View source for Gilgamesh

{{short description|Sumerian ruler and protagonist of the Epic of Gilgamesh}}
{{Infobox royalty
| type        = Mesopotamian
| name        = Gilgamesh<br>{{lang-akk|𒀭𒄑𒉋𒂵𒈨𒌋𒌋𒌋|label=none}}
| image       = Hero lion Dur-Sharrukin Louvre AO19862.jpg
| alt         =
| caption     = Possible representation of Gilgamesh as [[Master of Animals]], grasping a lion in his left arm and snake in his right hand, in an Assyrian palace relief (713–706 BC), from Dur-Sharrukin, now held in the Louvre{{sfn|Delorme|1981|page=55}}
|reign=c. 2900–2700 BC (Early Dynastic Period)<ref>{{cite book |last1=George |first1=A.R. |title=The Epic of Gilgamesh: The Babylonian Epic Poem and Other Texts in Akkadian and Sumerian |date=2003 |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=9780140449198 |page=lxi |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Epic_of_Gilgamesh/eCZRK_61adMC?hl=en&gbpv=0}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Isakhan |first1=Benjamin |title=Democracy in Iraq: History, Politics, Discourse |date=May 13, 2016 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=9781317153092 |pages=200 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Democracy_in_Iraq/dwUpDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Marchesi |first1=Gianni |title=Who Was Buried in the Royal Tombs of Ur? The Epigraphic and Textual Data |journal=Orientalia |date=2004 |volume=73 |issue=2 |page=197}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Pournelle |first1=Jennifer |title=Marshland of Cities:Deltaic Landscapes and the Evolution of Early Mesopotamian Civilization |date=2003 |location=San Diego |url=https://www.academia.edu/843377 |page=268}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Pre-dynastic architecture (UA1 and UA2) |url=http://www.artefacts-berlin.de/portfolio-item/pre-dynastic-architecture-ua1-and-ua2/ |website=Artefacts}}</ref>| predecessor = [[Dumuzid, the Fisherman]] (as [[Ensi (Sumerian)|Ensi]] of Uruk)
| consort     =
| siblings    =
| successor   = [[Ur-Nungal]]
}}
{{Contains special characters|cuneiform}}

'''Gilgamesh''' ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akkadian_language Akkadian]:𒀭𒄑𒂆𒈦 romanized: Gilgameš; originally [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumerian_language sumerian]:𒀭𒉋𒂵𒈩 romanized: Bilgames)<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/51668477|title=The Babylonian Gilgamesh epic : introduction, critical edition and cuneiform texts|date=2003|publisher=Oxford University Press|others=A. R. George|isbn=0-19-814922-0|location=Oxford|pages=71–77|oclc=51668477}}</ref>{{efn|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɡ|ɪ|l|ɡ|ə|m|ɛ|ʃ}},<ref>[http://www.dictionary.com/browse/gilgamesh "Gilgamesh"]. ''[[Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary]]''.</ref> {{IPAc-en|ɡ|ɪ|l|ˈ|ɡ|ɑː|m|ɛ|ʃ}})<ref>{{Cite book |last=George |first=Andrew R. |title=The Babylonian Gilgamesh Epic&nbsp;– Introduction, Critical Edition and Cuneiform Texts |date=2010 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0198149224 |edition=reprint |volume=1 and 2 |location=Oxford |page=163 |language=en, akk |oclc=819941336 |orig-year=2003}}</ref> {{cuneiform|𒄑𒂅𒈦}}, ''Gilgameš'', originally ''Bilgames'' ({{lang-sux|𒀭𒉋𒂵𒈩}}). His name translates roughly as "The Ancestor is a Young-man",<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hayes |first=J.L. |url=http://enenuru.net/pdfs/Hayes_Sumerian_Grammar_2000.pdf |title=A Manual of Sumerian Grammar and Texts |access-date=21 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180522111644/http://enenuru.net/pdfs/Hayes_Sumerian_Grammar_2000.pdf |archive-date=22 May 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref> from ''Bil.ga'' "Ancestor", Elder<ref name="Sum.Lexicon" />{{rp|33}} and ''Mes/Mesh3'' "Young-Man".<ref name="Sum.Lexicon">{{Cite book |last=Halloran |first=J. |title=Sum.Lexicon}}</ref>{{rp|174}} See also [http://psd.museum.upenn.edu/epsd1/nepsd-frame.html The Electronic Pennsylvania Sumerian Dictionary].}} was a hero in [[Mesopotamian myths|ancient Mesopotamian mythology]] and the protagonist of the ''[[Epic of Gilgamesh]]'', an [[Epic poetry|epic poem]] written in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akkadian_language Akkadian] during the late 2nd millennium BC. He was possibly a historical king of the Sumerian city-state of Uruk, who was posthumously deified. His rule probably would have taken place sometime in the beginning of the Early Dynastic Period (henceforth ED), {{circa}} 2900 – 2350 BC, though he became a major figure in Sumerian legend during the Third Dynasty of Ur ({{circa|2112|2004 BC}}).

Tales of Gilgamesh's legendary exploits are narrated in five surviving [[Epic of Gilgamesh#Sumerian poems|Sumerian poems]]. The earliest of these is likely "Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld",<ref>{{Cite web|title=Gilgamesh, Enkidu and the nether world: translation|url=https://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section1/tr1814.htm|access-date=2021-03-18|website=etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk}}</ref> in which Gilgamesh comes to the aid of the goddess [[Inanna]] and drives away the creatures infesting her ''huluppu'' tree. She gives him two unknown objects, a ''mikku'' and a ''pikku'', which he loses. After [[Enkidu]]'s death, his shade tells Gilgamesh about the bleak conditions in the [[Ancient Mesopotamian underworld|Underworld]]. The poem ''[[Gilgamesh and Aga]]'' describes Gilgamesh's revolt against his overlord Aga of Kish. Other Sumerian poems relate Gilgamesh's defeat of the giant [[Humbaba|Huwawa]] and the [[Bull of Heaven]], while a fifth, poorly preserved poem relates the account of his death and funeral.

