The end of my last post about the Epic of Gilgamesh saw the death of Enkidu, Gilgamesh’s best friend. His death hit Gilgamesh hard; when next we see the mighty king it is after the funeral service, and he is roaming the wilds in his grief, clothed only in the skins of animals.
This might seem like a little bit of an overreaction to you. Many of us have best friends; if something were to happen to them, we’d probably retreat into ourselves to mourn. Maybe we’d even travel and get away for a little while...but would we drop everything to go and wander the wilderness?
In truth, Gilgamesh is wandering as much out of fear as of grief. He has tasted death through the passing of his friend, and he fears it. I would imagine that his own mortality never occurred to Gilgamesh before Enkidu’s death, for several reasons.
Firstly, his quasi-divinity. Gilgamesh is said to be two-thirds god, one-third man (I’m still not entirely sure how that works.) One doesn’t normally think of a god dying (even though they do), so why should someone who is two-thirds god die?
Next, his power. Gilgamesh is a mighty king, and with great power comes the idea that the normal rules do not apply to you. (Just look at Tony Stark!) The Epic of Gilgamesh tells us that he slew beasts of the gods - something that no ordinary man would ever dare to attempt. Gilgamesh was also a womanizer before he met Enkidu; he even planned to sleep with a bride on her wedding night! (Gilgamesh was not the groom, by the way.) Gilgamesh acted as though he was above the laws of men - so might he not have also thought that he was beyond the reach of the universal law of death?
The last reason ties in to the second. Gilgamesh is young, or at least acts as a young man, one without the wisdom of years. When we are young, we think ourselves invincible. We have no true concept of mortality. As a young man Gilgamesh might not have thought about the consequences of his actions...but the death of Enkidu brought those consequences into the light.
As I mentioned in my first post about the Epic, the gods created Enkidu to be the equal of Gilgamesh. This is why his death was so startling to the king. Enkidu was young, powerful, and created by the gods. Despite this, he still died.
And if Enkidu could die...why not Gilgamesh?
This is why we find Gilgamesh roaming in the wilderness - partly out of grief, but mostly because of the irrefutable knowledge that he will one day die.
Most of us would probably accept that fact after a while and move on with our lives - after all, it isn’t as though there’s much we can do about it! But Gilgamesh realizes something as he mopes in the wild lands. He has heard tales of a mortal man upon whom the gods bestowed immortality. Determined to discover the secret behind this man’s eternal life, Gilgamesh sets out to find him.
The journey is long, but Gilgamesh eventually finds himself in the garden of the gods - a place he is only allowed to enter when its guardians recognize his semi-divine nature. Within the garden Gilgamesh finds a ferryman, who agrees to take Gilgamesh across the Waters of Death to the island where the immortal man lives.
The man’s name is Utnapishtim. Gilgamesh begs him for the secret to his eternal life. To the king’s surprise, Utnapishtim rebukes Gilgamesh for searching for immortality. He says that the quest is futile, and that looking for eternal life takes away the joy of mortal life itself.
Despite this warning, Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh the story of how he was granted immortality. This story involves a great flood sent by the gods to destroy mankind, an ark built by Utnapishtim to escape it, and the survival of the human race through one man and his immediate family.
Sound familiar? I’d imagine it does. The story of a great flood can be found in many religions and mythologies from around the world - from Noah in the book of Genesis to Deucalion in Greek mythology, and many more.
In this particular flood story, the gods (particularly Enlil) have grown tired of the noise of the humans. Enlil sends a flood to destroy them, but Ea takes pity on mankind and orders Utnapishtim to construct an ark. Utnapishtim escapes the flood on this ark, along with his family, the craftsmen who helped him build it, and all of the beasts of the field.
A great storm brings the flood; when it finally calms down, Utnapishtim releases a bird, which soon returns to him. The same thing happens the next day. On the third day, the bird fails to return - so Utnapishtim knows it has found land. He and his family disembark and offer a sacrifice to the gods. Ea apologizes for the destruction of the rest of mankind (I wonder if Hallmark has a card for that...), and makes Utnapishtim and his wife immortal.
Gilgamesh is amazed by this story - but Utnapishtim tells him that Gilgamesh will never overcome death. Gilgamesh is offended by this, but is mollified when Utnapishtim gives him a parting gift: a plant that can restore a man’s youth. Gilgamesh is thrilled with the gift and plans to test it out as soon as he gets home.
Unfortunately, this never happens. After being ferried back across the Waters, Gilgamesh stops to bathe. While he is so occupied, a serpent comes out of the water and seizes the plant, immediately shedding its skin and becoming young again. Left with nothing, Gilgamesh resigns himself to his mortality and despairs.
The story says that Gilgamesh then returned to his city, where he sat down and wrote the Epic of Gilgamesh...
And that, my friends, is the conclusion of the Epic, and of this series of posts on Mesopotamian mythology! I hope you enjoyed this look into a fascinating ancient culture.
