Gilgamesh (9 page)

One day, a human—a trapper—saw him drinking with the animals at a waterhole. The trapper's heart pounded, his face went white, his legs shook, he was numb with terror. The same thing happened a second, a third day. Fear gripped his belly, he looked drained and haggard like someone who has been on a long, hard journey.

He went to his father. “Father, I have seen a savage man at the waterhole. He must be the strongest man in the world, with muscles like rock. I have seen him outrun
the swiftest animals. He lives among them, eats grass with gazelles, and when he is thirsty he drinks clear water from the waterholes. I haven't approached him—I am too afraid. He fills in the pits I have dug, he tears out the traps I have set, he frees the animals, and I can catch nothing. My livelihood is gone.”

“Son, in Uruk there lives a man named Gilgamesh. He is king of that city and the strongest man in the world, they say, with muscles like rock. Go now to Uruk, go to Gilgamesh, tell him what happened, then follow his advice. He will know what to do.”

He made the journey, he stood before Gilgamesh in the center of Uruk, he told him about the savage man. The king said, “Go to the temple of Ishtar,
ask them there for a woman named Shamhat, one of the priestesses who give their bodies to any man, in honor of the goddess. Take her into the wilderness. When the animals are drinking at the waterhole, tell her to strip off her robe and lie there naked, ready, with her legs apart. The wild man will approach. Let her use her love-arts. Nature will take its course, and then the animals who knew him in the wilderness will be bewildered, and will leave him forever.”

The trapper found Shamhat, Ishtar's priestess, and they went off into the wilderness. For three days they walked. On the third day they reached the waterhole. There they waited. For two days they sat as the animals came to drink clear water. Early in the morning of the third day, Enkidu came and knelt down
to drink clear water with the antelope and deer. They looked in amazement. The man was huge and beautiful. Deep in Shamhat's loins desire stirred. Her breath quickened as she stared at this primordial being. “Look,” the trapper said, “there he is. Now use your love-arts. Strip off your robe and lie here naked, with your legs apart. Stir up his lust when he approaches, touch him, excite him, take his breath with your kisses, show him what a woman is. The animals who knew him in the wilderness will be bewildered, and will leave him forever.”

She stripped off her robe and lay there naked, with her legs apart, touching herself. Enkidu saw her and warily approached. He sniffed the air. He gazed at her body. He drew close, Shamhat touched him on the thigh,
touched his penis, and put him inside her. She used her love-arts, she took his breath with her kisses, held nothing back, and showed him what a woman is. For seven days he stayed erect and made love with her, until he had had enough. At last he stood up and walked toward the waterhole to rejoin his animals. But the gazelles saw him and scattered, the antelope and deer bounded away. He tried to catch up, but his body was exhausted, his life-force was spent, his knees trembled, he could no longer run like an animal, as he had before. He turned back to Shamhat, and as he walked he knew that his mind had somehow grown larger, he knew things now that an animal can't know.

Enkidu sat down at Shamhat's feet. He looked at her, and he understood
all the words she was speaking to him. “Now, Enkidu, you know what it is to be with a woman, to unite with her. You are beautiful, you are like a god. Why should you roam the wilderness and live like an animal? Let me take you to great-walled Uruk, to the temple of Ishtar, to the palace of Gilgamesh the mighty king, who in his arrogance oppresses the people, trampling upon them like a wild bull.”

She finished, and Enkidu nodded his head. Deep in his heart he felt something stir, a longing he had never known before, the longing for a true friend. Enkidu said, “I will go, Shamhat. Take me with you to great-walled Uruk, to the temple of Ishtar, to the palace of Gilgamesh the mighty king. I will challenge him. I will shout to his face:
‘I
am the mightiest!
I
am the man who can make the world tremble!
I
am supreme!'”

“Come,” said Shamhat, “let us go to Uruk, I will lead you to Gilgamesh the mighty king. You will see the great city with its massive wall, you will see the young men dressed in their splendor, in the finest linen and embroidered wool, brilliantly colored, with fringed shawls and wide belts. Every day is a festival in Uruk, with people singing and dancing in the streets, musicians playing their lyres and drums, the lovely priestesses standing before the temple of Ishtar, chatting and laughing, flushed with sexual joy, and ready to serve men's pleasure, in honor of the goddess, so that even old men are aroused from their beds. You who are still so ignorant of life, I will show you Gilgamesh the mighty king,
the hero destined for both joy and grief. You will stand before him and gaze with wonder, you will see how handsome, how virile he is, how his body pulses with erotic power. He is even taller and stronger than you—so full of life-force that he needs no sleep. Enkidu, put aside your aggression. Shamash, the sun god, loves him, and his mind has been made large by Anu, father of the gods, made large by Enlil, the god of earth, and by Ea, the god of water and wisdom. Even before you came down from the hills, you had come to Gilgamesh in a dream.” And she told Enkidu what she had heard. “He went to his mother, the goddess Ninsun, and asked her to interpret the dream. ‘I saw a bright star, it shot across the morning sky, it fell at my feet and lay before me like a huge boulder.
I tried to lift it, but it was too heavy. I tried to move it, but it would not budge. A crowd of people gathered around me, the people of Uruk pressed in to see it, like a little baby they kissed its feet. This boulder, this star that had fallen to earth—I took it in my arms, I embraced and caressed it the way a man caresses his wife. Then I took it and laid it before you. You told me that it was my double, my second self.' The mother of Gilgamesh, Lady Ninsun, the wise, the all-knowing, said to her son, ‘Dearest child, this bright star from heaven, this huge boulder that you could not lift—it stands for a dear friend, a mighty hero. You will take him in your arms, embrace and caress him the way a man caresses his wife. He will be your double, your second self, a man who is loyal, who will stand at your side
through the greatest dangers. Soon you will meet him, the companion of your heart. Your dream has said so.' Gilgamesh said, ‘May the dream come true. May the true friend appear, the true companion, who through every danger will stand at my side.'”

