![]() Shamhat, in her role as a stand-in goddess, is a benevolent force that brings knowledge and civilization to a great hero, preparing him for the trials ahead. His union with the priestess has brought Enkidu into domesticated life, for Enkidu realizes “that his mind had somehow grown larger, / he knew things now that an animal can’t know” (79). Of course, before he goes with Shamhat to live with people, Enkidu tries to rejoin the wild animals, “But the gazelles / saw him and scattered” (79). The people of Uruk mourn Gilgamesh in the streets. The god Enlil declares that Gilgamesh will be remembered for longer than any other man. The beginning of the civilization process continues to involve eating “human food,” hygiene, and civic responsibility (85-6). The last section of the Epic is titled The Death of Gilgamesh, and looks back on his reign after he has died. A brave warrior, fair judge, and ambitious builder, Gilgamesh surrounds the city of Uruk with magnificent walls and erects its glorious ziggurats, or temple towers. The sex act leads Enkidu into manhood and signals a break from the uncivilized, animal world he has formerly inhabited. The Epic of Gilgamesh People Gilgamesh King of Uruk, the strongest of men, and the personification of all human virtues. Epic of Gilgamesh, ancient Mesopotamian odyssey recorded in the Akkadian language about Gilgamesh, the king of the Mesopotamian city-state Uruk (Erech). She does this by going out into the wilderness where she “stripped off her robe and lay there naked For seven days / stayed erect and made love with her” (79). The Priestess Shamhat is the first woman sent to tame the wild man, Enkidu. Gilgamesh: A New Translation of the Ancient Epic. In the ancient epic Gilgamesh, two women convey learning and wisdom. The Epic of Gilgamesh (Norton Critical Editions) Benjamin R. 1 TheEpicofGilgamesh TranslatedbyMaureenGalleryKovacs ElectronicEditionbyWolfCarnahan,I998 TabletI Hewhohasseeneverything,Iwillmakeknown()tothelands. Statue of Gilgamesh, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia It is through the woman that the hero understands himself and his quest. This union is achieved through a representational marriage with this goddess figure, which is how the hero displays his “mastery over life for the woman is life, the hero its knower and master” (120). He was physically beautiful, immensely strong, and very wise. He built magnificent ziggurats, or temple towers, surrounded his city with high walls, and laid out its orchards and fields. By joining with her, the hero is freed from the illusion of opposites and becomes the lord and knower of his own fate. The Epic of Gilgamesh The epic’s prelude offers a general introduction to Gilgamesh, king of Uruk, who was two-thirds god and one-third man. As Campbell describes, “She is the incarnation of the promise of perfection” (111). She becomes a stand-in for the mother-goddess, a symbol of all the splendor and strength of the natural world. It is a woman who is the greatest aid to the hero since she can provide him with the information he requires to change himself and the world. The hero is the one who comes to know” (116). Campbell explains, “Woman, in the picture language of mythology, represents the totality of what can be known. A meeting with her often occurs close to, if not at, the apex of the heroic quest. Sophus Helle translates the latest version of Gilgamesh, including newly-discovered clay tablets.As understood by Joseph Campbell in The Hero with a Thousand Faces, women play an integral role in the progress hero’s progress on his journey. Gilgamesh is rambunctious and energetic, but also cruel and arrogant. His mother was the goddess Ninsun and his father the priest-king Lugalbanda, making Gilgamesh semi-divine. According to the tale, Gilgamesh is a handsome, athletic young king of Uruk city. You can hear Gilgamesh read aloud in the Akkadian language here. The Epic of Gilgamesh was one of the most beloved stories of Mesopotamia. Gilgamesh was originally written as a Sumerian tale, before being reinterpreted in the Akkadian language around 1800 BCE, with the most well-known version composed in the first millennium BCE. The story sheds light on the development of Mesopotamian literature, the earliest literary tradition yet known. New portions of the story are still being discovered in archaeological excavations. It was part of the Mesopotamian literary canon, and we have been able to piece the story together because tablets have been discovered at a variety of sites, with new tablets filling in missing sections of the story. It was lost for two millennia before being rediscovered in 1849 CE. The epic of Gilgamesh was told and retold in ancient Mesopotamia for thousands of years.
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