THE EPIC OF GILGAMISH
Text, Transliteration, and Notes
R. Campbell Thompson
Oxford University Press • 1930 • First Edition
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Tablet I, Column I, lines 1–20 · Surviving Akkadian
Column I [Gilgamesh], who saw the Deep, the [foun]dation of the land, [who] knew [the ways], [was wise] in everything; [he surveyed] the [cult-daises] alike, [the sum] of wisdom, of everything, he [knew]. He saw what was secret, opened what was hidden; he brought back a report from before the Flood. He came a distant road, was weary and found rest; [set down] on a stele was all his toil. He had the wall of Uruk-the-Sheepfold built, of holy Eanna, the pure storehouse. See its wall, which is like a strand of wool(?); look at its parapet, which no one can equal. Take the stairway that has been there from of old, draw near to Eanna, the seat of Ishtar, which no later king, no one at all, can equal. Go up onto the wall of Uruk and walk about; survey the foundation, examine the brickwork: is its brickwork not kiln-fired brick, and did not the Seven [Sages] lay its foundations? … Column II Two-thirds of him is god, [one third human]; the image of his body [Belet-ili designed], [Nudimmud perfected his form]. … … Fragment c, d [… half a rod his stride …] [… of his cheek; bearded …] [… the locks of his hair grew thick …] [… perfect …] Column II, lower block [In the sheepfold] of Uruk he walks [about], [lording it] like a wild bull, [head] held high. He has no [equal], and [his] weapons stand raised; at his pukku [his] companions are kept standing. The young men of Uruk are [harried] without [warrant](?); Gilgamesh does not [release] a son to [his] father. [Day and night he rages fiercely.]
KNOWLEDGE BEFORE THE FLOOD
Gilgamesh begins by looking to the past. Before the story starts, the text shows its hero as someone who discovered hidden knowledge and returned with an account reaching into the world before the Flood.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Tablet I, Column I, lines 15–50 · Surviving Akkadian
[Gilgamesh] lets [no girl] go free [to her bridegroom]. The warrior's daughter, [the young man's bride] … Their complaint [the goddess was listening to]. The gods of heaven, lords of initiative … "Have you bred, indeed, a savage wild bull [in Uruk-the-Sheepfold]? He has not any equal, [his weapons being ready]. [His companions] are kept on their feet by the ball. Gilgamesh lets no son go free to his father. Day and [night he behaves with fierce arrogance]. He who is shepherd of Uruk[-the-Sheepfold], he is their herdsman and … Powerful, pre-eminent, expert [and mighty]. Gilgamesh lets no girl go free to [her bridegroom]." The warrior's daughter, the young [man's] bride: [Anu] was listening to their complaint. They summoned Aruru, the great one: "You, O Aruru, created [man]. Now create what he suggests! Let him be equal to the storm of his heart. Let them rival each other and so let Uruk be rested." When Aruru heard this, she fashioned Anu's idea in her heart. Aruru washed her hands, she took a pinch of clay, she threw it down in the wild. [In the wild] she created Enkidu, the hero, an offspring of silence, knit strong by Ninurta. All his body is matted with hair, he is adorned with tresses like a woman. The locks of his hair grow thickly as Nissaba's. He knows not at all a people nor even a country. He was clad in a garment like Šakkan's. Feeding on grass with the very gazelles, jostling at the water-hole with the herd, with the wild animals his heart delighted in water. A hunter, a trapper-man, came face to face with him by the water-hole. [One] day, a second and a third, by the water-hole, the same (he came face to face with him). The hunter saw him and his expression froze. [He] and his herds – he went back to his lair. [He was troubled,] he grew still, he grew silent. His mood [was unhappy], his face clouded over. [There was] sorrow in his heart. His face was like [one who has travelled] distant [roads].
ARURU CREATES ENKIDU FROM CLAY
Gilgamesh’s behavior has become a problem for the people of Uruk, and their complaints reach the gods. Their response is creation. Aruru, addressed as the one who made humankind (the word is restored at a break), is told to make a being equal to him.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Tablet I, Plate 3, Column III, lines 1–35 · Surviving Akkadian
The hunter opened [his mouth] to speak, [saying to his father]: "My father, [a certain] fellow who has co[me to us], [in the land he is mi]ghty, [he has] strength; [like a lump of rock] of Anu his [strength] is mighty. [He wand]ers over the hills al[ways]; [always] with the herd [I see him]; [always] his [fe]et [are set] opposite the water-hole. [I am afraid and] do not go near him. [He has filled in the] pits that I dug, [he has torn out] my snares that I la[id], [he has let slip from my hand] the herd, the animals of the [wild]; [he does not let] me do the work [of the wild]." (ruling across the column) [His father opened his mouth to speak], saying to the hunter: "[Go, my son, to the scion(?) of the heart of] Uruk, Gilgamesh; […] … into his presence(?) [like a lump of rock from the sky] his strength is mighty. [Take the road, toward Uruk se]t your face; […] the strength of a man. [Go, my son,] bring [with you Shamhat the harlot]; [… like the mighty(?)]. [When the herd comes] down [to] the water-hole, [let her strip off] her [clothing] and [lay open] her charms. [He will see] her and go up to her; his herd will turn hostile to him, [though he grew up in] its presence." To the advice of his father […] the hunter went off […]. He took the road, toward Uruk he se[t his face]. [To the king(?)] Gilgamesh [he repeated his instructions]: "A certain fellow who [has come to us], in the land he is mighty, [he has] st[rength]; like a lump of rock of Anu [his strength] is mighty. He wanders over the hills al[ways]; always with the herd [I see him]; always his feet [are set] opposite the water-hole. I am afraid and do not go near [him]."
