And then he got up and said to his friend:
“Didn’t you call me, my friend? What woke me up?
Didn’t you touch me? What startled me?
Did a spirit pass over me? Why am I cold and numb?
My friend, I have had the third dream!
[90] My dream was confused. An old man was there.
The heavens roared, the earth rumbled beneath.
The air grew very still, and then it was dark.
Lightning flashed and everything caught fire,
Flames flaring up to the sky, death raining down.
Then the fire went out, and there was ash everywhere.
Let us consider what all this means.”
Enkidu told Gilgamesh what his dream meant:
“My friend, your dream is a good omen for us.
We are getting closer and closer to the forest;
[100] Your dreams are closer, and the battle is near.
Soon you will see the divine, shining auras
Of Humbaba, whom you fear so much.
You will lock horns with him like a bull,
You will batter him, and force his head down.
The old man you saw is the powerful god
Who fathered you, divine Lugalbanda.”
After sixty miles they stopped to break bread;
Ninety more miles and they pitched camp for the night:
{28} One hundred and fifty miles a day,
[110] In three days a march of a month and a half.
They drew nearer and nearer to Mount Lebanon.
They faced the sun and dug a well
So they could fill their water-skins with fresh water.
Then Gilgamesh climbed a mountain and sifted
An offering of flour as he prayed to the hill-god:
“Send me a dream, Mountain, a good omen, a vision.”
At night Enkidu made a hut for the dream-god,
Setting in a door against the weather.
He made Gilgamesh lie down in a circle he’d drawn,
[120] And lay himself in the doorway, flat as a net.
Gilgamesh drew his knees up to his chin,
And sleep that drifts over all drifted down over him.
At midnight he reached the end of his slumber,
And then he got up and said to his friend:
“Didn’t you call me, my friend? What woke me up?
Didn’t you touch me? What startled me?
Did a spirit pass over me? Why am I cold and numb?
My friend, I have just had a fourth dream!
It is far better than the other three dreams.
[130] I saw a thunderbird flying in the sky,
Soaring above us, high as a cloud.
Its face was all twisted, its mouth was fire,
And it breathed forth death. There was a man, too,
A strange-looking man standing in my dream.
He bound the bird’s wings, and touching my arm,
Threw the bird down right there at my feet.”
Then Enkidu explained Gilgamesh’s dream:
{29} “You saw a thunderbird flying in the sky,
Soaring above us, high as a cloud.
[140] Its face was all twisted, its mouth was fire,
And it breathed forth death. You will fear this bird,
Its terrible splendor. But I will catch it,
Catch it by its foot and let you rise up.
The man you saw was mighty Shamash,
This is a good dream, my friend.
Humbaba will be destroyed,
We will bind his arms and stand upon him.
And tomorrow we will see a good sign from the Sun God.”
After sixty miles they stopped to break bread;
[150] Ninety more miles and they pitched camp for the night:
One hundred and fifty miles a day,
In three days a march of a month and a half.
They drew nearer and nearer to Mount Lebanon.
They faced the sun and dug a well
So they could fill their water-skins with fresh water.
Then Gilgamesh climbed a mountain and sifted
An offering of flour as he prayed to the hill-god:
“Send me a dream, Mountain, a good omen, a vision.”
That night Enkidu made a hut for the dream-god,
[160] Setting in a door against the weather.
He made Gilgamesh lie down in a circle he’d drawn,
And lay himself in the doorway, flat as a net.
Gilgamesh drew his knees up to his chin,
And sleep that drifts over all drifted down over him.
At midnight he reached the end of his slumber,
And then he got up and said to his friend:
{30} “Didn’t you call me, my friend? What woke me up?
Didn’t you touch me? What startled me?
Did a spirit pass over me? Why am I cold and numb?
[170] My friend, I have had a fifth dream!
It was full of foreboding, a dream murky and grim.
I had just taken hold of a wild bull
That was bellowing and pawing the ground,
Raising clouds of dust that swirled up to the sky.
As I leaned into it my arms became tangled
In the bull’s horns, but someone strong freed me
And gave me water to drink from his water-skin.”
Enkidu told Gilgamesh what his dream meant:
“The monster we are going against, my friend,
[180] Is not like that wild bull but completely different.
The wild bull in your dream was Shamash the Sun,
Who will take hold of our hands when we are in peril.
The one who gave you water from his water-skin
Was your guiding spirit, the god Lugalbanda.
We will join together and accomplish something
That has never been done before in this land.”
When they were very close to the Cedar Forest
Enkidu saw Gilgamesh weeping and said:
“Why are tears flowing down your cheeks,
[190] My friend? You are sprung from Uruk.