In later Babylonian times, these stories were woven into a connected narrative. The standard Akkadian ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' was composed by a scribe named Sîn-lēqi-unninni, probably during the Middle Babylonian Period ({{circa|1600|1155 BC}}), based on much older source material. In the epic, Gilgamesh is a [[demigod]] of superhuman strength who befriends the wild man [[Enkidu]]. Together, they embark on many journeys, most famously defeating [[Humbaba]] (Sumerian: Huwawa) and the [[Bull of Heaven]], who is sent to attack them by [[Inanna|Ishtar]] (Sumerian: Inanna) after Gilgamesh rejects her offer for him to become her consort. After Enkidu dies of a disease sent as punishment from the gods, Gilgamesh becomes afraid of his death and visits the sage [[Utnapishtim]], the survivor of the [[Gilgamesh flood myth|Great Flood]], hoping to find [[immortality]]. Gilgamesh repeatedly fails the trials set before him and returns home to Uruk, realizing that immortality is beyond his reach.

Most scholars agree that the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' exerted substantial influence on the ''[[Iliad]]'' and the ''[[Odyssey]]'', two epic poems written in [[ancient Greek]] during the 8th century BC. The story of Gilgamesh's birth is described in an anecdote in ''On the Nature of Animals'' by the Greek writer Claudius Aelianus (2nd century AD). Aelianus relates that Gilgamesh's grandfather kept his mother under guard to prevent her from becoming pregnant, because an oracle had told him that his grandson would overthrow him. She became pregnant and the guards threw the child off a tower, but an eagle rescued him mid-fall and delivered him safely to an orchard, where the gardener raised him.

The ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' was rediscovered in the Library of Ashurbanipal in 1849, and was translated in the early 1870s. Gilgamesh remained mostly obscure until the mid-20th century, but, since the late 20th century, he has become an increasingly prominent figure in modern culture.

==Name==
The modern form "Gilgamesh" is a direct borrowing of the Akkadian 𒄑𒂆𒈦, rendered as ''Gilgameš''. The Assyrian form of the name derived from the earlier Sumerian form 𒉋𒂵𒈩, ''Bilgames''. It is generally concluded that the name itself translates as "the (kinsman) is a hero", the relation of the "kinsman" varying between the source giving the translation. It is sometimes suggested that the Sumerian form of the name was pronounced ''Pabilgames'', reading the component ''bilga'' as ''pabilga'' (𒉺𒉋𒂵), a related term which described familial relations, however, this is not supported by epigraphic or phonological evidence.<ref>Gonzalo Rubio. “READING SUMERIAN NAMES, II: GILGAMEŠ.” ''Journal of Cuneiform Studies'', vol. 64, The American Schools of Oriental Research, 2012, pp. 3–16, https://doi.org/10.5615/jcunestud.64.0003.</ref>

==Historical king==
[[File:Mesannepada_seal_drawing.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Seal impression of "Mesannepada, king of Kish", excavated in the Royal Cemetery at Ur (U. 13607), dated circa 2600 BC.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hall |first1=H. R. (Harry Reginald) |last2=Woolley |first2=Leonard |last3=Legrain |first3=Leon |title=Ur excavations |date=1900 |publisher=Trustees of the Two Museums by the aid of a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York |page=[https://archive.org/details/urexcavations186385join/page/312 312] |url=https://archive.org/details/urexcavations186385join}}</ref><ref name="Image">Image of a Mesanepada seal in: {{cite book |last1=Legrain |first1=Léon |title=Ur Excavations Volume III Archaic Seal-Impressions|date=1936 |publisher=The Trustees of the Two Museums by the Aid of a Grant from the Carnagie Corporation of New York  |page=44 seal 518 for description, Plate 30, seal 518 for image|url=http://www.etana.org/sites/default/files/coretexts/20144.pdf}}</ref> The seal shows Gilgamesh and the mythical bull between two lions, one of the lions biting him in the shoulder. On each side of this group appears [[Enkidu]] and a hunter-hero, with a long beard and a Kish-style headdress, armed with a dagger. Under the text, four runners with beard and long hair form a human Swastika. They are armed with daggers and catch each other's foot.<ref name="Image"/>]]
Most historians generally agree that Gilgamesh was a historical king of the Sumerian city-state of Uruk,{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=89}}{{sfn|Dalley|1989|page=40}}{{sfn|Kramer|1963|pages=45–46}}{{sfn|Powell|2012|page=338}} who probably ruled sometime during the early part of the Early Dynastic Period ({{circa}} 2900 – 2350 BC).{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=89}}{{sfn|Dalley|1989|page=40}} Stephanie Dalley, a scholar of the ancient Near East, states that "precise dates cannot be given for the lifetime of Gilgamesh, but they are generally agreed to lie between 2800 and 2500 BC".{{sfn|Dalley|1989|page=40}} An inscription, possibly belonging to a contemporary official under Gilgamesh, was discovered in the archaic texts at Ur;<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Marchesi|first=Gianni|date=2004|title=Who Was Buried in the Royal Tombs of Ur? The Epigraphic and Textual Data|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43076896|journal=Orientalia|volume=73|issue=2|pages=153–197|jstor=43076896|issn=0030-5367}}</ref> his name reads: "Gilgameš is the one whom Utu has selected". Aside from this the Tummal Inscription, a thirty-four-line historiographic text written during the reign of Ishbi-Erra ({{circa|1953|1920 BC}}), also mentions him.{{sfn|Kramer|1963|pages=45–46}} The inscription credits Gilgamesh with building the walls of Uruk.{{sfn|Mark|2018}} Lines eleven through fifteen of the inscription read:
<blockquote><poem>
For a second time, the Tummal fell into ruin,
Gilgamesh built the Numunburra of the House of [[Enlil]].
Ur-lugal, the son of Gilgamesh,
Made the Tummal pre-eminent,
Brought [[Ninlil]] to the Tummal.{{sfn|Kramer|1963|page=46}}
</poem></blockquote>
Gilgamesh is also connected to King Enmebaragesi of Kish, a known historical figure who may have lived near Gilgamesh's lifetime.{{sfn|Mark|2018}} Furthermore, he is listed as one of the kings of Uruk by the ''[[Sumerian King List]]''.{{sfn|Mark|2018}} Fragments of an epic text found in Mê-Turan (modern Tell Haddad) relate that at the end of his life Gilgamesh was buried under the river bed.{{sfn|Mark|2018}} The people of Uruk diverted the flow of the Euphrates passing Uruk for the purpose of burying the dead king within the river bed.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2982891.stm |title=Gilgamesh tomb believed found |date=29 April 2003 |work=BBC News |access-date=12 October 2017}}</ref>{{sfn|Mark|2018}}

