Biography of gilgamesh

Sumerian ruler and protagonist of the Epic of Gilgamesh

For other uses, see Gilgamesh (disambiguation).

Gilgamesh (,;Akkadian: 𒀭𒄑𒂆𒈦, romanized:&#;Gilgameš; originally Sumerian: 𒀭𒄑𒉋𒂵𒎌, romanized:&#;Bilgames) was a hero in ancient Mesopotamian mythology and the protagonist of the Epic of Gilgamesh, an epic poem written in Akkadian during the late 2nd millennium BC. He was possibly a historical king of the Sumeriancity-state of Uruk, who was posthumously deified. His rule probably would have taken place sometime in the beginning of the Early Dynastic Period, c. – BC, though he became a major figure in Sumerian legend during the Third Dynasty of Ur (c.&#;&#;– c.&#; BC).

Tales of Gilgamesh's legendary exploits are narrated in five surviving Sumerian poems. The earliest of these is likely "Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld", in which Gilgamesh comes to the aid of the goddess Inanna and drives away the creatures infesting her huluppu tree. She gives him two unknown objects, a mikku and a pikku, which he loses. After Enkidu's death, his shade tells Gilgamesh about the bleak conditions in the Underworld. The poem Gilgamesh and Aga describes Gilgamesh's revolt against his overlord Aga of Kish. Other Sumerian poems relate Gilgamesh's defeat of the giant Huwawa and the Bull of Heaven, while a fifth, poorly preserved poem relates the account of his death and funeral.

In later Babylonian times, these stories were woven into a connected narrative. The standard Akkadian Epic of Gilgamesh was composed by a scribe named Sîn-lēqi-unninni, probably during the Middle Babylonian Period (c.&#;&#;– c.&#; BC), based on much older source material. In the epic, Gilgamesh is a demigod of superhuman strength who befriends the wild man Enkidu. Together, they embark on many journeys, most famously defeating Humbaba (Sumerian: Huwawa) and the Bull of Heaven, who is sent to at

Epic poem from Mesopotamia

For other uses, see Epic of Gilgamesh (disambiguation).

The Epic of Gilgamesh () is an epic from ancient Mesopotamia. The literary history of Gilgamesh begins with five Sumerian poems about Gilgamesh (formerly read as Sumerian "Bilgames"), king of Uruk, some of which may date back to the Third Dynasty of Ur (c.&#; BCE). These independent stories were later used as source material for a combined epic in Akkadian. The first surviving version of this combined epic, known as the "Old Babylonian" version, dates back to the 18th century BCE and is titled after its incipit, Shūtur eli sharrī ("Surpassing All Other Kings"). Only a few tablets of it have survived. The later Standard Babylonian version compiled by Sîn-lēqi-unninni dates to somewhere between the 13th to the 10th centuries BCE and bears the incipit Sha naqba īmuru ("He who Saw the Deep(s)", lit.&#;'"He who Sees the Unknown"'). Approximately two-thirds of this longer, twelve-tablet version have been recovered. Some of the best copies were discovered in the library ruins of the 7th-century BCE Assyrian kingAshurbanipal.

The first half of the story discusses Gilgamesh (who was king of Uruk) and Enkidu, a wild man created by the gods to stop Gilgamesh from oppressing the people of Uruk. After Enkidu becomes civilized through sexual initiation with Shamhat, he travels to Uruk, where he challenges Gilgamesh to a test of strength. Gilgamesh wins the contest; nonetheless, the two become friends. Together, they make a six-day journey to the legendary Cedar Forest, where they ultimately slay its Guardian, Humbaba, and cut down the sacred Cedar. The goddess Ishtar sends the Bull of Heaven to punish Gilgamesh for spurning her advances. Gilgamesh and Enkidu kill the Bull of Heaven, insulting Ishtar in the process, after which the gods decide to sentence Enkidu to death and kill him by givi

The Epic of Gilgamesh is one of the great works of literature, and one of the oldest. It was first composed in ancient Mesopotamia during the early second millennium BC, in the Akkadian language, and an excellent translation is given by Andrew George (Penguin Classics ). The narrative is divided into eleven books comprising about 3, lines in total.

It is a story of love and comradeship, arrogance and uncertainty, wisdom and folly, impetuosity and determination, immortality and the inevitability of death. In Book I, Gilgamesh is introduced as, “He who saw the deep, the foundations of the land”—a king who has travelled far and learned wisdom and knowledge of all things. It then describes the great city of Uruk and the walls built by Gilgamesh (Uruk—Biblical Erech—was once the world’s greatest ancient city, located on the old course of the Euphrates in southern Iraq). Gilgamesh dominates the city and its people, leaving no young man free to go to his father, and no young wife free to go to her bridegroom. The citizens plead with the sky god Anu for help, and their prayers are answered. The gods create a primeval man, Enkidu to be a counterbalance to Gilgamesh. He is formed from the clay of the ground, somewhere in the outback (the term for the outback is the Sumerian word Edin—compare with the second creation story of humans in Genesis 2).

A trapper is the first person to come across Enkidu, seeing him as he drinks with the wild animals at their watering holes. The trapper reports him to Gilgamesh who sends Shamhat the courtesan to tame him. She lies with Enkidu for a week, after which the animals run from him and he finds he no longer belongs to the Edin; compare again with Genesis 2 where Adam and Eve can no longer stay in Eden.

When Enkidu hears, from a passing wedding guest, that Gilgamesh takes the young brides for himself on their wedding night, he goes to Uruk to challenge him. They wrestle one another to a standstill,

John Carey—

The oldest surviving literary work is The Epic of Gilgamesh. It was composed nearly 4, years ago in ancient Mesopotamia (roughly equivalent to where Iraq and eastern Syria are now). No one knows who wrote it, or why, or what readership or audience it was intended for. It is preserved on clay tablets in the earliest known alphabet, which is called cuneiform script because the scribes who wrote it formed the letters by making wedge-shaped (cuneiform) dents in wet clay with bits of reed.

For centuries the secret of how to read cuneiform script was lost. Then, in the s, a self-taught, working-class Londoner called George Smith, studying clay tablets in the British Museum, cracked the code and brought The Epic of Gilgamesh to light.

The epic tells the story of a king, Gilgamesh, whose mother is a goddess. He rules the city of Uruk (now Warka in southern Iraq). He is a great warrior and builds a magnificent city using glazed bricks, a new technique. But he is lustful and tyrannical, seizing and violating brides on their wedding day. So the gods create a wild man called Enkidu to stop Gilgamesh oppressing his people.

Enkidu is made from the clay the mother goddess washes from her hands, and he is an animal rather than a human. He is covered in hair and lives with the gazelles, eating grass as they do. However, a votaress of the temple in Uruk seduces him and after seven days and nights of fervent love-making he becomes human. She teaches him to wear clothes and eat human food.

Gilgamesh falls in love with Enkidu, caressing him like a woman. But when Enkidu tries to stop him violating brides, they fight. They turn out to be equally matched, so they kiss and make friends and embark on heroic adventures. Together they go on a quest to the Cedar Forest and kill the monster Humbaba who lives there. This angers the gods, since Humbaba was their monster. While Gilgamesh is washing after the fight the goddess Ishtar sees him, falls in love, and propos