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Gilgamesh
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The cruel king Gilgamesh is jealous of his power over people and animals and wants to kill him.† (source) Kenneth Oppel, Airborn, 2004

The Epic of Gilgamesh.† (source)

It is clear that Akkadian redactors went through the Sumerian myths, edited out the (to us) bizarre and incomprehensible parts, and strung them together into longer works, such as the Epic of Gilgamesh.† (source) Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash, 1992

Occasionally humani would fight on one side, and their exploits were recalled in great legends like those of Gilgamesh and Cuchulain, Atlas and Hippolytus, Beowulf and Ilya of Murom.† (source) Michael Scott, The Alchemyst, 2007

The Epic of Gilgamesh† (source) Richard Adams, Watership Down, 1972

SUNLIGHT: Are you familiar with the epic of Gilgamesh?† (source)

The Epic of Gilgamesh is one of the best known works of early literature.

He focuses on an image of walls--the walls of the city Gilgamesh has built, Uruk.† (source)

The same for the pursuit of lineage--Gilgamesh died without issue, being a city man.† (source)

The twelfth book tells of Gilgamesh point-lessly ruling the pointless dead.† (source)

Near the end of the movie, Enkidu travels to the city to confront Gilgamesh, and they start to fight high atop the city's towers.† (source) Kenneth Oppel, Airborn, 2004

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Gilgamesh fell so slowly, arms spread, right off the tower's edge and toward the clouds, but somehow Enkidu grabbed hold of him.† (source) Kenneth Oppel, Airborn, 2004

He had fallen, like Gilgamesh, and I had not been there to save him with my all-powerful Enkidu hand.† (source) Kenneth Oppel, Airborn, 2004

It seated fifty only, but we'd managed to procure a print of the Lumière triplets' latest epic, Gilgamesh.† (source) Kenneth Oppel, Airborn, 2004

They were fighting closer and closer to the edge of the tower, lightning flashed, thunder rolled, and Gilgamesh slipped.† (source) Kenneth Oppel, Airborn, 2004

Gilgamesh.† (source) Kenneth Oppel, Airborn, 2004

The rest of the epic elaborates it, describing the kinds of immortality Gilgamesh tries for and misses--eternal youth, lasting fame, and so on.† (source)

To get the walls built, Gilgamesh is forced to make all the inhabitants of his city work for him like slaves.† (source)

As for the pursuit of Heaven, the answer in the Gilgamesh is that if there's an afterlife it's sealed up, brothers, walled in, sisters, like life.† (source)

Eleven of the twelve tablets tell of Gilgamesh's life and adventures during his unsuccessful quest for immortality.† (source)

There are parallel lines, at the beginning and end--the poet's description and comment in the introit that the walls will be the hero's only immortality (but his name will cease to be connected with them)--and Gilgamesh's own description, an echo.† (source)

Fill thy belly, Gilgamesh; day and night enjoy thyselfi prepare each day some pleasant occasion.† (source)

Following that, Utnapishtim announced to Gilgamesh the secret of the plant.† (source)

But Gilgamesh, when he awoke, sat down and wept, "and the tears ran down the wall of his nose.† (source)

Gilgamesh, on landing, had to listen to the patriarch's long recitation of the story of the deluge.† (source)

He is the patron and adviser both of Gilgamesh and of the flood hero, Atarhasis-Utnapishtim-Noah.† (source)

When they had landed, Gilgamesh bathed in a cool water-hole and lay down to rest.† (source)

Gilgamesh tied stones to his feet and plunged.† (source)

Utnapishtim had his wife bake seven loaves and place them by the head of Gilgamesh as he lay asleep beside the boat.† (source)

But when Gilgamesh persisted, Siduri-Sabitu gave him permission to pass and apprised him of the dangers of the way.† (source)

Gilgamesh, something secret I will disclose to thee, and give thee thine instruction: That plant is like a brier in the field; its thorn, like that of the rose, will pierce thy hand.† (source)

And Utnapishtim touched Gilgamesh, and he awoke, and the host ordered the ferryman Ursanapi to give the guest a bath in a certain pool and then fresh garments.† (source)

Gilgamesh shattered these attendants (they were called "those who rejoice to live," "those of stone") and the ferryman consented to convey him across the waters of death.† (source)

