If you read my post about Ishtar, you can probably tell that she’s not the most loving of individuals. She threatens and insults her sister, who kills her in response. She has a seemingly loveless relationship with her husband Tammuz, who she literally damns. These actions seem strange for a goddess of love - but Ishtar is also the goddess of war, and it is clear in the Epic of Gilgamesh that Ishtar combines her two aspects to be a ruthless lover.
When we left Gilgamesh and Enkidu in my last post they had just met and become fast friends. The duo soon went on another adventure, one that involved fighting Humbaba, a beast who terrorized the people and belonged to the gods. Gilgamesh and Enkidu were able to slay Humbaba without too much difficulty, but they got terribly dirty doing so. They went off separately to clean themselves. Gilgamesh bathed the dirt from his body, oiled his hair, and put on a clean robe. It was then that Ishtar happened to look upon him; she found Gilgamesh beautiful and desired him as her consort.
Ishtar approached Gilgamesh and told the king of her desire for him. She offered to marry him, and to make him a king above all others. She offered him great wealth and welfare if he would only agree to be hers.
Gilgamesh turned the goddess down - which probably would have ended badly for him no matter what. Just to make sure, though, he also insulted Ishtar, pointing out all of her flaws.
(In case you’re wondering: Insulting a deity who is far more powerful than you is never a good idea!)
Gilgamesh is thorough in his insults. He calls Ishtar an ice queen (Think she'll let that one go?). He says that she damages everything that is hers. To make sure that he makes his point, Gilgamesh uses all of Ishtar’s past lovers as examples. She loved Tammuz, who she condemned to hell; the lion, her sacred animal, who she allowed to be trapped by mankind; a shepherd, who Ishtar turned into a wolf and then set his own hounds upon; and a gardener, who Ishtar turned into a frog when he displeased her. Gilgamesh says that he will not sleep with Ishtar because she will eventually weary of him and treat him just as badly as she has the others.
A furious and petulant Ishtar goes running to her father (Anu, in this story). She tells him that Gilgamesh has insulted her, and asks him to give her the Bull of Heaven - a powerful beast that she believes can defeat Gilgamesh and Enkidu. Ishtar then steals a line from her sister and threatens to tear down the gates of the Underworld if she doesn’t get what she wants, allowing the dead to rise up and eat the living.
This threat scares Anu as much as it did when Ereshkigal delivered it. He grudgingly caves in to Ishtar’s demands and gives her the Bull of Heaven. She immediately looses it upon the earth, where it opens gaping chasms in the ground. Hundreds of Gilgamesh’s subjects fall to their deaths. Even Enkidu tumbles into one of the chasms, but he is able to clamber back out.
Together Gilgamesh and Enkidu are able to slay the Bull of Heaven (it isn’t even much of a fight, really). Ishtar is enraged at the failure of her plan and comes to insult Gilgamesh.
Upon hearing her insults, Enkidu grabs a chunk of meat from the dead Bull and slaps the goddess’ face with it. He says that he wishes he could hit her himself.
(One would think that he would have learned not to insult Ishtar!)
That night Enkidu has a dream. The gods have decided that either Gilgamesh or Enkidu must die for having slain two beasts of the gods. Enkidu is chosen for the punishment, in part because he offered insult to a goddess.
Enkidu soon falls ill, and nothing can be done to save him. He curses the prostitute that brought him out of the wilderness and the cruelty of the gods, but eventually repents when the gods rebuke him.
And though Gilgamesh weeps and prays, staying by Enkidu’s bedside the entire time his friend is sick...Enkidu eventually dies.
His death begins Gilgamesh’s obsession with his own mortality - which we’ll talk about next post! If you’ve got questions or comments, or know another story where a mortal paid dearly for insulting a deity, please post below or email me! I’d love to hear from you!
Just as a heads up: I’m going to be doing a booksigning at the LaCholla Barnes & Noble in Tucson on March 21st! If you can make it, I would love to see you there.
See you guys on Friday!
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