Click here to listen to Gilgamesh Part 1: The Creation of Enkidu in the season 1 archives on buzzsprout
The Sumerian myth of the hero-king Gilgamesh may be the oldest story in recorded history and yet, his quest for meaning is poignant and powerful today.
This podcast is part 1 in a 3-part series on this myth. In this episode we meet Gilgamesh and his friend and alter ego, the wild man Enkidu.
Transcript of Gilgamesh Part 1: The Creation of Enkidu
Hello everyone, and welcome to Myth Matters, a bi-weekly podcast of storytelling and conversation about mythology, and why it’s important to our lives today. I’m your host and personal mythologist, Catherine Svehla. Wherever you may be in this wide, beautiful, crazy world of ours you are part of this story circle.
This week want to tell you one of the oldest stories in the world, the Sumerian myth of the hero-king Gilgamesh. Actually, this will be part one of the myth. We’ll devote three podcasts to this story, which is one of my favorites, and like the story of Perceval and the Grail, the myth of Gilgamesh involves an existential quest, a quest for meaning.
This myth has also played a role in the collective Western quest for meaning. In an article in the October 14thissue of The New Yorker titled “Beyond the Waters of Death,” Joan Acocella considers the hopeful expectations that were brought to this ancient text. She provides a brief synopsis of the Western discovery of the myth and the challenges it poses to archeologists, scholars, and translators. The clay tablets bearing the poem, engraved in Sumerian cuneiform, could finally be deciphered in the mid-nineteenth century. This was a time of collective anxiety and existential angst, of debates and questions about belief, truth, and meaning that have yet to be resolved.
One catalyst for the upheaval was the publication of Charles Darwin’s “Origin of Species” in 1859, which fueled doubt about the historical accuracy of the Bible. According to Acocella, George Smith, who was an early translator whose work drew attention to the myth of Gilgamesh, was motivated by the search for historical evidence to support the Bible. Smith did make some interesting discoveries which I expect you will recognize when you hear the story, but they didn’t provide the proof that he sought.
Acocella’s article is also a review of recent books about the poem. Apparently, the N. K. Sanders translation, which is the one that I know and used in my telling of this story, is one of the easiest to approach. I look forward to investigating some of the others that she mentions and I will provide a link to Acocella’s piece on the website, along with a transcript of this podcast, so you can look into them yourself. Now, a bit of background on Gilgamesh.
This myth is really a series of legends and poems about Gilgamesh, the hero-king of Uruk, a city in the kingdom of Sumer. Sumer, or Sumeria was located in what is now Iraq. The Sumerians were the first literate inhabitants of Mesopotamia, so the epic of Gilgamesh is one of the oldest literary works, dating back to 2100 BCE. That’s about 1500 years before Homer. This story was probably told for a long time before it was written down, and there’s some evidence that a king called Gilgamesh, and some of the other characters in the story probably were people who actually lived around 2700 BCE.
Sumer is also the source of the myths of the goddess Inanna, which dates from about the same period. Gilgamesh’s and Inanna’s myths were discovered in 19th century, when a series of clay tablets that contained these stories, inscribed in cuneiform, were excavated at the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh.
Gilgamesh’s story was originally titled either “He Who Saw the Deep” or “Surpassing All Other Kings.” As you listen to the story I think the meaning of these titles will become clear. Gilgamesh was renowned for his contributions to Sumerian civilization and the tales of his exploits and accomplishments were probably known throughout the Aegean. The Greeks, for example, knew them and some people speculate that Homer knew this story and that it was one of the foundations of the Iliad.
In any event, given the great age of his story, Gilgamesh is probably our first hero. He certainly is the first tragic hero about whom anything is known. I think you’ll recognize some of the motifs and subplots. One of the most obvious of these is the reference to a Great Flood, which occurs in part 3 of my telling, but the events and the psychology in the life and career of Gilgamesh as it unfolds are so familiar and so compelling that we’re still telling this story in a myriad forms and variations four thousand years later. Now I don’t know about you, but that kind of blows my mind and gives me a marvelous feeling of continuity, and a sense of the enduring legacy of the past.