But when he told her his tale, she admitted him to her presence and advised him not to pursue his quest, but to learn and be content with the mortal joys of life: Gilgamesh, why dost thou run about this way?† (source)

The greatest talc of the elixir quest in the Mesopotamian, pre-biblical tradition is that of Gilgamesh, a legendary king of the Sumerian city of Erech, who set forth to attain the watercress of immortality, the plant "Never Grow Old."† (source)

J. Knight has discussed the evident relationship of the Malekulan "journey of the soul to the underworld" with the classical descent of Aeneas, and the Babylonian of Gilgamesh,6' while W.J. Perry thought he could recognize evidences of this culture-continuity running all the way from Egypt and Sumer nut through the Oceanic area to North America.† (source)

When Enkidu was thrown he said to Gilgamesh, 'There is not another like you in the world.† (source)

Gilgamesh said, 'What shall I do, O Utnapishtim, where shall I go?† (source)

Gilgamesh, take an eighth, and ninth, a tenth pole.† (source)

Gilgamesh said to him, 'Why should not my cheeks be starved and my face drawn?† (source)

O Gilgamesh, lord of Kullab, great is thy praise.† (source)

A second day he lay on his bed and Gilgamesh watched over him but the sickness increased.† (source)

Then he called to Gilgamesh, 'My friend, the great goddess cursed me and I must die in shame.† (source)

So Enkidu and Gilgamesh embraced and their friendship was sealed.† (source)

There Gilgamesh dug a well before the setting sun.† (source)

She answered, 'Gilgamesh, where are you hurrying to?† (source)

The people jostled; speaking of him they said, 'He is the spit of Gilgamesh.'† (source)

GILGAMESH KING IN URUK I WILL proclaim to the world the deeds of Gilgamesh.† (source)

Gilgamesh is the most glorious of heroes, Gilgamesh is most eminent among men.† (source)

Gilgamesh said to Urshanabi the ferryman, 'Come here, and see this marvellous plant.† (source)

Gilgamesh replied:' Where is the man who can clamber to heaven?† (source)

A third day he lay on his bed, he called out to Gilgamesh, rousing him up.† (source)

And Gilgamesh lamented, 'Now I will pray to the great gods, for my friend had an ominous dream.'† (source)

When they had come down from the mountain Gilgamesh seized the axe in his hand: he felled the cedar.† (source)

Gilgamesh bent his knee with his foot planted on the ground and with a turn Enkidu was thrown.† (source)

Gilgamesh answered him, 'Dear friend, do not speak like a coward.† (source)

He replied to him, 'Gilgamesh is my name, I am from Uruk, from the house of Anu.'† (source)

They dug a well before the sun had set and Gilgamesh ascended the mountain.† (source)

This great one, this hero whose beauty is like a god, he is a match even for Gilgamesh.† (source)

Enkidu cried to Gilgamesh, 'My friend, we boasted that we would leave enduring names behind us.† (source)

The bride waited for the bridegroom, but in the night Gilgamesh got up and came to the house.† (source)

Enkidu said to Gilgamesh, 'Not so, my friend.† (source)

When Gilgamesh touched his heart it did not beat.† (source)

After one hundred and twenty thrusts Gilgamesh had used the last pole.† (source)

So Gilgamesh dreamed and Enkidu said, 'The meaning of the dream is this.† (source)

Now Gilgamesh got up to tell his dream to his mother, Ninsun, one of the wise gods.† (source)

Ishtar opened her mouth and said again, 'My father, give me the Bull of Heaven to destroy Gilgamesh.† (source)

The tears started to his eyes and he was pale, 'Gilgamesh, let me speak.† (source)

Gilgamesh approached, he entered the palace and spoke to Ninsun.† (source)

Gilgamesh, take an eleventh, take a twelfth pole.† (source)

Gilgamesh said, 'Trapper, go back, take with you a harlot, a child of pleasure.† (source)

So Gilgamesh told his dreams; and the harlot retold them to Enkidu.† (source)

He sighed bitterly and Gilgamesh met his eye and said, 'My friend, why do you sigh so bitterly?'† (source)

When the gods created Gilgamesh they gave him a perfect body.† (source)

Gilgamesh, the son of Ninsun, lies in the tomb.† (source)

