Gilgamesh Read online

  On defense he was like a great river bank;

  On attack, a flood-surge smashing stone walls,

  The wild bull of Lugalbanda, paragon of strength,

  Nursling of divine Ninsun, the revered Wild Cow.

  Gilgamesh was tall, magnificent, terrifying.

  He opened passes in the high mountains,

  Dug wells on their slopes, crossed the wide sea,

  The ocean lit by the rising sun. He roamed the world

  [40] In his quest for life, and forced his way through

  To Utanapishtim the Distant, who survived the Flood.

  Gilgamesh rebuilt the altars the Flood destroyed,

  And established the rites for men under heaven.

  Who can rival Gilgamesh? Who can stand

  Against him and say, “I am the king?”

  He was called Gilgamesh the day he was born,

  One part human and two parts divine.

  The Divine Mother drew his figure,

  And the god Ea fashioned his body.

  [50] His feet were three cubits long, his leg

  Half a rod in length, six cubits to his stride.

  His cheeks were bearded, and the hair

  On his head grew as thick as barley,

  A man of perfect beauty, earth’s most handsome man.

  {5} Now he strides like a wild bull, head held high,

  Through Uruk the Sheepfold. Gilgamesh

  Has no equal when he brandishes his weapons.

  He harries all of the young men in Uruk;

  No son is left at home with his father;

  [60] Day and night his arrogance is unbounded.

  The people complained, were heard to mutter:

  “This is the city’s shepherd, this our wise, noble king?

  He leaves no daughter at home with her mother.

  This is a king, the shepherd of his people?

  Gilgamesh leaves no bride to her bridegroom,

  No warrior’s daughter, no wife to a noble.

  This is the city’s shepherd, our noble, wise king?”

  Anu heard their complaints, their lamentation,

  The gods in heaven heard and cried to Aruru,

  The Creator Goddess.

  [70] “You made him, Aruru!

  Now create his equal, his reflection, his double,

  A stormy heart to match his own stormy heart.

  Let them fight it out and leave Uruk in peace.”

  Aruru heard this, and she formed

  Within her heart what Anu had in mind.

  Then she rinsed her hands in water,

  Pinched off a piece of clay and let it fall

  Into the wild, and great Enkidu was born.

  His power was like the power of the War God,

  [80] Of Ninurta himself. His skin was rough, his hair

  As long as a woman’s, waving like Nisaba’s,

  The Goddess of Grain. Hair matted his body,

  Like Sumuqan’s, the God of Cattle. He knew nothing

  Of human ways, nothing of cultivated fields.

  He ate grass in the hills, grazing with gazelles,

  {6} And crouched with animals at the watering hole,

  Drinking his fill along with herds of wild game.

  One day a hunter met him at a watering hole

  Where the wild herds were drinking, for they had roamed

  [90] Into his territory. Three days in a row

  He met him there, staring into his eyes, numb with fear.

  When at last he returned home with his catch

  He was dazed, terrified, his face haggard with fatigue,

  And he opened his mouth and said to his father:

  “Father, there is a strange man, unlike any other,

  Who comes down from the hills, the strongest man alive,

  As strong as a rock come down from the sky.

  He ranges the hills with wild animals, eating grass

  And coming through the land to drink from the pools.

  [100] I am afraid to go near him. He fills in the pits

  That I dig and tears up the traps I set, letting

  The game escape and slip through my grasp.

  He stops me from doing my work in the wild.”

  The hunter’s father then said to his son:

  “Gilgamesh of Uruk has never known defeat.

  He is as strong as a rock from the sky. Go to Uruk

  And praise this wild man’s strength before Gilgamesh.

  Ask him to give you a prostitute

  To come back with you here, so that a woman

  [110] Can overpower this man. When he comes down next

  To the drinking hole, have her strip naked there.

  When he sees her enticing him he will lie with her,

  And the beasts of the wild will then reject him.”

  So the hunter set out and journeyed to Uruk.

  He presented himself to Gilgamesh, saying:

  {7} “There is a strange man, unlike any other,

  Roaming the countryside. He is as strong as a rock

  Come down from heaven. He roams the hills

  All day with the herds and leaves his tracks

  [120] By the water hole. I am afraid to go near him.

  He fills in the pits I dig and tears up my traps

  And stops me from doing my work in the wild.”

  And Gilgamesh said:

  “Hunter, go back,

  And take with you Shamhat. Have her strip

  At the drinking hole, and when he sees her

  Beckoning him he will lie down with her,

  And the beasts of the wild will then reject him.”

  So the hunter took Shamhat back with him.

  In three days they came to the drinking hole

  [130] And sat down there side by side, waiting

  For the wild game to come. Two days passed,

  And on the third day the herds of gazelles

  Came down to drink, and Enkidu was with them.

