Editing Gilgamesh (section)

===''Epic of Gilgamesh''===
{{main|Epic of Gilgamesh}}
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| caption1  = The ogre [[Humbaba]], shown in this [[terracotta]] plaque from the [[First Babylonian dynasty|Old Babylonian Period]],{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=109}} is one of the opponents fought by Gilgamesh and his companion [[Enkidu]] in the ''[[Epic of Gilgamesh]]''.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}}
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| caption2  = Ancient Mesopotamian terracotta relief ({{circa}} 2250–1900 BC) showing Gilgamesh slaying the [[Bull of Heaven]],{{sfn|Powell|2012|page=342}} an episode described in Tablet VI of the ''Epic of Gilgamesh''{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}}{{sfn|Powell|2012|pages=341–343}}
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Eventually, according to Kramer (1963):{{sfn|Kramer|1963|page=45}}

{{quote|Gilgamesh became the hero par excellence of the ancient world—an adventurous, brave, but tragic figure symbolizing man's vain but endless drive for fame, glory, and immortality.}}

By the [[First Babylonian dynasty|Old Babylonian Period]] ({{circa|1830|1531 BC}}), stories of Gilgamesh's legendary exploits had been woven into one or several long epics.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=89}} The ''[[Epic of Gilgamesh]]'', the most complete account of Gilgamesh's adventures, was composed in [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] during the [[Kassites|Middle Babylonian Period]] ({{circa}} 1600 – {{circa}} 1155 BC) by a scribe named [[Sîn-lēqi-unninni]].{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=89}} The most complete surviving version of the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' is recorded on a set of twelve clay tablets dating to the seventh century BC, found in the [[Library of Ashurbanipal]] in the [[Assyria]]n capital of [[Nineveh]],{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=89}}{{sfn|Mark|2018}}{{sfn|Rybka|2011|pages=257–258}} with many pieces missing or damaged.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=89}}{{sfn|Mark|2018}}{{sfn|Rybka|2011|pages=257–258}} Some scholars and translators choose to supplement the missing parts with material from the earlier Sumerian poems or from other versions of the epic found at other sites throughout the [[Near East]].{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=89}}

[[File:Tablet V of the Epic of Gligamesh.JPG|right|thumb|upright|Tablet V of the ''Epic of Gilgamesh''. [[Sulaymaniyah Museum|The Sulaymaniyah Museum]], Iraq]]

In the epic, Gilgamesh is introduced as "two thirds divine and one third mortal".{{sfn|Powell|2012|page=339}} At the beginning of the poem, Gilgamesh is described as a brutal, oppressive ruler.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=89}}{{sfn|Powell|2012|page=339}} This is usually interpreted to mean either forced labor or sexual exploitation.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=89}} As punishment for his cruelty, the god [[Anu]] creates the wild man Enkidu.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|pages=89–90}} After being tamed by a prostitute named [[Shamhat]], Enkidu journeys to Uruk to confront Gilgamesh.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}} In the second tablet, the two men wrestle and though Gilgamesh wins in the end,{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}} he is so impressed by his opponent's strength and tenacity that they become close friends.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}} In the earlier Sumerian texts, Enkidu is Gilgamesh's servant,{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}} but, in the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'', they are companions of equal standing.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}}

In tablets III through IV, Gilgamesh and Enkidu travel to the [[Cedar Forest]], which is guarded by Humbaba (the Akkadian name for Huwawa).{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}} The heroes cross the seven mountains to the Cedar Forest, where they begin chopping down trees.{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=168}} Confronted by Humbaba, Gilgamesh panics and prays to [[Utu|Shamash]] (the East Semitic name for Utu),{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=168}} who blows eight winds in Humbaba's eyes, blinding him.{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=168}} Humbaba begs for mercy, but the heroes decapitate him.{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=168}} Tablet VI begins with Gilgamesh returning to Uruk,{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}} where [[Ishtar]] (the Akkadian name for Inanna) comes to him and demands him as her consort.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=168}}{{sfn|Pryke|2017|pages=140–159}} Gilgamesh rejects her, reproaching her mistreatment of all her former lovers.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=168}}{{sfn|Pryke|2017|pages=140–159}}

In revenge, Ishtar goes to her father [[Anu]] and demands that he give her the Bull of Heaven,{{sfn|Dalley|1989|pages=81–82}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|pages=168–169}}{{sfn|Tigay|2002|pages=24–25}} which she sends to attack Gilgamesh.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}}{{sfn|Dalley|1989|pages=81–82}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|pages=168–169}}{{sfn|Tigay|2002|pages=24–25}} Gilgamesh and Enkidu kill the Bull and offer its heart to Shamash.{{sfn|Dalley|1989|page=82}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|pages=168–169}} While Gilgamesh and Enkidu are resting, Ishtar stands up on the walls of [[Uruk]] and curses Gilgamesh.{{sfn|Dalley|1989|page=82}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=169}} Enkidu tears off the Bull's right thigh and throws it in Ishtar's face,{{sfn|Dalley|1989|page=82}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=169}} saying, "If I could lay my hands on you, it is this I should do to you, and lash your entrails to your side."{{sfn|George|2003b|page=88}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=169}} Ishtar calls together "the crimped courtesans, prostitutes and harlots"{{sfn|Dalley|1989|page=82}} and orders them to mourn for the Bull of Heaven.{{sfn|Dalley|1989|page=82}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=169}} Meanwhile, Gilgamesh holds a celebration over the Bull's defeat.{{sfn|Dalley|1989|page=82–83}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=169}}