There will be a post this Friday, but starting next week I’ll be switching to a once-a-week schedule, with new posts going up on Monday. I apologize for the switch, but my school schedule has necessitated it. I’ll do my best to keep my posts long and interesting!
Please feel free to email me or post below with any questions or comments you have about the Epic of Gilgamesh, or about Mesopotamian mythology in general! In the next few weeks I hope to take a look at several different fairy tales, as well as stories from mythology that may have inspired them. However, this Friday I plan to talk about the mythology of...
...Star Wars!
I’ll see you then!
Showing posts with label Epic of Gilgamesh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Epic of Gilgamesh. Show all posts
Monday, March 2, 2015
Monday, February 23, 2015
Gilgamesh and Ishtar: Never Insult a Goddess
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!
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!
Friday, February 20, 2015
Gilgamesh and Enkidu: Destined BFFs
In ancient times the Sumerians had a king whose name was Gilgamesh. This king’s story is recorded on a series of tablets entitled The Epic of Gilgamesh. The tales contained within the Epic are of great deeds, interactions with the gods, and a quest for eternal life - so their historical accuracy is questionable. However, they do make for a great story!
As you might have guessed from its title, Gilgamesh is the main character of the Epic. He is said to be two-thirds god, one-third man - I’m not entirely sure how that works, but lets roll with it. Gilgamesh’s life, as told in the Epic, follows the formula of the hero’s journey. (In fact, this formula is partially based off of the Epic of Gilgamesh, since the Epic is one of the first tales of its kind.) True to this formula, Gilgamesh at first refuses to be that which he is meant to be. Gilgamesh is a king, but he does not behave like it. He is constantly getting into fights with the young men of the city, and sleeping with all of the women.
Gilgamesh’s subjects are made desperate by his actions and turn to the gods for help. Their prayers do not go unanswered. The gods observe Gilgamesh, take his measure, and create a man designed to be his equal. This man is Enkidu, formed from clay and set loose into the wilderness.
(It is at this point that I wonder how familiar Mary Shelley was with Mesopotamian mythology. The character of Enkidu has very strong similarities with Frankenstein’s Monster. Both are very primitive men at the beginning of the tale. Both are left to roam the wilderness by their creators. Lastly, both are shown to be vastly more “manlike” after their interactions with a woman.)
Enkidu roamed the forest after the gods set him loose. He had no interactions with mankind; instead, he befriended the cattle and gazelles. He moved and ate like a beast, mimicking their habits.
Perhaps this would have continued indefinitely, were it not for the fact that there was a hunter who roamed the same forest as Enkidu. This hunter kept finding his traps disarmed, his pits filled in, and his prey freed. All of these things were done by Enkidu to keep his animal friends safe.
One day the flummoxed hunter happened across Enkidu at a watering hole. He retreated without doing anything, but later told his father about the encounter. His father encouraged the hunter to take the matter to the king, so he did so. When Gilgamesh was told that one of his subjects was being prevented from doing his job by a wild man, he came up with a plan to take away Enkidu’s connection with nature. To this end, he sends the prostitute Shamhat with the hunter.
The hunter takes Shamhat to the watering hole where he first saw Enkidu, and the two lie in wait. After several days Enkidu returns to the water source, and the hunter sends the whore out to meet him. She strips, and Enkidu, overcome with desire, sleeps with her for a week.
When Enkidu finally leaves Shamhat, he finds that the beasts of the field refuse to come near him. The way he walks and the way he thinks have changed from his time with the woman; the animals now recognize Enkidu as a man rather than a beast.
Confused by these changes, Enkidu returns to the prostitute. She tells him that he has become a man, and that he is stronger than any other man alive. When he hears of the king, Enkidu decides that he wants to go and challenge Gilgamesh, and “alter destiny” by beating him.
The whore replies that Gilgamesh has already dreamt of Enkidu’s coming. The tablets then relate Gilgamesh’s dreams: He had two of them, each of which contained a different item that was fawned over by the common people. Confused, Gilgamesh brought these dreams to his divine mother, Ninsun (a cow goddess) so that she would interpret them. Ninsun tells him that the object represents Enkidu. At the end of each dream, Gilgamesh takes the item and keeps it close to him, for he loves it. Ninsun tells Gilgamesh that this shows that Enkidu will become Gilgamesh’s dearest friend.
The story then returns to Enkidu, who is traveling to the city to meet Gilgamesh. Along the way he meets a group of shepherds, who recognize him as a powerful man and accompany him. By the time Enkidu enters the city he has a large group of commoners following him.
Meanwhile, Gilgamesh is continuing in his womanizing ways. He has his eyes set on a woman who has just been married, and plans to enter her bridal tent before her groom. However, when Gilgamesh goes to enact this plan he finds his path blocked...by Enkidu.
The two begin to fight. The ground shakes; the earth rumbles. In the end, neither can overcome the other - for the gods have made Enkidu to be Gilgamesh’s equal. Unable to defeat one another, the duo quickly become fast friends.
