of 
mankind. He has given unexampled supremacy over the people, victory in battle from which no fugitive returns, in 
forays and assaults from which there is no going back. But do not abuse this power, deal justly with your servants in 
the palace, deal justly before the face of the Sun.' 

The king has laid himself down and will not rise again, 

The Lord of Kullab will not rise again; 

He overcame evil, he will not come again; 

Though he was strong of arm he will not rise again; 

He had wisdom and a comely face, he will not come again; 

He is gone into the mountain, he will not come again; 

On the bed of fate he lies, he will not rise again, 

Front the couch of many colours he will not come again. 

The people of the city, great and small, are not silent; they lift up, the lament, all men of flesh and blood lift up 
the lament. Fate has spoken; like a hooked fish he lies stretched on the bed, like a gazelle that is caught in a noose. 
Inhuman Namtar is heavy upon him, Namtar that has neither hand nor foot, that drinks no water and eats no meat. 

For Gilgamesh, son of Ninsun, they weighed out their offerings; his dear wife, his son, his concubine, his mu- 
sicians, his jester, and all his household; his servants, his stewards, all who lived in the palace weighed out their 
offerings for Gilgamesh the son of Ninsun, the heart of Uruk. They weighed out their offerings to Ereshkigal, the 
Queen of Death, and to all the gods of the dead. To Namtar, who is fate, they weighed out the offering. Bread for 
Ned the Keeper of the Gate, bread for Ningizzida the god of the serpent, the lord of the Tree of Life; for Dumuzi 
also, the young shepherd, for Enki and Ninki, for Endukugga and Nindukugga, for Enmul and Nimnul, all the 
ancestral gods, forbears of Enlil. A feast for Shulpae the god of feasting. For Samuqan, god of the herds, for die 
mother Ninhursag, and the gods of creation in the place of creation, for the host of heaven, priest and priestess 
weighed out the offering of the dead. 

Gilgamesh, the son of Ninsun, lies in the tomb. At the place of offerings he weighed the bread-offering, at the 
place of libation he poured out the wine. In those days the lord Gilgamesh departed, the son of Ninsun, the kung, 
peerless, without an equal among men, who did not neglect Enlil his master. O Gilgamesh, lord of Kullab, great is 
thy praise. 


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The Epic Of Gilgamesh 


GLOSSARY OF NAMES 

A SHORT description of the gods and of other persons and places mentioned in the Epic will be found in this 
Glossary. The gods were credited at different times with a variety of attributes and characteristics, sometimes 
contradictory; only such as are relevant to the material of the Gilgamesh Epic are given here. The small number of gods 
and other characters who play a more important part in the story are described in the introduction; in their case a page 
reference to this description is given at the end of the Glossary note. Cross-references to other entries in the Glossary are 
indicated by means of italics. 

AD AD: Storm-, rain-, and weather-god. 

ANUNNAKI; Usually gods of the underworld, judges of the dead and offspring of Anu. 

ANSHAN: A district of Elam in south-west Persia; probably the source o£ supplies of wood for making bows. 
Gilgamesh has a bow of Anshan'. 

ANTUM: Wife of Anu. 

ANU: Sumerian An; father of gods, and god of the firmament, the 'great above'. In the Sumerian cosmogony there 
was, first of all, the primeval sea, from which was born the cosmic mountain consisting of heaven, 'An', and earth, 'Ki'; 
they were separated by Enlil, then An carried off the heavens, and Enlil the earth. Ann later retreated more and more into 
the background; he had an important temple in Umk. 

APSU: The Abyss; the primeval waters under the earth; in the later mythology of the Enuma Elish, more 
particularly the sweet water which mingled with the bitter waters of the sea and with a third watery element, perhaps 
cloud, from which the first gods were engendered. The waters of Apsu were thought of as held immobile underground by 
the ’spell' of Ea in a death-like sleep. 

ARURU: A goddess of creation, she created Enkidu from clay in the image of Anu. 

AY A: The dawn, the bride of the Sun God Shamash. 

BELIT-SHER1: Scribe and recorder of the underworld gods: 

BULL of HEAVEN: A personification of drought created by Anu for Ishtar. 

DILMUN: The Sumerian paradise, perhaps the Persian Gulf; sometimes described as 'the place where the sun rises' 
and ’the Land of the Living’; the scene of a Sumerian creation myth and the place where the deified Sumerian hero of the 
flood, Ziusudra, was taken by the gods to live for ever. See p. 39. 

DUMUZI: The Sumerian form of Tammuz; a god of vegetation and fertility, and so of the underworld, also called 
’the Shepherd and ’lord of the sheepfolds’. As the companion of Ningizzida 'to all eternity’ he stands at the gate of heaven. 
In the Sumerian ’Descent of Inanna’ he is the husband of the goddess Inanna, the Sumerian counterpart of Ishtar. 
According to the Sumerian King-List Gilgamesh was descended from ’Dumuzi a shepherd’. 

