The Epic Of Gilgamesh (Sumerian)

Declaimer: The story has been changed a little in order to make it interesting to the target readers keeping their culture and tradition in mind.

Long before the Christ, in ancient Mesopotamia, there was a king named Gilgamesh, the king of Uruk- a city of glory, famous for its strongest brick walls existed on the earth. He was two-thirds god and one-third human, blessed by the gods with strength, courage and beauty that made him the strongest and greatest king who ever existed.

However, the people of Uruk were not happy. Gilgamesh was too harsh and abused his power. He used to sleep with the women of Uruk forcefully. The people of Uruk prayed to Aruru, the goddess of creation, to save them from the atrocity of Gilgamesh. In response to their prayer, Aruru created a mighty wild-man named Enkidu giving same strength and courage as Gilgamesh. But Enkidu was a savage. He lived a uncivilized life with the wild animals, but he soon started bothering the shepherds of the area. He started fighting with them when and then and pushing the animals at the watering hole. The shepherds complained against him to the king and requested to solve the problem. King Gilgamesh sent a temple woman, Shamhat, to make affair with Enkidu. Shamhat was one of the most beautiful women in Uruk. Enkidu fell in love with her at first sight and after six days and seven nights with the Shamhat, he was no longer a wild beast who lived with animals. He soon learned to live like a civilized of man and started avoiding the animals he used to live with. Shamhat convinced him to leave the forest and come to live in the city. Meanwhile, Gilgamesh had some strange dreams. He told his mother, Ninsun, about the dreams. Ninsun explained the dreams as an indication that a mighty friend will come to him.

The newly-civilized Enkidu leaved the wilderness with Shamhat for the city of Uruk, where he learned to help the local shepherds and trappers in their work. One day Gilgamesh showed up in a wedding party and tried to force the bride to sleep with him. Enkidu was at the wedding dancing with others and drinking wine. Enkidu stood against Gilgamesh and told him to leave the bride. It was a clear embarrassment for Gilgamesh. Filled with wrath, the half god, mighty Gilgamesh went to kill him without knowing Enkidu's history. It was one of the greatest battles of all time. After a tough battle of two days and three nights, Gilgamesh defeated Enkidu.

However, showing respect to Enkidu's strength, spirit and courage, Gilgamesh showed mercy on him and let him walk free. But the fight changed his life. He invited Enkidu in his palace and listened to his story. The very night he began to think what Enkidu said, and to learn the virtues of mercy and humility, along with courage and nobility. Being influenced by Enkidu's story, Gilgamesh found a new life. He was no more that tyrant and womanizer king. Both Gilgamesh and Enkidu were transformed for the better through their new-found friendship and had many lessons to learn from each other. In time, they begun to see each other as brothers and their names were in chanted all over the kingdom with respect.

Years later, bored with the peaceful life in Uruk and wanting to make an everlasting name for himself, Gilgamesh proposed to travel to the Cedar Forest for hunting. But Ceder Forest was a sacred place where only gods were allowed to go. No mortal could ever go there and come back because of the guardian of the forest- the deadly demon Humbaba. Enkidu tried to stop him and warned him about Humbaba. Gilgamesh did not listen. He took an oath to kill Humbaba and cut some great trees from the forest as proofs of his bravery. Neither Enkidu not the council of elders of Uruk could convince Gilgamesh not to go. Gilgamesh’s mother cried days and nights hearing the suicidal decision of her only son. But Gilgamesh was determined. He went to his mother for blessings. Ninsun gave her blessings and asked the sun-god Shamash to take care of her son. She also gave Enkidu some advice and adopted him as her second son. Enkidu urged to Ninsun that he wanted to go with Gilgamesh. Ninsun agreed.

On the way to the Cedar Forest, Gilgamesh had some bad dreams, but each time Enkidu managed to explain the dreams as good omens, and he encouraged and urged Gilgamesh on when he became afraid on reaching the forest. Finally, the two heroes reached the Ceder Forest. They tied their horses with the trees and drunk water from the lake. Enkidu went deep inside the forest to bring some fruits as they were hungry and tired. Gilgamesh fell asleep.

Humbaba, the guardian of the forest, was in his cave. Smelling mortals in nearby, he had sent one of his servants to verify whether anyone entered the forest without his permission. The servant flew to the place and saw Gilgamesh sleeping. He stole the horses and flew back to Humbaba's cave. Humbaba, with his fleet of demons went hunting the mortals.