When Shamhat had finished speaking, Enkidu turned to her, and again they made love.

T
hen Shamhat gave Enkidu one of her robes and he put it on. Taking his hand, she led him like a child to some shepherds' huts.

Marveling, the shepherds crowded around him. “What an enormous man!” they whispered. “How much like Gilgamesh he is—tall and strong, with muscles like rock.” They led him to their table, they put bread and beer in front of him. Enkidu sat and stared. He had never seen human food, he didn't know what to do. Then Shamhat said, “Go ahead, Enkidu. This is food, we humans eat and drink this.” Warily he tasted the bread. Then he ate a piece, he ate a whole loaf, then ate another, he ate until he was full, drank seven pitchers of the beer, his heart grew light, his face glowed, and he sang out with joy. He had his hair cut, he washed, he rubbed sweet oil into his skin, and became fully human. Shining, he looked handsome as a bridegroom. When the shepherds lay down, Enkidu went out with sword and spear. He chased off lions and wolves, all night he guarded the flocks, he stayed awake and guarded them while the shepherds slept.

One day, while he was making love, he looked up and saw a young man pass by. “Shamhat,” he said, “bring that man here. I want to talk to him. Where is he going?” She called out, then went to the man and said, “Where are you going in such a rush?”
The man said to Enkidu, “I am on my way to a wedding banquet. I have piled the table with exquisite food for the ceremony. The priest will bless the young couple, the guests will rejoice, the bridegroom will step aside, and the virgin will wait in the marriage bed for Gilgamesh, king of great-walled Uruk. It is he who mates first with the lawful wife. After he is done, the bridegroom follows. This is the order that the gods have decreed. From the moment the king's birth-cord was cut, every girl's hymen has belonged to him.”

As he listened, Enkidu's face went pale with anger. “I will go to Uruk now, to the palace of Gilgamesh the mighty king. I will challenge him. I will shout to his face:
‘I
am the mightiest!
I
am the man who can make the world tremble!
I
am supreme!'”

Together they went to great-walled Uruk, Enkidu in front, Shamhat behind him.

When he walked into the main street of Uruk, the people gathered around him, marveling, the crowds kept pressing closer to see him, like a little baby they kissed his feet. “What an enormous man!” they whispered. “How much like Gilgamesh—not quite so tall but stronger-boned. In the wilderness he grew up eating grass with gazelles, he was nursed on the milk of antelope and deer. Gilgamesh truly has met his match. This wild man can rival the mightiest of kings.”

The wedding ritual had taken place, the musicians were playing their drums and lyres, the guests were eating, singing and laughing,
the bride was ready for Gilgamesh as though for a god, she was waiting in her bed to open to him, in honor of Ishtar, to forget her husband and open to the king.

When Gilgamesh reached the marriage house, Enkidu was there. He stood like a boulder, blocking the door. Gilgamesh, raging, stepped up and seized him, huge arms gripped huge arms, foreheads crashed like wild bulls, the two men staggered, they pitched against houses, the doorposts trembled, the outer walls shook, they careened through the streets, they grappled each other, limbs intertwined, each huge body straining to break free from the other's embrace. Finally, Gilgamesh threw the wild man and with his right knee pinned him to the ground. His anger left him. He turned away. The contest was over. Enkidu said,
“Gilgamesh, you are unique among humans. Your mother, the goddess Ninsun, made you stronger and braver than any mortal, and rightly has Enlil granted you the kingship, since you are destined to rule over men.” They embraced and kissed. They held hands like brothers. They walked side by side. They became true friends.

T
ime passed quickly. Gilgamesh said, “Now we must travel to the Cedar Forest, where the fierce monster Humbaba lives. We must kill him and drive out evil from the world.”

Enkidu sighed. His eyes filled with tears. Gilgamesh said, “Why are you sighing? Why, dear friend, do your eyes fill with tears?”

Enkidu answered, “Dear friend, a scream sticks in my throat, my arms are limp. I knew that country when I roamed the hills with the antelope and deer. The forest is endless, it spreads far and wide for a thousand miles. What man would dare to penetrate its depths?”