The Epic of Gilgamesh, written in the Babylonian literary dialect of the Akkadian language, is the central, most important work of the Babylonian-Assyrian (Akkadian) literature.

Songs and legends about Gilgamesh have come down to us written in cuneiform on clay tiles - "tables" in four ancient languages ​​\u200b\u200bof the Middle East - Sumerian, Akkadian, Hittite and Hurrian; in addition, references to it have been preserved by the Greek writer Elian and the medieval Syrian writer Theodore bar-Konay. The earliest known mention of Gilgamesh is older than 2500 BC. e., the latest dates back to the 11th century. n. e. Sumerian epics-tales about Gilgamesh were formed, probably, at the end of the first half of the 3rd millennium BC. e., although the records that have come down to us date back to the 19th-18th centuries. BC e. The first surviving records of the Akkadian poem about Gilgamesh also belong to the same time, although in oral form it probably took shape as early as the 23rd-22nd centuries. BC e. Such an older date of the poem's appearance is indicated by its language, somewhat archaic for the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. e., and the mistakes of the scribes, indicating that, perhaps, even then they did not clearly understand it in everything. Some images on the seals of the XXIII-XXII centuries. BC e. clearly illustrate not the Sumerian epics, but the Akkadian epic about Gilgamesh.

Already the oldest, so-called Old Babylonian, version of the Akkadian epic represents a new stage in the artistic development of Mesopotamian literature. This version contains all the main features of the final edition of the epic, but it was much shorter than it; thus, it lacked the introduction and conclusion of the late version, as well as the story of the great flood. From the "Old Babylonian" version of the poem, six or seven unrelated passages have come down to us - badly damaged, written in illegible cursive and, in at least one case, in an unsteady student's hand. Apparently, a slightly different version is represented by Akkadian fragments found in Megiddo in Palestine and in the capital of the Hittite state - Hattus (now a settlement near the Turkish village of Bogazkoy), as well as fragments of translations into Hittite and Hurrian languages, also found in Bogazkoy; they all belong to the 15th-13th centuries. BC e. This so-called peripheral version was even shorter than the "Old Babylonian". The third, "Nineveh" version of the epic was, according to tradition, written "from the lips" of Sin-like-unninni, an Uruk spellcaster who apparently lived at the end of the 2nd millennium BC. e. This version is represented by four groups of sources: 1) fragments no younger than the 9th century. BC e., found in the city of Ashur in Assyria; 2) more than a hundred small fragments of the 7th century. BC e., relating to the lists that were once kept in the library of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal in Nineveh; 3) a student's copy of tables VII–VIII, written down from dictation with numerous errors in the 7th century. BC e. and originating from a school located in the Assyrian provincial city of Khuzirin (now Sultan-tepe); 4) fragments of VI (?) c. BC e., found in the south of Mesopotamia, in Uruk (now Varka).

The "Nineveh" version is textually very close to the "Old Babylonian", but more spacious, and its language has been somewhat updated. There are compositional differences. With the "peripheral" version, as far as one can judge so far, the "Nineveh" textual similarities were much less. There is an assumption that the text of Sin-like-unninni was at the end of the 8th century. BC e. revised by an Assyrian priest and collector of literary and religious works named Nabuzukup-kenu; in particular, the opinion was expressed that he had the idea to add at the end of the poem a literal translation of the second half of the Sumerian epic "Gilgamesh and the huluppu tree" as the twelfth table.

Due to the lack of a verified, scientifically substantiated consolidated text of the "Nineveh" version of the poem, the translator himself often had to decide on the relative position of individual clay fragments. It should be noted that the reconstruction of some parts of the poem is still an unresolved problem.

The published passages follow the "Nineveh" version of the poem (NV); however, from what has been said above, it is clear that the full text of this version, which in antiquity amounted to about three thousand verses, cannot yet be restored. And other versions have survived only in fragments. The translator filled in the gaps in NV according to other versions. If any passage has not been completely preserved in any version, but the gaps between the surviving pieces are small, then the alleged content was completed by the translator in verses. Some of the latest clarifications of the text are not taken into account in the translation.

