Gilgamesh revisited

I. The coming of Enkidu

Gilgamesh went abroad in the world, but he met with none who could withstand his arms till he came to Uruk. But the men of Uruk muttered in their houses, ‘Gilgamesh sounds the tocsin for his amusement, his arrogance has no bounds by day or night. No son is left with his father, for Gilgamesh takes them all, even the children; yet the king should be a shepherd to his people. His lust leaves no virgin to her lover, neither the warrior’s daughter nor the wife of the noble; yet this is the shepherd of the city, wise, comely, and resolute.’

(Penguin Books, 1972, modern English version by N.K.Sandars)

Miraculously preserved on clay tablets which were deciphered in the 19th century. The Epic of Gilgamesh is at least 1500 years older than Homer. It is the story of the great king of Uruk in his fruitless search for immortality and of his friendship with Enkidu, the wild man from the hills.

Photo: my old Penguin copy showing ‘the Seal of Gilgamesh’ (Vorderasiatisches Museum, Berlin)

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