First off, on this lovely Tuesday, I'd like to start by giving a summary of Tablets I and II, in case some of you (probably most/all of you) haven't read The Epic of Gilgamesh. Warning: the summaries are a little long, so I'm making two posts, one about the summaries and one about why they're important.
If you are interested in purchasing the version I'm reading, the Penguin Classics version, I can give you some information about it. It's translated with an introduction by Andrew George. It was published by the Penguin Group and the copyright is 1999. You can find this gem on Barnes and Noble for a relatively cheap price. It's good for any book collection; it definitely makes you look knowledgeable. Okay, enough of me trying to coerce you into buying this WONDERFUL epic.
As I'm citing lines, it's going to look a little weird because the editor mixed various versions. This happens because there are so many versions of the text where the original tablets are missing. If there appears a Roman numeral next to the line, then that comes from the original tablet. If there is a letter before the line number, that means a version was used to fill in where the tablet left off. Examples include P for Old Babylonian Pennsylvania tablet or Y for the Yale tablet.
Tablet I is titled "The Coming of Enkidu" and that title has some major foreshadowing in and of itself. As it begins, Gilgamesh is introduced as "He who saw the Deep, the country's foundation,/ who knew..., was wise in all matters!" (I 1-2). Gilgamesh is further characterized by the orator (remember this is a story that was passed down by word of mouth for a long time before anyone decided to write it down). He is described as "surpassing all other kings, heroic in stature" (I 29), "his beauty was consummate,/ by earthly standards he was most handsome" (I 61-62), and "he has no equal when his weapons are brandished" (I 65). Gilgamesh sounds like a good man to be ruling the city of Uruk.
If you remember my previous post about characteristics of epics, you know that all epic heroes have some flaws, and Gilgamesh is no exception. We're told that he is "Gilgamesh the tall, magnificent and terrible" (I 37). WHOA! That line sounds a little contradictory, magnificent and terrible? That doesn't sound like a great way to describe a ruler. Well, that's one of the flaws of Gilgamesh, he was a tyrant before Enkidu came around (FORESHADOWING).
Gilgamesh does some terrible things to the people of Uruk in the first tablet. It is noted that "the young men of Uruk he [Gilgamesh] harries without warrant,/ Gilgamesh lets no son go free to his father./ By day and by night his tyranny grows harsher" (I 67-69). Essentially, Gilgamesh sacrifice warriors whenever he feels like it and he doesn't really care who dies. Another troubling thing that Gilgamesh does is that he also, "lets no daughter go free to her mother" (I 72). Yeah, you can guess what that means. Gilgamesh takes whatever women he wants and has his way with them.
Obviously that makes that people of Uruk pretty upset. They complain to their goddess, Aruru, and say that Gilgamesh should be like a shepherd to the people, not a wild ox. Aruru listens and decides that since she made Gilgamesh, she will make another man strong enough to stand up to the tyrannical Gilgamesh, so she "washed her hands,/ took a pinch of clay, threw it down in the wild./ In the wild she created Enkidu, the hero" (I 101-03). YAY! Someone to stop Gilgamesh! (Also, doesn't this seem like an allusion to the creation story in Genesis?)
Enkidu shuns the city life and lives amongst the animals in the forest. One day, a hunter sees Enkidu, whose defining characteristic is his hair (it's long and it's pretty much every where). The hunter is frightened by seeing a wild man roaming amongst the forest life (who wouldn't be?), so he runs to tell his father about it. The hunter says that Enkidu, "sets free from my grasp all the beasts of the field,/ he stops me doing the work of the wild" (I 132-33). Essentially, Enkidu is very similar to the wild beasts that live in the forest; he eats with them, lives with them, and saves them from hunters. The hunter's dad tells the son to go talk to Gilgamesh and ask him to lend a harlot (yes, that means prostitute) from the temple to tame Enkidu. He knows that if Enkidu sleeps with Shamhat then the animals will turn from him.
After a couple of days, Enkidu comes out of the forest and Shamhat is ordered by the hunter to bare herself to him and "do for the man the work of a woman" (I 183). Thinking in terms of sexual politics, this is a little sexist, isn't it? You have to remember that ancient Mesopotamia was a patriarchal society and women were at the mercy of men. Back to the story, Enkidu and Shamhat copulate for six days and seven nights. After this love-making, Enkidu is no longer accepted by the wildlife, and the animals run away from him. But, as the orator notes, Enkidu had "reason and wide understanding" (1202), which are considered far more important than having a bond with wildlife. Enkidu goes back to Shamhat and she tells him that he is not as strong as Gilgamesh, but that Gilgamesh and lonely and looking for a friend.
In fact, Gilgamesh has already had two dreams about Enkidu coming to him. In the first dream, a rock falls down from the sky. At first, the rock was too heavy for him to move, and the people of Uruk came around it, kissing its feet "like a wife" (I 256). Then, Gilgamesh could actually lift it up and he brought it to his mother, Ninsun, who "made it [his] equal" (I 258). He had another dream, but instead of a rock this time, it was an axe. Ninsun tells Gilgamesh that these represent the man who he will contend with, but who will become his most trusted companion and advisor.
Then Tablet II starts. This tablet is aptly named, "The Taming of Enkidu." The beginning of the tablet is interesting, again, in terms of sexual politics. Shamhat teaches Enkidu how to eat, drink, and behave properly. Essentially, she is civilizing him while also taking on a maternal role. A few days pass and then a man comes into their camp and Enkidu asks Shamhat to find out where he is going. The man says that he is going to a wedding banquet. He tells them that although Gilgamesh is not the groom, "he will couple with the wife-to-be,/ he first of all, the bridegroom after" (P 159-60). This news makes Enkidu rather angry and he decides to go to Uruk and challenge Gilgamesh, thinking that he can beat him (he might be a little arrogant, but who can blame him?)
Enkidu strolls into town and all the people are amazed because they're seeing someone who is as splendid as Gilgamesh. All of them are kissing his feet (LIKE IN THE DREAM), and they are cheering him on. Enkidu blocks the path to get to the bride's room. Obviously, Gilgamesh is frustrated by this, and they begin to fight. This fight is better than modern WWE or MMA. Their fighting creates some serious structural damage for buildings. The orator notes that, "the door-jambs shook, the wall did shudder" (II 115). As they wrestle around their anger dissipates and Enkidu tells Gilgamesh that he is the rightful ruler of Uruk and pledges his fidelity to him. Gilgamesh then takes Enkidu to his mother (LIKE IN THE DREAM) and she blesses their friendship and declares that Enkidu will be Gilgamesh's faithful friend.
The new BFUD (best friends until death; my own little dose of foreshadowing), look for an adventure. Enkidu tells Gilgamesh about the ferocious Humbaba who is the guardian of the faraway Cedar Forest. Enkidu tells Gilgamesh that Humbaba's "speech is fire, and his breath is death!" (Y 111). Gilgamesh is intrigued by Enkidu's descriptions of Humbaba and he is ready to go fight him. Enkidu protests that Humbaba can't be killed. Gilgamesh doesn't listen to Enkidu's "spineless words" (II 233). He tells Enkidu that it doesn't matter if they die because they'll be famous for even going in the Cedar Forest, where no mortals are allowed. At the end of the tablet, Gilgamesh and Enkidu are off to fight the formidable Humbaba.
Next, why these tablets are important!
Cassy
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