"I have lost my brother Enkidu. I have sat at his graveside. Now I am afraid of death. I want to find Utnapishtim, the Faraway, who survived the Flood."
Gilgamesh laughed in her face. "What lover have you kept? Tammuz—you turned him into a bird, wounded year after year. The lion—you dug seven pits for him. The stallion—you made him a slave to the whip. The shepherd—you turned him into a wolf. The gardener—you struck him into a mole. You will do the same to me."
"No one has passed through here alive," she said. "Why do you wander, Gilgamesh? You will not find eternal life."
Ishtar gathered her temple prostitutes. "Wail for the Bull of Heaven!" she cried. epic of gilgamesh full version
Gilgamesh woke. "I almost passed your test."
He carved his story on a tablet of lapis lazuli, sealed it in a copper chest, and placed it at the foot of the city walls. And he wrote: He who saw the Deep, the foundation of the land. He who knew all things, wise in all matters. Gilgamesh, who saw the secret and uncovered the hidden. He brought back a tale from before the Flood. Go up on the wall of Uruk and walk around. Examine its foundation, inspect its brickwork. Is not even the core of the wall made of kiln-fired brick? And is it not written on a lapis tablet that the walls themselves are eternal? The story does not end with death. It ends with brick, with cedar, with a name carved into a city. Gilgamesh could not defeat death. But he taught his people how to build—and how to weep for a friend—and that was enough.
Enkidu agreed. But when he heard that Gilgamesh still claimed the bride-right, his new human heart burned with justice. He planted himself at the door of the wedding house, blocking the king's path. "I have lost my brother Enkidu
Gilgamesh walked in absolute darkness for twelve leagues. In the twelfth league, light burst forth. He stood in the , where trees bore rubies instead of fruit, lapis lazuli leaves, carnelian branches.
The hunter obeyed. Shamhat bared her breast at the watering hole. Enkidu approached, drawn by a power he did not understand. For six days and seven nights, he lay with her. When he rose, the gazelles fled from him. The wild beasts ran. His body was bound by knowledge; his legs, once swift as a bull, grew heavy. He had gained wisdom and lost his innocence.
Shamhat spoke: "You are now wise, Enkidu, like a god. Why run with beasts? Come to Uruk. Gilgamesh awaits you. I have seen him in dreams—he is your friend." I want to find Utnapishtim, the Faraway, who
Humbaba wept. "Gilgamesh, let me live. I will be your servant. I will fell cedars for your gates."
They forged weapons: axes of twelve pounds, swords of fifty pounds. Gilgamesh prayed to the sun god Shamash, who hated Humbaba. Shamash gave him three dreams, each more dreadful than the last. In the first, a mountain fell on him. In the second, a bull split the earth. In the third, a thunderbird set the world on fire.
The city groaned. Elders prayed to the great gods of heaven. And the goddess Aruru, mistress of creation, heard them.