==Deification and legendary exploits==
===Sumerian poems===
[[File:Gilgamesh in a Sculptured Vase, Shara Temple, Tell Agrab, Iraq.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Sculpted scene depicting Gilgamesh wrestling with animals. From the Shara temple at Tell Agrab, Diyala Region, Iraq. Early Dynastic period, 2600–2370 BC. On display at the National Museum of Iraq in Baghdad.]]
[[File:Mace dedicated to Gigamesh-AO 3761 with transcription of the name Gilgamesh.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Mace dedicated to Gilgamesh, with transcription of the name Gilgamesh ({{cuneiform|𒀭𒉈𒂵𒈩}}) in standard Sumero-Akkadian cuneiform, Ur III period, between 2112 and 2004 BC]]
It is certain that, during the later Early Dynastic Period, Gilgamesh was worshiped as a god at various locations across Sumer.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=89}} In 21st century BC, King Utu-hengal  of Uruk adopted Gilgamesh as his patron deity.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=89}} The kings of the Third Dynasty of Ur ({{circa|2112|2004 BC}}) were especially fond of Gilgamesh,{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=89}}{{sfn|Mark|2018}} calling him their "divine brother" and "friend."{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=89}} King Shulgi of Ur (2029–1982 BC) declared himself the son of [[Lugalbanda]] and [[Ninsun]] and the brother of Gilgamesh.{{sfn|Mark|2018}} Over the centuries, there may have been a gradual accretion of stories about Gilgamesh, some possibly derived from the real lives of other historical figures, such as Gudea, the Second Dynasty ruler of Lagash (2144–2124 BC).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sandars |first=N.K. |title=The Epic of Gilgamesh |date=1972 |publisher=Penguin |chapter=Introduction}}</ref> Prayers inscribed in clay tablets address Gilgamesh as a judge of the dead in the Underworld.{{sfn|Mark|2018}}

==== "Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld" ====
During this period, a large number of myths and legends developed surrounding Gilgamesh.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=89}}{{sfn|Kramer|1963|page=45}}{{sfn|George|2003b|page=141}}{{rp|95}} Five independent Sumerian poems narrating various exploits of Gilgamesh have survived to the present.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=89}} Gilgamesh's first appearance in literature is probably in the Sumerian poem "Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld".{{snf|Kramer|1961|page=30}}{{sfn|Mark|2018}}<ref>Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature [http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section1/tr1814.htm 1.8.1.4]</ref> The narrative begins with a ''huluppu'' tree—perhaps, according to the Sumerologist Samuel Noah Kramer, a willow,{{snf|Kramer|1961|page=33}} growing on the banks of the river Euphrates.{{snf|Kramer|1961|page=33}}{{sfn|Mark|2018}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=172}} The goddess Inanna moves the tree to her garden in [[Uruk]] with the intention to carve it into a throne once it is fully grown.{{snf|Kramer|1961|page=33}}{{sfn|Mark|2018}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=172}} The tree grows and matures, but the serpent "who knows no charm," the ''[[Anzû (mythology)|Anzû]]''-bird, and ''[[Lilitu]]'', a [[Mesopotamian demon]], all take up residence within the tree, causing Inanna to cry with sorrow.{{snf|Kramer|1961|page=33}}{{sfn|Mark|2018}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=172}}

Gilgamesh, who in this story is portrayed as Inanna's brother, comes along and slays the serpent, causing the ''Anzû''-bird and Lilitu to flee.{{snf|Kramer|1961|pages=33–34}}{{sfn|Mark|2018}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=172}} Gilgamesh's companions chop down the tree and carve its wood into a bed and a throne, which they give to Inanna.{{snf|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|page=140}}{{sfn|Mark|2018}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=172}} Inanna responds by fashioning a ''pikku'' and a ''mikku'' (probably a drum and drumsticks respectively, although the exact identifications are uncertain),{{snf|Kramer|1961|page=34}}{{sfn|Mark|2018}} which she gives to Gilgamesh as a reward for his heroism.{{snf|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|page=9}}{{sfn|Mark|2018}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=172}} Gilgamesh loses the ''pikku'' and ''mikku'' and asks who will retrieve them.{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|pages=172–173}} Enkidu descends to the Underworld to find them,{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=173}} but disobeys the strict laws of the Underworld and is therefore required to remain there forever.{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=173}} The remaining portion of the poem is a dialogue in which Gilgamesh asks the shade of Enkidu questions about the Underworld.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=89}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|pages=172–173}}

