Below is a quick summary of the amazing story of The Epic of Gilgamesh. Again, I highly recommend this read to anyone who enjoyed Beowulf, Greek Mythology, or even Biblical stories
Contents of the Standard Babylonian version tablets
This summary is based on Andrew George’s translation.
The Epic of Gilgamesh is written in cuneiform on Assyrian and Babylonian clay tablets. 3 tablets are written in Semitic or Akkadian, which cannot be much later than 2,000 BC. In the seventh century edition which forms the main base of our knowledge of the poem, it was divided into Twelve Tablets, each containing about 300 lines.
Tablet one
The story introduces Gilgamesh, king of Uruk. Gilgamesh, two-thirds god and one-third man, is oppressing his people, who cry out to the gods for help. For the young women of Uruk this oppression takes the form of a droit du seigneur, or “lord’s right”, to sleep with brides on their wedding night. For the young men (the tablet is damaged at this point) it is conjectured that Gilgamesh exhausts them through games, tests of strength, or perhaps forced labor on building projects.
The gods respond to the people’s pleas by creating an equal to Gilgamesh who will be able to stop his oppression. This is the primitive man, Enkidu, who is covered in hair and lives in the wild with the animals. He is spotted by a trapper, whose livelihood is being ruined because Enkidu is uprooting his traps. The trapper tells the sun-god Shamash about the man, and it is arranged for Enkidu to be seduced by Shamhat, a temple prostitute, his first step towards being tamed. After six days and seven nights (or two weeks, according to more recent scholarship) of lovemaking and teaching Enkidu about the ways of civilization, she takes Enkidu to a shepherd’s camp to learn how to be civilized.
Gilgamesh, meanwhile, has been having dreams about the imminent arrival of a beloved new companion. Gilgamesh arose from his slumber and went to seek his mother, Ninsun, the great wild cow goddess, to relate dreams to her and to help interpret these dreams.
Tablet two
Shamhat brings Enkidu to the shepherds’ camp, where he is introduced to a human diet and becomes the night watchman. Enkidu helps the shepherds by guarding the sheep. Learning from a passing stranger about Gilgamesh’s treatment of new brides, Enkidu is incensed and travels to Uruk to intervene at a wedding. When Gilgamesh attempts to visit the wedding chamber, Enkidu blocks his way, and they battle. Enkidu was a wild man with long hair, great strength, and one who was equal to Gilgamesh. After a fierce battle, Enkidu acknowledges and praises Gilgamesh’s superior strength and they become friends.
Not far from the city of Uruk lay the Forest of Cedars and a monstrous giant who dwells within. The forest was 10000 leagues. The monster was Humbaba. The great God Enlil appointed him to guard the Forest of Cedars and to strike terror in the hearts of men. His roar was like unto the great deluge. From his mouth spewed forth flames of fire and his breath is death. He hears every rustle of grass in the forest though it be a thousand Leagues distant. For reasons unknown (the tablet is partially broken) Enkidu is in a sad mood. In order to cheer him up Gilgamesh Gilgamesh proposes a journey to the Forest of Cedars to slay the monstrous demi-god Humbaba in order to gain fame and renown. Enkidu protests, as he knows Humbaba and is aware of his power. Gilgamesh talks Enkidu into it with some words of encouragement, but Enkidu remains reluctant. They prepare, and call for the elders. The elders also protest, but after Gilgamesh talks to them, they agree to let him go. Despite warnings from Enkidu and the council of elders, Gilgamesh is not deterred.
Tablet three
The Elders of Uruk sat at the feet of Gilgamesh as he was seated upon his throne. The elders give Gilgamesh advice for his journey. Gilgamesh commanded the smiths to craft weapons for him. They ceded themselves and crafted Mighty weapons, great axes weighing 180 lbs. Also great swords did they cast. Each blade had the weight of 120 lbs. The hilt weighed 30 lbs and each sword was inlaid with 30 lbs of gold. Gilgamesh visits his mother, the goddess Ninsun, who seeks the support and protection of the sun-god Shamash for their adventure. Ninsun adopts Enkidu as her son, and Gilgamesh leaves instructions for the governance of Uruk in his absence. Gilgamesh did command his vassals to bolt shut the Sevenfold Gates of high-walled Uruk. Gilgamesh paid tribute to Shamash the sun god for a successful return. Gilgamesh carried a great bow and fletched arrows in their quiver. In his hand a great sword and in his belt a great Axe. After both he and Enkidu equip themselves for the journey, they leave with the elders’ blessing and counsel.
