They have no food but soil, eat only clay,
And are clad in coats of feathers like birds,
Dwelling in the dark and lightless gloom.
Dust lay thick on the door.
It was a House of Dust, steeped in death’s quiet,
[160] A House of Dust that I entered.
Around me I saw a crowd of crowned heads
Who had ruled the land in ancient times,
Served the roast at the table of Anu, of Enlil,
Served them baked bread, poured them cool water.
And there were priests in the House of Dust,
Priests for all the offerings and rites,
Priests of the great gods.
Etana was there, and Shakkan,
And the goddess Ereshkigal, Queen of the Underworld,
[170] And sitting by her Belet-seri, the Underworld’s scribe,
Reading aloud from a tablet she held.
She lifted her head when she saw me
And said, ‘Who brought this man here?’”
“I went through so much with you, my friend.
Remember me. Never forget what I did.”
And Gilgamesh:
“What a vision my friend has had!”
Enkidu was exhausted all the rest of that day.
He lay in bed all day sick and disheartened.
The next day he was worse. A third day passed,
{51} [180] And a fourth. His sickness grew worse each day.
On the twelfth day Enkidu called from his bed
For Gilgamesh, and he said to his friend:
“My god has turned against me, my friend.
I am dying, but not like one who falls in combat,
Not like that. I will not make a name for myself
The way I am dying, not make a name . . .”
{52} Tablet VIII
Enkidu’s Funeral
Dawn’s first light was just brightening the sky
When Gilgamesh began to lament his friend:
“O Enkidu, a gazelle was your mother
And your father a wild donkey.
You were reared on the milk of wild asses,
And the beasts of the wild showed you the pastures.
O Enkidu, may the trails in the Cedar Forest
Never cease to mourn you, by day and by night.
May the elders of thronging Uruk lament you,
[10] May the crowds who cheered for us mourn you.
May the high hills and mountains mourn you.
May the pastures mourn for you like your mother.
May the cypress and cedar lament you,
All the trees we wound through in our fury!
May the bear, the hyena, the leopard, and lion lament you,
The wild bull, the deer, all the beasts of the forest.
{53} May the sacred river Ulay mourn for you,
Along whose banks we strode in our strength.
May the unsullied Euphrates lament you,
[20] Whose water we poured from skins in libation.
May the young men of Uruk mourn you,
Who watched us battle the Bull of Heaven!
May the plowman in his field lament you
As he trills your name up and down the furrows.
May the shepherd lament you in the pasture,
Who made the milk and butter sweet for your mouth.
May the shepherd boy weep for you,
Who brought the ghee to your lips.
May the brew-master mourn you,
[30] Who brewed ale for you to drink.
May the harlot lament you,
Who anointed you with fragrant oil.
May all the women in the house mourn you,
May they mourn you like a brother,
May they let their hair lie loose on their backs
As if they were your sisters.
May they all do this for you, Enkidu,
And on this very day I, too, will mourn you.
Hear me, O young men of Uruk,
[40] Hear me, O elders!
I will weep for my friend Enkidu,
Will wail bitterly like a woman who mourns.
{54} He was the trusted axe at my side,
The dagger in my belt, the shield before me,
My festive robe, the sash I loved to wear,
And an evil wind has swept it all away.
O my friend, highland donkey, leopard in the wild
O my friend Enkidu, a wild ass stampeding,
We teamed up together, climbed high mountains,
[50] Took hold of the Bull of Heaven and killed him,
And destroyed Humbaba in the Cedar Forest!
What is this sleep that has seized you now?
Are you unconscious, and do you not hear me?”
But Enkidu did not respond, did not lift his head.
Gilgamesh felt his heart, but it was no longer beating.
He veiled his friend’s face as if it were his bride’s,
And circled him like an eagle, paced to and fro
Like a lioness who has lost her cubs.
He tore out clumps of his curly hair
[60] And ripped off his fine robes as if they were cursed.
When dawn’s first glimmer appeared in the sky,
Gilgamesh called out to all his people:
“Forge-master, coppersmith, goldsmith, jeweler,
Fashion a statue of my friend!”
Then he said to Enkidu:
“Your eyebrows will be lapis lazuli, your chest gold.
I will lay you out on a royal bed,
You will lie on my left, in a place of honor.
The lords of the underworld will kiss your feet.”
[70] Then Gilgamesh unsealed his treasury
And inspected his precious gems and stones,
{55} Lapis lazuli, carnelian, obsidian, alabaster.
