User talk:Atcovi/ENG225/We are All Going to Die - Discussion Board Three

Epic of Gilgamesh NOTES
pages 33-88 —Atcovi (Talk - Contribs) 22:54, 11 September 2023 (UTC)


 * Pg 33-45 - Introduction & Tablet 1
 * Reviews the greatness of the literature surrounding King Gilgamesh' desire for immortality, which discusses a great deal of humanic topics (death, life, power, violence, etc.).
 * 19th century, rediscovered by archeologists in brittle clay tablets.
 * Gilgamesh: preist-king of Uruk in Southern Mesopotamia, most known for his 10km long walls. He was reknowned as a great king of the Underworld, 2/3 divine and 1/3 human.
 * Earliest story of Gilgamesh comes from 2100 BCE in Sumerian. Gilgamesh eventually became a rewritten story for thousands of kings. Old version of Gilgamesh was written in Babylonian.
 * Ultimate revision: Sîn-lēqi-unninni. He basically made a more epic version that is readable in 11 chapters.
 * The World's Oldest Epic Hero
 * Gilgamesh started off as an oppressive ruler. Was confronted by a beast, godlike figure named Enkidu. Gilgamesh tames him with urban life/civilization. Enkidu makes love to a prostitute, Shamhat, who leads him to Uruk. Gilgamesh and Enkidu become friends.
 * Cedar Forest to slay Humbaba: they succeed and plant rivers. Enlil, the God protected by Humbaba, is mad as hell tho.
 * Gilgamesh cures out Ishtar, goddess of love. Release the Bull of Heaven, who caused so much destruction to Uruk that the Gods strike Enkidu to death cuz Gilgamesh was a king who couldn't be sentenced to death. Gilgamesh seeks out Utanapishtim, the survivor of the Great Flood, for immortality.
 * Finds this guy and is offered an immortality plant, but is too scared to take it and comes back to Uruk sad.
 * An Ancient Epic
 * "Epic" = speech. Long speeches, rely on repetition of lines with variation, parallels and contrats. These repetitions point to the poems' oral roots.
 * A verse varies in length and goes over similarities in Greek stories. Goes over the importance of the literature in Gilgamesh and how each character speaks in a different tone that actually contradicts their character. Women play a massive role in the story of Gilgamesh. Ancient Iranians sacked Nehveh and found parts of Gilgamesh in the 7th century. English explorers in the 1850s dug up more parts of the story and assessed it, finding stringing similarities with Gensis' account of the "Great Flood".
 * The epic circulated around the Levant and the Near East, way before Hebrew and Greek was written - we still don't know the full story since there are parts that are missing.
 * —Atcovi (Talk - Contribs) 18:48, 12 September 2023 (UTC)

Tablet 1

 * A lot of praise for Gilgamesh and his work on Uruk's walls. Starting to see the 2/3 divinity here.
 * Anu, married to Ishtar, said to the Goddess of Birth (Anu) to create Enkidu in order to create peace in Uruk.
 * A hunter saw Enkidu, who was mighty and handsome. He didn't let the hunter do his business. The hunter complained to his dad, who told him to bring Shamhat to distract this man.
 * Enkidu had sex with Shamhat, which 7 days later - he found that he wasn't as athletic as he usually was, but his wisdom increased.
 * Shamhat is in the works of convincing Enkidu to come to Uruk, to which Enkidu agrees - but is determined to prove his strength vs. Gilgamesh.
 * Gilgamesh tells his mother the dream he got, which she interpreted as he will meet a really great friend!

[pg. 44]


 * Second dream: An axe was thrown in front of a massive crowd in Uruk, and this was interpreted by the "goddess" (his mother) as the axe being a man and the love for it shows that he will be a firm companion.
 * Enkidu was being told these dreams by Shamhat and both were falling in love with each other.

Tablet 2

 * Shamhat was getting Enkidu to Uruk. They went to a shepherd's hut. Here, Enkidu is shamed for making love to an unmarried prostitute and for not following the customs of what was supposed to be Gilgamesh's wedding.
 * Enkidu arrives in Uruk and gets in the way of Gilgamesh's way to the wedding.
 * They fight, then they make love - and then they are both hell-bent on killing Humbaba.
 * Enkidu was scared, but Gilgamesh's guilt tricked him into coming along.
 * The craftsmen prepare the money and war materials needed for this expedition.
 * Gilgamesh was opposed by the elders, who stated that his impulsiveness had gotten in the way of his thinking and the beast was there to safeguard the forest & anyone who entered the forest was struck down by a disease. Gilgamesh laughed.

Tablet 3

 * The Elders give in and wish for Gilgamesh's safe return. They almost predict Enkidu's death, being the protector of Gilgamesh and he should go first in battle was he knows the way to the "forest of cedars".
 * They go to the sublime temple and arrive before Ninsun (queen).
 * Gilgamesh asks for Ninsun's blessings prior to the battle. Ninsun made an offering to Shamash and asked her for Gilgamesh's safety. May the days be long and the nights short and allow him to sleep in a designated place.
 * Shamash's husband, May Aya, asks for destructive winds to fight Humbaba's face.
 * Ninsun takes Enkidu as an adopted son and says that his offspring will be devotees of Gilgamesh.
 * The elders pray for Gilgamesh once again for his safe return.