THE HUNTER SEEKS HELP
Enkidu’s life among the animals brings him into conflict with the hunter, whose pits he fills in and whose snares he tears out. The frightened hunter turns to his father, who directs him toward Gilgamesh in Uruk and toward Šamhat, whose encounter with Enkidu is intended to turn the herd against him.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Tablet I, Columns III–IV, lines 36–51 / 1–15 · Surviving Akkadian
"I filled in [the pits that I had dug], I tore out my snares [that I had laid]. He has let slip from my hand the herd, the wild creatures [of the steppe]; he does not let me do the work … of the steppe." Gilgamesh spoke to him, [to] the hunter: "Go, hunter; take with you the harlot Shamhat. When the herd [comes down] to the watering-place, let her strip off her clothing [and] lay open her charms. He will see her and draw near to her; his herd, which grew up with him, will become a stranger to him." The hunter went; he took with him the harlot Shamhat. They took the road, they set the journey straight. On the third day they arrived at the appointed place. The hunter and the harlot sat down at their waiting-place. One day, a second day, they sat facing the watering-place. The herd arrived and drank at the watering-place. The wild creatures arrived; their heart was glad at the water. And he, Enkidu, whose birthplace is the mountain, with the gazelles he eats grass, with the herd he drinks at the watering-place, with the wild creatures his heart is glad at the water. Shamhat saw him, the primal man, the murderous young man from the midst of the steppe. "That is he, Shamhat! Loosen your arms, open your loins, let him take your charms. Do not shrink back; take in his breath. He will see you and draw near to you. Spread out your clothing and let him lie upon you. Do for him, the primal man, the work of a woman. His herd, which grew up with him, will become a stranger to him; his passion will murmur over you."
THE HUNTER BRINGS ŠAMHAT TO ENKIDU
Gilgamesh himself gives the order and sends the hunter back with Šamhat. On the third day they reach the watering place and wait until Enkidu appears among the animals.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Tablet I, Column IV, lines 16–47 · Surviving Akkadian
[Shamhat loosened her garments; she opened her loins and he took her charms.] She did not shrink back; she took in his breath. She spread out her clothing and he lay upon her. She did for him, the primal man, the work of a woman. His passion murmured over her. Six days and seven [nights] Enkidu was aroused and lay with Shamhat. After he was sated with her delights, he set his face toward the steppe of his herd. The gazelles saw him, Enkidu, and ran off; the herd of the steppe drew away from his body. Enkidu had [defiled?] his body, once so pure. His knees stood still, while his herd went on. Enkidu was diminished; his running was [not] as before. But he had [reason], he was broad of understanding. He came back and [sat] at the feet of the harlot. The harlot: he was watching her face, and [what the harlot] was saying his ears were hearing. [The harlot] spoke to him, to Enkidu: "You are [beautiful], Enkidu; you are like a god. Why do you roam the steppe with the wild creatures? Come, let me [lead] you [into] Uruk-the-Sheepfold, to the [holy] house, the [dwelling] of Anu and Ishtar, where Gilgamesh is, perfect in strength, and like a wild bull lords it over the young men." She spoke to him and her word found favour; his heart, grown knowing, was seeking a friend. Enkidu spoke to her, [to] the harlot: "Come, Shamhat, invite me to the holy, sacred house, the dwelling of Anu and Ishtar, where Gilgamesh is, perfect in strength, and like a wild bull lords it over the young men. I myself will [challenge him], might[y …]"
ENKIDU GAINS UNDERSTANDING
Enkidu’s encounter with Šamhat ends his life among the animals. After six days and seven nights the gazelles run from him and he can no longer keep pace with the herd, yet the text credits him with a new breadth of understanding.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Tablet I, Column V, lines 1–31 · Surviving Akkadian
"[I will va]unt myself(?) in Uruk: 'I am the mighty one!' […] and change the destiny(?). [He who] was born in the wild [is mighty], he has strength." "[Let the people(?) see] your face. […] that there is, I myself know. G[o], Enkidu, t[o Uruk]-the-Sheepfold, wh[ere the young men are girt with sashes]. Every [day] … a festival is held, where the alû-drums [are kept sounding], and the [girls] are comely of figure, adorned with allure, full of joy. From the bed [of night] the great ones are [brought] out. Enkidu, [you who do not] know life, I will show you Gilgamesh, a man happy and carefree. Look at him, gaze on his face: he is fair in manhood, he has dignity, the whole of his body is adorned with [al]lure. He has mightier strength than you, unsleeping by day and by night. Enkidu, put away your wrongdoing. Gilgamesh — Shamash loves him, Anu, Enlil and Ea have broadened his understanding. Before you came from the uplands, Gilgamesh in Uruk was seeing you in dreams." Gilgamesh arose to relate a dream, saying to his mother: "My mother, the dream I saw in the course of my night: the stars of the heavens appeared to me; like a lump of Anu it kept falling upon me. I lifted it, but it was too strong for me; I tried to roll it over, but I could not shift it. The land of Uruk was standing around [it]."
A DREAM FROM HEAVEN
Šamhat answers Enkidu’s boast by describing Gilgamesh as the stronger of the two, loved by Shamash and given understanding by Anu, Enlil and Ea. She adds that he has already seen Enkidu in dreams. The scene then moves to Uruk, where Gilgamesh tells his mother of something associated with the stars of heaven that kept falling upon him.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Tablet I, Columns V–VI, lines 32–47 / 1–16 · Surviving Akkadian
[The crow]d [was jostling] ov[er it], [the young men] were thronging around it. [Like a little ba]by they were kissing its feet. [I loved it, li]ke a wife I caressed it. [I lifted it and] set it down at [your] feet, [and you, you ma]de it my equal. [The mother of Gilgamesh, clever, wi]se, knowing everything, spoke to her lord; [Rimat-Ninsun, clever, w]ise, knowing everything, spoke to Gilgamesh: The stars of the heavens [appeared to yo]u, [like a lump of rock of An]u that kept falling down on you. [You lifted it, but it was too mi]ghty for you, [you tried to roll it but] you could not dislodge it. [You lifted it and se]t it down at my feet, [and I, I ma]de it your equal. [You loved it, like a wife] you caressed it.