Serve Gilgamesh as a foundling serves the temple and the priestess who reared him.† (source)

This too was the work of Gilgamesh, the king, who knew the countries of the world.† (source)

Now, Gilgamesh, take a fifth, take a sixth and seventh pole.† (source)

Gilgamesh, how will you cross the Ocean?† (source)

So Utnapishtim spoke, and Gilgamesh took a pole and brought the boat in to the bank.† (source)

And to Gilgamesh he said, 'You will never find the life for which you are searching.'† (source)

So Gilgamesh returned by the gate through which he had come, Gilgamesh and Urshanabi went together.† (source)

So Gilgamesh laid a veil, as one veils the bride, over his friend.† (source)

Go to Uruk, find Gilgamesh, extol the strength of this wild man.† (source)

Why do you crave to do this thing, Gilgamesh?† (source)

Gilgamesh, the watchman of the forest never sleeps.† (source)

When Gilgamesh heard this he was seized with anger.† (source)

The men rejoiced: 'Now Gilgamesh. has met his match.† (source)

Gilgamesh said to him, 'Why should not my cheeks be starved and my face drawn?† (source)

O Gilgamesh, how long will you lie like this, asleep?† (source)

I know very well where Gilgamesh is in great Uruk.† (source)

Gilgamesh answered her, 'And why should not my cheeks be starved and my face drawn?† (source)

Mighty Gilgamesh came on and Enkidu met him at the gate.† (source)

Gilgamesh said to Utnapishtim the Faraway, 'I hardly slept when you touched and roused me.'† (source)

Gilgamesh dreamed, and at midnight sleep left him, and he told his dream to his friend.† (source)

Gilgamesh said, 'Mother, I dreamed a second dream.† (source)

Gilgamesh, I shall reveal a secret thing, it is a mystery of the gods that I am telling you.† (source)

O Gilgamesh, this was the meaning of your dream.† (source)

Enkidu said, 'Do not listen, Gilgamesh: this Humbaba must die.† (source)

Then Enkidu called out, 'O Gilgamesh, remember now your boasts in Uruk.† (source)

But Gilgamesh called the smiths and the armourers, all of them together.† (source)

Gilgamesh, take a second pole, take a third, take a fourth pole.† (source)

THE EPIC OF GILGAMESH PROLOGUE.† (source)

Perhaps the most striking Eastern literary antecedent to The Iliad is the story of Gilgamesh, which derives from Sumerian legends that reach back to the third millennium.† (source) Homer, The Iliad, -850 B.C.

6 A fine scholarly introduction and translation is The Epic of Gilgamesh, translated with an introduction by Andrew George (London, 1999).† (source) Homer, The Iliad, -850 B.C.

By the time The Iliad was written down, Gilgamesh had been the most popular heroic saga throughout the Near East for a thousand years, being translated and transmitted on baked clay tablets through the lands of Asia Minor and all the way to the Mediterranean.† (source) Homer, The Iliad, -850 B.C.

Homer's notional position as the first of epic poets owes much to the fact that Assurbanipal's library in Nineveh, where the so-called standard version of Gilgamesh we read today was edited, was destroyed at the end of the seventh century B.C. The poem thus began to retreat from sight until it was rediscovered, accidentally, in 1872.† (source) Homer, The Iliad, -850 B.C.

So at length Gilgamesh came to Mashu, the great mountains about which he had heard many things, which guard the rising and the setting sun.† (source)

The next day also, in the first light, Gilgamesh lamented; seven days and seven nights he wept for Enkidu, until the worm fastened on him.† (source)

I tell you, even before you have left the wilderness, Gilgamesh will know in his dreams that you are coming.† (source)

Then if I fall I leave behind me a name that endures; men will say of me, "Gilgamesh has fallen in fight with ferocious Humbaba."† (source)

The man answered, saying to Enkidu, 'Gilgamesh has gone into the marriage-house and shut out the people.† (source)

Then Enkidu called out to Gilgamesh, 'Do not go down into the forest; when I opened the gate my hand lost its strength.'† (source)

He put out his foot and prevented Gilgamesh from entering the house, so they grappled, holding each other like bulls.† (source)