Tablet VII begins with Enkidu recounting a [[Precognition|dream]] in which he saw Anu, [[Enki|Ea]], and Shamash declare that either Gilgamesh or Enkidu must die to avenge the Bull of Heaven.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}} They choose Enkidu, who soon grows sick.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}} He has a dream of the Underworld, and then dies.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}} Tablet VIII describes Gilgamesh's inconsolable grief for his friend{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=171}} and the details of Enkidu's funeral.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}} Tablets IX through XI relate how Gilgamesh, driven by grief and fear of his own mortality, travels a great distance and overcomes many obstacles to find the home of [[Utnapishtim]], the sole survivor of the [[Gilgamesh flood myth|Great Flood]], who was rewarded with immortality by the gods.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=171}}

[[File:Mesopotamian - Cylinder Seal with Scorpion Man Shooting at Winged Creatures - Walters 42807.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|left|Early [[Middle Assyrian Empire|Middle Assyrian]] [[cylinder seal]] impression dating between 1400 and 1200 BC, showing a man with bird wings and a scorpion tail firing an arrow at a [[griffin]] on a [[hillock]]. A [[scorpion man]] is among the creatures Gilgamesh encounters on his journey to the homeland of [[Utnapishtim]].{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=171}}]]

The journey to Utnapishtim involves a series of episodic challenges, which probably originated as major independent adventures,{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=171}} but, in the epic, they are reduced to what [[Joseph Fontenrose|Joseph Eddy Fontenrose]] calls "fairly harmless incidents".{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=171}} First, Gilgamesh encounters and slays lions in the mountain pass.{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=171}} Upon reaching the mountain of [[Mashu]], Gilgamesh encounters a [[scorpion man]] and his wife;{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=171}} their bodies flash with terrifying radiance,{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=171}} but once Gilgamesh tells them his purpose, they allow him to pass.{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=171}} Gilgamesh wanders through darkness for twelve days before he finally comes into the light.{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=171}} He finds a beautiful garden by the sea in which he meets [[Siduri]], the divine [[Alewife (trade)|Alewife]].{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=171}} At first, she tries to prevent Gilgamesh from entering the garden,{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=171}} and then attempts to persuade him to accept death as inevitable and not journey beyond the waters.{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=171}} When Gilgamesh persists in his quest, she directs him to [[Urshanabi]], the ferryman of the gods, who takes Gilgamesh across the sea to Utnapishtim.{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=171}} When Gilgamesh finally arrives at Utnapishtim's home, Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh that, to become immortal, he must defy sleep.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}} Gilgamesh attempts this, but fails and falls into a seven-day sleep.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}}

Next, Utnapishtim tells him that, even if he cannot obtain immortality, he can restore his youth with a rejuvenating herb.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=172}} Gilgamesh takes the plant, but leaves it on the shore while swimming and a snake steals it, explaining why snakes [[Moulting#In reptiles|shed their skins]].{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=172}} Despondent at this loss, Gilgamesh returns to Uruk,{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}} and shows his city to the ferryman Urshanabi.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}} At this point the continuous narrative ends.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=172}}{{sfn|Tigay|2002|pages=26–27}} Tablet XII is an appendix corresponding to the Sumerian poem of ''Gilgamesh, Enkidu and the Netherworld'' describing the loss of the ''pikku'' and ''mikku''.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=172}}{{sfn|Tigay|2002|pages=26–27}}

Numerous elements reveal a lack of [[Continuity (fiction)|continuity]] with the earlier portions of the epic.{{sfn|Tigay|2002|pages=26–27}} At the beginning of Tablet XII, Enkidu is still alive, despite having previously died in Tablet VII,{{sfn|Tigay|2002|pages=26–27}} and Gilgamesh is kind to Ishtar, despite the violent rivalry between them in Tablet VI.{{sfn|Tigay|2002|pages=26–27}} Also, while most of the parts of the epic are free adaptations of their respective Sumerian predecessors,{{sfn|Tigay|2002|page=26}} Tablet XII is a literal, word-for-word translation of the last part of ''Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld'',{{sfn|Tigay|2002|page=26}} and was probably relegated to the end because it did not fit the larger epic narrative.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=172}}{{sfn|Tigay|2002|pages=26–27}} In it, Gilgamesh sees a vision of Enkidu's ghost, who promises to recover the lost items{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|pages=172–173}} and describes to his friend the abysmal condition of the Underworld.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|pages=172–173}}