Gilgamesh I Gilgamesh a actual historical figure 1 Sumerian king c 2800 2500 BCE 2 King of Unug Akkadian Uruk 3 Original Sumerian name Bilgames 4 Over time renamed Gilgamesh by Akkadians and known as king of Uruk b legendary mythical figure hero 1 hero figures in whom the gods take a special interest 2 3 2 3 divine 1 3 human son of a goddess Ninsun b king Lugalbanda deified mortal king of Unug who was made into a god when he died II Epic of Gilgamesh a Standard Version c 1200 650 BCE Babylonian b 12 tablet version took 7 told hold Enuma Elish 3 to hold Atrahasis c Flood myth Utnapishtim part of tablet 11 III Epic of Gilgamesh Gilgamesh the Arrogant King a Gilgamesh son of Ninsun human king Lugalbanda b also Mesopotamian creator goddess Belit ili Mami Nintu 1 2 forms Gilgamesh s body perfectly stature beauty is better than that of his peers he has no peers because hes too big too beautiful too strong 3 Gilgamesh has 2 creation stories special c when epic opens 1 Gilgamesh a grown man 2 no childhood 3 Skipped childhood because adulthood is when the hero is at his epic best d Gilgamesh 1 Already succeeded Lugalbanda he died to become king of Uruk 2 built walls around Uruk himself e Gilgamesh arrogant out of control 1 He goes around and beats up all of his male subjects 2 Rapes all of his female subjects f His people of Uruk pray to Anu Mesopotamian sky god for relief IV Epic of Gilgamesh Enkidu a Anu asks Aruru Belit ili Mami Nintu to create Enkidu 1 equal of Gilgamesh hero s second self will often die and then hero has to take vengeance 2 Aruru uses a lump of clay wilderness to create Enkidu 3 Enkidu hairy wild utterly uncivilized he is a product of his environment 4 Enkidu is Anu s answer to the people of Uruk s prayers b Enkidu 1 animals accept as one of their own foils hunters traps so his animal friends don t get caught 2 3 Hunter complains to his father that he can t catch any game because Enkidu messes up all the traps c father to hunter 1 Go to Gilgamesh 2 get prostitute d Shamhat prostitute 1 very important figure 2 given to hunter by Gilgamesh 3 Maybe connected to Ishtar goddess of sexual desire e awaits Enkidu at watering place 1 sleep together for 6 days 7 nights flood myth with Utnapishtim also lasts 6 days and 7 nights 2 hunter s trap set for Enkidu 3 He is caught in it f Enkidu rejected by animals they re scared and run from him 1 Changed after sleeping with Shamhat 2 3 wise civilized weakened no longer part of the animal world 4 Shamat tells him about Uruk 5 He wants to test his strength against Gilgamesh g Enkidu goes to Uruk 1 Gilgamesh is getting ready to rape a virgin the night before her wedding day 2 Enkidu stands in front of her house and tells Gilgamesh he can t enter 3 Gilgamesh and Enkidu wrestle 4 Gilgamesh just manages to defeat Enkidu 5 become friends because they are equals peers their relationship has also been read as a romantic one V Epic of Gilgamesh Humbaba a Gilgamesh proposes quest for glory 1 2 fight giant Humbaba heroic quest myth how a hero makes a journey to gain experiences and achieve fame especially through battle b Humbaba giant protector of mythical Pine Forest far from Uruk c Ellil storm god god of winds gave Humbaba job of protecting the forest d Enkidu is Gilgamesh s guide to get to the Pine Forest e Ninsun asks for help from Shamash divine council myth so Gilgamesh can defeat Humbaba 1 Shamash Mesopotamian sun god 2 Sumerian Utu Akkadian Shamash f Humbaba taunts Gilgamesh g Gilgamesh prays to Shamash h Gilgamesh and Enkidu fight Humbaba 1 Shamash sends 4 winds to aid Gilgamesh 2 Humbaba is immobilized pleads for mercy 3 Gilgamesh seems to consider 4 Enkidu No mercy do it before Ellil finds out 5 Gilgamesh kills Humbaba 6 Humbaba utters curse against Gilgamesh and Enkidu they will never grow old not outlive each other he is only half right Enkidu is going to die VI Epic of Gilgamesh Ishtar and the Bull of Heaven a Gilgamesh cleans up puts on robe crown b c Gilgamesh Ishtar goddess of sexual desire and war wants him propositions him rejects her 1 2 Says her mortal lovers are unlucky he goes through a long list 3 cf Aphrodite one of her mortal lovers was Enchises they had Aneas he was never quite the same after he slept with Aphrodite was somehow weakened d Ishtar complains to father Anu about gilgamesh divine council myth 1 Says she wants the Bull of Heaven 2 Anu doesn t think that s a good idea 3 She tells him if he doesn t give her the Bull of Heaven she will raise the dead and make them eat the living 4 Anu backs down and gives Ishtar the Bull of Heaven 5 Sets bull of Uruk to punish Gilgamesh 6 7 Enkidu pulls bull by tail 8 Gilgamesh takes his sword and plunges it into the back of the neck of the bull bull vs Uruk they kill it VI Epic of Gilgamesh Death of Enkidu a By killing Humbaba and Bull of Heaven Gilgamesh and Enkidu have gone too far b Enkidu s prophetic dream 1 assembly of gods Anu Ellil Shamash divine council myth 2 Agree one must die settle on Enkidu c Enkidu falls ill right after he has this dream 1 curses Shamhat for ensnaring him and taking him away from the animals 2 Shamash you shall not curse my Shamhat 3 Enkidu removes curse d Enkidu dies e Gilgamesh distraught 1 Orders to Uruk to mourn build a golden statue hold a lavish funeral 2 Gilgamesh a Has to get away b Puts on animal skins c Leaves Uruk goes into the wilderness VII Epic of Gilgamesh Utnapishtim a Gilgamesh wants immortality he doesn t want to die like Enkidu b goes on solo heroic quest to find Utnapishtim heard he and his wife are the only immortal humans c Utnapishtim lives at 1 Mouth of Rivers 2 edges of earth underworld type place far west 3 West was often associated with death because that s where the sun set 4 katabasis myth how a hero makes a descent a katabasis to the underworld and returns to earth alive VIIa Scorpion man a Gilgamesh comes to Mashu Mashu twin peaks where sun Shamash rises 1 Mashu mountain at edges of earth 2 3 4 guarded by Scorpion men at least just one and wife 5 6 entrance underneath the mountain like entrance to underworld Shamash goes to underworld at night a b Believed he sets behind another mountain b Scorpion man and wife 1 greet Gilgamesh 2 Tell him Mashu is impossible for humans to enter 3 4 precursors of Utnapishtim and wife husband and wife who live at …
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