No son is left with his father, for Gilgamesh takes them all, even the children; yet the king should be a shepherd to his people.† (source)

He took him by the hand and led him to his house, so that the heart of Gilgamesh was moved with compassion.† (source)

Gilgamesh opened his mouth and answered glorious Ishtar, 'If I take you in marriage, what gifts can I give in return?† (source)

Then Gilgamesh opened his mouth again and said to Enkidu, 'My friend, let us go to the Great Palace, to Egalmah, and stand before Ninsun the queen.† (source)

Gilgamesh said to his mother, 'A friend, a counsellor has come to me from Enlil, and now I shall befriend and counsel him.'† (source)

The counsellors blessed Gilgamesh and warned him, 'Do not trust too much in your own strength, be watchful, restrain your blows at first.† (source)

But Gilgamesh sat with his chin on his knees till the sleep which flows over all mankind lapped over him.† (source)

Gilgamesh said, 'Although I should go in sorrow and in pain, with sighing and with weeping, still I must go.† (source)

When the daylight came Enkidu got up and cried to Gilgamesh, 'O my brother, such a dream I had last night.† (source)

THE COMING OF ENKIDU GILGAMESH went abroad in the world, but he met with none who could withstand his arms till he came to Uruk.† (source)

But Gilgamesh, down in the woods you will find Urshanabi, the ferryman of Utnapishtim; with him are the holy things, the things of stone.† (source)

Did not you quarrel with Gilgamesh the king, so now he has related your abominable behaviour, your foul and hideous acts.† (source)

Gilgamesh had peeled off his clothes, he listened to his words and wept quick tears, Gilgamesh listened and his tears flowed.† (source)

He said to Gilgamesh, the friend on whose account he had left the wilderness, ' Once I ran for you, for the water of life, and I now have nothing.'† (source)

She said, 'My father, Gilgamesh has heaped insults on me, he has told over all my abominable behaviour, my foul and hideous acts.'† (source)

O Enkidu, you who love life, I will show you Gilgamesh, a man of many moods; you shall look at him well in his radiant manhood.† (source)

So Gilgamesh followed the Bull, he seized the thick of its tail, he thrust the sword between the nape and the horns and slew the Bull.† (source)

As for you, Gilgamesh, fill your belly with good things; day and night, night and day,, dance and be merry, feast and rejoice.† (source)

Go, Gilgamesh, may your guardian god protect you on the road and bring you safely back to the quay of Uruk.† (source)

Glorious Shamash answered, 'Gilgamesh, you are; strong, but what is the Country of the Living to you?'† (source)

Then Utnapishtim said to him, 'If you are Gilgamesh, why are your cheeks so starved and your face drawn?† (source)

It was then that the lord Gilgamesh turned his thoughts to the Country of the Living; on the Land of Cedars the lord Gilgamesh reflected.† (source)

THE FOREST JOURNEY ENLIL of the mountain, the father of the gods, had decreed the destiny of Gilgamesh.† (source)

In those days the lord Gilgamesh departed, the son of Ninsun, the king, peerless, without an equal among men, who did not neglect Enlil his master.† (source)

Utnapishtim said to Gilgamesh, 'I will reveal to you a mystery, I will tell you a secret of the gods.'† (source)

When Gilgamesh saw them he shielded his eyes for the length of a moment only; then he took courage and approached.† (source)

No son is left with his father, for Gilgamesh takes them all; and is this the king, the shepherd of his people?† (source)

When Gilgamesh heard this he did as the Man-Scorpion had said, he followed the sun's road to his rising, through the mountain.† (source)

Shamash the glorious sun has given favours to Gilgamesh, and Anu of the heavens, and Enlil, and Ea the wise has given him deep understanding.† (source)

Enkidu spoke again to Gilgamesh, 'O my lord, if you will enter that country, go first to the hero Shamash, tell the Sun God, for the land is his.† (source)

When he had gone eight leagues Gilgamesh gave a great cry, for the darkness was thick and he could sec nothing ahead and nothing behind him.† (source)

Then Urshanabi said to Gilgamesh, 'Press on, take a pole and thrust it in, but do not let your hands touch the waters.† (source)

Gilgamesh, you came here a man wearied out, you have worn yourself out; what shall I give you to carry you back to your own country?† (source)