The Akkadian language is characterized by a tonic versification common in Russian; this allowed the translation to try to convey as much as possible the rhythmic moves of the original and, in general, precisely those artistic means used by the ancient author, with a minimum deviation from the literal meaning of each verse.

The text of the preface is quoted from the edition:

Dyakonov M.M., Dyakonov I.M. "Selected translations", M., 1985.

Table I

About everything that has seen to the end of the world,
About the one who knew the sea, who crossed all the mountains,
About enemies conquered together with a friend,
About the one who comprehended wisdom, about the one who penetrated everything
He saw the secret, he knew the secret,
He brought us news of the days before the flood,
I went on a long journey, but I was tired and resigned,
The story of the labors carved on the stone,
Walled Uruk
Bright barn of sacred Eana.-
Examine the wall, whose crowns, as if by a thread,
Look at the shaft that knows no likeness,
Touch the thresholds that have been lying since ancient times,
And enter into Eana, the home of Ishtar
Even the future king will not build such a thing, -
Rise and walk the walls of Uruk,
Look at the foundation, feel the bricks:
Are his bricks not burned?
And the walls were laid not by seven wise men?

He is two-thirds god, one-third man.
The image of his body looks incomparable,

He raises the wall of Uruk.
A violent husband, whose head, like a tour, is raised,

All his comrades stand on the drum!
In the bedrooms the men of Uruk fear:
“Gilgamesh will not leave a son to his father!

Is it Gilgamesh, shepherd of fenced Uruk,
Is he the shepherd of the sons of Uruk,
Powerful, glorious, comprehending everything?


Often their complaint was heard by the gods,
The gods of heaven called upon the lord of Uruk:
“You created a violent son, whose head, like a tour, is raised,
Whose weapon in battle has no equal, -
All his comrades stand on the drum,
Gilgamesh will not leave sons to fathers!
Day and night rampages flesh:
Is he the shepherd of fenced Uruk,
Is he the shepherd of the sons of Uruk,
Powerful, glorious, comprehending everything?
Mother Gilgamesh will not leave the virgin,
Conceived by a hero, betrothed to her husband!
Anu often heard their complaint.
They called to the great Arura:
"Aruru, you created Gilgamesh,
Now create a likeness for him!
When his courage equals Gilgamesh,
Let them compete, let Uruk rest.”
Aruru, hearing these words,
The likeness of Anu created in her heart
Washed Arura's hands,
She pinched off the clay, threw it on the ground,
Blinded Enkidu, created a hero.
Spawn of midnight, warrior of Ninurta,
His whole body is covered with wool,
Like a woman, she wears her hair
Strands of hair like thick bread;
He knew neither people nor the world,
He is dressed in clothes, like Sumukan.



Man is a hunter
Meets him before the waterhole.
First day, and second, and third
Meets him before the waterhole.
The hunter saw - his face changed,
He returned home with his cattle,
Frightened, silent, he was dumb,
There is sorrow in his chest, his face is eclipsed,
Longing entered his womb
Going a long way, he became like a face.
The hunter opened his mouth and says, he tells his father:
“Father, a certain man who came from the mountains, -

Like a stone from heaven, his hands are strong, -




I will dig holes - he will fill them in,



His father opened his mouth and says, he tells the hunter:
“My son, Gilgamesh lives in Uruk,
There is no one stronger than him
Throughout the land his mighty hand,

Go, turn your face to him,
Tell him about the power of man.
If he gives you a harlot, bring her with you.
His woman will win, like a mighty husband!
When he waters the animals at the waterhole,