I don’t want to say too much at the outset about what happens in the story. I hope that you enjoy it for its action and also as a beautiful meditation on the human condition. Gilgamesh was a semi-divine king but his feelings and fears, and the object of his final quest, are common to all of us.
Now I invite you to relax, let the story take you and as always, notice the details that grab your interest as they are clues to where this story intersects with your life today.
The myth of Gilgamesh part 1
Gilgamesh of Uruk, was the greatest king on earth. He was two parts god and one-part man. Gilgamesh’s mother was the goddess Ninsun, a minor deity with a small temple, but nonetheless this compelled the gods to endow him. was the strongest God-King who ever existed. From his mother, he inherited great strength, courage, beauty, and restlessness. From his father, who was likely a priest in the king’s court, he inherited mortality.
Gilgamesh ruled the great brick city Uruk and he himself built the walls, which have no equal. And neither did Gilgamesh. As a result, he was prone to pick fights with his subjects and his strength was so great that he killed many sons and left man grieving mothers and fathers. Although a king should be a shepherd to his people, he did harm. He was bored and his arrogance knows no bounds. Gilgamesh did whatever he liked for his own amusement and that also meant that no woman was safe from his lust. Gilgamesh had an unpleasant habit of crashing weddings. He showed up at the marriage house and demanded that he be first with every bride, before her husband.
So, although Gilgamesh was well-blessed, handsome, and with the capacity for wisdom, and strong, his people were not happy. They complained to the gods that he was too harsh and that he abused his power by sleeping with women before their husbands did. When Anu, who was the sky god and the father of the gods, heard their laments he pitied them. he went to Aruru, the goddess of creation. “You made him Aruru,” he said, “and his stormy heart. You made Gilgamesh, so you must create his equal so they can contend with each other and he will leave the rest of Uruk in peace.”
The goddess Aruru thought about this and conceived an image in her mind of which Anu approved. the goddess wet her hands with water and pinched off a piece of clay and let it fall in the wilderness, thus creating the noble wild man, Enkidu.
Enkidu was a rather unusual fellow. He had a rough, powerful body completely covered in hair. He knew nothing of men and human civilization. He was as fast as a gazelle and he grew up with these wild animals. in fact, Enkidu ate grass and drank at the watering holes as they did and thought that he was one of them. He thought that he was an animal. The herd was his company.
But local shepherds who brought their flocks to the watering holes caught a glimpse of him now and again, and the sight of this strange, wild, hairy man jostling their sheep filled them with fear. Word starting going around that there was a strange, apparently human being, in the area and one day a trapper who was hunting wild beasts staked out the watering hole and met Enkidu face to face. Three days in a row the two stared at each other in mutual terror and then the trapper went home and told his father what he had seen. With a heart full of awe and a face transformed by this mystery he said, “Father, there is a man unlike any other who comes down from the hills with the animals. He mingles with them and ranges the land and he must be the strongest man in the world. He tears up my traps and helps the animals escape but I am afraid and don’t dare go near him. What shall I do?”
“Well,” said his father, “You must go to Uruk and tell King Gilgamesh. No one has ever beaten him, he is as strong as a star in heaven. Go to his court and tell him about this great, strong, wild man. Ask him to loan you a woman from the temple of love and take this harlot with you to the watering hole. Have her sit by that spring stripped naked and when he comes, have her beckon to him. He will embrace her and then the animals will reject him and she will be able to tame him. Let her woman’s power overpower this wild man.”
The trapper followed his father’s advice. He went to Gilgamesh and told him of this strange, strong man. “I am afraid to approach him,” he said and Gilgamesh immediately thought of the women at the temple of love and sent the harlot called Shamhat to travel with the trapper.
After three days journey they reached the watering hole. They sat down and waited for the wild animals to come. For two days they waited and on the third day the herds appeared and Enkidu was with them. “There he is,” said the trapper, “now Shamhat, have no shame and welcome his love. When he comes near, uncover yourself and entice him. Teach him the ways of love.”
Shamhat was a skilled priestess and she was not ashamed. She easily attracted Enkidu and welcomed his eagerness. They made love for six days and seven nights and Enkidu forgot about everything else. At last he was satisfied. But now the gazelle’s bolted when he approached as did all of the wild animals. Enkidu tried to run after them as he had in the past but his swiftness was gone. He was weak, weak but also wise, and now he thought like a man.