Let me go free, Gilgamesh, and I will be your servant, you shall be my lord; all the trees of the forest that I tended on the mountain shall be yours.† (source)

He nodded his head and shook it, menacing Gilgamesh; and on him he fastened his eye, the eye of death.† (source)

When Gilgamesh had put on the crown, glorious Ishtar lifted her eyes, seeing the beauty of Gilgamesh.† (source)

He said to Gilgamesh the young god, 'Your dream is good, your dream is excellent, the mountain which you saw is Humbaba.† (source)

O Gilgamesh, Lord of the plain of Kullab, the world grows dark, the shadows have spread over it, now is the glimmer of dusk.† (source)

But the men of Uruk muttered in their houses, 'Gilgamesh sounds the tocsin for his amusement, his arrogance has no bounds by day or night.† (source)

Come, woman, and take me to that holy temple, to the house of Anu and of Ishtar, and to the place where Gilgamesh lords it over the people.† (source)

The wine-maker said to him, 'Gilgamesh, there is no crossing the Ocean; whoever has come, since the days of old, has not been able to pass that sea.† (source)

She said, 'Come to me Gilgamesh, and be my bridegroom; grant me seed of your body, let me be your bride and you shall be my husband.† (source)

Then they boarded the boat, Gilgamesh and Urshanabi together, launching it out on the waves of Ocean.† (source)

Urshanabi saw the dagger flash and heard the axe, and he beat his head, for Gilgamesh had shattered the tackle of the boat in his rage.† (source)

Again Gilgamesh said, speaking to Utnapishtim, 'It is to see Utnapishtim whom we call the Faraway that I have come this journey.† (source)

Gilgamesh, those things you destroyed, their property is to carry me over the water, to prevent the waters of death from touching me.† (source)

He appointed strong allies for Gilgamesh, sons of one mother, and stationed them in the mountain caves.† (source)

Then Gilgamesh called to Shamash and his tears were flowing, 'O glorious Shamash, I have followed the road you commanded but now if you send no succour how shall I escape?'† (source)

But Ishtar rose up and mounted the great wall of Uruk; she sprang on to the tower and uttered a curse: 'Woe to Gilgamesh, for he has scorned me in killing the Bull of Heaven.'† (source)

Gilgamesh took up a kid, white without spot, and a brown one with it; he held them against his breast, and he carried them into the presence of the sun.† (source)

They uncovered the sacred dwellings of the Anunnaki and while Gilgamesh felled the first of the trees of the forest Enkidu cleared their roots as far as the banks of Euphrates.† (source)

When Gilgamesh heard this he opened the sluices so that a sweet-water current might carry him out to the deepest channel; he tied heavy stones to his feet and they dragged him down to the water-bed.† (source)

O Gilgamesh, king and conqueror of the dreadful blaze; wild bull who plunders the mountain, who crosses the sea, glory to him, and from the brave the greater glory is Enki's!† (source)

The counsellors of Uruk, the great market, answered him,' Gilgamesh, you are young, your courage carries you too far, you cannot know what this enterprise means which you plan.† (source)

His father opened his mouth and said to the trapper, 'My son, in Uruk lives Gilgamesh; no one has ever prevailed against him, he is strong as a star from heaven.† (source)

But Gilgamesh said, 'Immolation and sacrifice are not yet for me, the boat of the dead shall not go down, nor the three-ply cloth be cut for my shrouding.† (source)

Gilgamesh took the axe, he slung the quiver from his shoulder, and the bow of Anshan, and buckled the sword to his belt; and so they were armed and ready for the journey.† (source)

He replied, 'Gilgamesh is my name.† (source)

THE RETURN UTNAPISHTIM said, 'As for you, Gilgamesh, who will assemble the gods for your sake, so that you may find that life for which you are searching?† (source)

In the first light of dawn Gilgamesh cried out, 'I made you rest on a royal bed, you reclined on a couch at my left hand, the princes of the earth kissed your feet.† (source)

Then Gilgamesh said to Utnapishtim the Faraway, 'I look at you now, Utnapishtim, and your appearance is no different from mine; there is nothing strange in your features.† (source)

And the Man-Scorpion said, 'Go, Gilgamesh, I permit you to pass through the mountain of Mashu and through the high ranges; may your feet carry you safely home.† (source)