  The animals were glad for the water, as was Enkidu,

  Who was born in the hills and grazed with gazelles.

  And the woman saw him, saw the wild man

  Who had come from the hills. The hunter said to her:

  “There he is, Shamhat. Now bare your breasts, have no fear,

  Entice him, let him see you naked and possess your body.

  [140] When he comes close take off your clothes and lie with him.

  Do for this man all that a woman knows.

  Once he mingles in love with you, the wild beasts

  That roamed the hills with him will reject him.”

  She was not afraid to take him. She stripped bare

  And embraced his wildness, and as he lay on her

  She did for him all that a woman knows.

  {8} Six days and seven nights they lay together,

  Enkidu oblivious of his home in the hills.

  When he had enough he went back to his herd,

  [150] But when the gazelles saw him they bolted off,

  When the wild creatures saw him they sprinted away.

  Enkidu tried to follow, but his body was in knots,

  And his knees buckled when he started to run,

  All his speed lost, and all the animals gone.

  Enkidu had grown weak; he had begun to think,

  And the thoughts of a man were now in his heart.

  He went back to the woman, sat at her feet, watched her,

  And listened carefully to what she had to say:

  “You are handsome, Enkidu, just like a god.

  [160] Why do you want to run with beasts in the hills?

  Come with me, and I will take you to Uruk

  With its strong walls, take you to the city

  And the sacred temple of Anu and Ishtar.

  Gilgamesh lives there. He is immensely strong

  And lords it over the city like a raging bull.”

  Enkidu liked what he heard. He longed for a friend,

&
nbsp; Someone who could understand his heart. He said:

  “Take me to that holy temple, woman,

  To the house of Anu and Ishtar. Take me

  [170] To the city where Gilgamesh is lord.

  I will challenge him openly, cry aloud in Uruk,

  ‘I am the strongest here, come to change everything.

  I was born in the hills and am the strongest of all!’”

  She said:

  “Then let’s go, so he can see your face.

  I know very well where Gilgamesh lives in Uruk.

  Enkidu, the young men there wear beautiful belts;

  Every day is a festival, drums beating a rhythm.

  The girls are lovely, and they all smell so sweet.

  {9} Even the elders get out of their beds for them!

  [180] O Enkidu, you who love life, I will show you

  Gilgamesh, a man without any cares.

  You will see him yourself in his glowing manhood,

  His perfect body, so masculine and strong.

  He is stronger than you, and does not need sleep.

  Shamash, the glorious Sun God, has favored him;

  And Anu, the Sky God, and Enlil,

  And wise Ea have given him deep understanding.

  I tell you, even before you leave these wild lands,

  Gilgamesh will know in his dreams you are coming.”

  [190] And Gilgamesh had a dream. He woke up to tell

  His mother, Ninsun, an all-wise goddess, and said:

  “Mother, I had a dream last night. In my dream

  I walked at night under the stars of heaven.

  One of the stars fell down from the sky,

  Like a rock from heaven. I tried to lift it,

  But it was too heavy. All the people in Uruk

  Came out to see it, crowds of commoners jostling

  And nobles who came up to kiss the star’s feet.

  I was drawn to it as by the love of a woman,

  [200] I caressed it, embraced it, and finally lifted it

  And brought it to you, set it before your feet,

  And you said that this star was my match, my equal.”

  And Ninsun, shrewd and wise, said to her son:

  “This star that fell like a rock from heaven

  And that you tried to lift but found too heavy

  And that would not budge when you tried to move it,

  But finally you lifted it and set it down at my feet,

  And I told you that this star was your match, your equal,

  And you were drawn to it as to a woman,

  [210] You caressed it, loved and embraced it—this star

  Is a strong comrade who will come to help you.

  {10} He is the strongest of all the wild creatures,

  As mighty as a rock from heaven. You will be glad

  When you see him, you will love him as a woman,

  And he will be your true friend and often save you.”

  Gilgamesh had another dream. He rose

  And went in to his divine mother, and said:

  “Mother, I have had another dream.

  An axe lay in the main street of Uruk.

  [220] A strange thing, and a crowd gathered around.

  The whole city of Uruk came out to see it.

  When I saw it I was glad. I bent down, drawn to it.

  I loved it like a woman and wore it at my side.”

  And Gilgamesh’s mother, the goddess Ninsun,

  Wise in all things, said to her son:

  “My son, the axe that you saw in your dream

  And that drew you to it like the love of a woman,

  That is the comrade I will give you. He will come

  As mighty as a star that falls from the sky,

  [230] A brave companion who will help his friend in need.”

  And Gilgamesh then said to his mother:

  “May this friend come from Enlil to help me,

  And I will help him, and will be his friend.”

  So Gilgamesh told his dreams to his mother

  While Shamhat and Enkidu were making love.