In the mean time Enkidu came back with a lot of fruits and found the horses were missing. He heard some weird sound coming from the other end of the forest. He climbed up onto the top of a tall tree and saw the dark cloud and heavy wind crashing the heads of the trees and heading towards them. He quickly jumped down from the tree woke Gilgamesh up. Gilgamesh controlled his rage and asked Enkidu why he did that. Enkidu told him about the missing horses, the cloud and the wind. They hid behind a big old banyan tree and waited. Hubaba found no one. He ordered the demon soldiers to search every inch of the place. When everyone spread out, Enkidu went to kill the demon soldiers one by one and Gilgamesh jumped onto Hubaba to kill him. The demon-ogre guardian of the sacred trees was no less than Gilgamesh. He had a seven layered armor that was impossible to break. Gilgamesh failed to even touch Humbaba's skin. Using his demonic power and with the help of the armor, Humbaba was about to defeat Gilgamesh. But Gilgamesh was very clever. He offered the monster his own sisters as wives and concubines in order to distract him. Humbaba was a lonely demon and always wanted wives and concubines. He accepted the deal. Meanwhile, the sun-god Shamash ordered the mighty wind of the ocean to help Gilgamesh. The wind blew up every layer of Humbaba's armor one by one and finally Gilgamesh made him captive. The monster begged Gilgamesh for his life. In the mean time Enkidu came back and advised him to kill the beast. Humbaba then cursed them both, and Gilgamesh killed him. The two heroes cut down a huge cedar tree, and Enkidu made a giant door for the gods, which he floated down the river.

The goddess Ishtar (goddess of love and war, and daughter of the sky-god Anu) was watching the battle. She fell in love with Gilgamesh and proposed him to marry her. Ishtar was not faithful to any of her lovers and mistreated all of them. Gilgamesh knew the fact and rejected her.

The offended Ishtar cried to her father and convinced him to avenge her insult. Influenced by daughters emotional breakdown, the father sent 'the Bull of Heaven' to Uruk. The beast had a demonic power. It brought terrible drought and deadly plague where ever it landed. This time, it landed in Uruk and people started to perish. Since it was sent by one of the gods, no divine help was guaranteed for Gilgamesh. The only way to save Uruk was to kill the beast. Gilgamesh, along with Enkidu trapped the beast and slew it. They took the heart off the bull and offered to Shamash and threw the bull's hindquarters in the face of the outraged Ishtar. The city of Uruk got rid of the curse. The people celebrated the great victory by singing songs of Gilgamesh's saga and dancing all night long.

But trouble was destined to be with Gilgamesh. Enkidu had a bad dream. He saw the gods decided to punish Enkidu himself for the killing of the Bull of Heaven and Humbaba. He cursed the door he made for the gods, the trapper he met, the temple woman he loved and the very day that he became human. He climbed up onto the mountain and asked Shamash for helping him. Shamash spoke from heaven. He ensured that it was just a dream. But there were rivalry among gods. The curse took hold and day after day Enkidu became more and more ill. As he died, he described his descent about the horrific dark Underworld (the "House of Dust"), where the dead wear feathers like birds and eat clay. Gilgamesh was devastated by Enkidu’s death. Being surrounded by grief he offered gifts to the gods in the hope that he might be allowed to walk beside Enkidu in the Underworld. He ordered the people of Uruk, from the lowest farmer to the highest temple priests, to also mourn Enkidu, and ordered statues of Enkidu to be built. Gilgamesh was so full of sadness and sorrow over his friend that he refused to leave Enkidu's side, or allow his corpse to be buried, until six days and seven nights after his death when maggots began to fall from his body.

Being afraid of his own death, Gilgamesh was determined to avoid Enkidu's fate and decided to make the death-defying journey to visit Utnapishtim and his wife, the only humans to have survived the Great Flood and who were granted immortality by the gods, in the hope of discovering the secret of everlasting life. The ageless Utnapishtim and his wife was living in a beautiful country in another world, Dilmun. Gilgamesh traveled far to the east in search of them, crossing great rivers and oceans and mountain passed, and grappling and slaying monstrous mountain lions, bears and other terrific beasts. Eventually, he came to the twin peaks of Mount Mashu at the end of the earth, from where the sun rises from the other world. The gate of the twin peaks was guarded by two terrible giant scorpion monsters. Gilgamesh told them about his half-god status and convinced them by telling the stories of his bravery. They allowed to proceed. They took him to a dark tunnel and gave him some advices about life and death. It was the tunnel through which the sun runs every night and rises on the other side. He traveled for twelve leagues through the dark tunnel. The world at the end of the tunnel was a bright wonderland, full of trees with leaves of jewels.