Gilgamesh answered, 'For Enkidu; I loved him dearly, together we endured all kinds of hardships; on his account I have come, for the common lot of man has taken him.† (source)

I will take you to strong-walled Uruk, to the blessed temple of Ishtar and of Anu, of love and of heaven: there Gilgamesh lives, who is very strong, and like a wild bull he lords it over men.† (source)

Like vipers, like dragons, like a scorching fire, like a serpent that freezes the heart, a destroying flood and the lightning's fork, such were they and Gilgamesh rejoiced.† (source)

So Urshanabi the ferryman brought Gilgamesh to Utnapishtim, whom they call the Faraway, who lives in Dilmun at the place of the sun's transit, eastward of the mountain.† (source)

Gilgamesh saw a well of cool water and he went down and bathed; but deep in the pool there was lying a serpent, and the serpent sensed the sweetness of the flower.† (source)

Then the two of them talked it over and Gilgamesh said, 'Why are you so angry with me, Urshanabi, for you yourself cross the sea by day and night, at all seasons you cross it.'† (source)

They drove through the streets of Uruk where the heroes were gathered to see them, and Gilgamesh called to the singing girls, 'Who is most glorious of the heroes, who is most eminent among men?'† (source)

But Gilgamesh said to Siduri, the young woman, 'How can I be silent, how can I rest, when Enkidu whom I love is dust, and I too shall die and be laid in the earth.† (source)

They cast for Gilgamesh the axe 'Might of Heroes' and the bow of Anshan; and Gilgamesh was armed and Enkidu; and the weight of the arms they carried was thirty score pounds.† (source)

I w ill go to the place where Gilgamesh lords it over the people, I will challenge him boldly, and I will cry aloud in Uruk, "I have come to change the old order, for I am the strongest here.'† (source)

But now Gilgamesh was overcome by weakness, for sleep had seized him suddenly, a profound sleep held him; he lay on the ground, stretched out speechless, as though in a dream.† (source)

Then Gilgamesh issued a proclamation through the land, he summoned them all, the coppersmiths, the goldsmiths, the stone-workers, and commanded them, 'Make a statue of my friend.'† (source)

And Gilgamesh wept over Enkidu.† (source)

While Gilgamesh walked in the garden by the edge of the sea Shamash saw him, and he saw that he was dressed in the skins of animals and ate their flesh.† (source)

So Enkidu lay stretched out before Gilgamesh; his tears ran down in streams and he said to Gilgamesh, 'O my brother, so dear as you are to me, brother, yet they will take me from you.'† (source)

Gilgamesh said to glorious Shamash, 'Now that I have toiled and strayed so far over the wilderness, am I to sleep, and let the earth cover my head for ever?† (source)

But Gilgamesh said,' If we touch him the blaze and the glory of light will be put out in confusion, the glory and glamour will vanish, its rays will be quenched.'† (source)

Gilgamesh said, 'I dreamed again.† (source)

When he heard these words of the counsellors Gilgamesh looked at his friend and laughed, 'How shall I answer them; shall I say I am afraid of Humbaba, I will sit at home all the rest of my days?'† (source)

But now, go into the forest, Gilgamesh; with your axe cut poles, one hundred and twenty, cut them sixty cubits long, paint them with bitumen, set on them ferrules and bring them back.† (source)

Urshanabi said to him, 'Gilgamesh, your own hands have prevented you from crossing the Ocean; when you destroyed the tackle of the boat you destroyed its safety.'† (source)

Again to Gilgamesh they said, 'May Shamash give you your heart's desire, may he let you see with your eyes the thing accomplished which your lips have spoken; may he open a path for you where it is blocked, and a road for your feet to tread.† (source)

Then Gilgamesh and Urshanabi launched the boat on to the water and boarded it, and they made ready to sail away; but the wife of Utnapishtim the Faraway said to him, 'Gilgamesh came here wearied out, he is worn out; what will you give him to carry him back to his own country?'† (source)

At night when he came to the mountain passes Gilgamesh prayed: 'In these mountain passes long ago I saw lions, I was afraid and I lifted my eyes to the moon; I prayed and my prayers went up to the gods, so now, O moon god Sin, protect me.'† (source)

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