==== Subsequent poems ====
{{multiple image|perrow=2|total_width=340|caption_align=center
| align    = right
| direction =horizontal
| header=Story of Gilgamesh and Aga
| image1   = Obverse. Gilgamesh and Aga. Old Babylonian period, from southern Iraq. Sulaymaniyah Museum, Iraqi Kurdistan.jpg
| image2   = Reverse. Gilgamesh and Aga. Old Babylonian period, from southern Iraq. Sulaymaniyah Museum, Iraqi Kurdistan.jpg
| footer=Story of ''"[[Siege of Uruk|Gilgamesh and Agga]]"''. Old Babylonian period, from southern Iraq. Sulaymaniyah Museum, Iraq
}}
''"[[Siege of Uruk|Gilgamesh and Agga]]"'' describes Gilgamesh's successful revolt against his overlord Agga, the king of the city-state of Kish.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=89}}<ref>ETCSL [http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section1/tr1811.htm 1.8.1.1]</ref> "Gilgamesh and Huwawa" describes how Gilgamesh and his servant [[Enkidu]], aided by the help of fifty volunteers from Uruk, defeat the monster [[Huwawa]], an ogre appointed by the god [[Enlil]], the ruler of the gods, as the guardian of the Cedar Forest.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=89}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=167}}<ref>ETCSL [http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section1/tr1815.htm 1.8.1.5]</ref> In "Gilgamesh and the Bull of Heaven", Gilgamesh and Enkidu slay the [[Bull of Heaven]], who has been sent to attack them by the goddess [[Inanna]].{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=89}}{{sfn|Tigay|2002|page=24}}<ref>ETCSL [http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section1/tr1812.htm 1.8.1.2]</ref> The plot of this poem differs substantially from the corresponding scene in the later Akkadian ''Epic of Gilgamesh''.{{sfn|Tigay|2002|pages=24–25}} In the Sumerian poem, Inanna does not seem to ask Gilgamesh to become her consort as she does in the later Akkadian epic.{{sfn|Tigay|2002|page=24}} Furthermore, while she is coercing her father [[Anu|An]] to give her the Bull of Heaven, rather than threatening to [[Undead|raise the dead]] to eat the living as she does in the later epic, she merely threatens to let out a "cry" that will reach the earth.{{sfn|Tigay|2002|pages=24–25}} A poem known as the "Death of Gilgamesh" is poorly preserved,{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=89}}<ref>ETCSL [http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section1/tr1813.htm 1.8.1.3]</ref> but appears to describe a major state funeral followed by the arrival of the deceased in the Underworld.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=89}} It is possible that the modern scholars who gave the poem its title may have misinterpreted it,{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=89}} and the poem may actually be about the death of Enkidu.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=89}}

===''Epic of Gilgamesh''===
{{main|Epic of Gilgamesh}}
{{multiple image
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| direction = horizontal
| header   =
| total_width  =340
<!-- Image 1 -->
| image1    = Humbaba deamon-AO 9034-IMG 0655-black.jpg
| alt1      =
| caption1  = The ogre [[Humbaba]], shown in this terracotta plaque from the Old Babylonian Period,{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=109}} is one of the opponents fought by Gilgamesh and his companion [[Enkidu]] in the ''[[Epic of Gilgamesh]]''.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}}
<!-- Image 2 -->
| image2    = O.1054 color.jpg
| alt2      =
| caption2  = Ancient Mesopotamian terracotta relief ({{circa}} 2250 — 1900 BC) showing Gilgamesh slaying the [[Bull of Heaven]],{{sfn|Powell|2012|page=342}} an episode described in Tablet VI of the ''Epic of Gilgamesh''{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}}{{sfn|Powell|2012|pages=341–343}}
}}

Eventually, according to Kramer (1963):{{sfn|Kramer|1963|page=45}} <blockquote>Gilgamesh became the hero par excellence of the ancient world—an adventurous, brave, but tragic figure symbolizing man's vain but endless drive for fame, glory, and immortality.</blockquote>By the Old Babylonian Period ({{circa|1830|1531 BC}}), stories of Gilgamesh's legendary exploits had been woven into one or several long epics.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=89}} The ''[[Epic of Gilgamesh]]'', the most complete account of Gilgamesh's adventures, was composed in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akkadian_language Akkadian] during the Middle Babylonian Period ({{circa}} 1600 – {{circa}} 1155 BC) by a scribe named Sîn-lēqi-unninni.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=89}} The most complete surviving version of the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' is recorded on a set of twelve clay tablets dating to the seventh century BC, found in the Library of Ashurbanipal in the Assyrian capital of Nineveh.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=89}}{{sfn|Mark|2018}}{{sfn|Rybka|2011|pages=257–258}} The epic survives only in a fragmentary form, with many pieces of it missing or damaged.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=89}}{{sfn|Mark|2018}}{{sfn|Rybka|2011|pages=257–258}} Some scholars and translators choose to supplement the missing parts of the epic with material from the earlier Sumerian poems or from other versions of the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' found at other sites throughout the Near East.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=89}}

[[File:Tablet V of the Epic of Gligamesh.JPG|right|thumb|upright|Tablet V of the ''Epic of Gilgamesh''. The Sulaymaniyah Museum, Iraq]]

In the epic, Gilgamesh is introduced as "two thirds divine and one third mortal."{{sfn|Powell|2012|page=339}} At the beginning of the poem, Gilgamesh is described as a brutal, oppressive ruler.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=89}}{{sfn|Powell|2012|page=339}} This is usually interpreted to mean either that he compels all his subjects to engage in forced labor{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=89}} or that he sexually oppresses all his subjects.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=89}} As punishment for Gilgamesh's cruelty, the god [[Anu]] creates the wild man Enkidu.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|pages=89–90}} After being tamed by a prostitute named [[Shamhat]], Enkidu travels to Uruk to confront Gilgamesh.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}} In the second tablet, the two men wrestle and, although Gilgamesh wins the match in the end,{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}} he is so impressed by his opponent's strength and tenacity that they become close friends.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}} In the earlier Sumerian texts, Enkidu is Gilgamesh's servant,{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}} but, in the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'', they are companions of equal standing.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}}

