Tablet twelve
This tablet is mainly an Akkadian translation of an earlier Sumerian poem, “Gilgamesh and the Netherworld” (also known as “Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld” and variants), although it has been suggested that it is derived from an unknown version of that story. The contents of this last tablet are inconsistent with previous ones: Enkidu is still alive, despite having died earlier in the epic. Because of this, its lack of integration with the other tablets, and the fact that it is almost a copy of an earlier version, it has been referred to as an ‘inorganic appendage’ to the epic. Alternatively, it has been suggested that “its purpose, though crudely handled, is to explain to Gilgamesh (and the reader) the various fates of the dead in the Afterlife” and in “an awkward attempt to bring closure”, it both connects the Gilgamesh of the epic with the Gilgamesh who is the King of the Netherworld, and is “a dramatic capstone whereby the twelve-tablet epic ends on one and the same theme, that of “seeing” (= understanding, discovery, etc.), with which it began.”
Gilgamesh complains to Enkidu that various of his possessions (the tablet is unclear exactly what – different translations include a drum and a ball) have fallen into the underworld. Enkidu offers to bring them back. Delighted, Gilgamesh tells Enkidu what he must and must not do in the underworld if he is to return. Enkidu does everything which he was told not to do. The underworld keeps him. Gilgamesh prays to the gods to give him back his friend. Enlil and Suen don’t reply, but Enki and Shamash decide to help. Shamash makes a crack in the earth, and Enkidu’s ghost jumps out of it. The tablet ends with Gilgamesh questioning Enkidu about what he has seen in the underworld.
The gods affirmed that no man should have life eternal. Gilgamesh was brought to stand before them. Despite his mother being the wild cow goddess Ninsun, they could not grant him eternal life. However, Gilgamesh, as a ghost in another world, would assume the role of governor of that realm. He shall rule over the ghosts in the Netherworld. He would render judgment and issue verdicts. His word shall be as weighty as that of the Gods Ningishzida and Dumuzi.
Gilgamesh commanded that his tomb be built as he had dreamed. The waters of the Euphrates were stemmed. Cracked and dry lay the floor of the river. In the bed of the river Euphrates did Gilgamesh a wrecked his Sepulcher of stone. He built its walls of stone. He made its door of stone. The threshold was made of granite. The beams were cast in gold and the floor was constructed of great blocks of stone.
His burial chamber would be cleverly concealed so that, in ages to come, no man would ever encounter it. No man who searched for the tomb of Gilgamesh would ever be able to discover its sacred location. Thus did the Young Lord, Lord Gilgamesh, establish within the confines of Uruk, a safeguarded Crypt for all time. The people of Uruk did carry the body of their dead Lord into his tomb. The door they did seal and the dikes of the river Euphrates did they breach. The waters of the Great River washed over the sepulcher and covered the tomb from view. Thus, hidden for all eternity, was the burial chamber of Gilgamesh.
Others
There are five surviving Gilgamesh stories in the form of older poems in Sumerian. These probably circulated independently, rather than being in the form of a unified epic. Some of the names of the main characters in these poems differ slightly from later Akkadian names; for example, “Bilgamesh” is written instead of “Gilgamesh”, and there are some differences in the underlying stories such as the fact that Enkidu is Gilgamesh’s servant in the Sumerian version.
The lord to the Living One’s Mountain and Ho, hurrah!
Gilgamesh and Enkidu travel with other men to the Forest of Cedar. There, trapped by Humbaba, Gilgamesh tricks him (with Enkidu’s assistance in one of the versions) into giving up his auras, thus losing his power.
Hero in battle
The Bull’s voracious appetite causes drought and hardship in the land while Gilgamesh feasts. Lugalbanda convinces him to face the beast and fights it alongside Enkidu.
The envoys of Akka
Uruk faces a siege from a Kish army led by King Akka, whom Gilgamesh defeats and forgives. In those days, in those far-off days, otherwise known as Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld, is the source for the Akkadian translation included as tablet XII in the Standard Babylonian version, telling of Enkidu’s journey to the Netherworld. It is also the main source of information for the Sumerian creation myth and the story of “Inanna and the Huluppu Tree”.
The great wild bull is lying down
A poem about Gilgamesh’s death, burial and consecration as a demigod, reigning and giving judgment over the dead. After dreaming of how the gods decide his fate after death, Gilgamesh takes counsel, prepares his funeral and offers gifts to the gods. Once deceased, he is buried under the Euphrates, taken off its course and later returned to it.
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