Epic of Gilgamesh Summary
The Epic of Gilgamesh is one of the oldest stories in the world, written on clay tablets in ancient Mesopotamia. Its hero is Gilgamesh, king of the city of Uruk. He is two-thirds god and one-third human, a king without equal. But he cannot control his own strength: he drives the young men of the city day and night, and his people suffer under his rule.
The people's cries reach the gods of heaven, who bring their complaint to Anu, the sky god. They then ask Aruru, the goddess who created humankind, to make someone who can stand up to the king. Aruru pinches off a piece of clay and throws it into the wilderness, and from it Enkidu is born: a wild man, covered in hair and immensely strong. Enkidu lives among the animals, smashes the hunter's traps, and sets the game free.
Following his father's advice, the frustrated hunter travels to Uruk and tells the king. On the king's orders, Shamhat, a woman who serves the goddess Ishtar, goes to the watering hole and leads Enkidu into the human world. Abandoned by the animals, Enkidu eats bread and drinks beer at a shepherds' camp and begins to live as a human being. Meanwhile in Uruk, Gilgamesh has two dreams telling him that a powerful friend is coming. Their meeting begins a long journey toward a single question: why does no one live forever?
Story summary
Episode 1The World's First Hero Was a Tyrant — Gilgamesh and Enkidu
In the mangaGilgamesh is a young king no one can stop, and the people of Uruk suffer under him. Their cries reach the heavens, so the goddess Aruru shapes Enkidu, a wild man, from clay. A trapper spots him at a watering hole and, still afraid, sets out for Uruk.
In the original mythThe Epic of Gilgamesh is one of the oldest surviving works of literature. Its best-known form, the Standard Babylonian version, was written in Akkadian on eleven or twelve clay tablets. It doesn't open with action. It opens with an invitation. A narrator who is never named praises a man who saw the depths of the world. This man learned hidden things, brought back knowledge from the time before the Great Flood, wore…
Episode 2To Become Human, Add Bread and Beer — Enkidu and Shamhat
In the mangaAt the watering hole, Enkidu meets Shamhat. He can never run with the herd again, but he gains wisdom, and with bread and beer he becomes human. Meanwhile in Uruk, King Gilgamesh dreams that a friend as strong as he is will soon arrive.
In the original mythThe Epic of Gilgamesh is one of the oldest long stories in the world. It comes from ancient Mesopotamia, in what is now Iraq. This episode follows the Standard Babylonian version, best known from clay tablets found at Nineveh. It covers the second half of Tablet I and the first part of Tablet II. Tablet II is badly damaged, so its missing lines are filled in from an older Old Babylonian copy called the Pennsylvania…