In tablets III through IV, Gilgamesh and Enkidu travel to the Cedar Forest, which is guarded by Humbaba (the Akkadian name for Huwawa).{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}} The heroes cross the seven mountains to the Cedar Forest, where they begin chopping down trees.{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=168}} Confronted by Humbaba, Gilgamesh panics and prays to [[Utu|Shamash]] (the East Semitic name for Utu),{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=168}} who blows eight winds in Humbaba's eyes, blinding him.{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=168}} Humbaba begs for mercy, but the heroes decapitate him regardless.{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=168}} Tablet VI begins with Gilgamesh returning to Uruk,{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}} where [[Ishtar]] (the Akkadian name for Inanna) comes to him and demands him to become her consort.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=168}}{{sfn|Pryke|2017|pages=140–159}} Gilgamesh repudiates her, insisting that she has mistreated all her former lovers.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=168}}{{sfn|Pryke|2017|pages=140–159}}

In revenge, Ishtar goes to her father [[Anu]] and demands that he give her the Bull of Heaven,{{snf|Dalley|1989|pages=81–82}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|pages=168–169}}{{sfn|Tigay|2002|pages=24–25}} which she sends to attack Gilgamesh.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}}{{snf|Dalley|1989|pages=81–82}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|pages=168–169}}{{sfn|Tigay|2002|pages=24–25}} Gilgamesh and Enkidu kill the Bull and offer its heart to Shamash.{{snf|Dalley|1989|page=82}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|pages=168–169}} While Gilgamesh and Enkidu are resting, Ishtar stands up on the walls of Uruk and curses Gilgamesh.{{snf|Dalley|1989|page=82}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=169}} Enkidu tears off the Bull's right thigh and throws it in Ishtar's face,{{snf|Dalley|1989|page=82}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=169}} saying, "If I could lay my hands on you, it is this I should do to you, and lash your entrails to your side."{{sfn|George|2003b|page=88}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=169}} Ishtar calls together "the crimped courtesans, prostitutes and harlots"{{snf|Dalley|1989|page=82}} and orders them to mourn for the Bull of Heaven.{{snf|Dalley|1989|page=82}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=169}} Meanwhile, Gilgamesh holds a celebration over the Bull of Heaven's defeat.{{snf|Dalley|1989|page=82–83}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=169}}

Tablet VII begins with Enkidu recounting a dream in which he saw Anu, [[Enki|Ea]], and Shamash declare either Gilgamesh or Enkidu must die as punishment for having slain the Bull of Heaven.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}} They choose Enkidu and Enkidu soon grows sick.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}} He has a dream of the Underworld, and then he dies.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}} Tablet VIII describes Gilgamesh's inconsolable grief over his friend's death{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=171}} and the details of Enkidu's funeral.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}} Tablets IX through XI relate how Gilgamesh, driven by grief and fear of his own mortality, travels a great distance and overcomes many obstacles to find the home of [[Utnapishtim]], the sole survivor of the [[Gilgamesh flood myth|Great Flood]], who was rewarded with immortality by the gods.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=171}}

[[File:Mesopotamian - Cylinder Seal with Scorpion Man Shooting at Winged Creatures - Walters 42807.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|left|Early Middle Assyrian [[cylinder seal]] impression dating between 1400 and 1200 BC, showing a man with bird wings and a scorpion tail firing an arrow at a [[griffin]] on a hillock. A [[scorpion man]] is among the creatures Gilgamesh encounters on his journey to the homeland of [[Utnapishtim]].{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=171}}]]

The journey to Utnapishtim involves a series of episodic challenges, which probably originated as major independent adventures,{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=171}} but, in the epic, they are reduced to what Joseph Eddy Fontenrose calls "fairly harmless incidents."{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=171}} First, Gilgamesh encounters and slays lions in the mountain pass.{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=171}} Upon reaching the mountain of Mashu, Gilgamesh encounters a [[scorpion man]] and his wife;{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=171}} their bodies flash with terrifying radiance,{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=171}} but, once Gilgamesh tells them his purpose, they allow him to pass.{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=171}} Gilgamesh wanders through darkness for twelve days before he finally comes into the light.{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=171}} He finds a beautiful garden by the sea in which he meets [[Siduri]], the divine Alewife.{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=171}} At first, she tries to prevent Gilgamesh from entering the garden,{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=171}} but later she instead attempts to persuade him to accept death as inevitable and not journey beyond the waters.{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=171}} When Gilgamesh refuses to do this, she directs him to [[Urshanabi]], the ferryman of the gods, who ferries Gilgamesh across the sea to Utnapishtim's homeland.{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=171}} When Gilgamesh finally arrives at Utnapishtim's home, Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh that, to become immortal, he must defy sleep.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}} Gilgamesh fails to do this and falls asleep for seven days without waking.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}}

Next, Utnapishtim tells him that, even if he cannot obtain immortality, he can restore his youth using a plant with the power of rejuvenation.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=172}} Gilgamesh takes the plant, but leaves it on the shore while swimming and a snake steals it, explaining why snakes are able to shed their skins.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=172}} Despondent at this loss, Gilgamesh returns to Uruk,{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}} and shows his city to the ferryman Urshanabi.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}} It is at this point the epic stops being a coherent narrative.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=172}}{{sfn|Tigay|2002|pages=26–27}} Tablet XII is an appendix corresponding to the Sumerian poem of ''Gilgamesh, Enkidu and the Netherworld'' describing the loss of the ''pikku'' and ''mikku''.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=172}}{{sfn|Tigay|2002|pages=26–27}}