Seeing her, he will approach her -
The animals that grew up with him in the desert will leave him!”
He obeyed his father's advice
The hunter went to Gilgamesh,
Set off on a journey, turned his feet to Uruk,
In front of Gilgamesh, he spoke a word.
“There is a man who came from the mountains,
Throughout the land his mighty hand,
Like a stone from heaven, his hands are strong!
He wanders forever over all the mountains,
Constantly crowding with the beast to the watering place,
Constantly steps directs to a watering place.
I'm afraid of him, I dare not approach!
I will dig holes - he will fill them in,
I'll set traps, he'll tear them out
From my hands leads the beast and the creature of the steppe, -
He doesn’t let me work in the steppe!”
Gilgamesh tells him, the hunter:
“Go, my hunter, bring the harlot Shamkhat with you,
When he waters the animals at the waterhole,
Let her rip off her clothes, reveal her beauties, -
Seeing her, he will approach her -
The animals that grew up with him in the desert will leave him.
The hunter went, the harlot Shamkhat took away with him,
Hit the road, hit the road
On the third day they reached the agreed place.
The hunter and the harlot ambushed -
One day, two days they sit at the watering place.
Animals come, drink at the waterhole,
Creatures come, the heart pleases with water,
And he, Enkidu, whose home is the mountains,
Together with the gazelles he eats herbs,
Together with the animals, crowding to the watering hole,
Together with the creatures, the heart rejoices with water.
Shamhat saw a savage man,
Husband-fighter from the depths of the steppe:
“Here he is, Shamkhat! Open up your bosom
Uncover your shame, let your beauty befall!
When he sees you, he will come to you -
Don't be embarrassed, take his breath
Open your clothes, let it lie on you!
Give him pleasure, the business of women, -
The animals that grew up with him in the desert will leave him,
He will cling to you with a passionate desire.
Shamhat opened her breasts, exposed her shame,
Not embarrassed, took his breath,
She opened her clothes, and he lay down on top,
She gave him pleasure, the business of women,
And he clung to her with a passionate desire.
Six days have passed, seven days have passed -
Tirelessly Enkidu knew the harlot.
When he was satiated with affection,
He turned his face to his beast.
Seeing Enkidu, the gazelles ran away,
The steppe animals avoided his body.
Enkidu sprang up, his muscles weakened,
His legs stopped, and his animals left.
Enkidu resigned himself - he, as before, did not run!
But he became smarter, deeper understanding, -
He returned and sat at the feet of the prodigal

Abstract

The Epic of Gilgamesh, written by a Middle Eastern author 2500 BC, tells the story of the life of the ruler of the city of Uruk.

This is the greatest poetic work of ancient Eastern literature. It is of interest not only as the highest achievement of the artistic and philosophical thought of one of the first civilizations of the world, but also as the oldest known major poem (older than the Iliad by more than a thousand years).

Epic of Gilgamesh

About everything that has seen

Table I

Table II

Table III

Table IV

Table V

Table VI

Table VII

Table VIII

Table IX

Table X

Table XI

Epic of Gilgamesh

About everything that has seen

The Epic of Gilgamesh, written in the Babylonian literary dialect of the Akkadian language, is the central, most important work of the Babylonian-Assyrian (Akkadian) literature.

Songs and legends about Gilgamesh have come down to us written in cuneiform on clay tiles - "tables" in four ancient languages ​​\u200b\u200bof the Middle East - Sumerian, Akkadian, Hittite and Hurrian; in addition, references to it have been preserved by the Greek writer Elian and the medieval Syrian writer Theodore bar-Konay. The earliest known mention of Gilgamesh is older than 2500 BC. e., the latest dates back to the 11th century. n. e. Sumerian epics-tales about Gilgamesh were formed, probably, at the end of the first half of the 3rd millennium BC. e., although the records that have come down to us date back to the 19th-18th centuries. BC e. The first surviving records of the Akkadian poem about Gilgamesh also belong to the same time, although in oral form it probably took shape as early as the 23rd-22nd centuries. BC e. Such an older date of the poem's appearance is indicated by its language, somewhat archaic for the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. e., and the mistakes of the scribes, indicating that, perhaps, even then they did not clearly understand it in everything. Some images on the seals of the XXIII-XXII centuries. BC e. clearly illustrate not the Sumerian epics, but the Akkadian epic about Gilgamesh.

