The Epic of Gilgamish

Volume 10 — Introduction

Reading edition

At the end of Book I in the Assyrian text and at the end of Col. I of Book II in the new text, the situation in the legend is as follows. The harlot halts outside the city of Erech with the enamoured Enkidu, while she relates to him the two dreams of the king, Gilgamish. In these dreams which he has told to his mother he receives premonition concerning the advent of the satyr Enkidu, destined to join with him in the conquest of Elam.

Now the harlot urges Enkidu to enter the beautiful city, to clothe himself like other men and to learn the ways of civilization. When he enters he sees someone, whose name is broken away, eating bread and drinking milk, but the beautiful barbarian understands not. The harlot commands him to eat and drink also:

“It is the conformity of life, Of the conditions and fate of the Land.”

He rapidly learns the customs of men, becomes a shepherd and a mighty hunter. At last he comes to the notice of Gilgamish himself, who is shocked by the newly acquired manner of Enkidu.

Notes in this chapter

Note 1 · Ni. 13981, published by Dr. Poebel in PBS. V, No. 2.Note 2 · The local Bêl of Erech and a bye-form of Enlil, the earth god. Here he is the consort of the mother goddess Ninsun.Note 3 · Tammuz is probably a real personage, although Dumu-zi, his original name, is certainly later than the title Ab-ú, probably the oldest epithe Note 4 · See ibid., page 40.Note 5 · Also Meissner’s early Babylonian duplicate of Book X has invariably the same writing, see Dhorme, Choix de Textes Religieux, 298–303.Note 6 · Sign whose gunufied form is read aga.Note 7 · The standard text of the Assyrian version is by Professor Paul Haupt, Das Babylonische Nimrodepos, Leipzig, 1884.Note 8 · The name of the mother of Gilgamish has been erroneously read ri-mat ilatNin-lil, or Rimat-Bêlit, see Dhorme 202, 37; 204, 30, etc. But Dr. Note 9 · The fragments which have been assigned to Book II in the British Museum collections by Haupt, Jensen, Dhorme and others belong to later tabl Note 10 · Rm. 289, latter part of Col. II (part of the Assyrian version) published in HAUPT, ibid., 81–4 preserves a defective text of this part of th Note 11 · K. 2589 and duplicate (unnumbered) in Haupt, ibid., 16–19.Note 12 · See also Ward, No. 199.Note 13 · “Oh harlot, take away the man,” says the lord of Erech. Once again the faithful woman instructs her heroic lover in the conventions of socie Note 14 · In another unplaced fragment of the Assyrian text11 Enkidu rejects his mistress also, apparently on his own initiative and for ascetic reaso Note 15 · The newly recovered section of the epic contains two legends which supplied the glyptic artists of Sumer and Accad with subjects for seals.