Numerous elements within this narrative reveal lack of continuity with the earlier portions of the epic.{{sfn|Tigay|2002|pages=26–27}} At the beginning of Tablet XII, Enkidu is still alive, despite having previously died in Tablet VII,{{sfn|Tigay|2002|pages=26–27}} and Gilgamesh is kind to Ishtar, despite the violent rivalry between them displayed in Tablet VI.{{sfn|Tigay|2002|pages=26–27}} Also, while most of the parts of the epic are free adaptations of their respective Sumerian predecessors,{{sfn|Tigay|2002|page=26}} Tablet XII is a literal, word-for-word translation of the last part of ''Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld''.{{sfn|Tigay|2002|page=26}} For these reasons, scholars conclude this narrative was probably relegated to the end of the epic because it did not fit the larger narrative.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=172}}{{sfn|Tigay|2002|pages=26–27}} In it, Gilgamesh sees a vision of Enkidu's ghost, who promises to recover the lost items{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|pages=172–173}} and describes to his friend the abysmal condition of the Underworld.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=90}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|pages=172–173}}

===In Mesopotamian art===
Although stories about Gilgamesh were wildly popular throughout ancient Mesopotamia,{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=91}} authentic representations of him in ancient art are uncommon.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=91}} Popular works often identify depictions of a hero with long hair, containing four or six curls, as representations of Gilgamesh,{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=91}} but this identification is known to be incorrect.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=91}} A few genuine ancient Mesopotamian representations of Gilgamesh do exist, however.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=91}} These representations are mostly found on clay plaques and cylinder seals.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=91}} Generally, it is only possible to identify a figure shown in art as Gilgamesh if the artistic work in question clearly depicts a scene from the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' itself.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=91}} One set of representations of Gilgamesh is found in scenes of two heroes fighting a demonic giant, certainly Humbaba.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=91}} Another set is found in scenes showing a similar pair of heroes confronting a giant, winged bull, certainly the Bull of Heaven.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=91}}

==Later influence==
===In antiquity===
[[File:Guido Reni - Polyphemus - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|The episode involving [[Odysseus]]'s confrontation with [[Polyphemus]] in the ''[[Odyssey]]'', shown in this seventeenth-century painting by Guido Reni, bears similarities to Gilgamesh and Enkidu's battle with Humbaba in the ''Epic of Gilgamesh''.{{sfn|Anderson|2000|pages=127–128}}]]
[[File:Indus valley civilization "Gilgamesh" seal (2500-1500 BC).jpg|thumb|Indus valley civilization seal, with the [[Master of Animals]] motif of a man fighting two lions or tigers (2500–1500 BC), similar to the Sumerian "Gilgamesh" motif, an indicator of Indus-Mesopotamia relations.<ref name="GLP">{{Cite book |last=Possehl |first=Gregory L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XVgeAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA146 |title=The Indus Civilization: A Contemporary Perspective |date=2002 |publisher=Rowman Altamira |isbn=978-0759116429 |page=146 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kosambi |first=Damodar Dharmanand |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fTvQiXVFB0gC&pg=PR64 |title=An Introduction to the Study of Indian History |date=1975 |publisher=Popular Prakashan |isbn=978-8171540389 |page=64 |language=en}}</ref>]]
The ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' exerted substantial influence on the ''[[Iliad]]'' and the ''[[Odyssey]]'', two epic poems written in [[ancient Greek]] during the eighth century BC.{{sfn|West|1997|pages=334–402}}{{sfn|Anderson|2000|pages=127–128}}{{sfn|Burkert|2005|pages=297–301}}{{sfn|Powell|2012|pages=338–339}} According to Barry B. Powell, an American classical scholar, early Greeks were probably exposed to Mesopotamian oral traditions through their extensive connections to the civilizations of the ancient Near East{{sfn|Powell|2012|page=338}} and this exposure resulted in the similarities that are seen between the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' and the Homeric epics.{{sfn|Powell|2012|page=338}} Walter Burkert, a German classicist, observes that the scene in Tablet VI of the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' in which Gilgamesh rejects Ishtar's advances and she complains before her mother [[Antu (goddess)|Antu]], but is mildly rebuked by her father [[Anu]], is directly paralleled in Book V of the ''Iliad''.{{sfn|Burkert|2005|pages=299–300}} In this scene, [[Aphrodite]], the later Greek adaptation of Ishtar, is wounded by the hero [[Diomedes]] and flees to [[Mount Olympus]], where she cries to her mother [[Dione (mythology)|Dione]] and is mildly rebuked by her father [[Zeus]].{{sfn|Burkert|2005|pages=299–300}}

Powell observes the opening lines of the ''Odyssey'' seem to echo the opening lines of the ''Epic of Gilgamesh''.{{sfn|Powell|2012|page=339}} The storyline of the ''Odyssey'' likewise bears many similarities to the ''Epic of Gilgamesh''.{{sfn|Anderson|2000|page=127}}{{sfn|Burkert|2005|pages=299–301}} Both Gilgamesh and Odysseus encounter a woman who can turn men into animals: Ishtar (for Gilgamesh) and [[Circe]] (for Odysseus).{{sfn|Anderson|2000|page=127}} In the ''Odyssey'', Odysseus blinds a giant [[Cyclopes|Cyclops]] named [[Polyphemus]],{{sfn|Anderson|2000|pages=127–128}} an incident which bears similarities to Gilgamesh's slaying of Humbaba in the ''Epic of Gilgamesh''.{{sfn|Anderson|2000|pages=127–128}} Both Gilgamesh and Odysseus visit the Underworld{{sfn|Anderson|2000|page=127}} and both find themselves unhappy whilst living in an otherworldly paradise in the presence of an attractive woman: Siduri (for Gilgamesh) and [[Calypso (mythology)|Calypso]] (for Odysseus).{{sfn|Anderson|2000|page=127}} Finally, both heroes have an opportunity for immortality but miss it (Gilgamesh when he loses the plant, and Odysseus when he leaves Calypso's island).{{sfn|Anderson|2000|page=127}}

