The Epic of Gilgamish

The Epic of Gilgamish, by
Stephen Langdon

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Title: The Epic of Gilgamish A Fragment of the Gilgamish Legend in
Old-Babylonian Cuneiform
Author: Stephen Langdon
Release Date: July 23, 2006 [EBook #18897]
Language: EN
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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The Epic of Gilgamish

by
Stephen Langdon
University of Pennsylvania The University Museum Publications of the
Babylonian Section Vol. X No. 3

INTRODUCTION
In the year 1914 the University Museum secured by purchase a large
six column tablet nearly complete, carrying originally, according to the
scribal note, 240 lines of text. The contents supply the South
Babylonian version of the second book of the epic sa nagba imuru, "He
who has seen all things," commonly referred to as the Epic of
Gilgamish. The tablet is said to have been found at Senkere, ancient
Larsa near Warka, modern Arabic name for and vulgar descendant of
the ancient name Uruk, the Biblical Erech mentioned in Genesis X. 10.
This fact makes the new text the more interesting since the legend of
Gilgamish is said to have originated at Erech and the hero in fact
figures as one of the prehistoric Sumerian rulers of that ancient city.
The dynastic list preserved on a Nippur tablet [1] mentions him as the
fifth king of a legendary line of rulers at Erech, who succeeded the
dynasty of Kish, a city in North Babylonia near the more famous but
more recent city Babylon. The list at Erech contains the names of two
well known Sumerian deities, Lugalbanda [2] and Tammuz. The reign
of the former is given at 1,200 years and that of Tammuz at 100 years.
Gilgamish ruled 126 years. We have to do here with a confusion of
myth and history in which the real facts are disengaged only by
conjecture.
The prehistoric Sumerian dynasties were all transformed into the realm
of myth and legend. Nevertheless these rulers, although appearing in
the pretentious nomenclature as gods, appear to have been real historic
personages. [3] The name Gilgamish was originally written
dGi-bil-aga-mis, and means "The fire god (Gibil) is a commander,"
abbreviated to dGi-bil-ga-mis, and dGi(s)-bil-ga-mis, a form which by

full labialization of b to u was finally contracted to dGi-il-ga-mis. [4]
Throughout the new text the name is written with the abbreviation
dGi(s), [5] whereas the standard Assyrian text has consistently the
writing dGIS-TU [6]-BAR. The latter method of writing the name is
apparently cryptographic for dGis-bar-aga-(mis); the fire god Gibil has
also the title Gis-bar.
A fragment of the South Babylonian version of the tenth book was
published in 1902, a text from the period of Hammurapi, which showed
that the Babylonian epic differed very much from the Assyrian in
diction, but not in content. The new tablet, which belongs to the same
period, also differs radically from the diction of the Ninevite text in the
few lines where they duplicate each other. The first line of the new
tablet corresponds to Tablet I, Col. V 25 of the Assyrian text, [7] where
Gilgamish begins to relate his dreams to his mother Ninsun. [8]
The last line of Col. I corresponds to the Assyrian version Book I, Col.
VI 29. From this point onward the new tablet takes up a hitherto
unknown portion of the epic, henceforth to be assigned to the second
book. [9]
At the end of Book I in the Assyrian text and at the end of Col. I of
Book II in the new text, the situation in the legend is as follows. The
harlot halts outside the city of Erech with the enamoured Enkidu, while
she relates to him the two dreams of the king, Gilgamish. In these
dreams which he has told to his mother he receives premonition
concerning the advent of the satyr Enkidu, destined to join with him in
the conquest of Elam.
Now the harlot urges Enkidu to enter the beautiful city, to clothe
himself like other men and to learn the ways of civilization. When he
enters he sees someone, whose name is broken away, eating bread and
drinking milk, but the beautiful barbarian understands not. The harlot
commands him to eat and drink also:
"It is the conformity of life, Of the conditions and fate of the Land."
He rapidly learns the customs of men, becomes a shepherd and a

mighty hunter. At last