SUMERIAN LITERATURE

The Epic of Gilgamesh

The Epit of Gilgameslt is one of man's most ancient literary works. Thefragmentary stories of Cilgamesh, which have been brought together to make up theepic. probably predate the Golden Age in Creece by as much as that cultural land-mark predates the discovery of America. The oldest written fragments of theCilgamesh stories have been dated from before 2000 8.c., and these seem to recordmaterial that was in an even more ancient oral tradition. But whatever the age ofthe epic, it was preserved to our day only because the greal Assyrian emperorAssurbanipal. in the seventh century 8.c.. had the epic transcribed on twelveclay tablets as a part of the vast library at his capital city ofNineveh. When Ninevehwas conquered and utterly destroyed by the Medes and the Babylonians in 612 s,c.,that library was buried under the rubble. lt was not rediscovered until the nineteenthcentury, when English archeologists found and carried off to the British Museumfor translation some 25,000 clay tablets. Among these tablets, most ofwhich recordthe business transactions of a thriving commercial center, were the twelve tabletsaontaining the epic. They were not complete or unbroken, and the process of fillingin missing details from other written fragments found in other places still continues.But the main outlines of the story of Gilgamesh-a hero once known and admiredin many parts of the ancient Middle East-now seem complete and clear.

The siory begins with Gilgamesh in his mature manhood, already the restless,dynamic king of the city of Uruk and a .em ii;'E5E;[Tgreat s;€ngth who isexhausting his subjects by his sheer energy and ambition. The subjects call for thehelp of the gods, who answer their petition by creating a match for Gilgamesh, awild man named Enkidu, who was reared among wild beasrs. Lured from his naturallife and gradually civilized. Enkidu reaches the city of Uruk, where he and Cil-gamesh engage in a titanic wrestling match. Cilgamesh wins. and the two menbecome close friends.

Togetber Enkidu and Cilgamesh pursue several heroic adventures, one to thecedar mountain where they cut down the dark forest and kill its guardian Humbaba,an evil demon; another against the monstrous Bull of Heaven, sent by the gods topunish Gilgamesh for rejecting the advances of Ishtar, the goddess of love and war.Though the two men kill the bull, a council of the gods decides one of them mustimmediately die. Enkidu is chosen and is visited with a disease which soon provesfatal-

Now Gilgamesh, bereft of his friend and tormented by the knowledg€ that he, too,like all mortals, must some day die, sets out on ajourney to 6nd the one man whomthe gods have made immortal, Utnapishtim, a "Babylonian Noah," one of Gilga-mesh's forefathers. From Utnapishtim, Gilgamesh hopes to learn the secret ofeternal life.

The following selections from the epic recount the major episodes of Cilgamesh's.journey into the world of the immortals.

The SearcEverlastinl

B,tr.*." Gilgamesh r

Enkidul he wandered oras a hunter, he roamed <

his bitterness he cried,how can I be at Peace?heart. What mY brotherI be when I am dead. Btof death I will go as tUtnapishtim whom theYfor he has entered thesods." So Gilgamesh I

ivild"rn.ts. he wanderelands, a long journeY, ipishtim, whom the godeluge: and theY set hrnof Dilmun, in the gardethim alone of men thellife.

At night when he canpasses G ilgamesh PraYetain passes long ago tafraid and I lifted mY eprayed and mY Prayelgods, so now, O moome." When he had Prasleep, until he was wcdream. He saw the lioring in lifei then he tookhe drew his sword frtfell upon them like z

string, and struck and I

tered them.So at length GilgaI

great mountain whosemountain which guardsetting sun. lts twin Pthe wall of heaven andto the underworld. Alpions stand guard, Idragon; their glorY is t'strikes death into met

F.on Thc Erit'oJ cilllo ?rh ^n El

Reprinlcd ht pernrission ol Penguin

l2 sUMERTAN AND HEBREW r-rrERATuREs

tII

Ihethend-therrdoforve:h

hnds

IHE EPIC OF CILCAMESH l3

for there was no light, he could see noth-inn ohead an.l nothing hehind him' Afteri*1 l.rgr.. the darkness was lhick andih".. *-u" no light' he could see nothingahead and nothing behind him' After threeleasuer the darkness was thicl' un''l therewai no tiehr. he could see n()thing aheadand norhing hehind him. A[tcr trtur lclSuerthe dilrkne\s r'r as thick and there llas noiiot',r. t,. .nutr.t sce nrrthing ahcad and.iir'inr t'ehin.l him At lhe cnd of tirei""*r"i rt" darkness urrs lhick and there*ri n, liehr. he eould sec nolhinP ahead