Tablet four
In the space of three days did Gilgamesh and Enkidu traverse a journey of 7 weeks. Gilgamesh and Enkidu journey to the Cedar Forest. Every day they camp on a mountain, and perform a dream ritual. “And it befell that Enkidu built for Gilgamesh a dwelling for the god of Dreams. Unto this dwelling did he a fix a door, that the wind might not enter therein. Then did Gilgamesh to lie upon the ground, so he could poor about him an enchanted circle of milled flour to cause Gilgamesh to dream.” Enkidu, who was begotten in the wilderness, knew how to interpret dreams. He spoke to Gilgamesh, his friend, and explained the meaning of his dreams.
Gilgamesh has five terrifying dreams about falling mountains, thunderstorms, wild bulls, and a thunderbird that breathes fire. Despite similarities between his dream figures and earlier descriptions of Humbaba, Enkidu interprets these dreams as good omens, and denies that the frightening images represent the forest guardian. As they approach the cedar mountain, they hear Humbaba bellowing, and have to encourage each other not to be afraid.
Tablet five
The heroes enter the cedar forest. Humbaba, the guardian of the Cedar Forest, insults and threatens them. He accuses Enkidu of betrayal, and vows to disembowel Gilgamesh and feed his flesh to the birds. Gilgamesh is afraid, but with some encouraging words from Enkidu the battle commences. The mountains quake with the tumult and the sky turns black. The god Shamash sends 13 winds to bind Humbaba, and he is captured. Humbaba pleads for his life, and Gilgamesh pities him. Gilgamesh refrains from slaying him, and urges Enkidu to hunt Humbaba’s “seven auras” (sons). Humbaba offers to make Gilgamesh king of the forest, to cut the trees for him, and to be his slave.
Enkidu, however, argues that Gilgamesh should kill Humbaba to establish his reputation forever. Humbaba curses them both and Gilgamesh dispatches him with a blow to the neck, as well as killing his seven sons. The two heroes cut down many cedars, including a gigantic tree that Enkidu plans to fashion into a gate for the temple of Enlil. The two heros discover the gods’ secret abode. Much of the rest of the tablet is broken at this point. They build a raft and return home along the Euphrates with the giant tree and (possibly) the head of Humbaba. The auras are not referred to in the Standard Babylonian version, but are in one of the Sumerian poems.
Tablet six
Gilgamesh rejects the advances of the goddess Ishtar because of her mistreatment of previous lovers like Dumuzi. Ishtar asks her father Anu to send the Bull of Heaven to avenge her. When Anu rejects her complaints, Ishtar threatens to raise the dead who will “outnumber the living” and “devour them”. Anu states that if he gives her the Bull of Heaven, Uruk will face 7 years of famine. Ishtar provides him with provisions for 7 years in exchange for the bull. Ishtar leads the Bull of Heaven to Uruk, and it causes widespread devastation. It lowers the level of the Euphrates river, and dries up the marshes. It opens up huge pits that swallow 300 men. Without any divine assistance, Enkidu and Gilgamesh attack and slay it, and offer up its heart to Shamash. Unto his Guardian God and Father Lugalbanda, did Gilgamesh offer the horns of the bull of Heaven, to hold holy ointments for his devotional anointment. Each horn was fashioned from 30 lb of lapis lazuli and the wall of each horn was the width of two thumbs in thickness. And Gilgamesh placed the horns of the bull of Heaven upon the shrine of his forebears. When Ishtar cries out, Enkidu hurls one of the hindquarters of the bull at her. The city of Uruk celebrates, but Enkidu has an ominous dream about his future failure.