EA: Sumerian Enki; god of the sweet waters, also of wisdom, a patron of arts and one of the creators of mankind, 
towards whom he is usually well-disposed. The chief god of Eridu, where he had a temple, he lived ‘in the deep’; his 
ancestry is uncertain, but he was probably a child of Anu. 

EANNA: The temple precinct in Urtik sacred to Anu and Ishtar. 

EGALMAH: The ’Great Palace’ in Uruk, the home of the goddess Ninsun, the mother of Gilgamesh. 

ENDUSUGGA: With Nindukugga, Sumerian gods living in the underworld; parents of Enlil. 

ENKIDU: Moulded by Arum, goddess of creation, out of clay is the image and ’of the essence of Anu’, the sky-god, 
and of Ninurta the war-god. The companion of Gilgamesh, he is wild or natural reran; he was later considered a patron or 
god of anima b and may have been the hero of another cycle. See P. 30. 

ENLIL: God of earth, wind, and the universal air, ultimately spirit; the executive of Anu. In the Sumerian 
cosmogony he was born of the union of An heaven, and Ki earth. These he separated, and he then carried off earth as his 
portion. In later times he supplanted Anu as chief god. He was the patron of the city of Nippur. See p. 24. 

ENMUL: See Endukugga. 

ENNUGI: God of irrigation and inspector of Canals. 

ENUMA ELLISH: The Semitic creation epic which describes the creation of the gods, the defeat of the powers of 
chaos by the young god Marduk, and the creation of man from the blood of Kingu, the defeated champion of chaos. 
The title is taken from the first words of the epic ‘When on high’. 

ERESHKIGAL: The Queen of the underworld, a counterpart of Persephone; probably once a sky-goddess. In 
the Sumerian cosmogony she was carried off to the underworld after the separation of heaven and earth. See p. 27. 

ETANA: Legendary king of Kish who reigned after the flood; in the epic which bears his name he was carried 
to heaven on the back of an eagle. 


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The Epic Of Gilgamesh 


GILGAMESH: The hero of the Epic; son of the goddess Ninsun and of a priest of Kullab, fifth king of Uruk 
after the flood, famous as a great builder and as a judge of the dead. A cycle of epic poems has collected round his 
name. 

HANISH: A divine herald of storm and bad weather. 

HUMBABA: Also Huwawa; a guardian of the cedar forest who opposes Gilgamesh and is killed by him and 
Enkidu. A nature divinity, perhaps an Anatolian, Elamite, or Syrian god. See p. 32. 

IGIGI: Collective name for the great gods of heaven. 

IRKALLA: Another name for Ereshkigal; the Queen of the underworld. 

ISHTAR: Sumerian Inanna; the goddess of love and fertility, also goddess of war, called the Queen of Heaven. 
She is the daughter of Anu and patroness of Uruk, where she has a temple. See p. 25. 

ISHULLANA: The: gardener of Anu, once loved by Ishtar whom he rejected; he was turned by her into a mole 
or frog. 

KI: The earth. 

KULLAS:Part of Uruk. 

LUGULEANDA: Third king of the post-diluvian dynasty of Uruk, a god and shepherd, and hero of a cycle of 
Sumerian poems; protector of Gilgamesh. 

MAGAN: A land to the west of Mesopotamia, sometimes Egypt or Arabia, and sometimes the land of the 
dead, the underworld: 

MAGILUM: Uncertain meaning, perhaps ‘the boat of the dead'. 

MAMMETUM: Ancestral goddess responsible for destinies. 

MAN-SCORPION: Guardian, with a similar female monster, of the mountain into which the sun descends at 
nightfall. Shown on sealings and ivory inlays as a figure with the upper part of the body human and the lower part 
ending in a scorpion's mil. According to the Enuma Elish created by the primeval waters in order to fight the gods. 

MASHU: The word means 'twins' in the Akkadian language. A mountain with twin peaks into which the sun 
descends at nightfall and from which it returns at dawn. Sometimes thought of as Lebanon and Anti -Lebanon. 

NAMTAR: Fate, destiny in its evil aspect; pictured as a demon of the underworld, also a messenger and chief 
minister of Ereshkigal; a bringer of disease and pestilence. 

NEDU: See Ned. 

NERGAL: Underworld god, sometimes the husband of Ereshkigal, he is the subject of an Akkadian poem 
which describes his translation from heaven to the underworld; plague-god. 

NETI: The Sumerian form of Nedu, the chief gatekeeper in the 

underworld. 

NINDUKUGGA: With Endukugga, parental gods living in the underworld: 

NINGAL: Wife of the Moon God and mother of the Sun. 