You must stand and fight, King Gilgamesh!”
Shamash heard all that had been spoken,
And now his voice cried out from the sky:
“Hurry, stand against him now! You must not allow
Humbaba to enter his forest, go down to his grove,
Must not let him put on all his seven cloaks!
{31} He is wrapped in one now, six are still off.
They will make him stronger than a raging bull.”
Then Humbaba bellowed, one long bellow,
[200] A terrifying roar.
The keeper of the Cedar Forest bellowed,
Humbaba thundering like the Storm God himself.
Then Enkidu said to Gilgamesh:
“My strength is failing, my arms are weak and stiff.”
Gilgamesh opened his mouth and said:
“Why are we talking like weaklings, my friend?
Didn’t we cross all of those mountains?
Have not enemies in the past fallen before us?
We are experienced in combat, Enkidu,
[210] Battle-hardened. Get rid of your fear.
Let your shout boom out like a kettle-drum!
Relax your arms, stop your knees from shaking.
Hand in hand, my friend, we will go on together.
Fix your mind completely on combat.
Forget about death and just go after life!
Whoever’s out front watches out for both
And leads his comrade to safety.
Men like that make a name that lives on.”
When they arrived at the distant forest’s edge,
[220] They stopped talking and came to a halt.
{32} Tablet V
The Fight with Humbaba
There they stood, wondering at the forest,
Lifting their eyes to the towering c
edars
And then staring into the forest’s entrance.
They could see where Humbaba had worn a track,
A well-trodden path in and out of the woods.
They gazed at Cedar Mountain, throne of the gods,
Seat of goddesses, its great expanse
Shrouded with cool and fragrant shade,
The trees tangled with thickets of thorn
[10] Under an arching canopy. Cedar saplings
Grew around the perimeter one league deep,
And cypresses for another two-thirds of a league.
The cedar bark was scabby with resin
Up to sixty cubits high, and the oozing sap
Dribbled down like raindrops into ravines.
Birds began to sing throughout the forest,
Answering each other, a constant din.
Cicadas joined in, chirping in chorus.
A wood pigeon moaned, a turtle dove called back.
[20] The cries of storks and of francolins
Made the forest exult, the woodland rejoice.
Monkey mothers were crooning, and their young
{33} Shrieked in unison. It was like a band of musicians
Beating out rhythms every day for Humbaba.
The cedars’ shade filled Gilgamesh with terror.
His arms grew numb, and his legs weakened.
Enkidu opened his mouth and said to him:
“Let’s move on to the heart of the forest,
Get to it and raise our battle-cry.”
And Gilgamesh:
[30] Why are we trembling like cowards, my friend?
Didn’t we cross all those mountains?
Aren’t we going to pull through, see daylight again?”
And Enkidu answered:
“My friend,
You’ve seen combat before. Battle-hardened heroes
Have no fear of death. You’ve been soaked in blood;
You’ve got nothing to fear. Get mad now,
Whip yourself up into a frenzy now! Shake out
Your arms, feel the strength in your legs!”
Gilgamesh responded:
“Hold onto me,
[40] My friend, and we will go ahead as one.
Keep your mind and heart fixed on combat.”
The two heroes readied their weapons,
Pulled their swords from their scabbards,
And moved stealthily into Humbaba’s lair.
Humbaba saw them coming and said to himself:
“Why are these two disturbing my land?
Surely Enkidu comes here in good will.
May Enlil curse him if he does not.”
{34} Enkidu and Gilgamesh pressed on,
[50] Encouraging each other with words such as these:
“Climbers in tandem can overcome
Even the steepest slope.” And, “Two lion cubs
Can conquer even the mightiest lion.”
But then they lost heart, Gilgamesh saying,
“We have come to a place where men should not go.
Let’s just set our weapons in Humbaba’s gate.”
And Enkidu said to his friend in turn:
“Humbaba is ferocious, a hurricane wind;
He will mow us down like the Storm God himself.
[60] Pray to Shamash to give us the thirteen winds!”
So Gilgamesh lifted his head up to Shamash,
His tears glistening in the rays of the sun:
“Hear me, O Shamash! If ever I have trusted you
Remember it now, and come to the aid
Of Gilgamesh, scion of Uruk!”
Shamash heard his prayer, and a voice
Shot down from the sky, saying:
“Do not be afraid. Stand up to Humbaba.
Do not let him go into the grove
[70] And cloak himself in all his seven auras.
He is wrapped in only one of his auras now.”
Then Humbaba bellowed, one terrifying bellow
Like a wild bull preparing to charge.