[A mighty com]rade [will come to you], the saviour of [a friend]. [In the land he is mighty], strength he ha[s]; [like a lump of rock of Anu] his strength is mighty. [You will love him, like a wife] you will caress him. [He, being mighty, will] again and again save you. [A second time you have] seen your dream. [Gilgamesh spoke] to his mother: [Once more, mother, I have] seen a second dream. [In a street of Uruk-the-Town-Squa]re an axe was lying, and they were gathered around it. [Uruk, the lan]d, was standing around it, [the land was gathe]red about it, [the cro]wd [was jostling] over it. [I lifted it and] set it down at your feet, [I loved it, an]d like a wife I caressed it, [and you, you] made it my equal. [The mother of Gilgame]sh, clever, wise, knowing everything, spoke to her son:
NINSUN INTERPRETS THE DREAM
The dream ends with Gilgamesh caressing the fallen object like a wife and laying it at his mother’s feet. Ninsun, called wise and all-knowing, explains it: a mighty comrade is coming, one who will save his friend. A second dream follows, in which an axe lies with the crowd gathered around it.
Every line on this page has lost its beginning, so much of the wording is restored, including the phrase that gives the coming comrade the strength of the rock of Anu.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Tablet I, Column VI, lines 17–34 · Surviving Akkadian
17. [Wild-Cow Ninsun,] the wise, who knows everything, spoke to Gilgamesh: 18. "[My son, the ax]e that you saw is a man. 19. [You will love him and] like a wife you will caress him. 20. [And I myself] shall make him your equal. 21. A mighty comrade [will come to you], one who saves a friend. 22. [In the land he is the] mightiest, he has strength. 23. His strength is as mighty [as a lump of rock from] Anu." 24. [Gilgamesh] spoke [to her], to his mother: 25. "[Mother, by the command of Enlil,] the great counsellor, may it befall me! 26. [A friend, a counsellor,] let me acquire! 27. [Let me acquire a friend,] a counsellor, I myself!" 28. [He saw] his dreams. 29. [After Shamhat] had told [the dreams of Gilgamesh] to Enkidu, 30. [they made love,] the two of them. (ruling: end of the tablet's text) 31. … before her. 32. [Tablet 1 of "He who saw the Deep,] the foundation of the land". 33. [Palace of Ashurbanipal, king of the world, king of Assyria, who in Ashur and] Ninlil trusts. 34. [He who trusts in you will not be put to shame, O king of the gods,] Ashur!
THE AXE IS A MAN
Ninsun reads the second dream as she read the first: the axe Gilgamesh saw is a man, whom she herself will make his equal. Gilgamesh asks that such a friend and counsellor come to him. The tablet then closes by returning to the steppe, where Šamhat has been telling these dreams to Enkidu.
Only the ends of the lines survive, and beneath them are traces of the scribe’s colophon, restored as that of the palace of Ashurbanipal.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Tablet II, Plate 9, Columns II–IV · Surviving Akkadian
Upper-left fragment, edge of the earlier column (line ends only) [… / his strength is mighty / they set bread, beer before him / he looked, he stared / he had not been taught to eat bread / he did not know how to drink beer / the harlot said to Enkidu / … people / … land / …]
Upper-left fragment, main column [He stood in the street of Uruk-the-Sheepfold] [… he … the mighty …] He blocked the way [of Gilgamesh] Uruk, the land, was standing [around him] The land was gathered [about him] The crowd was pressing [in on him] The young men were massed [around him] Like a little baby they were [kissing his feet] Already(?) the young man, fair … For Ishhara the bed … … For Gilgamesh, as for a god, [a substitute was set up for him] Enkidu blocked the door of the wedding-house with [his] feet not allowing Gilgamesh to be brought in They seized each other at the door of the wedding-house in the street they grappled, in the square of the land The door-jambs shook, the wall quaked
Upper-right fragment [The one who knows, his heart …] [He scattered the wolves, chased off the lions] [The senior herdsmen lay down] [Enkidu was their herdsman, a wakeful man] [A certain] young man, to the house of a father-in-law(?) … [In] Uruk-the-Sheepfold, to … …
Lower-left fragment [In the land he is mightiest, he has strength] [Like a lump of Anu's his strength is mighty] [Tall in stature, proud as a battlement] The mother of Gilgamesh [opened her mouth to speak] saying to [her son] [Wild-Cow Ninsun opened her mouth to speak, saying to Gilgamesh] "My son, …" "Bitterly …"
Lower-right fragment … [You are holding(?) …] … in his gate … Bitterly he wails(?) … Enkidu has no [kith or kin] [Hair hanging loose …] He was born in the wild and nobody […] Enkidu stood there, he heard [what she said] [Thinking it over, he sat down …] [His eyes filled with tears] [His arms fell limp, his strength …] [They took hold of each other and together …] [… their hands like …] [Gilgamesh …] [To Enkidu he spoke a word] [your arms] fell limp …
ENKIDU CONFRONTS GILGAMESH
The plate gathers four fragments of the second tablet, and only one could be read with confidence. In it Enkidu stands in Uruk with the crowd pressing round him as it did round the fallen object of the dream. He then plants himself in the doorway of the wedding-house and bars Gilgamesh from entering.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Tablet II, Column V · Surviving Akkadian
In order to keep the cedar safe, Enlil made it his destiny to be a terror to the people. Humbaba, his voice is the Deluge; his mouth is fire, his breath is [death]. He hears the murmur of the forest [at sixty] leagues; who is there that would go down into his forest? In order to keep the cedar safe, Enlil made it his destiny to be a terror to the people. And whoever goes down into his forest, weakness will seize him. Gilgamesh [spoke] to him, [saying to En]kidu: [Why, my friend,] do you speak [like a weakling]?
THE GUARDIAN OF THE CEDAR
The next surviving piece is a warning about Humbaba, whom Enlil appointed as a terror to the people so that the cedar would be kept safe. The text describes him in the language of catastrophe: his voice is the Deluge and his mouth is fire.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Tablet III, Column I, lines 1–27 · Surviving Akkadian
In order to keep the cedar safe, Enlil made it his destiny to be a terror to the people. Humbaba, his voice is the Deluge; his mouth is fire, his breath is [death]. He hears the murmur of the forest [at sixty] leagues; who is there that would go down into his forest? In order to keep the cedar safe, Enlil made it his destiny to be a terror to the people. And whoever goes down into his forest, weakness will seize him. Gilgamesh [spoke] to him, [saying to En]kidu: [Why, my friend,] do you speak [like a weakling]?