After this point in the story Enkidu takes on a roll similar to that of Jiminy Cricket - he is the voice of reason for Gilgamesh, a calming influence on the unruly king. Their friendship matures Gilgamesh, slowly leading the king to grow up and guiding him down the hero’s path.
Unfortunately, their happy times together cannot last.
We’ll continue the story of Gilgamesh in my next post, which features Ishtar’s interactions with the king. Sounds like fun, right? Same as always, please feel free to post below or email me with any questions or comments. I’ll see you on Monday - same myth time, same myth channel!
As you might have guessed from its title, Gilgamesh is the main character of the Epic. He is said to be two-thirds god, one-third man - I’m not entirely sure how that works, but lets roll with it. Gilgamesh’s life, as told in the Epic, follows the formula of the hero’s journey. (In fact, this formula is partially based off of the Epic of Gilgamesh, since the Epic is one of the first tales of its kind.) True to this formula, Gilgamesh at first refuses to be that which he is meant to be. Gilgamesh is a king, but he does not behave like it. He is constantly getting into fights with the young men of the city, and sleeping with all of the women.
Gilgamesh’s subjects are made desperate by his actions and turn to the gods for help. Their prayers do not go unanswered. The gods observe Gilgamesh, take his measure, and create a man designed to be his equal. This man is Enkidu, formed from clay and set loose into the wilderness.
(It is at this point that I wonder how familiar Mary Shelley was with Mesopotamian mythology. The character of Enkidu has very strong similarities with Frankenstein’s Monster. Both are very primitive men at the beginning of the tale. Both are left to roam the wilderness by their creators. Lastly, both are shown to be vastly more “manlike” after their interactions with a woman.)
Enkidu roamed the forest after the gods set him loose. He had no interactions with mankind; instead, he befriended the cattle and gazelles. He moved and ate like a beast, mimicking their habits.
Perhaps this would have continued indefinitely, were it not for the fact that there was a hunter who roamed the same forest as Enkidu. This hunter kept finding his traps disarmed, his pits filled in, and his prey freed. All of these things were done by Enkidu to keep his animal friends safe.
One day the flummoxed hunter happened across Enkidu at a watering hole. He retreated without doing anything, but later told his father about the encounter. His father encouraged the hunter to take the matter to the king, so he did so. When Gilgamesh was told that one of his subjects was being prevented from doing his job by a wild man, he came up with a plan to take away Enkidu’s connection with nature. To this end, he sends the prostitute Shamhat with the hunter.
The hunter takes Shamhat to the watering hole where he first saw Enkidu, and the two lie in wait. After several days Enkidu returns to the water source, and the hunter sends the whore out to meet him. She strips, and Enkidu, overcome with desire, sleeps with her for a week.
When Enkidu finally leaves Shamhat, he finds that the beasts of the field refuse to come near him. The way he walks and the way he thinks have changed from his time with the woman; the animals now recognize Enkidu as a man rather than a beast.
Confused by these changes, Enkidu returns to the prostitute. She tells him that he has become a man, and that he is stronger than any other man alive. When he hears of the king, Enkidu decides that he wants to go and challenge Gilgamesh, and “alter destiny” by beating him.
The whore replies that Gilgamesh has already dreamt of Enkidu’s coming. The tablets then relate Gilgamesh’s dreams: He had two of them, each of which contained a different item that was fawned over by the common people. Confused, Gilgamesh brought these dreams to his divine mother, Ninsun (a cow goddess) so that she would interpret them. Ninsun tells him that the object represents Enkidu. At the end of each dream, Gilgamesh takes the item and keeps it close to him, for he loves it. Ninsun tells Gilgamesh that this shows that Enkidu will become Gilgamesh’s dearest friend.
The story then returns to Enkidu, who is traveling to the city to meet Gilgamesh. Along the way he meets a group of shepherds, who recognize him as a powerful man and accompany him. By the time Enkidu enters the city he has a large group of commoners following him.
Meanwhile, Gilgamesh is continuing in his womanizing ways. He has his eyes set on a woman who has just been married, and plans to enter her bridal tent before her groom. However, when Gilgamesh goes to enact this plan he finds his path blocked...by Enkidu.
The two begin to fight. The ground shakes; the earth rumbles. In the end, neither can overcome the other - for the gods have made Enkidu to be Gilgamesh’s equal. Unable to defeat one another, the duo quickly become fast friends.
After this point in the story Enkidu takes on a roll similar to that of Jiminy Cricket - he is the voice of reason for Gilgamesh, a calming influence on the unruly king. Their friendship matures Gilgamesh, slowly leading the king to grow up and guiding him down the hero’s path.
Unfortunately, their happy times together cannot last.
We’ll continue the story of Gilgamesh in my next post, which features Ishtar’s interactions with the king. Sounds like fun, right? Same as always, please feel free to post below or email me with any questions or comments. I’ll see you on Monday - same myth time, same myth channel!
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