Epic of Gilgamesh

thumb|Make merry each day,dance and play day and night!Let your clothes be clean,let your head be washed, may you bathe in water!Gaze on the child who holds your hand,let your wife enjoy your repeated embrace!For such is the destiny [of mortal men]. The Epic of Gilgamesh (/ˈɡɪlɡəmɛʃ/) is an epic poem from ancient Mesopotamia that is often regarded as the earliest surviving great work of literature and the second oldest religious text, after the Pyramid Texts. The literary history of Gilgamesh begins with five Sumerian poems about Bilgamesh (Sumerian for "Gilgamesh"), king of Uruk, dating from the Third Dynasty of Ur (c. 2100 BCE). These independent stories were later used as source material for a combined epic in Akkadian. Quotes Standard version I will proclaim to the world the deeds of Gilgamesh. This was the man to whom all things were known; this was the king who knew the countries of the world. He was wise, he saw mysteries and knew secret things, he brought us a tale of the days before the flood. He went on a long journey, was weary, worn-out with labour, returning he rested, he engraved on a stone the whole story. Prologue, Tablet I, tr. N. K. Sandars (1960, 1972) He who saw the deep, the country's foundation, ... He came a far road, was weary, found peace, And set all his labours on a tablet of stone. Prologue, Tablet I, tr. Andrew R. George (2000) Read outthe travails of Gilgamesh, all that he went through! Prologue, Tablet I, tr. Andrew R. George (2000) He carved on a stone stela all of his toils,and built the wall of Uruk-Haven,the wall of the sacred Eanna Temple, the holy sanctuary. Prologue, Tablet I, tr. Maureen G. Kovacs (1989) When the gods created Gilgamesh they gave him a perfect body. Shamash the glorious sun endowed him with beauty, Adad the god of the storm endowed him with courage, the great gods made his beauty perfect, surpassing all others, terrifying like a wild bull. Two thirds they made him god and one third man. Prologue, Tablet I, tr. N. K. Sandars (1960, 1972) Climb upon the wall of Uruk; walk along it, I say; regard the foundation terrace and examine the masonry: is it not burnt brick and good? The seven sages laid the foundations. Prologue, Tablet I, tr. N. K. Sandars (1960, 1972) The day grew still, darkness came forth,there was a flash of lightning, fire broke out.The flames flared up, death rained down.... and the flashes of fire went out,where it had fallen turned into cinders. Tablet IV, tr. Andrew R. George (2000) thumb|Ever the river has risen and brought us the flood,the mayfly floating on the water.On the face of the sun its countenance gazes,then all of a sudden nothing is there!Utanapishtim to Gilgamesh, Tablet X 312-15 Father, give me, please, the Bull of Heaven, so in his dwelling I may slay Gilgamesh! If you do not give me the Bull of Heaven, I shall smash the gates of the Netherworld, right down to its dwelling, to the world below I shall grant manumission, I shall bring up the dead to consume the living, I shall make the dead outnumber the living. Tablet VI, tr. Andrew R. George (2000) The destiny was fulfilled which the father of the gods, Enlil of the mountain, had decreed for Gilgamesh: "In nether-earth the darkness will show him a light: of mankind, all that are known, none will leave a monument for generations to come to compare with his. The heroes, the wise men, like the new moon have their waxing and waning. Men will say, 'Who has ever ruled with might and with power like him?' As in the dark month, the month of shadows, so without him there is no light. O Gilgamesh, this was the meaning of your dream. You were given the kingship, such was your destiny, everlasting life was not your destiny. Because of this do not be sad at heart, do not be grieved or oppressed; he has given you power to bind and to loose, to be the darkness and the light of mankind. He has given unexampled supremacy over the people, victory in battle from which no fugitive returns, in forays and assaults from which there is no going back. But do not abuse this power, deal justly with your servants in the palace, deal justly before the face of the Sun. Tablet VII, tr. Nancy K. Sandars (1960) Ever do we build our households,ever do we make our nests,ever do brothers divide their inheritance,ever do feuds arise in the land.Ever the river has risen and brought us the flood,the mayfly floating on the water.On the face of the sun its countenance gazes,then all of a sudden nothing is there! Tablet X, 308-15, tr. Andrew R. George (2000) Utanapishtim to Gilgamesh thumb|Even the gods took fright at the Deluge,they left and went up to the heaven of Anu,lying like dogs curled up in the open.The goddess cried out like a woman in childbirth,Belet-ili wailed, whose voice is so sweet:The olden times have turned to clay,because I spoke evil in the gods' assembly.How could I speak evil in the gods' assembly,and declare a war to destroy my people?It is I who give birth, these people are mine!And now, like fish, they fill the ocean!"The Anunnaki gods were weeping with her,wet-faced with sorrow, they were weeping...The Flood, Tablet XI Even the gods took fright at the Deluge,they left and went up to the heaven of Anu,lying like dogs curled up in the open.The goddess cried out like a woman in childbirth,Belet-ili wailed, whose voice is so sweet:The olden times have turned to clay,because I spoke evil in the gods' assembly.How could I speak evil in the gods' assembly,and declare a war to destroy my people?It is I who give birth, these people are mine!And