Already the oldest, so-called Old Babylonian, version of the Akkadian epic represents a new stage in the artistic development of Mesopotamian literature. This version contains all the main features of the final edition of the epic, but it was much shorter than it; thus, it lacked the introduction and conclusion of the late version, as well as the story of the great flood. From the "Old Babylonian" version of the poem, six or seven unrelated passages have come down to us - badly damaged, written in illegible cursive and, in at least one case, in an unsteady student's hand. Apparently, a slightly different version is represented by Akkadian fragments found in Megiddo in Palestine and in the capital of the Hittite state - Hattus (now a settlement near the Turkish village of Bogazkoy), as well as fragments of translations into Hittite and Hurrian languages, also found in Bogazkoy; they all belong to the 15th-13th centuries. BC e. This so-called peripheral version was even shorter than the "Old Babylonian". The third, "Nineveh" version of the epic was, according to tradition, written "from the lips" of Sin-like-unninni, an Uruk spellcaster who apparently lived at the end of the 2nd millennium BC. e. This version is represented by four groups of sources: 1) fragments no younger than the 9th century. BC e., found in the city of Ashur in Assyria; 2) more than a hundred small fragments of the 7th century. BC e., relating to the lists that were once kept in the library of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal in Nineveh; 3) a student's copy of tables VII–VIII, written down from dictation with numerous errors in the 7th century. BC e. and originating from a school located in the Assyrian provincial city of Khuzirin (now Sultan-tepe); 4) fragments of VI (?) c. BC e., found in the south of Mesopotamia, in Uruk (now Varka).

The "Nineveh" version is textually very close to the "Old Babylonian", but more spacious, and its language has been somewhat updated. There are compositional differences. With the "peripheral" version, as far as one can judge so far, the "Nineveh" textual similarities were much less. There is an assumption that the text of Sin-like-unninni was at the end of the 8th century. BC e. revised by an Assyrian priest and collector of literary and religious works named Nabuzukup-kenu; in particular, the opinion was expressed that he had the idea to add at the end of the poem a literal translation of the second half of the Sumerian epic "Gilgamesh and the huluppu tree" as the twelfth table.

Due to the lack of a verified, scientifically substantiated consolidated text of the "Nineveh" version of the poem, the translator himself often had to decide on the relative position of individual clay fragments. It should be noted that the reconstruction of some parts of the poem is still an unresolved problem.

The published passages follow the "Nineveh" version of the poem (NV); however, from what has been said above, it is clear that the full text of this version, which in antiquity amounted to about three thousand verses, cannot yet be restored. And other versions have survived only in fragments. The translator filled in the gaps in NV according to other versions. If any passage has not been completely preserved in any version, but the gaps between the surviving pieces are small, then the alleged content was completed by the translator in verses. Some of the latest clarifications of the text are not taken into account in the translation.

The Akkadian language is characterized by a tonic versification common in Russian; this allowed the translation to try to convey as much as possible the rhythmic moves of the original and, in general, precisely those artistic means used by the ancient author, with a minimum deviation from the literal meaning of each verse.

The text of the preface is quoted from the edition:

Dyakonov M.M., Dyakonov I.M. "Selected translations", M., 1985.

Table I

About everything that has seen to the end of the world,

About the one who knew the sea, who crossed all the mountains,

About enemies conquered together with a friend,

About the one who comprehended wisdom, about the one who penetrated everything

He saw the secret, he knew the secret,

He brought us news of the days before the flood,

I went on a long journey, but I was tired and resigned,

The story of the labors carved on the stone,

Walled Uruk

Eana's Bright Barn

sacred.-

Examine the wall, whose crowns, as if by a thread,

Look at the shaft that knows no likeness,

Touch the thresholds that have been lying since ancient times,

And enter into Eana, the home of Ishtar

Even the future king will not build such a thing, -

Rise and walk the walls of Uruk,

Look at the foundation, feel the bricks:

Are his bricks not burned?

And the walls were laid not by seven wise men?

He is two-thirds god, one-third man.

The image of his body looks incomparable,

He raises the wall of Uruk.

A violent husband, whose head, like a tour, is raised,

All his comrades stand on the drum!

In the bedrooms the men of Uruk fear:

“Gilgamesh will not leave a son to his father!

Is it Gilgamesh, shepherd of fenced Uruk,

Is he the shepherd of the sons of Uruk,

Powerful, glorious, comprehending everything?

Often their complaint was heard by the gods,

The gods of heaven called upon the lord of Uruk:

“You created a violent son, whose head, like a tour, is raised,

Whose weapon in battle has no equal, -

All his comrades stand on the drum,

Gilgamesh will not leave sons to fathers!