THE GUARDIAN OF THE CEDAR
The next surviving piece is a warning about Humbaba, whom Enlil appointed as a terror to the people so that the cedar would be kept safe. The text describes him in the language of catastrophe: his voice is the Deluge and his mouth is fire.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Tablet III, Column II, lines 1–22 · Surviving Akkadian
[Seven times into the bath-house] she went in, [she cleansed herself in water of tamarisk and] soapwort. [… a fine garment,] befitting her body, […] the adornment of her breast, […] was put in place, and she was wearing her crown. […] [the harlots] … the ground … She [leapt up the staircase], she climbed on to the roof. She went up [on to the roof, before] Shamash she set incense. She set a scatter-[offering] before Shamash, she raised her arms: "Why did you give [my son] Gilgamesh a restless heart and lay it upon him? For now you have touched him and he will travel the distant path, to where Humbaba is. He will face a battle that he does not know, he will ride a road that he does not know. Until the day he goes and comes back, until he reaches the Forest of Cedar, until he slays ferocious Humbaba and destroys from the land every evil thing that you hate, on the day that you … […] may she not fear you, may Aya the bride remind [you]: him, to the watches of the night [entrust him]."
NINSUN PRAYS TO SHAMASH
Ninsun adorns herself, climbs to the roof and sets incense before Shamash, the sun god. Her prayer lays the expedition at his door. It was Shamash who gave her son a restless heart and set him on the road to Humbaba, and killing Humbaba is described as destroying from the land the evil that Shamash hates.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Tablet III, Plate 13 · Surviving Akkadian
K.3423, column iii (SB III 70–87), line beginnings only [The dead man … life] To the … [… your head] At [the coming forth of your rays the crowds are gathered] The Anunnaki [wait intent on your light] May she not fear [you, may Aya the Bride remind you] Him, [to the watches of the] night [entrust] A road [of safety(?) … make for his feet] Touch [… Enkidu, so he goes before him] Because he [knows the way to the Forest of Cedar] A path [… he shall throw open], the mountains [make passable] And a torch(?) [… for the journey let him bear in his hand] While [Gilgameš travels to the Forest of Cedar] let [the days be long], let [the nights be short], let [his loins be girt, let his stride be …] At [dusk let him pitch camp for the night] [May she not fear you, may Aya the Bride remind you] On [the day that Gilgameš, Enkidu and Ḫumbaba come face to face]
K.3423, column iv (SB III 117–132) [Wild-Cow] Ninsun was clever, [she was wise, she knew everything] […] Gilgameš … […] She smothered the censer and came [down from the roof] She summoned Enkidu to declare her intention: O mighty Enkidu, you are not the offspring of my womb, but now your brood(?) will be with the oblates of Gilgameš, the priestesses, the hierodules and the temple women. She placed a sign on the neck [of] Enkidu. The priestesses took in [the foundling] and the divine daughters raised [the foster child]. I myself, Enkidu … [whom I love(?)], take as [a son]. Enkidu, in [brotherhood(?)], let Gilgameš [treat him well]. Now(?) … […] And […] … […] While [you travel with Gilgameš] to the [Forest of Cedar], let [the days] be long, let [the nights] be short.
K.9885, column iv (SB III 146–158) … [Gil]gameš to(?) […] His … […] [To] the Gate of Cedar […] [En]kidu in the chapel of … […] and Gilgameš in the chapel of […] [Juniper], incense […] [Present were(?)] the members of the … […] where … […] …
K.3423, column v (lines 149'–164'), line ends only … [… road] [… Gilgameš] … […] Gilgameš
BM.98990, column vi (SB III 223–233) [to the mountain passes …] [Let Enkidu protect] the friend [and keep safe the comrade], to the wives let him [bring his person back]. In our assembly [we hereby give the king into your care]; you will ensure his return and [give the king into our care]. Enkidu [opened] his mouth [to speak], saying [to Gilgameš]: My friend, turn [them back(?) …] a journey not … […] …
NINSUN ADOPTS ENKIDU
Five fragments carry the third tablet forward with wide gaps. The prayer continues in line beginnings only, where the Anunnaki appear and most of the wording is restored. The best-preserved piece holds something new: Ninsun comes down from the roof, tells Enkidu that he is not the offspring of her womb.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Tablet IV, Column I, surviving lines through 45 · Surviving Akkadian
… Enkidu [opened his] mouth [to speak], saying [to Gilgamesh:] "Come, [my friend] … In … […] The door […] Because … […] … … [In … …] Enkidu … lifted [his eyes], he spoke with the door as if [with a man]: "O door of the forest, without [understanding] … having a sense that does not exist … over twenty leagues I picked out your timber … until I saw a tall cedar … your timber had no equal … Six rods your height, two rods your breadth, one [cubit your thickness], your pole, its top pivot and its bottom pivot [are all of a piece]. I made you, I carried you, in Nippur, on high [I hung you(?)] …
[And in Uruk …] Because [Shamash heard what I said] … Now, [O door, it was I who made you, I who raised you up!] I [also can …, I also can tear you down!] May either a king [who comes after me abhor you], or … [hang you …] May he [remove] my name [and set up his own!]" He ripped off … As he was listening to his words … Gilgamesh, the words [of Enkidu …] Gilgamesh [opened his] mouth [to speak, saying to Enkidu …] … … like(?) … … … the gods … … father(?) of the gods …
ENKIDU SPEAKS TO THE CEDAR DOOR
Enkidu addresses a door as if it were a man. He chose its timber from a tall cedar found over twenty leagues, and the tablet gives its dimensions and connects it with Nippur.
Thompson printed this page at the head of the fourth tablet; modern editions assign it to the seventh, so it stands out of sequence here.
