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Epic of Gilgamesh Summary
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Epic of Gilgamesh
A long time ago, when the ancient gods ruled the world, there was a mighty Sumerian king named Gilgamesh. During his regime in the great city of Uruk, Mesopotamia, Gilgamesh built magnificent Ziggurat temples, surrounded his city with high walls, and planted many orchards of rare fruits. Gilgamesh was no ordinary man. He was the demigod son of Lugalbanda and the goddess Ninsun. Gilgamesh was an exemplary creature. He was taller than all other people, with magnificent beauty and uncommon physical strength. Even though he was a demigod and had a longer-than-normal lifespan, Gilgamesh was not immortal, despite his physical qualities.
Gilgamesh had an arrogant personality and acted as a proud and haughty tyrant, with no one to stop and challenge him. He abused his authority as king, demanding to be idolised by the people and ordering the construction of monuments in his honour, and he seduced any woman who attracted him, even if she was of the nobility or married. The population of the city of Uruk gradually began to despise the king in their prayers to the gods. They begged to be saved from Gilgamesh's cruelty and lewdness. The powerful celestial god Anu felt pity for humans and ordered Aruru, the goddess of vegetation, to engineer a creature to rival Gilgamesh. Using a portion of clay, the goddess Aruru fashioned a hybrid being a mixture of man and animal named Enkidu with a hairy primitive appearance and bull's horns on his head. Enkidu lived like an animal in the woods. He ate grass next to the gazelles and drank water from rivers side by side with lions. All the animals knew and obeyed Enkidu. He became a protector of wildlife but did not know how to approach human beings.
Upon hearing stories about the appearance of a large and strong man, Gilgamesh decided to send Shamhat, a priestess from the Temple of a Rook, to inquire into the case and try to seduce that mysterious man. The goal was to take away the purity granted to him by the goddess. To the priestess's surprise, Enkidu was as impressive as Gilgamesh, and she quickly fell in love with him. After seven days and seven nights of sultry love, Enkidu became civilized. He learned to wear clothes and eat food like humans. After that, Shamhat told him about the existence of Gilgamesh and his reign of tyranny.
A great wedding was about to take place in the city of Iraq, but as usual, Gilgamesh appeared and demanded to possess the bride before the wedding. To the relief of the bride and groom, Enkidu appeared from among the crowd. He had arrived in the city, guided by the priestess Shamhat.
Gilgamesh and Enkidu entered a furious argument about the disrespectfulness of interfering in the marriage of two people who loved each other. For the first time in his life, Gilgamesh found someone able to strike back at him. This made him angry. Anticipating the ensuing mayhem, the crowd quickly moved away from the scene, leaving the two Giants face-to-face. Gilgamesh was the first to resort to violence. The two powerful beings exchanged blows. The epic fight between the two demigods lasted for seven uninterrupted days and destroyed several houses in the city. Each punch landed by the two Titans was enough to kill five human warriors, but neither seemed to give in, and inevitably, they began to admire each other.
Gilgamesh finally managed to strike a clean blow and knock Enkidu down, but instead of exterminating his opponent, Gilgamesh reached out and helped Enkidu to his feet. Both were proud of the great fight and embraced each other, beginning an eternal friendship. From that day on, Gilgamesh became a more just king and stopped tormenting his people in the following years. Gilgamesh and Enkidu travelled through many unknown lands, where they had a great many adventures together, defeating monsters and heroes of all kinds. But one thought hovered over Gilgamesh's mind. He knew the two of them were growing old and would one day have to face death. To immortalise their names, Gilgamesh asked Enkidu to travel to the Cedar Forest, where the powerful demon Humbaba lived, a being so dreadful and dangerous that even the gods respected him. Humbaba had never left the forest and had not committed any action likely to provoke Gilgamesh's attack. Still, he had to defend himself against his attackers.