Day and night rampages flesh:

Is he the shepherd of fenced Uruk,

Is he the shepherd of the sons of Uruk,

Powerful, glorious, comprehending everything?

Mother Gilgamesh will not leave the virgin,

Conceived by a hero, betrothed to her husband!

Anu often heard their complaint.

They called to the great Arura:

"Aruru, you created Gilgamesh,

Now create a likeness for him!

When his courage equals Gilgamesh,

Let them compete, let Uruk rest.”

Aruru, hearing these words,

The likeness of Anu created in her heart

Washed Arura's hands,

She pinched off the clay, threw it on the ground,

Blinded Enkidu, created a hero.

Spawn of midnight, warrior of Ninurta,

His whole body is covered with wool,

Like a woman, she wears her hair

Strands of hair like thick bread;

He knew neither people nor the world,

He is dressed in clothes, like Sumukan.

Together with the gazelles he eats herbs,

Together with the animals, crowding to the watering hole,

Together with the creatures, the heart rejoices with water.

Man is a hunter

Meets him before the waterhole.

First day, and second, and third

Meets him before the waterhole.

The hunter saw - his face changed,

...

Where the bright Euphrates of water tends to the sea,

A hill rises from the sand. The city is buried under it.

His name is Uruk. The wall turned to dust.

The tree has become rotten. Rust has eaten away the metal.

Traveler, climb the hill, look into the blue distance.

A flock of sheep wanders to the place where there was a watering place.

The song is sung by a Bedouin, no, not about a formidable king

And not about his glory. He sings about human friendship.

The ancient world knew a lot about the gods of the peoples of the Middle East. The names of Bela (Baal), Adonis, Osiris, Isis were heard by the Greeks and Romans. Gilgamesh was also known to them, and, as one might think, already in ancient times, since there are fragments in Homer's poems that indirectly testify to acquaintance with the great epic of Mesopotamia. In the works of Latin authors, one can also find the name Gilgamesh in a distorted form - Gilgamos. The Roman writer Elian, who wrote in Greek, brought to us a version of the miraculous birth of a hero who was supposed to deprive his grandfather of the kingdom (Ael., Nat., XII, 21). Imprisoned in a tower, he was freed by an eagle and brought up as a gardener, just like the king of Akkad Sargon (Sharrukin).

A fragment of the epic about Gilgamesh was first found in a pile of cuneiform tablets that had not yet been dismantled in the British Museum in 1872. The discoverer, self-taught Assyriologist George Smith read part of the line from the XI table "a man released a dove" and experienced the greatest shock, realizing that he was at the origins of the biblical flood myth. With this find, in fact, the titanic work began to restore the text of the epic, its interpretation and translation into modern languages. They have not yet touched all the land from the "hills of the dead", in which cuneiform tablets or their fragments with texts about Gilgamesh can be hidden. But the epic has already entered our consciousness as a masterpiece of world literature.

The Epic of Gilgamesh has been in the making for thousands of years. Gilgamesh was originally a Sumerian hero, king of the glorious Sumerian city of Uruk. The oldest pictographic, pre-cuneiform form of his name is attested in this city, as well as in another Sumerian center - Shuruppak, where the hero of the same epic Utnapishti was born. However, the oldest evidence of Gilgamesh dates back only to 2150 BC. e. - these are images of a hero on clay cylinders surrounded by animals.

Somewhat later records from another Sumerian city, Ur, tell of the exploits of Gilgamesh and his father Lugalbanda. The same texts mention Enmerkar, possibly Gilgamesh's grandfather. Most of what the Sumerians wrote about the deeds of Gilgamesh is brief reports. The interest in Gilgamesh in Ur was most likely due to the fact that the king Shulgi (2105 - 2103), who ruled in the city, declared the goddess Ninsun, the parent of Gilgamesh, his mother and, accordingly, Gilgamesh his brother.

Some of the Sumerian myths about Gilgamesh were incorporated into the Akkadian epic. These are: 1. Gilgamesh and the tree Khalib; 2. Gilgamesh and the monster Huwawa; 3. Gilgamesh and the bull of heaven; 4. Death of Gilgamesh; 5. Flood; 6. Descent of Inanna (Ishtar) into the underworld. Sumerian versions existed separately. The Akkadians, having reworked at the beginning of the II millennium BC. e. Sumerian heritage, created the epic of Gilgamesh, which became known to many peoples of the Middle East. Outside of Mesopotamia, fragments of it are found in Palestine (Megiddo) and Syria (Ugarit). There are Hurrian and Hittite translations of the epic.

