PROLOGUE
GILKAMESH KING IN URUK
I WILL proclaim to the world the deeds of Gilkamesh. This was the man to whom
all things were known; this was the king who knew the countries of the world. He was
wise, lie saw mysteries and knew secret things, he brought us a tale of the days
before the flood. He went on a long journey, was weary, worn-out with labour,
returning he rested, he engraved on a stone the whole story.
When the gods created Gilkamesh they gave him a perfect body. Shamash the
glorious sun endowed him with beauty, Adad the god of the storm endowed him with
courage, the great gods made his beauty perfect, surpassing all others, terrifying like
a great wild bull. Two thirds they made him god and one third man.
In Uruk he built walls, a great rampart, and the temple of blessed Eanna for the
god of the firmament Anu, and for Ishtar the goddess of love. Look at it still today: the
outer wall where the cornice runs, it shines with the brilliance of copper; and the inner
wall, it has no equal. Touch the threshold, it is ancient. Approach Eanna the dwelling
of Ishtar, our lady of love and war, the like of which no latter-day king, no man alive can
equal. Climb upon the wall of Uruk; walk along it, I say; regard the foundation terrace
and examine the masonry: is it not burnt brick and good? The seven sages laid the
foundations.
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CHAPTER 1
THE COMING OF ENKIDU
GILKAMESH went abroad in the world, but he met with none who could withstand
his arms till be came to Uruk. But the men of Uruk muttered in their houses,
'Gilkamesh sounds the tocsin for his amusement, his arrogance has no bounds by
day or night. No son is left with his father, for Gilkamesh takes them all,, even the
children; yet the king should be a shepherd to his people. His lust leaves no virgin to
her lover, neither the warrior's daughter nor the wife of the noble; yet this is the
shepherd of the city, wise, comely, and resolute.'
The gods heard their lament, the gods of heaven cried to the Lord of Uruk, to Anu
the god of Uruk: 'A goddess made him, strong as a savage bull, none can withstand
his arms. No son is left with his father, for Gilkamesh takes them all; and is this the
king, the shepherd of his people? His lust leaves no virgin to her lover, neither the
warrior's daughter nor the wife of the noble.' When Anu had heard their lamentation
the gods cried to Aruru, the goddess of creation, 'You made him, O Aruru, now create
his equal; let it be as like him as his own reflection, his second self, stormy heart for
stormy heart. Let them contend together and leave Uruk in quiet.'
So the goddess conceived an image in her mind, and it was of the stuff of Anu of
the firmament. She dipped her hands in water and pinched off clay, she let it fall in the
wilderness, and noble Enkidu was created. There was virtue in him of the god of war,
of Ninurta himself. His body was rough, he had long hair like a woman's; it waved like
the hair of Nisaba, the goddess of corn. His body was covered with matted hair like
Samuqan's, the god of cattle. He was innocent of mankind; he knew nothing of the
cultivated land.
Enkidu ate grass in the hills with the gazelle and lurked with wild beasts at the
water-holes; he had joy of the water with the herds of wild game. But there was a
trapper who met him one day face to face at the drinking-hole, for the wild game had
entered Ills territory. On three days he met him face to face, and the trapper was frozen
with fear. He went back to his house with the game that he had caught, and he was
dumb, benumbed with terror. His face was altered like that of one who has made a
long journey. With awe in his heart he spoke to his father: 'Father, there is a man,
unlike any other, who comes down from the hills. He is the strongest in the world, he
is like an immortal from heaven. He ranges over the hills with wild beasts and cats
grass; he ranges through your land and comes down to the wells. I am afraid and
dare not go near him. He fills in the pits which I dig and tears up my traps set for the
game; lie helps the beasts to escape and now they slip through my fingers.'
His father opened his mouth and said to the trapper, 'My son in Uruk lives
Gilkamesh; no one has ever prevailed against him, he is strong as a star from
heaven. Go to Uruk, find Gilkamesh, extol the strength of this wild man. Ask him to
give you a harlot, a wanton from the temple of love; return with her, and let her
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woman's power overpower this mail. When next he comes down to drink at the wells
she will be there, stripped naked; and when he sees her beckoning he will embrace
her, and then the wild beasts will reject him.'
So the trapper set out on his journey to Uruk and addressed himself to Gilkamesh
saying, 'A man unlike any other is roaming now in the pastures; he is as strong as a
star from heaven and I am afraid to approach him. He helps the wild game to escape;
he fills in my pits and pulls up my traps.' Gilkamesh said, 'Trapper, go back, take with
you a harlot, a child of pleasure. At the drinking-hole she will strip, and when he sees
her beckoning he will embrace her and the game of the wilderness will surely reject
him. '
Now the trapper returned, taking the harlot with him. After a three days' journey they
came to the drinking-hole, and there they sat down; the harlot and the trapper sat
facing one another and waited for the game to come. For the first day and for the
second day the two sat waiting, but on the third day the herds came; they came down
to drink and Enkidu was with them. The small wild creatures of the plains were glad
of the water, and Enkidu with them, who ate grass with the gazelle and was born in
the hills; and she saw him, the savage man, come from far-off in the hills. The trapper
spoke to her: 'There he is. Now, woman, make your breasts bare, have no shame, do
not delay but welcome his love. Let him see you naked, let him possess your body.
When he comes near uncover yourself and lie with him; teach him, the savage man,
your woman's art, for when he murmurs love to you the wild beasts that shared his life
in the hills will reject him.'
She was not ashamed to take him, she made herself naked and welcomed his
eagerness; as he lay on her murmuring love she taught him the woman's art. For six
days and seven nights they lay together, for Enkidu had forgotten his home in the hills;
but when he was satisfied lie went back to the wild beasts. Then, when the gazelle
saw him, they bolted away; when the wild creatures saw him they fled. Enkidu would
have followed, but his body was bound as though with a cord, his knees gave way
when lie started to run, his swiftness was gone. And now the wild creatures had all
fled away; Enkidu was grown weak, for wisdom was in him, and the thoughts of a
man were in his heart. So he returned and sat down at the woman's feet, and listened
intently to what she said. 'You are wise, Enkidu, and now you have become like a god.
Why do you want to run wild with the beasts in the hills? Come with me. I will take you
to strong-walled Uruk, to the blessed temple of Ishtar and of Anu, of love and of
heaven: there Gilkamesh lives, who is very strong, and like a wild bull he lords it over
men.'
When she had spoken Enkidu was pleased; he longed for a comrade, for one who
would understand his heart. ' Come, woman, and take me to that holy temple, to the
house of Anu and of Ishtar, and to the place where Gilkamesh lords it over the people.