These he provided for his friend,
Along with many minas of gold
And many talents of ivory,
And a golden axe with an ivory handle
Three cubits in length,
And a golden bow and quiver of arrows.
He butchered fattened oxen and sheep for his friend
[80] And carried the meat to the underworld’s lords.
He brought a staff of polished, gleaming wood
As a gift for Ishtar, and showed it to the Sun God:
“May Ishtar the great Queen accept this gift,
May she welcome my friend and walk at his side.”
He brought a flask of lapis lazuli
For Ereshkigal, and showed it to the Sun God:
“May Ereshkigal, the Underworld Queen, accept this,
May she welcome my friend and walk at his side.”
He brought a carnelian flute for Dumuzi,
[90] Ishtar’s beloved shepherd, and showed it to the Sun God:
“May Dumuzi, Ishtar’s beloved shepherd, accept this,
May he welcome my friend and walk at his side.”
He brought a lapis lazuli chair and staff for Namtar,
Minister of the Underworld, and showed it to the Sun God:
“May Namtar, Minister of the Underworld, accept this,
May he welcome my friend and walk at his side.”
He brought a gift also for Hushbisha, who serves
In the Underworld and showed it to the Sun God:
“May Hushbisha, who serves in the Underworld, accept this,
[100] May she welcome my friend and walk at his side.”
{56} And he brought silver for Qassu-tabat,
Ereshkigal’s sweeper, and showed it to the Sun God:
“May Qassu-tabat, Ereshkigal’s sweeper, accept this,
May she welcome my friend and walk at his side.
May my friend not languish or be sick at heart.”
And an alabaster bowl inlaid with carnelian
And lapis lazuli, depicting the Cedar Forest,
He brought for Ninshuluhhatumma,
who cleans
The house of the dead, and showed it to the Sun God:
[110] “May Ninshuluhhatumma accept this,
May she welcome my friend and walk at his side.
May my friend not languish or be sick at heart.”
And a two-edged dagger with a lapis lazuli haft,
Etched with an image of the pure Euphrates,
He brought for Bibbu, the Underworld’s butcher,
And he showed it to the Sun God:
“May the butcher of the teeming Underworld accept this,
May he welcome my friend and walk at his side.”
And he brought a chair with an alabaster back
[120] For Dumuzi-abzu, the Underworld’s scapegoat,
And he showed it to the Sun God:
“May Dumuzi-abzu, the Underworld’s scapegoat accept this.
May he welcome my friend and walk at his side.”
When dawn’s first glimmers appeared in the sky
Gilgamesh opened the palace gate.
He brought out a great table of polished wood
And filled a carnelian dish with honey
And one of lapis lazuli with ghee.
All this he adorned and presented to the Sun.
{57} Tablet IX
The Quest for Immortality
Gilgamesh shed bitter tears for his friend Enkidu.
Wandering through wild lands he said to himself:
“Will I not die someday and be just like Enkidu?
My heart is pierced through with sorrow!
I am afraid of death, and so I wander the wild
Searching for Utanapishtim, son of Ubar-Tutu.
Moving swiftly along, I came one night
To a mountain pass and saw a pride of lions.
I was afraid and lifted my head in prayer
[10] To Sin, the moon, lamp of the gods,
Praying to him to keep me from harm.”
He lay down then and later woke from a dream
Under the moonlight, filled with the joy of life.
He picked up his axe, drew his dagger from his belt,
And fell like an arrow upon the lions,
Killing some of them and scattering the rest.
Clad now in their skins and eating their flesh,
Gilgamesh dug new wells wherever he went
And drank their water as he chased the wind.
{58} [20] Shamash the Sun was concerned
And leaning low said to Gilgamesh:
“Where are you wandering, Gilgamesh?
You will never find the life you are seeking.”
And Gilgamesh answered the great Shamash:
“After I wander this whole, wild world
Will I lack rest down in the world below?
No, I will lie there asleep age after age.
Let my eyes now be filled with sunlight.
Will there be any light in the hidden dark?
[30] Do the dead ever see the sun’s shining rays?”
He came to the twin mountains of Mashu
That guard the daily rising of the sun.
Their peaks support the tent of the sky,
Their roots stretch down to the Underworld.
Guarding the gate there were the Scorpion People,
Terrible beings whose very glance was death,
Whose fearsome radiance engulfed the mountains.
They guarded the sun at its rising and setting.