The first person Gilgamesh met there was the wine-maker Siduri, who initially believed that he was a murderer from his disheveled appearance and attempted to dissuade him from his quest. Gilgamesh gave her some gifts from Uruk and convinced her to show the path. She told him that it was impossible to go to the island because it was surrounded by Waters of Death. Only a touch of the water means instant death. But there was one person who could help. Siduri took him to Urshanabi, the ferryman who could help him cross the sea to the island where Utnapishtim lived.When he met Urshanabi, though, he appeared to be surrounded by a company of stone-giants. Gilgamesh thought Urshanabi was held captive by those stone-giants and promptly killed them. He told the ferryman his story and asked for his help, but Urshanabi explained that he had just destroyed the sacred stones which would allow the ferry boat to safely cross the Waters of Death. The only way they could now cross is if Gilgamesh could cut 120 trees and fashion them into punting poles, so that they can cross the waters by using a new pole each time and by using his garment as a sail. Finally, they reached the island of Dilmun.

Gilgamesh told Utnapishtim his story and asks for help, but Utnapishtim reprimanded him because he knew that fighting the fate of humans is futile and ruins the joy in life. Gilgamesh demanded of Utnapishtim in what way their two situations differ and Utnapishtim told him the story of how he survived the Great flood.

Utnapishtim recounted how a great storm and flood was brought to the world by the god Enlil, who wanted to destroy all of mankind for the noise and confusion they brought to the world. But the god Ea forewarned Utnapishtim, advising him to build a ship in readiness and to load onto it his treasures, his family and the seeds of all living things. The rains came as promised and the whole world was covered with water, killing everything except Utnapishtim and his boat. The boat came to rest on the tip of the mountain of Nisir, where they waited for the waters to subside, releasing first a dove, then a swallow and then a raven to check for dry land. Utnapishtim then made sacrifices and libations to the gods. Enlil was angry that someone had survived his flood but Ea advised him to make his peace. So, Enlil blessed Utnapishtim and his wife and granted them everlasting life, and took them to live in the land of the gods on the island of Dilmun.

However, despite his reservations about why the gods should give him the same honour as himself, the hero of the flood, Utnapishtim reluctantly decided to offer Gilgamesh a chance for immortality. First he challenged Gilgamesh to stay awake for six days and seven nights, but Gilgamesh fell asleep almost before Utnapishtim finished speaking! When he woke up after seven days of sleep, Utnapishtim ridiculed his failure and sent him back to Uruk, along with the ferryman Urshanabi in exile. As they left, Utnapishtim's wife asked her husband to have mercy on Gilgamesh for his long journey and struggle. So he sent an eagle to Gilgamesh with a map and a letter. In the letter he wrote about a plant that grew at the very bottom of the ocean. The only flower of the plant had the ability to make him young again. Gilgamesh dived deep into the ocean binding stones to his feet to allow him to walk on the bottom of the sea. After searching three days and four nights he found the plant. He uprooted the plant and came back to the shore. He planned to use the flower to rejuvenate the old men of the city of Uruk and then to use it himself.

Since he was in the ocean for a long period, he felt thirsty and was looking for drinkable water. He found a lake nearby. To quench his thirst, he jumped into the lake in a hurry placing the plant on the shore of the lake. A serpent was going beside the lake and saw the beautiful plant with unique flowers it had never seen before. It went closer to and touched the flower. All of a sudden its old skin got off and a new skin reborn. The serpent stole it from there for its family and friends. That's why serpents' skin change when they grow old. Gilgamesh came out of the lake and wept at having failed at both opportunities to obtain immortality, and he disconsolately returned to the massive walls of his own city of Uruk. He was very weak because of excessive journey and struggle. He could not make it to the city and died there.

People of the great city of Uruk mourned for months knowing that they would never see anyone like him again.