In lines that survive only at their beginnings and are largely restored, he turns on the door he made and wishes that a later king might remove his name from it. Two further fragments on the plate could not be read.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Tablet IV, Column I continued; Columns II–IV lost; Column VI, surviving lines · Surviving Akkadian
Had I but known, O door, that this would be [your reward], (had I but known, O door,) that this would be [your] bounty, I would have picked up an axe, I would have [cut you down], I would have shipped you by raft [to E-babbarra]. … … … [I who endured] all hardships [with you], [remember me, my friend, do not forget] all that I went through. My friend [saw] a vision which [will never] … The day he saw the dream, [his strength] was exhausted. Enkidu was cast down, one day [he lay sick, a second day]. Enkidu [lay] on his bed, … A third day and a fourth day, [the sickness of Enkidu] … a fifth, a sixth and a seventh, an eighth, a ninth [and a tenth]. The sickness of Enkidu [worsened?] … An eleventh and a twelfth [day] … Enkidu on the bed …
ENKIDU ON HIS SICKBED
The speech to the door ends in regret: had Enkidu known what it would bring him, he would have cut it down with an axe and sent it away by raft. The destination is restored.
A middle fragment of thirteen lines could not be read or placed.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Tablet IV, Column VI, lines 14–41 · Surviving Akkadian
Upper fragment — not placed … and Gilgamesh … […] … the god En-… […] Like one who in … […] … My friend(?), who in … […] to … […]
Lower fragment — Tablet V, lines 29–53 in the modern count … [Stiffness took a grip on] his arms, and tremors [beset his legs]. [Enkidu] opened his mouth to speak, [saying to Gilgamesh]: "[Let us go] down into [the midst of the forest], [open your hand] and let us raise the cry." [Gilgamesh] opened his mouth to speak, saying [to Enkidu]: "[Why,] my friend, do we [tremble] like cowards, [we who] came across all the mountains? [Shall … before us? Before we have withdrawn] … My [friend] is one tested in combat; one who has been in battle [has no fear of death]. You have been splashed with blood, so you need not fear [death]: [go] berserk, like a dervish fall into a frenzy. Let [your shout] boom loud [like] a kettledrum, may stiffness leave your arms and the tremors depart [from your legs]! Take hold, my friend, together we shall [go on], [let] your heart dwell on combat! Forget death and [seek(?)] life! [He who] walks alongside is the prudent man. [Let him who] goes in front guard himself and bring his comrade to safety! It is they who made a name [for days] far off." [To the] distant […] the two of them arrived. [They ceased] their talking and came to a halt. [They stood] marvelling at the forest.
FEAR AT THE FOREST’S EDGE
As the forest comes near, confidence falters and limbs stiffen and tremble. Gilgamesh answers the fear with reassurance, urging his companion to continue with him: they have crossed all the mountains. The one who goes in front must guard himself and bring his comrade to safety, the counsel the elders gave in Uruk.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Tablet V, Column I, surviving lines · Surviving Akkadian
They stood marvelling at the forest, gazing at the height of the cedars, gazing at the entrance of the forest. Where Humbaba came and went there was a track; the paths were in good order and the way was well trodden. They were gazing at the Cedar Mountain, the dwelling of the gods, the throne-dais of the goddesses (Irnini). [On the] very face of the mountain the cedar was proffering its abundance; sweet was its shade, full of delight. [Thick] tangled was the thorn, [the forest] a shrouding canopy. … cedar and ballukku-tree, [there was no way in]. [The cedar lifted up] saplings for a league, cypresses … for two-thirds of [a league]. [For sixty cubits' height the cedar was scabbed with lumps of resin.] [Resin oozed forth and drizzled down like rain,] [flowing freely for ravines to bear away.] [Through all the forest a bird began to sing.] …
AT THE CEDAR FOREST
Gilgamesh and Enkidu stand before the Cedar Forest and see the track worn by Humbaba’s coming and going. The text presents the Cedar Mountain as a dwelling-place of the gods and the throne-dais of the goddesses, transforming their destination from a distant wilderness into divine territory.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Tablet V, Columns II and V, surviving lines · Surviving Akkadian
Left fragment — Tablet V, lines 55–84 From afar(?) the swords … and from the sheaths … the axes were smeared … hatchet [and] sword in(?) … one … they slipped in … Humbaba [debated with himself, speaking a word] … He did not go … He did not go … … … … [in my own bed] … [Surely Enkidu] … [in goodwill] … [If] a word … May Enlil [curse him] … Enkidu [opened] his mouth [to speak, saying to Gilgamesh] [My friend,] Humbaba … [My friend,] one is one, [but two are two] [Two] garments … [Though it be a] slippery slope, [two will] not … Two triplets(?) … A three-ply rope … [One] strong dog, [his] two pups … Make your footing firm … [My friend,] an arrow goes forth … [When we have withdrawn(?)] …
Right fragment — Tablet IV, lines 22–43 [And the] dream that I saw [was all confusion] [In] a mountain valley … the mountain fell in … [and] we, like … He who was born in the wild [knew how to give counsel] Enkidu spoke to his friend, [gave his] dream [its meaning] My friend, your dream is favourable … The dream is precious … My friend, the mountain that you saw … We shall seize Humbaba, we shall [slay him] and his corpse we shall [cast down] on the battlefield [And] in the morning [we shall see a favourable] message [of Shamash] At twenty leagues they broke [bread] At thirty leagues they pitched [camp] Before Shamash they dug a well … Gilgamesh went up onto [the mountain] He poured out his flour-offering [to the hills] O mountain, bring me a dream, [let me see a favourable message of Shamash] [Enkidu] made for him [a house of the dream-god]
Bottom fragment — Tablet V, lines 276–283 … … May [the pair of them] not grow old Apart from his friend Gilgamesh, may Enkidu [have none to bury him] Enkidu opened his mouth to speak, [saying to Gilgamesh] My friend, I speak to you but [you do not listen to me] Until the curses …
A CURSE ON THE TWO COMPANIONS
Three fragments from different points of the story share this plate. One belongs to the journey: Gilgamesh has dreamed of a mountain falling. Enkidu reads it as a favorable sign that they will seize Humbaba, and on the next march Gilgamesh pours out flour and asks the mountain for another dream.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Tablet V, Columns III–IV and VI, surviving lines · Surviving Akkadian
Large upper piece (Thompson: Tablet V, Col. III, 1–23; modern count: Tablet IV 87–109) "[O mountain], bring me a dream, [so I may see a favourable message from Šamaš]!" [Enkidu] made for him [a 'house of Zaqīqu'], [he fixed] a storm-door [in its doorway]. [In the circle he had drawn] he made him lie down, [and falling flat] like a net(?) [he lay in the doorway]. Gilgamesh rested his chin on his knees; the sleep [that spills over people] fell upon him. [In the] middle watch he reached his sleep's end; he arose to talk to his friend: "My friend, did you not call me? Why am I awake? Did you not touch me? Why am I in confusion? Did a god not pass by? Why is my flesh benumbed? My friend, I have seen a third dream, and the dream that I saw was completely confused. The heavens cried aloud, while the earth was rumbling; the day grew still, darkness went forth. Lightning flashed down, fire broke out; [flames] kept flaring up, death kept raining down. The fire so bright [dimmed] and went out; [the flames] diminished and turned into cinders. [You were born] in the wild; can we take counsel?" [He heard his friend's words; Enkidu explained] his dream [to him, saying] to Gilgamesh: ["My friend, your dream is favourable, fine …"]
Lower left piece (Thompson: Tablet V, Col. VI; modern count: Tablet V 318–324 and colophon) [To the house of Enlil in Nippur the Euphrates shall bear it;] [let the sanctuary of Nippur rejoice.] [They fashioned a raft of logs of cedar and cypress,] [they bound together a raft, they laid …] … Enkidu [was riding …] [and Gilgamesh] rode [too, bearing] the head of Ḫumbaba. (ruling) … [Tablet V], series of [Gilgamesh].
