An Old Babylonian Version of the Gilgamesh EpicJastrow, Morris
General
An Old Babylonian Version of the Gilgamesh Epic
Jastrow, Morris
Epic poetry, Assyro-Babylonian
Column 4 gives in detail the meeting between the two, and naïvely
describes how the woman exposes her charms to Enkidu, who is captivated
by her and stays with her six days and seven nights. The animals see
the change in Enkidu and run away from him. He has been transformed
through the woman. So far the episode. In the Assyrian version there
follows an address of the woman to Enkidu beginning (col. 4, 34):
"Beautiful art thou, Enkidu, like a god art thou."
We find her urging him to go with her to Erech, there to meet Gilgamesh
and to enjoy the pleasures of city life with plenty of beautiful
maidens. Gilgamesh, she adds, will expect Enkidu, for the coming
of the latter to Erech has been foretold in a dream. It is evident
that here we have again the later transformation of the Enkidu Epic
in order to bring the two heroes together. Will it be considered too
bold if we assume that in the original form the address of the woman
and the construction of the episode were such as we find preserved in
part in columns 2 to 4 of the Pennsylvania tablet, which forms part
of the new material that can now be added to the Epic? The address
of the woman begins in line 51 of the Pennsylvania tablet:
"I gaze upon thee, Enkidu, like a god art thou."
This corresponds to the line in the Assyrian version (I, 4, 34)
as given above, just as lines 52-53:
"Why with the cattle
Dost thou roam across the field?"
correspond to I, 4, 35, of the Assyrian version. There follows in both
the old Babylonian and the Assyrian version the appeal of the woman
to Enkidu, to allow her to lead him to Erech where Gilgamesh dwells
(Pennsylvania tablet lines 54-61 = Assyrian version I, 4, 36-39);
but in the Pennsylvania tablet we now have a _second_ speech (lines
62-63) beginning like the first one with _al-ka_, "come:"
"Come, arise from the accursed ground."
Enkidu consents, and now the woman takes off her garments and clothes
the naked Enkidu, while putting another garment on herself. She takes
hold of his hand and leads him to the sheepfolds (not to Erech!!),
where bread and wine are placed before him. Accustomed hitherto
to sucking milk with cattle, Enkidu does not know what to do with
the strange food until encouraged and instructed by the woman. The
entire third column is taken up with this introduction of Enkidu
to civilized life in a pastoral community, and the scene ends with
Enkidu becoming a guardian of flocks. Now all this has nothing to
do with Gilgamesh, and clearly sets forth an entirely different
idea from the one embodied in the meeting of the two heroes. In the
original Enkidu tale, the animal-man is looked upon as the type of a
primitive savage, and the point of the tale is to illustrate in the
naïve manner characteristic of folklore the evolution to the higher
form of pastoral life. This aspect of the incident is, therefore,
to be separated from the other phase which has as its chief _motif_
the bringing of the two heroes together.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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