When Gilgamesh saw them he covered his face
[40] In awe and dread, but then gathered his courage
And approached them. One of the Scorpion People
Said to his mate, “This man has the flesh of the gods.”
His mate answered, “Two parts god, one part human.”
The Scorpion Man called out to Gilgamesh,
Gilgamesh the king, the flesh of the gods:
“How have you travelled so far a road?
How have you come to stand here before me?
How did you cross the perilous seas?
Tell me of your journey. Where are you headed?”
{59} Gilgamesh answered:
[50] “I seek the road to my ancestor Utanapishtim,
Who found eternal life at the gods’ assembly.
He will tell me the secret of life and death.”
And the Scorpion Man said to Gilgamesh:
“There has never been anyone like you, Gilgamesh.
No one has ever travelled the path through this mountain.
It takes twelve double-hours to pass through inside.
The darkness is dense, and there is no light at all,
Neither after sunrise nor after sunset.
No one has done it. How will you do it?”
Gilgamesh said:
[60] “I have come through sorrow,
My face is burnt by frost and sunlight,
Come through fatigue . . .”
And the Scorpion Man said to Gilgamesh,
Gilgamesh the king, the flesh of the gods:
“Go, Gilgamesh!
May you pass through the mountain of Mashu.
May the hills and mountains protect you,
May they keep you safe on your journey,
May the gate of the mountains be open for you.”
[70] Gilgamesh heard what the Scorpion Man said
And set out on the road of the Sun God.
At the first double hour
The darkness was dense; there was no light at all.
He could not see anything behind him.
{60} At the second double hour
The darkness was dense; there was no light at all.
He could not see anything behind him.
At the third double hour
The darkness was dense; there was no light at all.
[80] He could not see anything behind him.
At the fourth double hour
The darkness was dense; there was no light at all.
He could not see anything behind him.
At the fifth double hour
The darkness was dense; there was no light at all.
He could not see anything behind him.
At the sixth double hour
The darkness was dense; there was no light at all.
He could not see anything behind him.
[90] At the seventh double hour
The darkness was dense; there was no light at all.
He could not see anything behind him.
At the eighth double hour
The darkness was dense; there was no light at all.
He could not see anything behind him.
At the ninth double hour
He felt the north wind in his face,
But the darkness was dense; there was no light at all.
He could not see anything behind him.
[100] When he reached the tenth double hour
He was nearing the end.
{61} When he reached the eleventh double hour
There was only a journey of one double hour left.
When he reached the twelfth double hour
Gilgamesh came out before the sun did.
The light was brilliant.
He saw trees and went straight to them,
The trees of the gods.
A carnelian tree was heavy with fruit,
[110] Bunches of grapes, a beautiful sight.
A tree with lapis lazuli leaves,
The fruit on its limbs lovely to see.
There was cypress, cedar,
Leaf stems of exotic stone,
Sea-coral,
stone vials instead of thorns.
He touched a carob,
it was agate.
And as Gilgamesh walked around there
[120] A woman lifted her head to watch him.
{62} Tablet X
Shiduri’s Tavern
Shiduri lived by the shore of the sea
Where she had an inn and a tavern
With racks of pots and golden vats.
Wrapped in shawls and with her face veiled,
She saw Gilgamesh come wandering up
Clad in pelts, a fearful sight.
His body’s flesh was the flesh of gods,
But his heart was filled with sorrow.
He looked like one who had come a long way.
[10] As the tavern-keeper watched from a distance,
Thinking it over, she said to herself:
“This man has to be a hunter of bulls,
But where is he from, coming straight for my gate?”
Seeing him like this, she barred her gate,
Barred her gate and climbed up to her roof.
Gilgamesh heard something. He lifted his chin,
Turned, and said to the tavern-keeper:
“Why did you bar your gate, tavern-keeper,
As soon as you saw me? You barred your gate
[20] And got up on your roof. I’ll knock down your door!”
{63} And Shiduri shot back to Gilgamesh:
“So I barred my gate and went up on the roof.
You have to tell me about your journey.”
Then Gilgamesh said to the tavern-keeper:
“My friend Enkidu and I, we teamed up,
We climbed mountains, we caught and killed
The Bull of Heaven, killed Humbaba too
In the Cedar Forest, and lions up in the high passes.”
Shiduri the tavern-keeper responded:
[30] “If you were the ones who killed Humbaba,
Killed the guardian of the Cedar Forest,
And lions up in the mountain passes,
And who caught and killed the Bull of Heaven,
Gilgamesh Page 8