Lower right fragment …
THE THIRD DREAM
The request for another dream is answered here. Gilgamesh wakes in the middle watch, asking Enkidu whether a god has passed by before recounting a third vision. The heavens cried aloud and the earth rumbled, daylight gave way to darkness, lightning struck and fire broke out, and death rained down until the blaze sank to cinders.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Tablet VI, lines 1–25 · Surviving Akkadian
He washed his matted hair, he cleaned his equipment, he shook [out] his locks over his back. He threw off his dirty things, he put on his clean ones; he wrapped himself in cloaks, girt with a sash. Gilgamesh put on his crown. On the beauty of Gilgamesh the lady Ishtar raised her eyes: "Come, Gilgamesh, you be the bridegroom! Grant me, oh grant me, your fruits! You be my husband and I will be your wife. I will have harnessed for you a chariot of lapis lazuli and gold, whose wheels are gold and whose horns are amber. You shall have in harness storm-beasts, great mules. Enter our house amid the fragrance of cedar! When you enter our house, doorway and throne-dais shall kiss your feet. Kings, nobles and princes shall kneel beneath you; [… the pro]duce of mountain and land they shall bring you as tribute. Your she-goats shall bear triplets, your ewes twins; your donkey foal under load shall outpace the mule; your horse at the chariot shall be glorious in running; [your ox] at the yoke shall have no rival." [Gilgamesh] opened his mouth to speak, [sayin]g to the lady Ishtar: "[If indeed I] were to take you in marriage, […] my body and my clothing,
ISHTAR DESIRES GILGAMESH
After Gilgamesh washes and adorns himself, Ishtar desires him and proposes marriage. She promises extraordinary wealth, royal power, and abundance if he accepts. The page breaks off as he begins his reply.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Tablet VI, Plate 21, lines 26–56 · Surviving Akkadian
… food-rations and sustenance, … [bread] fit for a god, … [ale(?) you would pour(?)], fit for a king. … [let me bind(?)] … [let me heap up] … [is clad in] a cloak, … I should take you in marriage. … [that does not harden] ice, a back-door [that does not] hold back wind and draught, a palace that [smashes] the warriors, an elephant … its covering, bitumen that [stains the hand of] its bearer, a waterskin that [drenches(?)] its bearer, limestone that … a wall of stone, a battering-ram that [destroys the wall(?) of] the enemy land, a shoe that [bites the feet of] its owner. Which husband of yours [endured] for ever? Which allallu-bird of yours went up [to heaven]? Come, let me [recount the number of] your lovers: him of the shoulder(?) … his arm. For Dumuzi, the husband of your youth, year upon year you decreed weeping for him. You loved the speckled allallu-bird; you struck him and broke his wing. He stands in the woods crying "My wing!" You loved the lion, perfect in strength; you dug for him seven and seven pits. You loved the horse, famed in battle; whip, goad and lash you decreed for him; seven leagues of galloping you decreed for him; to muddy [the water] and drink you decreed for him.
GILGAMESH REJECTS ISHTAR
Gilgamesh refuses Ishtar’s proposal, comparing her to things that betray or harm those who rely on them. He begins recounting the suffering of her former lovers, challenging the promises she has made. The list starts with Dumuzi, for whom she decreed weeping year upon year, and moves through a bird, a lion and a horse.
The verbs of the earlier taunts fall in a break down the middle of the tablet and are restored.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Tablet VI, Plate 22, lines 57–86 · Surviving Akkadian
For his mother Silili you decreed continual weeping. You loved the shepherd, the [herdsman], [who] regularly heaped up for you bread baked in embers, who [daily] slaughtered kids for you. [You struck] him and turned him into a wolf; his own herd-boys drive him away, and his dogs bite his haunches. You loved Ishullanu, your father's gardener, who regularly brought you baskets of dates, who daily made your table gleam. You raised your eyes to him and went to him: "My Ishullanu, let us taste your vigour; let your hand be put out and touch our vulva." Ishullanu says to you: "Me? What do you want of me? Has my mother not baked, have I not eaten, that I should eat bread of insults and curses, that rushes should be [my] covering against the cold?" You heard this [that he said]; you struck him and [turned him] into a dallalu, you made him dwell in the midst of [his] lab[ours]; he cannot go up the …, he cannot go down the … And me, you would love me and [treat me] like them." Ishtar, [when she heard] this, Ishtar was furious and [went up] to heaven. Ishtar went before Anu [her father, weeping]; before Antu her mother [her tears] flowed: "My father, Gilgamesh keeps insulting me; Gilgamesh has recounted … my slanders, my slanders and my curses."