So, he went back to Shamhat and sat at her feet. “What do I do now?” he asked her. “The animals run away. My old life is gone.” “You are a fine, strong man,” Shamhat said, ‘and now you are also wise. You don’t want to run in the hills with the animals anymore. Come with me and I will take you to the city of Uruk. You will excel at the ways of men, and you will meet Gilgamesh. He is also very strong but he is like a wild bull and although he is king, he does harm to people.”
Enkidu was very happy to have a companion who understood him. “Take me to Uruk and to Gilgamesh then,” he said, “and I will challenge him. I will tell him that I am the strongest one here and I will change the order of things.” Shamhat was glad to hear this and very glad that Enkidu was willing to go with her. “You will find the city and the people very beautiful” she told him, “and I will show you Gilgamesh, man of many moods, and he will see your face. But stop your boasting because he is stronger than you. The gods have favored him and his body is perfect and he has deep understanding. I tell you, Gilgamesh will know in his dreams that you are coming to Uruk.”
So, Enkidu and Shamhat left that place and joined up with some traveling shepherds. Enkidu learned to wear clothes, to eat human food, to pray, and to herd sheep. He even hunted the wolves and the lions who had previously been his peers. Shamhat gave him clothes and bread and wine and introduced him to every necessary practice. Now when Shamhat looked at Enkidu she said, “When I gaze at you, I see a god.”
Meanwhile, Gilgamesh had a strange dream and went to tell his mother Ninsun. “Mother,” he said, “last night I had a most curious dream. I was in the company of young heroes and full of joy. As I walked through the night a star fell down, a meteor from the sky. I tried to lift it but it was too heavy. All of the people of Uruk gathered to see and kiss it, and I myself was attracted and loved it like a woman. The people helped me and I raised it and brought it to you, and you said that that you had made it, and that the gods had given it to me as my brother.” Ninsun was very wise. “This fallen star, this meteor,” she said, “was made for you. This is the strong friend and comrade that you need. He is the strongest of wild creatures and when you see him, you will be glad and he will never forsake you. This is the meaning of the dream my son.”
Enkidu was happy with the shepherds, until one day he saw a man approaching. He was tired and weary. Enkidu went to the man and asked him about his journey. “I am on my way to Uruk to attend a wedding,” the man said. “But alas, Gilgamesh has shut up the marriage-house and demands to be first with the bride, as he always does. The people have heavy hearts.” Enkidu’s face got white with rage. “I will challenge him,” said Enkidu, “I will change things.” He went to Uruk too.
When Enkidu walked through the market place a crowd gathered and followed behind. “He is as big as Gilgamesh,” some said. “He is shorter,” said others, and some thought he had heavier bones. The people walked along, whispering and speculating about who this strange wild man might be, and everyone rejoiced because whatever the details, Gilgamesh had clearly met his match at last.
At the marriage house the bride was waiting for her groom. The mighty Enkidu stood in the street and when Gilgamesh arrived, he blocked the way. Gilgamesh brushed past him with a flicker of annoyance. Enkidu put out his foot. Gilgamesh stumbled. The two men grappled. They started to fight and snort like wild bulls. The walls of the surrounding buildings shook. Finally, Gilgamesh threw Enkidu to the ground.
He looked down at the hairy man. His anger subsided. “You are the one that was sent by the gods,” he said, “and they have given you kingship because you are stronger than any man.” Gilgamesh and Enkidu embraced and their friendship was sealed.
I’m going to stop there for today so we can take a few minutes to consider these two characters, the semi-divine king Gilgamesh and his wild man companion Enkidu. If you’re familiar with the Iliad and the character of Achilles, you might recognize Homer’s potential borrowing of the situation. Achilles, like Gilgamesh, was part god and part mortal and the upshot of this seems to be that despite the many gifts and talents, in particular a super-human strength and courage, there is a particular type of loneliness. Because he is “more than,” Gilgamesh like Achilles, has no peers. There’s no one for him to relate to and the activities and demands and pleasures of ordinary human life can’t satisfy him.