Tablet seven
In Enkidu’s dream, the gods decide that one of the heroes must die because they killed Humbaba and Gugalanna. Despite the protestations of Shamash, Enkidu is marked for death. Enkidu curses the great door he has fashioned for Enlil’s temple. He also curses the trapper and Shamhat for removing him from the wild. Shamash reminds Enkidu of how Shamhat fed and clothed him, and introduced him to Gilgamesh. Shamash tells him that Gilgamesh will bestow great honors upon him at his funeral, and will wander into the wild consumed with grief.
Enkidu regrets his curses and blesses Shamhat instead. In a second dream, however, he sees himself being taken captive to the Netherworld by a terrifying Angel of Death. The underworld was called the house of Darkness and the queen was Ereshkigal. The underworld is a “house of dust” and darkness whose inhabitants eat clay, and are clothed in bird feathers, supervised by terrifying beings. For 12 days, Enkidu’s condition worsens. Finally, after a lament that he could not meet a heroic death in battle, he dies. In a famous line from the epic, Gilgamesh clings to Enkidu’s body and denies that he has died until a maggot drops from the corpse’s nose.
Tablet eight
Gilgamesh delivers a lament for Enkidu, in which he calls upon mountains, forests, fields, rivers, wild animals, and all of Uruk to mourn for his friend. Recalling their adventures together, Gilgamesh tears at his hair and clothes in grief. He commissions a funerary statue, and provides grave gifts from his treasury to ensure that Enkidu has a favorable reception in the realm of the dead. At the first light of dawn, did Gilgamesh arise and enter into the storehouse of treasures. He broke the seal and assayed his riches.
Gold, silver, carnelian, obsidian, lapis lazuli, and alabaster did he own. All manner of precious gems fully worked did Gilgamesh inspect. And then did Gilgamesh provide for his friend, Enkidu, for his journey unto the Netherworld, 30 weights of gold. Also did he provide for his friend 30 weights of ivory. He also provided 30 weights of silver, 30 weights of iron, a sword, the handle of which was inlaid with a thickness of gold, a longbow, which was inlaid with a thickness of gold, and a quiver with fletched arrows of ivory. He provided for his friend a battle axe, the handle of which held 40 weights of gold, and 3 cubits was its length.
“Unto Ishtar the great Queen, did Gilgamesh make an offering of a javelin of sacred wood. Unto Sin, god of the Moon, did Gilgamesh make an offering of an urn of alabaster. Unto Ereshkigal, queen of the Netherworld, did Gilgamesh make an offering of a flagon of lapis lazuli. Unto Tammuz, the shepherd, beloved consort of Ishtar, did Gilgamesh make an offering of a flute of carnelian. Unto Namtar, chief minister of the Netherworld, did Gilgamesh make an offering of a scepter of lapis lazuli and a seat of lapis lazuli. Unto Hushbisha, overseer of another world, did Gilgamesh make an offering of a neck collar of gold and silver, inlaid with carnelian. Unto Qassatabat, servant of Ereshkegal, did Gilgamesh make an offering of a bracelet of Silver and a ring of gold. Unto Ninshuluhha, custodian of the Netherworld, did Gilgamesh make an offering of a vessel of alabaster, the inside of which was inlaid with lapis lazuli and carnelian, and which displayed an image of the Forest of Cedars. Unto Bibbu, meat carver of the Netherworld, did Gilgamesh make an offering of a double-edged blade of obsidian with a shaft of lapis lazuli bearing an image of the pure Euphrates. Unto Dumuziabzu, scapegoat of the Netherworld, did Gilgamesh make an offering of a copper of alabaster, inlaid with carnelian, the lid of which was lapis lazuli. And it did come to pass that Gilgamesh ordained a great table of sacred wood be brought forth. Upon this table did he fill a carnelian bowl with honey. Upon this table did he fill a Lapis Lazuli bowl with cream. Then did Gilgamesh adorned and display these precious bowls and did offer them up to Shamash, the sun god.”
A great banquet is held where the treasures are offered to the gods of the Netherworld. Just before a break in the text there is a suggestion that a river is being dammed, indicating a burial in a river bed, as in the corresponding Sumerian poem, The Death of Gilgamesh.