"nJ nothi-n,r behintl him At the end oI rirleacut'r thi darknes. uas thick and there*oi no lighr. he could sce nothing aheadand nothing behind him. When he haduon. .ia,,*n largu.r lhe darknerr wa\ thickirnd rhere rr, as ntr lighl. he cuuld see noth'ine ahead and nothing behind him Whenhe hrrtl sonc eighl leagrrc' Gilgamesh gave; !:reirl crv. lor the dutkness wa' thick,ni t. .,,,i1l'1 \cc nothing ahead and noth-inr behind him. Aller nine leagues he feltth-e north wind on his lace' but the dark-ness was thick ancl there was no light' hecould see nothing ahead and nothing be-hincl him. After ter leagues the end wasnear-. Atiel eleven lcagues the dawn liShtappcared. At the end oftwelve leagues thesun streamed otlt.

There was the garden of the gods; allruund him rtood busher bclrring gems'Seeing it he went dourn at once' fi)r therewas fiuit of carnelian with the vine hang-ing l'rom it. beautiful to look at: lapis lazulileaves hung thick with fiuit. sweet to seeI-'or thorns and thistles there were hema-tite and rare stones. agale, and pearlsfiom out of the sea While Gilgameshwalked in the garden by the edge of thesea, Shamashr sau' him, and he saw thathe was dressed in the skins of animals andate their flesh. He was distressed, and hesnr.tke antl said, "No mortal man has goncrhi,' war hcforc. nor will. as long ar lhewinris irive over the sea." And to Gilga-mesh he said. "You will never find thelife tbr which vou are searching " Gil-

sirme\h said to glorious Shamash"'Nowihat I have toiled and \trayed so lar overthe wilderness, am I to sleep and let theearth cover mY head forever? [-et mY

"u., ,a. the sun until they are dazzledwith looking. Although I am no betterthan a deadhan' still let me see the lightof the sun."

Beside the sea she lives, the woman ofthe vine. the maker of winel Siduri sits inthe garden at the edge of the sea, with thesoldin bowl and lhe golden vats that thei(.r,l. eave her. She is covered with a veil:in..l tihete she sits she ''ees Gilgameshcominc toward her. weaiing skins' theflettr oi rf,e gt-rds in his body hut despairin tris treurt.ina his face like the face ofone who has made a long journeY' Shelooked. and as she scanned the distanceshe said in her own heart, "Surely this issome felon: where is he going now?" Andshe barred her gate against him with lhecrosshar and shot home the bolt' But Gil-uamesh. hearing the sound of the bolt'ihr.* rp his heid and lodged his foot inthe sate: he called to her, "Young woman'mak'cr of wine . why do you bolt your door:what tJid you see that made you bar yoursatel I will hleak in your door and hurrtin unur nnt.. for I am Gilgamesh who."ir.O on,t killed the Bull ol'Heaven' I

killed the watchm/rn of the cedar forest' Ioverthrew Humbaba who lived in theforest. and I killed the lions in the passesof the mountain."

Then Sirluri said to him, " lf you arethat Gilg-amish who seized and killed theBull of Heaven, who killed the watchmanof the cedar forest, who overthrew Hum-irt u tt,ot lived in the forest, and killedthe lions in the passes of lhe mounlain'whv are vour cheekr so starved and whyl. riour lacc so drawn? Why is despair inr"iri tt.urt and vour lace like the face ofLne who has made a long journeY? Yes'*hu i. uort face burnecl from heat andcoli, ani why do you come here wander-itu tu". the pasiures in search of thewind?"-C

iLuameth answered her' " And whysnouli not my cheeks be starved and my

I shamashi thc rll knowing and just Sun Cod-

't4 STJMERIAN AND HET]RI]\Ir' T,II'ERA'[ U RES

lhce drawn? Despair is in my heart and So Urshanabi lhe [errvman broughlGilgamesh to Utnapishtim, whom theymy face is the face of one who has made

a long journey, it was burned'with heatand with cold. Why should I not wanderover the pastures in search of the wind?My friend. my younger brother, he whohunted the wild ass of the wilderness andthe panther of the plains, my friend, myyounger brother who seized and killed rheBull of Heaven and overthrew Humbabain the cedar forest, my friend who wasvery dear to me and who endured dangersbeside me, Enkidu my brother, whom Iloved, the end of mortality has overtakenhim. I wept for him seven days and nightsIill the worm fastened on him. Because ofmv brother I am afraid of death, becauseof my brother I stray through the wjlder-ness and cannot rest. But now youngwoman. maker of wine, since I have seenyour face do not let me see the face ofdeath which I dread so much."