When they saw the demon Humbaba, the pair of demigods were paralysed with terror, for they had never seen such a terrifying creature. Trying to gain courage, Gilgamesh attacked him with his axe. After a few attempts, he wounded the monster sideways, and Enkidu used a spear to deliver the fatal blow to Humbaba's throat, ending the nightmarish. But before dying, Humbaba cursed them both, saying that one of them would die as punishment for what they had done. Although Gilgamesh and Enkidu had accomplished a great feat, Humbaba's death angered the gods. Still, Gilgamesh and Enkidu returned to the city of Iraq, where they planned to celebrate the event, but an unexpected guest appeared during the party. Ishtar, goddess of love, beauty, war, and fertility, was impressed by Gilgamesh's handsomeness and strength and decided to make him her lover. Despite her enormous charm, Ishtar failed to seduce Gilgamesh. He rejected her, claiming that he was aware that all of Ishtar's other lovers had died horrible deaths. Ishtar was furious at Gilgamesh's boldness and swore revenge. Ishtar asked her father, the celestial god Anu, for help, begging him to send the most powerful creature of all to kill Gilgamesh and Enkidu. God Anu sent the bull of heaven to Earth to destroy the cities of Uruk and Gilgamesh. The bull came down from heaven, bringing with it seven years of famine and natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes.
The people of Uruk quickly pleaded with Gilgamesh and Enkidu to destroy the celestial beast. The huge confrontation between the two demigods and the strong divine bull shook all of Mesopotamia. Gilgamesh and Enkidu used the same weapons with which they defeated the demon Humbaba, and together they killed the bull of heaven. As a sign of contempt, Gilgamesh cut off one of the bull's legs and threw it at the feet of the goddess Ishtar, who was watching the fight from a distance. Not only was Ishtar angry, but the other gods rebelled against Gilgamesh and Enkidu, deciding to punish them. After deliberating about what had happened, the gods decided that Enkidu would have to die because he was the one who had held the bull of heaven by the horns for Gilgamesh to give the animal the final blow. A few days later, Enkidu fell gravely ill and realised that his death was near.
Seeing his best friend in that situation, Gilgamesh became desperate, asking the best doctors in the Kingdom to find a cure, but to no avail. Enkidu died in agony, delirious in Gilgamesh's arms, and Gilgamesh wept bitterly for days.
Enkidu's death made Gilgamesh fear for his existence. The dread of the end made him begin a search for the secret of immortality and a way to resurrect Enkidu. He travelled far through mountains and deserts, hoping to find Utnapishtim, the man who survived the great flood and was rewarded by the gods with immortality. With the help of the boatman Urshanavi, Gilgamesh crossed a huge lake of poisonous waters. Finally, he reached the home of the immortal Utnapishtim, but to Gilgamesh's disappointment, Utnapishtim explained to him that only the gods could grant eternal life, even though there was a miraculous plant in the depths of the sea capable of rejuvenating whoever ate it and prolonging their lifespan. Gilgamesh dove into the sea and found the plant, but when he returned to the surface, he left it on the banks of a lake while he bathed to purify himself from the long journey, and terrible things happened. A common snake, attracted by the plant's sweet smell, devoured it. When Gilgamesh noticed what had happened, it was too late. He found the snake's dry skin, indicating that the animal had rejuvenated. Gilgamesh concluded that no man, no matter how strong and rich he may be, can defeat death, and he accepted his end.
He returned to Uruk and, for the first time, noticed how magnificent and enduring his city was. His legacy as a good king would be the closest thing to immortality he could achieve. Gilgamesh decided to draft his story on clay tablets, forever immortalising the names of him and his friend Enkidu and their great adventures.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Epic of Gilgamesh
1. Why does Enkidu challenge Gilgamesh to a fight?
Answer:
Enkidu challenges Gilgamesh to a fight because the people of Uruk complain about Gilgamesh's abusive behavior and tyranny. The gods create Enkidu as a counterpart to Gilgamesh to humble him and provide a check on his power.
2. Why did the gods decide to destroy humankind?
Answer:
The gods decide to destroy humankind after the death of Humbaba, the powerful demon killed by Gilgamesh and Enkidu. The gods are angered by the duo's actions and seek retribution by sending the Bull of Heaven to unleash chaos and punish them.
3. Why was Utnapishtim granted eternal life?
Answer:
Utnapishtim is granted eternal life by the gods as a reward for surviving a great flood. The gods decide to spare him and his family, granting them immortality for their perseverance.
4. How does Enkidu die?
Answer:
Enkidu dies as a consequence of the gods' decision to punish him for his role in killing the Bull of Heaven. The gods decree that Enkidu must die, leading to a grave illness that ultimately takes his life.
5. Is Gilgamesh a god?
Answer:
No, Gilgamesh is not a god. But he is a demigod, the son of Lugalbanda and the goddess Ninsun. Despite his divine parentage and exceptional qualities, Gilgamesh is not immortal, and the quest for eternal life becomes a central theme in the epic.
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