Tablet nine
Tablet nine opens with Gilgamesh roaming the wild wearing animal skins, grieving for Enkidu. Having now become fearful of his own death, he decides to seek Utnapishtim (“the Faraway”), and learn the secret of eternal life. Among the few survivors of the Great Flood, Utnapishtim and his wife are the only humans to have been granted immortality by the gods. Of death and eternal life he wished to learn the secret. Gilgamesh argues with Shamash about the futility of his quest. Gilgamesh crosses a mountain pass at night and encounters a pride of lions. Before sleeping he prays for protection to the moon god Sin. Then, waking from an encouraging dream, he kills the lions and uses their skins for clothing.
After a long and perilous journey, Gilgamesh arrives at the twin peaks of Mount Mashu at the end of the earth. He comes across a tunnel, which no man has ever entered, guarded by two scorpion monsters, who appear to be a married couple. The husband tries to dissuade Gilgamesh from passing, but the wife intervenes, expresses sympathy for Gilgamesh, and allows his passage. He passes under the mountains along the Road of the Sun. In complete darkness he follows the road for 12 “double hours”, managing to complete the trip before the Sun catches up with him. And then did Gilgamesh behold the Brilliance of Shamash, the sun god in all his glory.
He arrives at the Garden of the gods, a paradise full of jewel-laden trees. Precious gems hung from the branches of the trees in the garden. One tree bore fruit of carnelian, hanging there for like bunches of grapes. This tree was pleasing to the site. Another tree bore leaves of a Lapis Lazuli in full bloom. There were Trees Bejeweled with fruit of Ruby, Diamond, Emerald, Agate, Sapphire, citrine, hematite, and also pearls and coral from the sea. And Gilgamesh gazed in awe at the beauty and magnificence of The Garden of the Gods.
Tablet ten
Gilgamesh meets alewife Siduri, who assumes that he is a murderer or thief because of his disheveled appearance. Gilgamesh tells her about the purpose of his journey. She attempts to dissuade him from his quest for immortality, urging him to be content with the simple pleasures of life, but sends him to Urshanabi the ferryman, who will help him cross the sea to Utnapishtim. Gilgamesh, out of spontaneous rage, destroys the stone charms that Urshanabi keeps with him. He tells him his story, but when he asks for his help, Urshanabi informs him that he has just destroyed the objects that can help them cross the Waters of Death, which are deadly to the touch. Urshanabi instructs Gilgamesh to cut down 120 trees and carve them into 300 oars so that they may cross the waters of death without needing the “stone ones”. When they reach the island where Utnapishtim lives, Gilgamesh recounts his story, asking him for his help. Utnapishtim reprimands him, declaring that fighting the common fate of humans is futile and diminishes life’s joys.
“The life of a man is as easily broken as a reed in a Thicket of pain. Death All Too Soon cuts down, in their Prime, the handsome Youth and the comely Maiden. No one beholds the face of death. No one hears the voice of death. But pitiless and unyielding death cuts down all. Everything is impermanent. No distinction is there between master and servant when both have reached the end of their allotted lifespan and breathed their last.”
Tablet eleven
Gilgamesh observes that Utnapishtim seems no different from himself, and asks him how he obtained his immortality. Utnapishtim explains that the gods decided to send a great flood. The city of Shuruppak is set upon the banks of the river Euphrates. The city is ancient and gods once dwell therein. But the multitude upon the face of the Earth and the unceasing clamour and wickedness of the people aroused the Wrath of the Gods. And thus the great God’s method to tame it was to send a deluge to rain down in order to wipe out mankind.
Ea, god of wisdom, the cunning one, (in some versions it is the God Enki) warned Utanapishtim of the coming flood and told him to pull down his house and fashion a vessel there from. it was sealed with pitch and bitumen. Aboard this vessel shall he take the seed of every creature that lives upon the Earth. This boat, which he is to build, the measurement should be equal for the width and length thereof. One acre was the expanse of her deck. 120 cubits was the height of her sides. I gave her six decks, thus making seven levels and all. The inside of the ship was divided into nine parts.
