Gilgamesh, Enkidu and the Underworld

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The story Gilgamesh, Enkidu and the Underworld tells the story of Gilgamesh and his encounter with the realm of the dead. It is written for us on the last panel, panel XII, of the Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh in Sumerian . It is not part of the Gilgamesh epic, but a separate, deviating narrative, parts of which flowed into the Gilgamesh epic.

The story from the ancient Babylonian period , written in Sumerian and known to us from various, sometimes slightly different segments from Nippur , Ur and Me-Turan , shows especially in the last part the contemporary and sometimes regionally changing views of the hereafter and the underworld . Accordingly, there are different versions that reproduce the last part of the question and answer game between Gilgamesh and Enkidu differently.

Part of the epic tells the story of Inanna and the Hulupu tree (Sumerian: Halub). A popular motif in modern myth research , which in modern literature is often decoupled from the rest of the story.

Content of the epic

In the prologue, the epic tells of a time long past. During this time the gods divided the world among themselves. The heaven and Enlil took the earth, the Ereschkigala was given the underworld. During this time Enki goes to Kur on his boat and is surprised by a terrible storm. The storm is described by flying stones, large and small, that rain on it and a turtle that tugs at the boat under its bow.

This storm uprooted a Hulupu tree that had grown on the banks of the Euphrates and drove it away. Inanna finds this tree and plants it in her garden. She planted and watered it not with her hands but with her feet. She wanted to carve a bed and a chair out of it, when the tree grew big enough. When the tree was finally big enough, Inanna came to her tree and saw that the Anzu bird had built a nest in the top , the ghost girl lived in the trunk and the unenchanted snake had built her nest in the roots. She couldn't cut the tree like this. She sat down and wept bitterly. When her brother Utu came by at sunrise, she asked the sun god for help, but the latter refused. Inanna continued to cry like this. Then she asked the warrior Gilgamesh for help. The latter put on his bronze armor, which weighed fifty mines , but for him it was as light as thirty shekels . He took his ax, which weighed seven talents and seven mines, and slew the serpent in the roots of the hulupu tree. When the Anzuvogel saw this, it fled with its brood into the mountains, the ghost girl fled into the wastelands. Gilgamesh was able to fell the tree, and the young men of the city limbed it and bundled the branches. Then they made a bed and a throne chair out of the wood for Inanna, just as she wished. From the roots he made his 'Ellag' and from the branches he made his 'Ekidma'.

Gilgamesh returned home and played every day with his 'Ellag' (a ball?) And 'Ekidma' on a wide square. He played so long that the men complained that their hips and necks hurt from playing along and the women cried. One evening the women asked the gods for help. And when Gilgamesh wanted to play the next morning, his 'Ellag' and 'Ekidma' had fallen into the underworld Kur ( Kurnugia ). He tried to get close with his hand and foot but couldn't, the toys had fallen too far. So he sat at the gates of the underworld and began to cry. Then his servant Enkidu hurried to help and offered to fetch the objects from the underworld. Gilgamesh was pleased, but warned him that he should not violate certain rules of the underworld, otherwise he would remain trapped there forever. He told him not to put on new clothes, not to use scented oil, not to take a conjuring baton with him, not to wear sandals, not to kiss anyone he loved, not to hit anyone he hated, and not to stare at Ereschkigal, even if she was naked would stand in front of him. But Enkidu ignored Gilgamesh's warnings and did everything wrong. So the underworld kept him to itself. Now Gilgamesh wept for his servant Enkidu and pleaded with the gods, but none of the gods had mercy on him until he came to Enki. This decreed that Utu should make a hole in the underworld and bring Enkidu up.

When Gilgamesh saw Enkidu again, he hugged and kissed him and showered him with questions about the underworld. He asked how the various people who had died had fared and Enkidu answered him. Here in the epic follows a longer list in the style of a "question and answer game" which enumerates the different fates of the deceased. This ends abruptly with the question of the fate of the one who was burned. Enkidu did not see it, its smoke rose into the sky. Text fragments from Ur of Meturan still state that Gilgamesh was so horrified that from now on he began to search for (eternal) life.

Notes on the epic

prolog

The prologue begins with a popular motif of Sumerian poetry, which has been documented since the Fara period (early dynastic IIIa 26th century BC).

In those days, in those distant days.
 In those nights, in those vast nights,
 in those years, in those distant years,
 in those ancient days, when what was befittingly shining,
 in those ancient days as what was befitting.
 When heaven was separated from earth.
 and humans were created

It roughly corresponds to the now common “Once upon a time” and reports on a time long past.

Enkis boat trip

Enki's trip to Kur is not very clear in translation. In the Sumerian language, cure means "mountain", "land" or "underworld". Since the Ereschkigal was given the underworld as a gift shortly before in the story under the name "kur", a trip to the underworld is probably meant.

The tugging turtle could be a reference to the turtle that Enki created to defend the fate of Ninurta . At that time the turtle grabbed the mighty Ninurta by the toenails and dragged him into a hole without the latter being able to defend itself. See. The hero and the turtle .