She answered, "Gilgamesh, where areyou hurrying to? You will never find thatlif'e for which you are looking. When thegods created man they allotted to himdeath, but life they retained in their ownkeeping. As for you, Gilgamesh, fill yourbelly with good things; day and night,night and day. dance and be merry, feastand rejoice. Let your clothes be fresh,bathe vourself in water. cherish the littlechild that holds your hand, and make yourwife happy in your embrace:for this, too,is the lot of man."

But Cilgamesh said to Siduri, the youngwoman, "How can I be silent, how can Irest, when Enkidu whom I love is dusl,and I too shall die and be laid in the earthforever." He said again, "Young woman,tell me now, which is the way to Utna-pishtim. the son of Ubara-Tutu? Whar di-rections are there for lhe passage: giveme, oh, give me directions. I will cross theOcean if it is possible; if it is not t willwander still farther in the wilderness." . . .

[The young woman sends Gilgamesh downin the woods, to iind Urshanabi. the ferr.vman.He brings the hero across the Ocean and overthe waters of death.l

call the Faraway, who lives in Dilmun atthe place of the sun's transit, eastward ofthe mountain. To him a.lone of men thegods had given everlasting life.

Now Utnapishtim, where he lay at ease,looked into the distance, and he said inhis heart, musing to himself, ". . . Thatman who comes is none of minel where Ilook I see a man whose body is coveredwith skins of beasts. Who is this whowalks up the shore behind Urshanabi, forsurelv he is no man of mine?" So Utna-pishtim looked at him and said, "What isyour name. you who come here wearingthe skins of beasts, with your cheeksstarved and your face drawn? Where areyou hurrying to now? For what reasonhare you made lhis grealjourney.crossingthe seas whose passage is difficult? Tellme the reason for your coming,"

He replied. "Gilgamesh is my name, Iam from Uruk, from the house of Anu."Then Utnapishtim said to him, "lfyou areCilgamesh, why are your cheeks sosfarved and vour face drawn? Whv isdesp:tir in your heart and your face likethe face of one who has made a longjourney? Yes, why is your face burnedwith heat and coldl and why do you comehere, wandering over the wilderness insearch of the wind?"

Cilgamesh said to him, "Why shouJdnot mv cheeks be starved and mv facedrawn? Despair is in my heart and myface is the face of one who has made along journey. [t was burned with heat andcold. Why should I not wander over thepastures? My friend. my younger brotherwho seized and killed the Bull of ljeavenand overthrew Humbaba in the cedarforesl, my friend who was very dear to meand who endured dangers beside me, En-kidu, my brother whom I loved, the end o[mortality has overtaken him. t wept forhim seven days and nights till the wormfastened on him. Because of my brotherI am afraid of death: because of mybrother I stray through the wilderness.His fate lies heavy upon me. How can I

THE EPIC OF CILGAMESH 15

be silent, how can I rest? He is dust andI shall die also and be laid in the earthforever-" Again Gilgamesh said, speakingto Utnapishtim, "lt is to see Utnapishtimwhom we call the Faraway that I havecome this journey. For this I have wan-dered over the world, I have crossed manydifficult ranges, I have crossed the seas, thave wearied myself with traveling; myjoints are aching. and I have lost acquain-tance with sleep which is sweet. Myclotheswere worn out before I came to the houseof Siduri. I have killed the bear and hyena,the lion and panther, the tiger, the stagand the ibex, all sorts of wild game and thesmall creatures of the pastures. I ate theirflesh and I wore their skins; and that washow I came to the gate of the youngwoman, the maker of wine, who barredher gate of pilch and bitumen against me.But from her I had news o[ the journey:so then I came 10 U rrhanabi the ferryman.and with him I crossed over the waters ofdeath. Oh, lather Urnapirhrim. you whohave entered the assembly of the gods, twish to question you concerning the livingand the dead, how shall I find the life forwhich I am searching?"

Utnapishtim said, "There is no perma-nence. Do we build a house to stand for-ever, do we seal a contract to hold for alltime? Do brothers divide an inheritanceto keep forever, does the flood-time ofrivers endure? It is only the nymph of thedragonfly who sheds her larva and seesthe sun in his glory. From the days of oldthere is no permanence. The sleeping andthe dead, how alike they are, they are likea painted death. What is there between themaster and the servant when both havefulfilled their doom? When the Annunaki,the judges, come together, and Mamme-tun, the mother of destinies, together theydecree the fates of men. Life and deaththey allot but the day of death they do notdisclose."