In the [[Qumran]] scroll known as ''[[Book of Giants]]'' (c. 100 BC) the names of Gilgamesh and [[Humbaba]] appear as two of the [[antediluvian]] giants,{{sfn|George|2003b|page=60}}{{sfn|Burkert|2005|page=295}} rendered (in consonantal form) as ''glgmš'' and ''ḩwbbyš''. This same text was later used in the Middle East by the Manichaean sects, and the Arabic form ''Gilgamish''/''Jiljamish'' survives as the name of a demon according to the Egyptian cleric Al-Suyuti ({{circa}} 1500).{{sfn|George|2003b|page=60}}

The story of Gilgamesh's birth is not recorded in any extant Sumerian or Akkadian text,{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=91}} but a version of it is described in ''De Natura Animalium'' (''On the Nature of Animals'') 12.21, a commonplace book which was written in Greek sometime around 200 AD by the Hellenized Roman orator Aelian.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Burkert |first=Walter |title=The Orientalizing Revolution |date=1992 |at=p. 33, note 32}}</ref>{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=91}} According to Aelian's story, an [[oracle]] told King Seuechoros (Σευεχορος) of the Babylonians that his grandson Gilgamos would overthrow him.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=91}} To prevent this, Seuechoros kept his only daughter under close guard at the [[Acropolis]] of the city of Babylon,{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=91}} but she became pregnant nonetheless.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=91}} Fearing the king's wrath, the guards hurled the infant off the top of a tall tower.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=91}} An eagle rescued the boy in mid-flight and carried him to an orchard, where it carefully set him down.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=91}} The caretaker of the orchard found the boy and raised him, naming him ''Gilgamos'' (Γίλγαμος).{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=91}} Eventually, Gilgamos returned to Babylon and overthrew his grandfather, proclaiming himself king.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=91}} The birth narrative described by Aelian is in the same tradition as other Near Eastern birth legends,{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=91}} such as those of Sargon,  Moses, and Cyrus.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=91}} Theodore Bar Konai (c. AD 600), writing in Syriac, also mentions a king ''Gligmos'', ''Gmigmos'' or ''Gamigos'' as last of a line of twelve kings who were contemporaneous with the patriarchs from Peleg to Abraham; this occurrence is also considered a vestige of Gilgamesh's former memory.{{sfn|George|2003b|page=61}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tigay |title=The Evolution of the Gilgamesh Epic |page=252}}</ref>

===Modern rediscovery===
{{multiple image
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| footer    = In 1880, the English Assyriologist George Smith (left) published a translation of Tablet XI of the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' (right), containing the Flood myth,{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2012|pages=1–25}} which attracted immediate scholarly attention and controversy due to its similarity to the Genesis flood narrative.{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2012|pages=20–28}}
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| image1    = Mr. George Smith (cropped).jpg
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The Akkadian text of the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' was first discovered in 1849 AD by the English archaeologist Austen Henry Layard in the Library of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh.{{sfn|Mark|2018}}His excavations and those of others after him revealed the existence of much older Mesopotamian texts{{sfn|Mark|2018}} and showed that many of the stories in the Old Testament may actually be derived from earlier myths told throughout the ancient Near East.{{sfn|Mark|2018}} The first translation of the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' was produced in the early 1870s by George Smith (Assyriologist), a scholar at the British Museum,{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2012|pages=1–25}}{{sfn|Rybka|2011|page=257}}{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2011}} who published the Flood story from Tablet XI in 1880 under the title ''The Chaldean Account of Genesis''.{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2012|pages=1–25}} Gilgamesh's name was originally misread as ''Izdubar''.{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2012|pages=1–25}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=George |title=Transactions of the Society of Biblical Archaeology, Volumes 1–2 |publisher=Society of Biblical Archæology |volume=2 |location=London |pages=213–214 |chapter=The Chaldean Account of the Deluge |year=1872 |access-date=12 October 2017 |orig-year=3 December 1872 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CEgPAQAAIAAJ&pg=RA1-PA213}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Jeremias |first=Alfred |url=https://archive.org/details/izdubarnimrodein00jere |title=Izdubar-Nimrod, eine altbabylonische Heldensage |date=1891 |publisher=Leipzig, Teubner |language=de |access-date=12 October 2017}}</ref>

Early interest in the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' was almost exclusively on account of the flood story from Tablet XI.{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2012|pages=23–25}} The flood story attracted enormous public attention and drew widespread scholarly controversy, while the rest of the epic was largely ignored.{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2012|pages=23–25}}

===Modern interpretations and cultural significance===

''The Quest of Gilgamesh'', a 1953 radio play by Douglas Geoffrey Bridson, helped popularize the epic in Britain.{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2011}} In the United States, Charles Olson praised the epic in his poems and essays{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2011}} and Gregory Corso believed that it contained ancient virtues capable of curing what he viewed as modern moral degeneracy.{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2011}} The 1966 postfigurative novel ''Gilgamesch'' by Guido Bachmann became a classic of German "queer literature"{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2011}} and set a decades-long international literary trend of portraying Gilgamesh and Enkidu as homosexual lovers.{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2011}} This trend proved so popular that the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' itself is included in ''The Columbia Anthology of Gay Literature'' (1998) as a major early work of that genre.{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2011}} In the 1970s and 1980s, feminist literary critics analyzed the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' as showing evidence for a transition from the original matriarchy of all humanity to modern patriarchy].{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2011}} As the Green Movement expanded in Europe, Gilgamesh's story began to be seen through an environmentalist lens,{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2011}} with Enkidu's death symbolizing man's separation from nature.{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2011}}

[[File:Gilagmesh.jpg|thumb|right|A modern statue of Gilgamesh stands at the University of Sydney.{{sfn|Stone|2012}}]]