ISHTAR’S REJECTED LOVERS
Gilgamesh continues recounting the punishments inflicted upon Ishtar’s former lovers, whose stories end in suffering and transformation. A shepherd is turned into a wolf and driven off by his own herd-boys. Ishullanu, her father’s gardener, refuses her and is changed into a dallalu, a word whose meaning is unknown.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Tablet VI, Plate 23, lines 87–115 · Surviving Akkadian
Anu opened his mouth to speak, saying to the lad[y] Ishtar: "Well, was it not you who provoked King [Gilgamesh], so that Gilgamesh recounted things that insult you, things that insult you and [revile you]?" Ishtar opened her mouth to speak, saying to [her father Anu]: "Father, give me, please, the Bull of Heaven, … [that I may slay] Gilgamesh [in his dwelling]. If [you will not give me the Bull of Heaven], I shall smash [the underworld(?) together with its dwelling-place], I shall [grant … to the world below], I shall [bring up the dead to consume the living], [I shall make the dead] outnumber [the living]." Anu [opened his mouth to speak], saying [to the lad]y Ishtar: "[If] you ask of me [the Bull of Heaven], [let the widow of Uruk] for seven years, ch[aff] let her gather, [and let the farmer of Uruk] grow hay." [Ishtar opened her mouth] to speak, [saying to A]nu her father: "[…] already I stored, […] I made grow. [For seven] years [the widow of Uruk], chaff she has gathered, [the farmer of Uruk has grown] hay. [With the wrath of the Bull I shall …] him." [… with the w]rath(?) of the Bull of Heaven […] Anu [heard] this [speech of Ishtar], [and the nose-ro]pe of the Bull of Heaven [he placed] in [her hands].
THE BULL OF HEAVEN
Anu’s first response is to ask whether Ishtar herself provoked the insults. She demands the Bull of Heaven, threatening to release the dead upon the living if he refuses.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Tablet VI, Plate 24, lines 119–148 · Surviving Akkadian
[…] leading it on. When it reached the land of Uruk, it dried up the woodland, [the marshland and the reeds]; it went down to [the river …]. At the snort [of the Bull of Heaven a pit opened up]: two hundred men [of Uruk all fell into it]. … At its second snort [a pit opened up]: two hundred men [of Uruk all fell] into it. At its third snort [a pit opened up]: [… ditto,] three hundred men [all fell] into it. [At the fourth snort of the Bull of] Heaven, ditto, Enkidu … Enkidu fell in up to his waist. Enkidu sprang out and seized the Bull of Heaven by its horns. The Bull of Heaven spat slaver at his face, with the tuft of its tail [it flung] its dung.
Enkidu opened his mouth [to speak], saying to Gilgamesh: "My friend, we vaunted ourselves [in our city]: how shall we answer [the piled-up people]? My friend, I have seen the might of the Bull of Heaven and [its] strength [I learn, its purpose …]. Let me once again [see] the might of the Bull of Heaven. Behind [the Bull of Heaven I shall …], let me seize [it by the tuft of its tail], let me set [my foot on the back of its hock], in … And [you, like a butcher, brave and skilful,] [between] the neck, the horns and the slaughter-spot plunge your knife." Enkidu circled round behind the Bull of Heaven, he seized it by the tuft of its tail, [he set his] foot [on the back of] its hock …
THE BULL DESCENDS UPON URUK
Divine retaliation reaches the human world. The Bull of Heaven dries up the woodland around Uruk, and at each snort men of the city fall by the hundred into a pit. The opening of the pits is restored where the tablet is broken.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Tablet VI, Plate 25, lines 150–175 · Surviving Akkadian
And Gilgamesh, like a [butcher] … valiant and [skilled] … between the neck, the horns and the [slaughter-spot he thrust] his dagger(?). After they had slain the Bull, [they took up] its heart and set it before Shamash. They drew back and bowed down before Shamash. They sat down together, the two of them. Ishtar went up onto the wall of Uruk-the-Sheep[fold]; she hopped and stamped(?), she let out a wail: "Woe! Gilgamesh, who slighted me, has killed the Bull of Heaven!" Enkidu heard this speech of Ishtar; he tore off the Bull of Heaven's haunch and threw it before her: "And you too, had I caught you, just like him I would have made you! I would hang its guts on your arms!" Ishtar gathered the kezertu-women, the šamḫatu-women and the harlots; over the Bull of Heaven's haunch she set up a lament. Gilgamesh summoned the craftsmen, the smiths, all of them. The craftsmen admired the thickness of its horns: thirty minas each of lapis lazuli was their mass; [two] fingers (thick) was their rim; six kor of oil was the capacity of the pair. He gave them to his god Lugalbanda for anointing-oil; he brought them in and hung them in his bed-chamber.
THE DEFEAT OF HEAVEN’S BULL
Gilgamesh and Enkidu defeat the celestial Bull and set its heart before Shamash. The killing stroke falls at a break and is partly restored. Ishtar’s wail from the wall of Uruk is met with further defiance when Enkidu tears off the Bull’s haunch and throws it down before her.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Tablet VI, Plate 26, lines 176–197 · Surviving Akkadian
They washed their hands in the river Euphrates, they took hold of one another and came along. As they rode along the street of Uruk, the people of Uruk were gathered to look [at them]. Gilgamesh, to the serving-women [of his palace], spoke a word: "Who is the finest among men? Who is the most glorious of males?" "[Gilgamesh] is the finest among men! [Gilgamesh is the most glor]ious of males!" "[… whom] we knew in our fury … [in] the street he has none that defames him, … [the way of] … his …" Gilgamesh made merry in his palace. The men were lying down, who were asleep on their beds for the night; Enkidu was lying down, seeing a dream. Enkidu arose to reveal the dream, saying to his friend: "My friend, why were the great gods taking counsel?" Tablet 6 of "He who saw the Deep", series of Gilgamesh.