[Now Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh thestory of how he came to possess everlastinglife. lt seems that at one time an assembly of

the gods decided to let loose a flooct and de-stroy mankind. But Utnapishtim was warnedof the plan by one kind god and was orderedto build a boat. This he did. and when thedeluge came and all the world was smashedby a raging tempest, Utnapishtim rode out thestorm in safety. On the seventh day the dread-ful storm was ended. and when Utnapishtimlooked out upon the earth he saw that all man-kind, except himself and his wife. had beenturned into clay. Even the gods were nowshocked at what they had done, and as repara-tion they took Utnapishtim and his wife toliye forever with them in their home.l

The ReturnYTLJ , ro",rr r,r said. "As for vou. cil-gamesh. who will assemble the'gods foryour sake, so that you may flnd that lifefor which you are searching? But if youwish, come and put it to the test: onlyprevail against sleep for six days andseven nights." But while Gilgamesh satthere resting on his haunches, a mist ofsleep like soft wool teased from the fleecedrifted over him. and Utnapishtim said tohis wife, "Look at him now, the strongman who would have everlasting life, evennow the mists of sleep are drifting overhim." His wife replied, "Touch the manto wake him, so that he may return to hisown land in peace, going back through thegate by which he came." Utnapishtim saidto his wife, "All men are deceivers. evenyou he will attempt to deceive; thereforebake loaves of bread, each day one loaf,and put it beside his head: and make amark on the wall to number the days hehas slept."

So she baked loaves of bread, each dayone loaf. and pul it besitle his head, andshe marked on the wall the days that heslept; and there came a day when thefirst loaf was hard, the second loaf waslike leather, the third was soggy, the crustof the fourth had mold, the fifth was mil-dewed, the sixth was fresh. and theseventh was still on the embers. Then Ut-napishtim touched him and he woke. Gil-

16 sUMERIAN AND HEBREW LTIERATUREs

gamesh said to Utnapishtim the Faraway,"I hardly slept when you touched androused me." But Utnapishtim said, "Countthese loaves and learn how many days youslept, for your first is hard, your secondis like leather, your third is soggy, thecrust of your fourth has mold, your fifthis mildewed, your sixth is fresh, and yourseventh was still over the glowing emberswhen I touched and woke You." Gilga-mesh said, "what shall I do, o utna-pishtim, where shall I go? Already thethief in the night has hold of my limbs,death inhabits my room; wherever mYfoot rests, there I find death."

Then Utnapishtim spoke to Urshanabithe ferryman: "Woe to you Urshanabi,now and forever more you have becomehateful to this harborage: it is not for you,nor for you are the crossings of this sea.Go now, banished from the shore. Butthis man before whom you walked, bring-ing him here, whose body is covered withfoulness and the grace of whose limbs hasbeen spoiled by wild skins, take him to thewashing-place. There he shall wash hislong hair clean as snow in the water, heshall throw off his skins and let the seacarry them away, and the beauty of hisbodv shall be shown. the fillet 1 on hisforehead shall be renewed, and he shallbe given clothes to cover his nakedness.Till he reaches his own citY and hisjourney is accomplished, these clotheswill show no sign of age, they wi]l wearlike a new garment." So Urshanabi tookGilgamesh and led him to the washing-place, he washed his long hair as cleanas snow in the water, he threw off hisskins, which the sea carried away, andshowed the beauty of his body. He re-newed the fillet on his forehead, and tocover his nakedness gave him clotheswhich would show no sign of age, butwould wear like a new garment till hereached his own city, and his -journey wasaccomplished.

Then Gilgamesh andlaunched the boat on to the

l.lrshanabiwater and

boarded it, and they made ready to sailaway; but the wife of Utnapishtim theFaraway said to him, "Gilgamesh camehere wearied out. he is worn out; whatwill you give him to carry him back to hisown country?" So UtnaPishtim sPoke.and Cilgamesh took a pole and broughtthe boat to the bank. "Gilgamesh, youcame here, a man wearied out, You haveworn your'elf out. what shall I give youto carry you back to 1,our own country?Gilgamesh, t shall reveal a secret thing,it is a mystery of the gods that I am tellingyou. There is a plant that grows under thewater, it has a prickle like a thorn, like arosel it will wound your hands, but if yousucceed in taking it, then your hands willhold that which restores his lost youth toa man."