Tablet 4

 * 20 DL (double leagues), ate.
 * 30 DL, camp.
 * 50 DL, went out for their journey in a day. A journey of 1 1/2 months, in 3 days.
 * Mount Lebanon, Gilgamesh, and Enkidu go up this. Enkidu made a shelter for Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh sleeps and has a disturbing dream of a mountain pinning him, but a handsome figure saves him. Enkidu details that the mountain he saw was Humbaba and that he would be destroyed.
 * 4th dream: Anzu descended upon Gilgamesh in a terrifying manner. He saw the Shamash in his dream. He isn't an enemy. Gilgamesh and Enkidu confront and are about ready to fight Humbaba.

Tablet 5

 * The pair find Humbaba, cursing out Gilgamesh but trying to dissuade Enkidu from his plans as he saw him when he was a baby.
 * Enkidu encourages Gilgamesh to strike.
 * Gilgamesh strikes the ground and sends 13 winds to Humbaba.
 * Humbaba begs Gilgamesh to spare him. Enkidu urges Gilgamesh not to follow through, though Humbaba rebukes Enkidu for his mercilessness. Humbaba sends a curse wishing both of them not to have a reliable friend.
 * Gilgamesh finishes him. A loud cry was given off by Humbaba which shook the mountains of Lebanon. Enkidu builts a large door through which he hopes a "God" goes through it.

Tablet 6

 * Ishtar praised Gilgamesh and invited him into her house. His livestock, according to her, will bear multiples.
 * Gilgamesh asks what he can get out of her in marriage, and mentions several of her "exes" that she wronged, like Dumuzi, the lion, wild stallion, the shepherd, Ishullanu etc.
 * Anu and Antum heard her cries cuz she was salty Gilgamesh denied her. Antum defended Gilgamesh, but Anu was ok with Ishtar getting the Bull of Heaven to destroy Gilgamesh.
 * Enkidu and Gilgamesh destroyed the Bull, to which its heart was presented before Shamash.
 * Ishtar then brought out the cult women and prostitutes for a meeting, while Gilgamesh brought all the craftsmen to celebrate his victory. Enkidu proceeds to dream.

Tablet 7

 * Enkidu curses the door, which may be because the door represents an adventure where Enkidu dies.
 * Enkidu, after a speech by Gilgamesh, curses out the hunter that oppressed him. He cursed Shamhat afterward.
 * A warning voice warned him for cursing the one that fed him and predicted his resting place, so he retracted his cursing.
 * Enkidu talks about a dream where Anzu took him to the depths of hell
 * Enkidu dies

Tablet 8

 * Gilgamesh sends a prayer for his dead friend - and commands him to wake up, but he doesn't listen.
 * Gilgamesh commands the folks to make a great resting place for him.

Tablet 9

 * He wonders why he didn't die, himself.
 * Approaches the guards of the sun's passage through the mountains. He has only 12 hours to go through the sun's tunnel until the sun goes down.
 * Right by the 12 hours, he escaped. The trees were boring fruit.

Tablet 10: Siduri's Tavern at the End of the Earth

 * Gilgamesh threatens to break the door if she doesn't let him in. Gilgamesh comes through and demands to be let in. He introduces himself as the "guy that killed [xyz]", and she challenges him, saying "why are you clad in a lion skin?", to which Gilgamesh responds with her rebuttals.
 * Gilgamesh seeks immortality, to which Siduri refutes him.
 * Siduri tells Gilgamesh that if he really wants immortality, to the point that he crosses the sea, then he should look to Utanapishtim's boatman, U-S.
 * Gilgamesh attacks U-S and smashes the Stone Charms, which I am assuming allows him to sail the sea.
 * U-S shamed him for his stupidity and commanded him to go into the forest and cut poles and dress 'em on handguards.
 * Utanapishtim ("Distant One") wanted to know why he was wilding out, so Gilgamesh responded with direct rebuttals and said that he was avenging Enkidu's death. The Distant One tells him and lectures him as to why he is striving for such a needless goal (immortality).

Tablet 11

 * Gilgamesh basically says the Distant One is weak-spirited. He asks him how we achieved immortality and he goes off on his story of the Great Flood. He was the lucky one to survive, Enlil was enraged. Ea rebukes Enlil for allowing the flood to come through. Utana and his wife were promoted to God's status. He urged Gilga to not sleep for 7 nights as he did, but he already was ready to sleep.
 * Uta's wife baked loaves of bread for him and counted every day he slept [he was asleep]. Gilgamesh woke up and was told every loaf was for every day he slept. Gilgamesh wonders how we can escape mortality, but he is sent to wash himself by U-S.
 * When they were on the boat, Uta asked what should he give him as a token for his home. And then he revealed the thorned plant for immortality. Gilgamesh went to a pond with the plant and was about to ingest it until a reptile took it from him. There, he realized the stupidity in the seek for immortality and quit it. There, he realized his true immortality lay in his works in Uruk (the wall).