  {11} Tablet II

  Gilgamesh Befriends Enkidu

  While the two of them were making love,

  Enkidu forgot his home in the wilderness.

  For seven days and seven nights Enkidu

  Was erect, inside Shamhat the harlot.

  Then she opened her mouth and said to him:

  “You look like a god to me, Enkidu.

  Why should you run wild with the beasts again?

  Come, I will lead you to Uruk’s town square,

  To the sacred precinct, home of Anu.

  [10] Get up, Enkidu, and let me take you there,

  To Eanna, the temple where Anu dwells

  And men are busy about their trades.”

  Enkidu listened, and her advice, the words

  Of this woman, seemed good to him.

  Shamhat then divided her clothing, giving half

  To Enkidu and wearing the other half herself.

  She led him like a god to the sheepherders’ tents.

  The shepherds all crowded around

  And talked about him among themselves:

  {12} [20] “This fellow is built just like Gilgamesh,

  As solid and big as a fort! It must be Enkidu,

  Born in the hills, strong as a rock from the sky.”

  They served him bread and ale, but Enkidu only knew

  How to suck milk from wild animals. He gaped

  And fumbled about, unsure how to eat the bread

  Or drink the strong ale. Then the woman said:

  “Enkidu, eat the bread; it is the staff of life.

  Drink the ale; it is the custom of the land.”

  So Enkidu ate until he was full, and he drank

  [30] Seven cups of strong ale. He became cheery,

  His heart soared, and his face was radiant.

  He rubbed down his matted hair and skin with oil.

  Enkidu had turned into a man, and when he dressed

  In a man’s clothing he looked like a young warrior.

  He began to carry weapons for hunting lions

  So the herdsmen could get some rest at night,

  And he caught wolves too. The shepherds slept well,

  For Enkidu, unmatched in strength, was their watchman.

  One day while Enkidu was making love to Shamhat

  [40] He happened to look up and saw someone coming.

  He said to the woman:

  “Shamhat, bring that man here.

  I want to know where he is going.”

  She went to the man and asked him where he was going,

  And he answered, addressing Enkidu:

  “Someone I know is getting married,

  And I am going to the wedding banquet.

  I will spread out a feast on the ritual table,

  Delicious food for all the wedding guests.

  Then for Gilgamesh, for the king of Uruk,

  {13} [50] The curtain will be opened, the veil parted.

  Gilgamesh will use his right of first choice.

  He will couple first with the bride,

  And the bridegroom will come after.

  This is Gilgamesh’s birthright, ordained by the gods

  When his umbilical cord was cut.”

  When Enkidu heard this, his face grew pale,

  And he strode forward angrily, with Shamhat behind.

  He entered the great marketplace of Uruk,

  And a crowd thronged around him where he stood.

  Saying things like:

  [60] “He is the spitting image of Gilgamesh.”

  “No, he is shorter.” “But his bones are thicker.”

  “He was reared on wild beasts’ milk. He is stronger.”

  And,

  “Gilgamesh has finally met his match.

  This is the great one, a hero as beautiful

  As a god, a match even for Gilgamesh.”

  Somewhere
in Uruk, a bridal bed was made,

  Fit for the Goddess of Love. The bride was waiting

  For the bridegroom, but in the dark of night

  Gilgamesh got up and came to the house.

  [70] Then Enkidu stepped forward, standing in the street

  To block his way. Great Gilgamesh came on

  And Enkidu met him at the gate. He spread his feet wide

  And stopped Gilgamesh from entering the house.

  Closing on each other, like bulls locking horns,

  They shattered the doorposts, and the walls shook.

  As they struggled Gilgamesh went down on one knee,

  His foot firmly planted on the ground.

  As soon as he had done so his fury subsided,

  And Enkidu said to him,

  {14} [80] “There is not another like you in all the world.

  Ninsun, who is as strong as a wild ox herself,

  Is the mother who bore you, and now you are above

  All other men, and Enlil has made you king!”

  Then they kissed each other, sealing their friendship.

  And Gilgamesh took Enkidu to his mother, saying,

  “He is the strongest man in the country,

  Like a rock from the sky, massive as a fort.”

  But his mother, wise Ninsun, responded,

  “Enkidu has no father or mother,

  [90] His hair is shaggy.

  He was born in the wild and has no one at all.”

  Enkidu was standing there. He heard what she said

  And pondered it. His eyes filled with tears,

  And his limbs went slack. The two men held each other,

  Their hands clasped, and then Gilgamesh said,

  “My friend, why do your eyes fill with tears?

  Why is your heart sick? Why are you sighing?”

  And Enkidu answered, saying to Gilgamesh,

  “My friend, my voice is choked in my throat,

  [100] My arms are limp, and my legs are trembling.

  My strength is all gone, and my heart filled with fear.”