Inanna and the hulupu tree

The Hulupu tree or Sumerian Halub is not a proper name in the sense of tree of life or the like, but Halub simply means tree in Sumerian. But there is also the consideration of seeing a real tree species in it. However, there is currently no agreement as to which tree is meant by this. Most identifications are with oak and willow . The cornel and poplar trees were also suggested.

In the trunk of the Hulupu tree a ghost girl had taken up residence, which in Sumerian is called "kisikil lila", young ghost woman. In Hebrew tradition, this figure became Lilith through Akkadian mediation .

Samuel Noah Kramer sees in the section about the Hulupu tree the oldest version of a story about a dragon slayer and also an aitiology for the term " weeping willow " or English: "weeping willow".

Gilgamesh's toys and games

The objects Gilgamesh receives from Inanna as a gift for his services, Sumerian 'Ellag' and 'Ekidma' or in Akkadian Pukku and Mekku , are still not clearly identifiable today. Wolfram von Soden addressed the objects as drums and drumsticks, newer translations recognize the word pukku as a ring or ball and mekku as a baton. Modern translation, as well as other text fragments, tend to go in this direction

In Jan Keetman's interpretation, the oppressive scene in the middle of the epic is central. In a deliberately absurd scene, the arbitrary repression of a king is demonstrated. The material for his toys comes from the same tree from whose wood Inanna's throne and bed are made, who must confirm his kingship in this bed at the holy wedding . The king plays with things that are close to the foundations of his power. The underworld scene shows Gilgamesh that he himself, like every human being, is mortal and will depend on the victims of the dead. In the underworld, different rules apply than those of a privileged status. Gilgamesh's care for Enkidu is an example of how he can better deal with his subordinates and what loyalty he thereby gains. Alhena Gadotti sees the emphasis on the importance of sacrifices as the main motif of the story. In addition, Gilgamesh is introduced into his later role as judge of the underworld through Enkidu's report on the commandments of the underworld. Gadotti also suspects that Gilgamesh, Enkidu and the underworld formed the beginning of a Gilgamesh cycle in Sumerian literature. After Gilgamesh, Enkidu and the underworld, there would be Gilgamesh and Huwawa A, possibly more stories and finally Gilgamesh's death. The proposal of a Sumerian Gilgamesh cycle was received with reluctance.

Enkidus return from the underworld

The conjuration of Enkidu after his stay in the underworld was in the understanding of many authors a common practice in Mesopotamia. Parallels to this practice can be found in the necromancer of Endor from the Bible ( 1 Sam 28  EU ). However, modern research believes that it is not really a necromancy. In the Akkadian translation of the second part, which is around a thousand years younger, Enkidu only comes from the underworld as a ghost or phantom. For a long time this was taken for granted for the Sumerian text. In recent years, however, Alhena Gadotti and Jan Keetman have opposed this view. Jerrold S. Cooper also followed suit with his own arguments. One of the best experts on Sumerian literary texts, Pascal Attinger , however, has resolutely contradicted this. In the story ' Urnammas Tod' the dead King Ereschkigal even gives a royal cloak , which he was allowed to bring with him without any fuss . That Enkidu dies or is killed is not in the text. Gilgamesh assumed that a return is possible in principle. The request for help quoted above can be understood as arguing that Enkidu is in the underworld even though he did not die. You don't hug or kiss a ghost. A text fragment from Ur reports that "they" (plural), i.e. Gilgamesh and Enkidu, will return to Uruk at the end. If Gilgamesh does not allow a ghost to accompany him, it means that Enkidu is still alive. Another text fragment from Meturan is followed by the story ' Gilgamesh and Huwawa A ' as the next episode. A living enkidu plays a major role in this. Attinger, however, argues that Gilgamesh and Enkidu also hug and kiss in the Akkadian translation, although Enkidu is described as a phantom. A main argument is that in other stories, especially Inanna's walk to the underworld, you can only leave the underworld - if at all - if you provide a replacement or leave a deposit. Since this does not happen, Enkidu cannot have left the underworld except for a short time as a phantom. However, it is questionable whether this is a binding rule in Sumerian literature. In Inanna's walk to the underworld, Inanna has to take off her royal cloak because it violates the commandments of the underworld.

See also

literature

  • Schott, Albert .; Soden, Wolfram von: "Twelfth panel" in: The Gilgamesh epic. Reclam, Stuttgart 1982, ISBN 978-3-15-007235-6 .
  • Diane Wolkstein, Samuel Noah Kramer : Inanna. Queen of Heaven and Earth. Her stories and hymns from Sumer. Rider & Co, London 1984, ISBN 0-09-158181-8 .
  • Walther Sallaberger: The Gilgamesh Epic. Myth, work and tradition. Beck, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-406-56243-3
  • AR George: "Bilgames and the Netherworld: ln those days, in those far-off days" in: The epic of Gilgamesh: the Babylonian epic poem and other texts in Akkadian and Sumerian. Penguin, London 2003, ISBN 0-14-044919-1 , pp. 179ff.
  • Alhena Gadotti: 'Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld' and the Sumerian Gilgamesh Cycle. 1st edition. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin 2014, ISBN 978-1-61451-708-5