And they were face to face with the monster,
Whose mouth opened as he said to them:
{35} “Only fools befriend brutish beasts, Gilgamesh.
Why have you come to stand before me?
And you, Enkidu, are a fish’s spawn
Who knew no father, a turtle’s hatchling
[80] Who sucked at no mother’s breast. I watched you
When you were little, but never came near you.
You wouldn’t have made much of a meal for me.
And now you slyly bring Gilgamesh here,
And stand before me like an enemy, Enkidu.
I will slit Gilgamesh’s gullet open
And feed his flesh to the vultures and hawks!”
Gilgamesh turned to Enkidu and said:
“O my friend, Humbaba looks different now!
We were bold in coming to his lair to defeat him,
[90] But my heart is beating fast now.”
Enkidu answered:
“Why are you talking like a coward, my friend?
Your gutless words are making me lose hope.
There’s only one thing, my friend, for us to do now.
Strike while the iron is hot!
Let loose the flood! Crack the whip!
This is no time to hold back, to retreat.
Hit him hard, Gilgamesh!”
Gilgamesh and Humbaba squared off on each other,
[100] And then the earth cracked open beneath their feet.
Mount Sirion and Lebanon reeled and shattered,
The white clouds turned black
And rained down a deathly mist upon them.
Shamash unleashed on Humbaba the mighty winds—
Winds from the South, the North, the East, and the West,
Colliding typhoons, cyclones, squalls, hurricanes, tempests,
Tornadoes and gales, twisters and whirlwinds—
{36} Thirteen winds darkened Humbaba’s face.
He could not move forward, could not pull back,
[110] And Gilgamesh’s weapons were now at his throat.
Humbaba pleaded with him for his life:
“You are so young, Gilgamesh, a mere child,
But truly the son of Wild Cow Ninsun!
You smashed the mountains at Shamash’s command,
O offshoot of Uruk, Gilgamesh the King!
O Gilgamesh, a dead man is no use to his king.
Spare my life, lord, and allow me to live,
To dwell here for you in the Cedar Forest.
I will guard your trees and supply to you
[120] As many as you want, cedar and myrtle,
Timber that will be the pride of your palace.”
Enkidu opened his mouth and said to Gilgamesh:
“Do not listen, my friend, to what Humbaba says,
Ignore his entreaties.”
Then Humbaba said to Enkidu:
“You know the ways of the wild, and you also know
The art of speech. I should have strung you up
From a sapling at the forest’s entrance,
Should have fed your flesh to the vultures and hawks.
But now, Enkidu, my salvation lies with you.
[130] Tell Gilgamesh to spare my life.”
But Enkidu said this to Gilgamesh:
“Finish him off, my friend, destroy this Humbaba
Who guards the Cedar Forest, end his power,
Before supreme Enlil hears of what we do.
The great gods will turn their wrath against us,
Enlil in Nippur, Shamash in Larsa.
{37} Make a name for yourself that will endure forever,
Gilgamesh who killed the ferocious Humbaba!”
Humbaba heard Enkidu. He lifted his head and said:
[140] “You sit by him like a shepherd, like his servant.
My salvation lies with you, Enkidu.
Tell Gilgamesh to spare my life.”
But Enk
idu said this to Gilgamesh:
“Finish him off, my friend, destroy this Humbaba
Who guards the Cedar Forest, end his power,
Before supreme Enlil hears of what we do.
The great gods will turn their wrath against us,
Enlil in Nippur, Shamash in Larsa.
Make a name for yourself that will endure forever,
[150] Gilgamesh who killed the ferocious Humbaba!”
When Humbaba heard this he cursed them both:
“May the two of you never grow old together,
And may no one but Gilgamesh bury Enkidu.”
Then Enkidu said to Gilgamesh:
“I speak to you, but you aren’t listening, my friend.
As for these curses, may they fly back to his mouth.”
Gilgamesh heard his friend. He pulled out
The long dagger that hung from his belt
And struck Humbaba deep in the neck.
[160] Enkidu helped him to pull out his lungs,
And then Gilgamesh leapt up
And cut the tusks from his jaws as a trophy.
{38} A heavy rain began to fall on the mountain,
And the rain kept falling, falling on the mountain.
Gilgamesh and Enkidu then pulled out
Their heavy axes and began to cut timber.
The woodchips flew, three cubits long each,
As they picked out and felled all the best trees.
Then Enkidu said to Gilgamesh:
[170] “My friend, this lofty cedar we just now cut,
Whose crest towered up to the heavens,
We will make a door from it, a great door
Six rods high, two rods wide, and a cubit thick,
Pole and both pivots all from one solid piece.
The Euphrates River will carry it downstream
Gilgamesh Page 6