now, like fish, they fill the ocean!"The Anunnaki gods were weeping with her,wet-faced with sorrow, they were weeping... Tablet XI, tr. Andrew R. George (2000) The Flood The seventh day when it came,I brought out a dove, I let it loose:off went the dove but then it returned,there was no place to land, so back it came to me.I brought out a swallow, I let it loose:off went the swallow but then it returned,there was no place to land, so back it came to me.I brought out a raven, I let it loose:off went the raven, it saw the waters receding,finding food, bowing and bobbing, it did not come back to me.I brought out an offering, to the four winds made sacrifice,incense I placed on the peak of the mountain. Tablet XI, tr. Andrew R. George (2000) Spoken by Utnapishtim      What should I do and where should I go?A thief has taken hold of my flesh!For there in my bed-chamber Death does abide,and wherever I turn, there too will be Death. Tablet XI, tr. Andrew R. George (2000) Spoken by Gilgamesh Gilgamesh, the son of Ninsun, lies in the tomb. At the place of offerings he weighed the bread-offering, at the place of libation he poured out the wine. In those days the lord Gilgamesh departed, the son of Ninsun, the king, peerless, without an equal among men, who did not neglect Enlil his master. O Gilgamesh, lord of Kullab, great is thy praise. The Death of Gilgamesh, Tablet XI, tr. N. K. Sandars (1960, 1972) Old Babylonian version Who is there, my friend, can climb to the sky? Only the gods dwell forever in sunlight. As for man, his days are numbered, whatever he may do, it is but wind. Yale tablet, 140, tr. Andrew R. George (2000) Gilgamesh to Enkidu Enkidu opened his mouth, saying to Gilgamesh: "where you've set your mind begin the journey, let your heart have no fear, keep your eyes on me!" Yale tablet, 272, tr. Andrew R. George (2000) O Gilgamesh, where are you wandering?The life that you seek you never will find:when the gods created mankind,death they dispensed to mankind,life they kept for themselves.But you, Gilgamesh, let your belly be full,enjoy yourself always by day and by night!Make merry each day,dance and play day and night!Let your clothes be clean,let your head be washed, may you bathe in water!Gaze on the child who holds your hand,let your wife enjoy your repeated embrace!For such is the destiny [of mortal men]. Sippar tablet, tr. Andrew R. George (2000) Siduri to Gilgamesh Quotes about Gilgamesh A story of learning to face reality, a story of "growing up." Thorkild Jacobsen, "The Gilgamesh Epic: Romantic and Tragic Vision", in Lingering Over Words: Studies in Ancient Near Eastern Literature in Honor of William L. Moran (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1990), eds. T. Abusch, J. Huehnergard and P. Steinkeller, p. 249 A document of ancient humanism. William L. Moran, "The Epic of Gilgamesh: A Document of Ancient Humanism", in Bulletin of the Canadian Society for Mesopotamian Studies 22 (1991) Acceptance of human limitations, insistance on human values—this is the teaching of the life of Gilgamesh. William L. Moran, in Encyclopedia of Religion, "Gilgamesh", p. 559; as quoted in Myth and Method, eds. L. Patton and W. Doniger (University of Virginia Press, 1996), "The Gilgamesh Epic: Myth and Meaning" by Benjamin C. Ray, p. 303 ...this discovery is evidently destined to excite a lively controversy. For the present the orthodox people are in great delight, and are very much prepossessed by the corroboration which it affords to Biblical history. It is possible, however, as has been pointed out, that the Chaldean inscription, if genuine, may be regarded as a confirmation of the statement that there are various traditions of the deluge apart from the Biblical one, which is perhaps legendary like the rest. The New York Times, front page, 22 December 1872; as quoted in What Is World Literature?, David Damrosch, Princeton University Press, 2003, p.57 To the extent that Gilgamesh does not achieve the desired immortality, the history also seems to deal with the importance of enjoying life. It is as if to say: that is man's life. Jacyntho Lins Brandão, Jacyntho Lins Brandão traduz ‘epopeia’ do século 13 a.C. registrada em argila. The Epic of Gilgamesh is not just the world’s oldest poem. It is a classic, in the sense that it remained central to the literature and thought of a whole series of cultures across the Near East over millennia. We can account for its significance in several ways. Some of its themes are universal. We still agonize that even the greatest human life is limited in span; we mourn and rage against the loss of our loved ones; and like Gilgamesh we still want to know about our origins and the meaning of things. One title for the epic was He Who Saw the Deep. Gilgamesh goes on a quest for meaning. His failure to find acceptable answers is our failure, too. His fortitude in the face of that failure is true heroism. The Epic of Gilgamesh is one of the earliest examples of what is sometimes termed a “Mirror of Princes,” a book that illustrates the conduct of both bad and good rulers, and makes clear the difference between them. Greg Woolf. The Urban Gilgamesh (2020) Sources Nancy K. Sandars, trans. The Epic of Gilgamesh, 3rd ed. (Penguin Classics, 1972 [1960] Maureen Gallery Kovacs, trans. The Epic of Gilgamesh (Stanford University Press, 1989) Andrew R. George, trans. The Epic of Gilgamesh (Penguin Classics, 2000 [1999]) External links The Epic of Gilgamesh at ancienttexts.org Category:Epic poetry Category:Sumerian literature Category:Anonymous works