Everything comes too easily and there’s no limit. Nobody can stop him. Gilgamesh is bored and perpetually casting about for something to do. There is nothing for him to push against or break himself against, and although we usually don’t think of the obstacles in our lives this way, as being part of what makes life dynamic and interesting and worthwhile, the image of Gilgamesh shows this to us.
I love the fact that the gods don’t look down on the poor people and dismiss them, and I love that the gods don’t look down and see Gilgamesh and say “Well, that was a bad experiment. Clearly the one third, two third, human and divine thing doesn’t work. Let’s just kill him.” They easily could have done that because he is mortal. No, instead, Anu goes to Aruru and tells her that they have to find a way to rectify the situation. The answer is to bring Gilgamesh’s tremendous power into balance. And how do they do that? They provide him with a limiting factor. Not a limiting factor in terms of hardship but a peer. A companion.
Lots of people read the story of Gilgamesh and Enkidu and see it as an allegory about the relationship between nature and the natural, wild human (Enkidu) and civilization (Gilgamesh). There’s something to that and I also think that’s a rather simple view. If you ask yourself which of these two men, Gilgamesh or Enkidu, was the most civilized, which is the most respectful of limits, the most community minded, the most refined in his emotions, it was in fact Enkidu, wasn’t it? We don’t hear anything about Enkidu abusing anybody or using anyone, doing things indiscriminately because he’s bored.
It’s interesting don’t you think, that even at this time, back four thousand years ago, five thousand years ago, the Sumerians were telling a story that involved looking back. A story about a loss of innocence and a sense of purity in that wild, pre-human, pre-civilized state of being. Enkidu could run with the animals. There are many myths across cultures that postulate such a time. There is a longing for that seamless integration between human and the rest of the natural world. There is also a universal longing for a lost golden age. Today we lament the loss of many things and it’s right that we do so, but I think it’s also important to understand that it’s part of our mythological heritage to be looking back. This may be one of the connections between myth and memory, our shared cultural, human memory.
We want to retain what we remember as good from the past. Good in the world and good in ourselves. You can think about this as a longing to return to childhood, and our romantic views of childhood and childhood innocence. And yet, time marches on. We become civilized. We grow up. The world is papered over by layers of ideas and rules, by increasing sophistication and complexity and technology. This is our lived experience and I am suggesting that it may also be built into our myths and our mythic consciousness.
However, there is a need for both. Enkidu is still the wild man as we’ll see. He’s been brought into and learned the conventions of Gilgamesh’s world but he has not become another Gilgamesh. Enkidu will be the partner, not just the subject, of this king. His presence and friendship will refine Gilgamesh and bring out what is truly great in him.
I mentioned my interest in other translations of Gilgamesh. I plan to start with “After Gilgamesh,” a verse play by Oxford poet and playwright by Jenny Lewis. I’ll share a youtube link to one of the poems that she translated and set to music. You’ll find this along with the transcript of this episode on the mythicmojo.com website.
Here are a few lines from the Jenny Lewis translation, about the aftermath of Enkidu’s liaison with Shamhat, the temple prostitute who brings him to enthusiastic awareness of his identity as a male human being:
“Far away, under the forest’s boughs
A small gazelle still searched for him in vain
And others sniffed the air to catch his scent
But there was nothing carried on the wind
And in his mind no thought of them was left.”
That’s it for me, Catherine Svehla and Myth Matters. Feel free to contact me if you have questions or comments about today’s program. If you are new to Myth Matters, I invite you head over to the Mythic Mojo website where you’ll find information about the podcast and a variety of ways to subscribe or to listen from your favorite podcast platform. I post transcripts of each episode on mythicmojo.com.
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Thank you so much for listening! Please tune in next time, and until then, happy myth making and keep the mystery in your life alive.
Useful links:
Anthem for Gilgamesh -Jenny Lewis & Adnan al-Sayegh “نشيدٌ لگلگامش” on youtube
Link to How to Read “Gilgamesh” By Joan Acocella
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/10/14/how-to-read-gilgamesh
(In the print magazine, this article appears as “Beyond the Waters of Death: The Making of ‘Gilgamesh’”)