NINGIESU: An earlier form of Ninurta; god of irrigation and fertility, he had a field near Lagash where all 
sorts of plants flourished; he was the child of a she-goat. 

NINGIZZIDA: Also Gizzida; a fertility god, addressed as 'Lord of the Tree of Life'; sometimes he is a serpent 
with human head, but later he was a god of healing and magic; the companion of Tammuz, with whom he stood at 
the gate of heaven. 

NINHURSAG: Sumerian mother-goddess; one of the four principal Sumerian gods with An, Enlil, and Enki; 
sometimes the wife of Enki, she created all vegetation. The name means 'the Mother'; she is also called 'Nintu', lady 
of birth, and IG, the earth. 

NINKI: The 'mother' of Enlil, probably a form of Ninhursag. 

NINLIL: Goddess of heaven, earth, and air and in one aspect of the underworld; wife of Enlil and mother of 
the Moon; worshipped with Enlil in Nippur. 

NINSUM The mother of Gilgamesh, a minor goddess whose house was in Uruk; she was noted for wisdom, 
and was the wife of Lugulbaada. 

NINURTA: The later forth of Ningirsu; a warrior and god of war, a herald, the south wind, and god of wells 
and irrigation. According to one poem he once dammed up the bitter waters of the underworld and conquered 
various monsters. 

NISABA: Goddess of grain. 

NISIR: Probably means 'Mountain of Salvation'; sometimes identified with the Pir Oman Gudrun range south 
of the lower Zab, or with the biblical Ararat north of Lake Van. 

PUZUR-AMURRI: The steersman of Utnapishtim during the flood. 

SAMUQ AN: God of cattle; 

SEVEN SAGES: Wise men who brought civilization to the seven oldest cities of Mesopotamia. 


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The Epic Of Gilgamesh 


SHAMASH: Sumerian Utu; the sun; for the Sumerians he was principally the judge and law-giver with some 
fertility attributes. For the Semites he was also a victorious warrior, the god of wisdom, the son of Sin, and ‘greater 
than his father'. He was the husband and brother of Ishtar. He is represented with the saw with which he cuts 
decisions. In the poems 'Shamash' may mean the god, or simply the sun. 

SHULLAT : A divine herald of storm and of bad weather. 

SHULPAE: A god who presided over feasts and feasting. 

SHURRUPAX: Modem Fara, eighteen miles north-west of Uruk; one of the oldest cities of Mesopotamia, and 
one of the five named by the Sumerians as having existed before the flood. The home of the hero of the flood story. 

SIDURI: The divine wine-maker and brewer; she lives on the shore of the sea (perhaps the Mediterranean), in 
the garden of the sun. Her name in the Hurrian language means 'young woman' and she may be a form of Ishtar. 

SILILI: The mother of the stallion; a divine mare? 

SIN: Sumerian Nama, the moon. The chief Sumerian astral deity, the father of Utu-Shamash, the sun, and of 
Ishtar. Ills parents were Enlil and Ninlil. His chief temple was in Ur. 

TAMMUZ: Sumerian Dunuzi; the dying god of vegetation, bewailed by Ishtar, the subject of laments and 
litanies. In an Akkadian poem Ishtar descends to the underworld in search of her young husband Tammuz; but in 
the Sumerian poem on which this is based it is Inanna herself who is responsible for sending Dumuzi to the under- 
world because of his pride and as a hostage for her own safe return. 

UBARA-TUTU: A king of Shurrupak and father of Utnapishtim The only king of Kish named in the 
prediluvian Ring-List, apart from Utnapishtim. 

URSHANABI: Old Babylonian Sursunabu; the boatman of Utnapishtim who ferries daily across the waters of 
death which divide the garden of the sun from the paradise where Utnapishtim lives for ever (the Sumerian Dilmun). 
By accepting Gilgamesh as a passenger he forfeits this right, and accompanies Gilgamesh back to Uruk instead. 

URUK: Biblical Erech, modem Warka, in southern Babylonia between Fara (Shutrupak) and Ur. Shown by 
excavation to have been an important city from very early times, with great temples to the gods Anu and Ishtar. 
Traditionally the enemy of the city of Kish, and after the flood the seat of a dynasty of kings, among whom Gilga- 
mesh was the fifth and most famous. 

UTNAPISHTIM: Old Babylonian Utanapishtim, Sumerian Ziusudra; in the Sumerian poems he is a wise king 
and priest of Shurrupak ; in the Akkadian sources he is a wise citizen of Shurrupak. He is the son of Ubara Tutu, 
and his name is usually translated, 'He Who Saw Life'. He is the protege of the god Ea, by whose connivance he Sur- 
vives the Hood, with his family and with 'the seed of all living creatures'; afterwards he is taken by the gods to live 
for ever at 'the mouth of the rivers' and given the epithet 'Faraway'; or according to the Sumerians he lives in Dihnun 
where the sun rises 


27