Notes and individual references

  1. ^ Gilgamesh, Enkidu and the nether world: translation. Retrieved August 30, 2017 .
  2. ↑ a b A. R. George: The epic of Gilgamesh: the Babylonian epic poem and other texts in Akkadian and Sumerian . Penguin, London 2003, ISBN 0-14-044919-1 .
  3. ↑ Diane Wolkstein, Samuel Noah Kramer, Elizabeth Williams-Forte: Inanna, queen of heaven and earth. her stories and hymns from Sumer . 1st edition. Harper & Row, New York 1983, ISBN 0-06-014713-X .
  4. ↑ Summary based on comments by: Gilgamesh, Enkidu and the nether world at etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk; AR George, The epic of Gilgamesh: the Babylonian epic poem and other texts in Akkadian and Sumerian; W. Römer, From Bilgamesch, Enkidu and the Underworld; Schott / Soden, The Epic of Gilgamesh
  5. ↑ Schott, Albert; Soden, Wolfram von: The Gilgamesh epic . Reclam, Stuttgart 1982, ISBN 978-3-15-007235-6 .
  6. ↑ Willem H. Ph. Römer: From Bilgamesch, Enkidu and the underworld. in: Texts from the environment of the Old Testament. Old episodes. Volume 2 oracles, rituals, architectural and votive inscriptions, songs and prayers. tape 2 . Mohn, Gütersloh 1991, ISBN 978-3-579-00071-8 , pp. 36 ff .
  7. ^ Gilgamesh, Enkidu and the nether world: translation. Retrieved August 30, 2017 .
  8. ↑ Walther Sallaberger: The Gilgamesh epic. Myth, work and tradition . Beck, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-406-56243-3 (original edition).
  9. ↑ ePSD: kur [mountain]. Retrieved September 16, 2017 .
  10. ↑ ePSD: halub (tree). Retrieved September 16, 2017 .
  11. ↑ Pascal Attinger: Review of Alhena Gadotti, Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld . In: Journal of Assyriology . tape 105 . Walter de Gruyter, 2015, ISSN  0084-5299 , p. 236 .
  12. ↑ EPSD: Kisikil [woman]. Retrieved September 16, 2017 .
  13. ↑ LILITH - JewishEncyclopedia.com. Retrieved September 16, 2017 .
  14. ^ Samuel Noah Kramer: History begins at Sumer . 9th edition. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia 1988.
  15. ↑ Bruno Meissner: Akkadian Concise Dictionary; using the lexical estate of Bruno Meissner (1868–1947) . tape 2 : M-S . Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1965, ISBN 3-447-01471-7 .
  16. ^ Dietz O Edzard: Pukku in Reallexikon der Assyriologie and Vorderasiatischen Aräologie . Ed .: Calmeyer, Peter. tape 8 , no. 34 . de Gruyter, Berlin 1997.
  17. ↑ Stefan M. Maul: The Gilgamesh epic . 7th edition. CH Beck, Munich 2017, ISBN 978-3-406-70933-3 .
  18. ↑ Jan Keetman: King Gilgames rides on his subjects: Gilgames, Enkidu and the underworld read politically: Bibliotheca Orientalis 64 . 1st edition. Leiden 2007, p. 5-32 .
  19. ↑ Alhena Gadotti: 'Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld' and the Sumerian Gilgamesh Cycle . 1st edition. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin 2014, ISBN 978-1-61451-708-5 .
  20. ↑ Pascal Attinger: Review of Alhena Gadotti, Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld in Zeitschrift für Assyriologie, Volume 105 . 1st edition. Walter de Gruyter, 2015, ISSN  0084-5299 , p. 236 .
  21. ↑ J. Kabamba Kiboko: Divining the woman of Endor. African culture, postcolonial hermeneutics, and the politics of Biblical translation (=  Library of Hebrew Bible / Old Testament studies ). Bloomsbury Publishing, London 2017.
  22. ↑ Alhena Gadotti: 'Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld' and the Sumerian Gilgamesh Cycle . 1st edition. Walter de Gruyter, Boston / Berlin 2014, ISBN 978-1-61451-708-5 .
  23. ^ Sisig in Akkade; NABU 2016 No. 34. (PDF) Retrieved September 16, 2017 .
  24. ↑ Jerrold S. Cooper: Wind and Smoke: Giving up the Ghost of Enkidu, Comprehending Enkidu's Ghost, in: Rethinking Ghosts in World Religions . Ed .: M. Poo. 1st edition. Brill, Leiden 2009, ISBN 978-90-04-17152-7 , pp. 23-32 .
  25. ↑ Pascal Attinger: Review of Alhena Gadotti, Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld in Zeitschrift für Assyriologie, Volume 105 . 1st edition. Walter de Gruyter, 2015, ISSN  0084-5299 , p. 236-37 .
  26. ^ Inanna's descent to the Netherworld: translation. Retrieved September 16, 2017 .
  27. ^ Ur-Namma A: translation. Retrieved September 16, 2017 .