The Mythology Book

194 THE EPIC OF GILGAMESH

was overestimating his abilities—

for the king even to reach the forest,

let alone fight Humbaba, he had to

take Enkidu with him. Heeding the

advice, Gilgamesh enlisted Enkidu’s

help, and the pair left for the forest.

They were protected by Shamash,

the god of the sun and of justice,

invoked by Gilgamesh’s mother.

On reaching the forest, Gilgamesh

and Enkidu were taunted by

Humbaba, but before the demon

could harm the pair, Shamash blew

winds to trap Humbaba, and

Gilgamesh and Enkidu gained the

upper hand. Although Humbaba

begged for his life, Gilgamesh killed

him, cut down the cedars, made a

raft, and sailed home to Uruk.

Ishtar’s fury

Back in Uruk, Gilgamesh washed

off the filth of battle and put on

fresh robes. The Akkadian goddess

Ishtar was watching and asked

Gilgamesh to be her new husband.

If he agreed, she said, he would

gain riches beyond his dreams.

Gilgamesh refused, referencing

the fate of her previous husband,

Dumuzid, whom she had sent to hell.

Angered by this insult, Ishtar

went to her father, Anu, the god of

the sky. She pleaded with him

Clay masks of Humbaba, the

demon giant slain by Gilgamesh,

have been discovered in the ancient

city of Sippur, on the Euphrates river

in modern-day Iraq.

to give her the Bull of Heaven, so

that she could send it to punish

the people of Uruk for Gilgamesh’s

decision. Anu eventually relented,

but warned his daughter that the

beast would bring seven years of

famine to Uruk. When the Bull of

Heaven reached the city, the earth

was torn open, and hundreds of

people fell to their deaths through

the cracks. The third time that the

Bull attacked the city, Gilgamesh

and Enkidu butchered the animal.

After sacrificing its heart to

Shamash, the two of them

contemptuously threw a piece

of the animal’s hind leg at Ishtar,

heedless of the disrespect this

showed to the gods.

That night Enkidu had a dream

in which Anu, Shamash, and Enlil

(the god who granted kingship

and had been Humbaba’s master)

discussed the deaths of Humbaba

and the Bull of Heaven. In the

dream, Anu and Enlil decided that

either Enkidu or Gilgamesh should

be killed. Shamash protested,

saying that the pair had only gone

to the cedar forest under his

The dream has shown

that misery at last comes

to the healthy man, the end

of his life is sorrow.

The Epic of Gilgamesh

Enkidu, whom I so loved,

who went with me through

every hardship, the fate of

mankind has overtaken him.

The Epic of Gilgamesh

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ASIA 195

protection. Despite Shamash’s

best efforts, the gods decided

that Enkidu must die.

Death and the quest

Coming to grips with his own

mortality, as foretold in the dream,

Enkidu desperately prayed to

Shamash and cursed Samhat,

the temple prostitute, for showing

him the way to Uruk. Shamash

rebuked him and told him to be

glad of the adventures he had

experienced. He assured Enkidu

that Gilgamesh would give his

body the finest resting place.

Soon after, Enkidu fell ill and

died 12 days later.

Lamenting his friend’s death,

Gilgamesh enlisted all of the

people and animals to mourn with

him. Calling together the finest

What can I do,

Utnapishtim? Where

can I go? Death lives in the

house where my bed is.

The Epic of Gilgamesh

His mission a failure, Gilgamesh comes

to terms with the inevitability of death.

Enkidu’s death sends the grieving Gilgamesh on a

quest for immortality.

Enkidu’s love for Gilgamesh inspires him to empathize

with his own people.

Evenly matched in battle, the two develop

a passionate bond.

Enkidu is created by the gods to subdue the

oppressive ruler Gilgamesh.

craftsmen in the land, Gilgamesh

built a golden statue of Enkidu in

his honor. He then abandoned

civilization, put on animal skins,

and wandered the wilderness in

mourning. In doing so, Gilgamesh

mirrored the early life of Enkidu.

Enkidu had been a wild man who

learned to become civilized; upon

Enkidu’s death, Gilgamesh, once a

civilized man, became wild.

Gilgamesh then left Uruk on a

quest for immortality, anxious not

to die like his soulmate. When he

followed the path that Shamash

took through the sky at night, he

found the tunnel to the heavens.

By speaking to the guardians of

the tunnels, he learned the story of

Utnapishtim, a survivor of the Great

Flood who, together with his wife,

had achieved immortality and sat

at the assembly of the gods.

Determined to discover the secret

to eternal life, Gilgamesh set out

to find Utnapishtim.

On his way to the Underworld,

Gilgamesh met an innkeeper

called Siduri, who tried to convince

him to turn back. She told the king

that the journey was not safe for

mere mortals. When he insisted

on continuing, she reluctantly

gave him directions to Urshanabi,

who ferried people across the

River of the Dead. Gilgamesh

found Urshanabi, who agreed

to help him on his mission.

As they crossed the river,

Urshanabi asked Gilgamesh why

he had made the journey to the

Underworld. Gilgamesh told him

how his grief at the death of Enkidu

had driven him to find immortality.

His words convinced Urshanabi

to take him to Utnapishtim.

When Gilgamesh eventually

reached Utnapishtim, the man who

had achieved immortality remarked

on how worn out the king looked.

Gilgamesh explained his pain at

watching his friend die and said

he was afraid of his own mortality.

In response, Utnapishtim asked

why Gilgamesh would go on a futile

quest instead of enjoying what

he had been given in life: “Why, O

Gilgamesh, did you prolong woe?” ❯❯

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