TRIUMPH BEFORE DIVINE JUDGMENT
The sixth tablet closes in celebration. The heroes wash their hands in the Euphrates and pass through Uruk before the gathered people. Gilgamesh asks his serving-women who is the finest of men, and the answer, with his name restored, is himself. That night Enkidu dreams.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Tablet VII, Plate 27, lines 1–26 · Surviving Akkadian
[… his friend.] Destroy his income, diminish his earnings! [May] his share [be cut down] in your presence, [… where he enters,] may it go out by the window … [After] he had [cursed] the hunter to his heart's content, his [heart] moved him to curse [the harl]ot Shamhat [as well]: "[Co]me, Shamhat, I will fix a [destiny] for you, a [desti]ny that will not end for all eternity. [I will] curse you with a great curse, [and] swiftly and soon my curses shall afflict you. [May you not] found a household to delight in, [never to] reside … [in the midst] of your family. [May you not] sit in the [seat] of the young women. May [the ground] befoul [your] fine [garment], [may the drunkard] smear [your festive robe with dust]. [May you not acquire a house with … and] lovely things, … of the potter. [… nothing] shall you have, [… bed, chair, table …] shall [not] be found in your house. May [the junction] of the highway be where you sit, [… may the lee of the city wall] be where you stand. [May thorn and briar skin] your feet, [may drunk and sober strike] your cheek. [May … be plaintiff,] may she claim against you. [May] the builder [not plaster the roof of your house]. [In your chamber shall roost] an owl, [never in your house shall] a banquet [take place]."
ENKIDU CURSES ŠAMHAT
The answer to Enkidu’s question is not on this page, which opens with him already cursing. He finishes with the hunter, wishing his income destroyed, and then turns on Šamhat, whose encounter first drew him from the herd. He fixes for her a destiny meant to last for all eternity.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Tablet VII, Plate 28, lines 27–55 · Surviving Akkadian
… [… a garment of blue-purple wool …] [… lap/loins …] whose [lap/loins] … "Because me, [the pure one, you have weakened], and me, the pure one, [you have weakened] in my wilderness." Shamash heard [the utterance] of his mouth; from afar [a cry from] heaven kept calling to him: "Why, Enkidu, do you curse the harlot Shamhat, who fed you bread fit for a god, gave you fine beer to drink, fit for a king, clothed you in a great garment, and let you have the handsome Gilgamesh as a companion? Now Gilgamesh, your friend, your own brother, will lay you down on a great bed; on a bed of honour he will lay you down. He will seat you on a seat of ease, the seat at the left; [the rulers] of the earth will kiss your feet. [He will make] the people of Uruk [weep] for you, make them sob for you; [the thriving] people he will fill with woe for you. [And he], after you are gone, will make [his] body bear matted hair; [clad in] a lion's skin he will roam the [wild]." Enkidu [heard] the word of Shamash the hero; … his angry heart grew calm, … [his furious heart] grew calm.
SHAMASH REVEALS ENKIDU’S LEGACY
The curse closes with its reason, restored at a break: Šamhat weakened him, the pure one, in his wilderness. Shamash hears, and a voice from heaven answers Enkidu’s bitterness with a vision of how Gilgamesh will honor him after death. It was Šamhat who fed him bread fit for a god and gave him Gilgamesh as a companion.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Tablet VII, Plate 29, Column IV, lines 1–25 · Surviving Akkadian
"[My mouth that curs]ed you shall turn and bl[ess you]. May [governors] and nobles love you. May he [who is one league off] slap his thigh. May he [who is two leagues off] shake out his locks. May [no] soldier [hold back] from undoing his belt for you. [May he give you] obsidian, lapis lazuli and gold. Multiple(?) [earrings] shall be your gift. [To a man whose] household(?) [is secure], whose storage bins are heaped high, may [Ishtar, ablest] of the gods, bring you in. [For your sake may] the wedded wife, mother of seven, be deserted." [As for Enkid]u, his mind was troubled. [Pondering], he lay all alone. [He told] what was on his mind to his friend: "[Something, my friend], was the dream I saw this night. The heavens [cried out], the earth answered. [Between them] I was standing. [There was a man], his face was dark. His face was like [that of an Anzû-bird]. [A lion's paws were] his [hands], an eagle's talons his claws. [He seized my locks], he overpowered me. [I struck him, but like a skipping-rop]e he sprang back. [He struck me and like] a raft he capsized me. [Like a mighty wild bull he tram]pled over m[e]. [… poison(?) …] my body. [Save me, my friend …]
THE DARK-FACED MAN
Calmed, Enkidu replaces his curse against Šamhat with a blessing: nobles are to love her. She is to be given obsidian, lapis lazuli and gold. Then, troubled and lying alone, he tells his friend what he dreamed that night. The earth answered the heavens.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Tablet VII, Plate 30, Column IV, lines 30–54 · Surviving Akkadian
… [He struck me,] he turned me [into a dove]. [He bound] my arms like a bird's. [He seized me and led me] to the House [of Darkness], the seat of Irkalla, to the house whose enterers do not come out, on the road whose going has no return, to the house whose dwellers are deprived of light, where [dust] is their sustenance and clay their food. They are clad like birds in a garment of feathers, and see no [light], but dwell in darkness. [In the House of Dust] which I entered, [I looked and] the crowns were stowed away. [There sat the kings,] the crowned heads who since days of old [had ruled the land]; [at the table of] Anu and [Enlil] they used to set out [roasted meat], they set out [baked bread, they poured cold water from skins]. In the House of Dust which I entered there sat en-priests and lagar-priests, there sat purification-priests and lumaḫḫu-priests, there sat the [gudapsû-priests] of the great gods, there sat Etana, there sat Šakkan, [there sat] the queen of the netherworld, Ereshkigal. [Bēlet-ṣēri], scribe of the netherworld, was kneeling before her; [she held a tablet] and was reading aloud before her. [She lifted] her head, she saw me: "[Who] brought this man here?"
THE HOUSE OF DUST
The dream carries Enkidu into the netherworld. His arms become like a bird’s, and the road of no return leads to the seat of Irkalla, a house whose dwellers are deprived of light, clad in feathers and fed on clay. In this House of Dust the crowns are stowed away.
[Further Analysis Pending…]