When Gilgamesh heard this he openedthe sluices so that a sweet-water currentmight carry him out to the deepest chan-nel; he tied heavy stones to his feet andthey dragged him down to the water-bed.There he saw the plant growing; althoughit pricked him he took it in his hands;then he cut the heavy stones from hisfeet. and the sea carried him and threwhim on to the shore. Gilgamesh said toUrshanabi the ferryman, "Come here,and see this marvelous plant. By its virtuea man may win back all his former strength.I will take it to Uruk of the strong walls:there I will give'iT-i the old men to eat.lts name shall be 'The Old Men AreYoung Again': and at last t shall eat itmyself and have back all my lost youth."So Gilgamesh returned by the gate throughwhich he had come, Gilgamesh and tll-shanabi went together. They traveled-theii-wenty leagues and then they broketheir fast: after thirty leagues they stoppedfor the night.

Gilgamesh saw a well of cool water andhe went down and bathed; but deep in thepool there was lying a setpent, and theserpent sensed the sweetness of the flower.lt rose out of the water and snatched itaway, and immediately it sloughed itsskin and returned to the well. Then Gilga-mesh sat down and wept, the tears ranI fill€t: a narrow headband or ribbon.

THF- EPIC OF CILCAMESH 17

down his face. and he took the hand ofUrittunuUi; "0 Urshanabi. was it for thisrtui i roiteO with my hands' is il for lhisi hru. *tung out mY hearl s blood? Formvself I havi gained nothing; not I' butir'L Ueast of thi earth has joy of it now'Alreadv the stream has carried it twentyf"unret UuaL to the channels where Ii"u-na ir. t found a sign and now lhaveio.i i,. f-"t us leave the boat on the bankand qo."-'afi., t*.n,y Ieagues they broke theirfu.t. uft". thiriy leagues they stopped forif," nietr; in three days they had walkedu. rnr.i.t', a. a journeY of a month andfilteen davs. When the journey war ac-.omolithei they arrived at Uruk' theitrong-walled city Cilgamesh spoke lohim. io Urshanabi the ferryman, "Ursha-n"ti. ctimt uP on to the wall of Uruk'ln.nect ir" founOarion lerrace. and examine*"il th. bti.k*otk: .ee if jl is nol ofburnLhricks: and did nor lhe \even wise men layihese toun<tationr? One third of lhe wholei. .liu. or" third is garden, and one thirdi. li.id. *itft the precinct of the goddessIshtar. These parts and the precinct areall Uruk."

This too was the work of Gilgamesh' thekins. who knew rhe countries of the worldHa"*rr *it", he saw my'teries and k new.".t"t tt ing., he brought us a tale of theauur tefor.e the flood. He went a longi,lii*"r. *u" weary. worn out with labor'and rerurning engraved on a stone thewhole story.

The Death of Gilgamesh

T, o..rr"" was fulfilled which thefather of lhe god\. Enlil of the mountain'had decreetl for Gilgamesh: "In nether-earth the darkness will show him a light:oi mankinrl. all that are known, none willleave a monument for generations to come,o .o.prr. wirh hi* The heroes..lhe wisemen. like lhe new moon have thelr waxlngand waning. Men will say, 'Who has ever

ruled with might and with power liket im:' ,Cs in th; dark month, the month ofituOo*t, so without him there is no light'o G ileamesh, this was the meaning ofu.,u, dieam. You were given the kingship'iuch was vour desliny. everlasting lile wasn.ri t,out de"tiny. Because oI this do not besad at heart, do not be grieved or oP-ir.t".O: t. has given you power to bindlnJ to toot". to be rhe darkness and lhelishl of man[ind. He has given unex-uiiot.d trp."*u.y o!er the people' vic-ioi, in uutrt" lrom which no fugitivei.ii,rot, in forays and assaults from whichih.r. i" no going back But do not abusethis oower, deal iustly with your servanlsin the palace. deal justly before rhe faceof the Sun."

The king has laid himself downarul will not rise again,

The Lord of Kullab will not riseagain:

He overcame evtl, he will notcome again;

T hough ie Y)as strong of arm hewill not rise again;

He had wisdom and a comelYface, he will nol come again:

He is gone into the mounrcin' heh,ill not come again;

On the bed offate he lies, he willnot rise again,

From the couch of manY colorshe will not come again'

The people o[ the city. great and small'u.. noi.it"nt; they liit up the lament' allmen of flesh and blood lift up the lament'iure nas spokeni like a hooked fish heii..i .rt.r.teO on the bed. like a gazellethat is caught in a noose' InhumanNamtar I is hlavy upon him, Namtar thathas neither hand nor foot, that drinks nowater and eats no meat'

Gilgamesh, the son of Ninsun, lies inthe timb. At the place of offerings heweighed the bread-offering, at the place

l Namtar: Fate, pictured as a demon from theunderworld

18 SUMERIAN AND HEBREW LITERATURES