Starting in the late twentieth century, the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' began to be read again in Iraq.{{sfn|Damrosch|2006|page=254}} Saddam Hussein, the former President of Iraq, had a lifelong fascination with Gilgamesh.{{sfn|Damrosch|2006|pages=254–257}} Saddam Hussein's first novel ''Zabibah and the King'' (2000) is an allegory for the Gulf War set in ancient Assyria that blends elements of the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' and the ''One Thousand and One Nights''.{{sfn|Damrosch|2006|page=257}} Like Gilgamesh, the king at the beginning of the novel is a brutal tyrant who misuses his power and oppresses his people,{{sfn|Damrosch|2006|pages=259–260}} but, through the aid of a commoner woman named Zabibah, he grows into a more just ruler.{{sfn|Damrosch|2006|page=260}} When the United States pressured Hussein to step down in February 2003, Hussein gave a speech to a group of his generals posing the idea in a positive light by comparing himself to the epic hero.{{sfn|Damrosch|2006|page=254}}

In 2000, a modern statue of Gilgamesh by the Assyrian sculptor Lewis Batros was unveiled at the University of Sydney in Australia.{{sfn|Stone|2012}}

==See also==
* [[Atra-Hasis]]
* [[Ziusudra]]
* ''[[Enûma Eliš]]''
* [[Gilgamesh: A New English Version]]
* [[Ancient literature]]

==References==
===Informational notes===
{{notelist}}

===Citations===
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
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* {{Citation |last1=Wolkstein |first1=Diane |title=Inanna: Queen of Heaven and Earth: Her Stories and Hymns from Sumer |year=1983 |place=New York City, New York |publisher=Harper&Row Publishers |isbn=978-0-06-090854-6 |last2=Kramer |first2=Samuel Noah}}
* {{Citation |last=Ziolkowski |first=Theodore |title=Gilgamesh: An Epic Obsession |date=1 November 2011 |url=http://www.berfrois.com/2011/11/theodore-ziolkowski-gilgamesh/ |work=Berfrois }}
* {{Citation |last=Ziolkowski |first=Theodore |title=Gilgamesh among Us: Modern Encounters with the Ancient Epic |date=2012 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=snz_Wle6zvgC&pg=PA28 |place=Ithaca, NY and London|publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=978-0-8014-5035-8 }}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
* {{Cite web |url=http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=c.1.8.1* |title=Narratives featuring… Gilgameš |website=Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature |access-date=8 October 2017}}
* {{Cite book |last=Gmirkin |first=Russell E |title=Berossus and Genesis, Manetho and Exodus |date=2006 |publisher=T & T Clark International |location=New York}}
* {{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780393975161 |title=The Epic of Gilgamesh |publisher=W.W. Norton & Company |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-393-97516-1 |editor-last=Foster, Benjamin R. |location=New York |translator-last=Foster, Benjamin R.}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Hammond |first1=D. |title=The Making of Masculinities: The New Men's Studies |last2=Jablow |first2=A. |date=1987 |editor-last=Brod |editor-first=H. |location=Boston |pages=241–258 |chapter=Gilgamesh and the Sundance Kid: the Myth of Male Friendship}}
* {{Cite book |last=Jackson, Danny |title=The Epic of Gilgamesh |url=https://archive.org/details/epicofgilgamesh0000unse |publisher=Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-86516-352-2 |location=Wauconda, IL}}
* {{Citation |last=Kluger |first=Rivkah Sch. |title=The Archetypal significance of Gilgamesh: a modern ancient hero |date=1991 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Archetypal_Significance_of_Gilgamesh/oALOCGuQHK0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover |place=Switzerland |publisher=Daimon |isbn=978-3-85630-523-9}}
* {{Cite book |title=The Epic of Gilgamesh |date=1989 |location=Stanford, California |isbn=978-0-8047-1711-3 |publisher=Stanford University Press |last=Kovacs| first=Maureen Gallery (trans.) |orig-year=1985}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Maier |first=John R. |date=2018 |title=Gilgamesh and the Great Goddess of Uruk |url=https://digitalcommons.brockport.edu/sunybeb/4/ |journal=Suny Brockport Ebooks}}
* {{Cite book |last=Mitchell, Stephen |url=https://archive.org/details/gilgameshnewengl0000mitc |title=Gilgamesh: A New English Version |publisher=Free Press |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-7432-6164-7 |location=New York}}
* {{Cite book |title=Das Gilgamesch-Epos |publisher=Wege der Forschung |year=1977 |editor-last=Oberhuber, K. |location=Darmstadt}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Parpola, Simo |title=The Standard Babylonian, Epic of Gilgamesh |last2=Mikko Luuko |last3=Kalle Fabritius |publisher=The Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project |year=1997 |isbn=978-9514577604}}
* {{Cite book |last=Pettinato, Giovanni |title=La saga di Gilgamesh |publisher=Rusconi Libri |year=1992 |isbn=978-88-18-88028-1 |location=Milan}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* {{Wikiquote-inline}}
* {{wiktionary-inline}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-reg}}
{{Succession box
|before=[[Dumuzid the Fisherman]]
|title=[[EN (cuneiform)|En]] of Uruk
|years=ca. 2900-2700 BCE
|after=[[Ur-Nungal]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Epic of Gilgamesh}}
{{Sumerian mythology}}
{{Sumerian King List}}
{{Early Rulers of Mesopotamia}}

[[Category:Gilgamesh| ]]
[[Category:29th-century BC Sumerian kings]]
[[Category:28th-century BC Sumerian kings]]
[[Category:27th-century BC Sumerian kings]]
[[Category:Kings of Uruk]]
[[Category:Demigods]]
[[Category:Epic of Gilgamesh|-]]
[[Category:Heroes in mythology and legend]]
[[Category:Mesopotamian gods]]
[[Category:Nimrod]]
[[Category:Characters in the Epic of Gilgamesh]]
[[Category:Deified people]]
[[Category:Work in progress]]