His entire family went aboard together with his craftsmen and “all the animals of the field”. A violent storm then arose which caused the terrified gods to retreat to the heavens. Ishtar lamented the wholesale destruction of humanity, and the other gods wept beside her. For six days and seven nights, did the storm winds blow, the Tempest Roar, and Deluge rain down. But upon the seventh day, the winds did grow calm and the flood waters did subside. All of humanity was returned to clay.
Utnapishtim weeps when he sees the destruction. His boat lodges on a mountain, and he releases a dove, a swallow, and a raven. When the raven fails to return, he opens the ark and frees its inhabitants. Utnapishtim offers a sacrifice to the gods, who smell the sweet savor and gather around. Ishtar vows that just as she will never forget the brilliant necklace that hangs around her neck, she will always remember this time. When Enlil arrives, angry that there are survivors, she condemns him for instigating the flood. Enki also castigates him for sending a disproportionate punishment. Enlil blesses Utnapishtim and his wife, and rewards them with eternal life. This account largely matches the flood story that concludes the Epic of Atra-Hasis.
The main point seems to be that when Enlil granted eternal life. it was a unique gift. As if to demonstrate this point, Utnapishtim challenges Gilgamesh to stay awake for six days and seven nights. Gilgamesh falls asleep, and Utnapishtim instructs his wife to bake a loaf of bread on each of the days he is asleep, so that he cannot deny his failure to keep awake. Gilgamesh, who is seeking to overcome death, cannot even conquer sleep.
After instructing Urshanabi, the ferryman, to wash Gilgamesh and clothe him in royal robes, they depart for Uruk. As they are leaving, Utnapishtim’s wife asks her husband to offer a parting gift. Utanapishtim took pity on Gilgamesh and revealed a secret. It is a hidden Mystery of the Gods. Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh that at the bottom of the sea there lives a boxthorn-like plant that will make him young again. “There is a plant very much like a thorn bush which grows deep under the ocean. Like a rose this plant has sharp thorns which will pick you. Yet, if your hand can procure this plant, you shall surely attain life everlasting.”
Upon hearing this, Gilgamesh dug a shaft deep into the ground until the abyss he did reach. He bound heavy stones to his feet and the stones dragged him down unto the depths of the sea bed. There he did a spy the plant. He seized the plant and its thorns did scratch him. Then he did Cut Loose the heavy stones from his feet and the Sea carried him upward and cast him upon the shore.
Gilgamesh proposes to investigate if the plant has the hypothesized rejuvenation ability by testing it on an old man once he returns to Uruk. With the ability to rise above the “death” that had taken even Enkidu, the voices and acclaim of the people of Uruk would have reached unprecedented level upon returning with immortality. Describing himself as being in the “rashness of youth”, vanity soon followed and he became bothered by his ragged state to which he had not spared a single thought until that moment. He wished to cleanse himself before returning to Uruk to test the fruits of his labor in perfect condition, so he rested at a spring close by to recover from the fatigue accumulated over his long journey.
While Gilgamesh rested and bathed in the cool Pond of water, a serpent smelled the fragrance of the plant, and although a panicked Gilgamesh emerged from the spring, it was too late. The serpent slithered forward silently and snatched the plant. The snake gained the property of shedding, having been the restoration of youth instead of immortality, and all that was left was its shed skin.
It is said that the snake begins its life again in a new body after shedding its skin because it stole Gilgamesh’s medicine and took it. The way snakes went about their life appeared to the ancient people as a kind of perpetual youth and eternal life that was not available to humans.
Gilgamesh weeps at the futility of his efforts, because he has now lost all chance of immortality. He returns to Uruk, where the sight of its massive walls prompts him to praise this enduring work to Urshanabi. Marking the end of his adventures, he governed Uruk as the ruler of heroes and brought it to completion. Though he was still severe, he ruled Uruk quietly, entrusting it to the next king before going to his eternal rest without telling the whereabouts of the herb. He became humanity’s most ancient hero and the illustrious king who was the first in this world to have “become a story.”
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