Tablets with the canonical version of the myth were found in the royal library of Nineveh in many copies. They were used by the kings Sennacherib, Ashurbanipal and their courtiers. The canonical version from Nineveh used and adapted some of the Sumerian versions, but it included (primarily in the first part of the epic) other material as well.

In terms of the richness of content, the timeless topicality of the issues raised, yiin about Gilgamesh has no analogues in the ancient literature that has come down to us. From the poems, the city-state emerges not only in visible detail - the city wall, the temple center, the royal palace, the countryside lying behind the walls, where shepherds live with their flocks, where there is a place for hunting, but also as a social organism with its own unique features and eternal unanswerable questions. It is primarily a matter of power. The protagonist, for whom the author does not have enough words to praise in the initial part of the poem, in fact turns out to be a despot, creating unbearable living conditions for the population. However, the author of the poem finds a solution to the problem of bad power, close in direction to that in which in the 18th century. was Jean Jacques Rousseau: a return to nature, to naturalness. The uncorrupted man of nature, the child of the steppes Enkidu, is introduced into the city. Equal to Gilgamesh in strength, he, thanks to his innocence and true humanity, achieves the transformation of a brawler and tyrant into an ideal ruler and folk hero.

For the people of the ancient world, as well as for the modern, although to a lesser extent, the question arose about the attitude to a higher power (gods, god). For an ordinary person, for example, a Roman, this was a problem of debt to the gods, which was solved by making sacrifices in the hope of reciprocal gifts from the gods. Gilgamesh, two-thirds god, one man, was an intellectual, a philosopher. No wonder the author, talking about his valor, recalls the seven wise men. The title role in Uruk and other cities of Mesopotamia was played by the goddess of love and fertility, Inanna. Gilgamesh uses the services of a priestess of this goddess to bring Enkidu to the city. But the advantages of friendship revealed to him thanks to his meeting with Enkidu, ?ane?uaa?o the dirt and depravity of everything that was then commonly called "love".

The fight with Ishtar, first verbal, and then with the use of weapons, ends for the great goddess in the greatest shame. She, the patroness of the phallic cult, is thrown in the face of the phallus of the bull she has chosen to punish Gilgamesh. The conflict with Ishtar makes the gods make a logical decision - to punish not Gilgamesh, but Enkidu, because he owes him not so much victories over monstrous external forces as victory over himself. Without Enkidu, Gilgamesh cannot exist in the corrupted civilized world. He goes into the wilderness, as the prophets of Israel did many centuries after him. And there, in the desert, he decides, contrary to the laws of the gods, to bring Enkidu back to life.

Death... Before it stands in fear and bewilderment each person individually and human society as a whole. In antiquity, a branched mythology of death was created, on the development of which the glory of Homer, Virgil, and Dante grew. But the author of the epic of Gilgamesh was the first in this series of geniuses, and his hero, descending into the country without return, is not guided by either a thirst for glory or political considerations. They are guided only by friendship. Of course, Homer also gave a great example of friendship - Achilles and Patroclus. But Achilles does not go to Hades, he sends a replacement there, defenseless Trojan captives.

Gilgamesh was a theomachist, the great predecessor of Prometheus. His feat, surpassing everything that a mortal could think of, does not lead to the desired result. But, even after being defeated, Gilgamesh remains unconquered and continues to make us feel proud of his humanity, loyalty and courage.

1. It is possible that the original form of the name is "Bilgamesh". In this case, the name can be understood as an old (bilga) person (mes).

2. Shuruppak, the city of Mesopotamia, with which the legend of the flood is connected, was located near the modern Iraqi town of Varga. In the neighborhood were found cuneiform tablets and their fragments, dating back to 2700 - 2600 years. BC e., and among them - the oldest texts of Sumerian literature (Bott (ro, 1987, 138 et seq.).

Table I

I want to tell the country about everything that I have experienced,

About the one who studied everything, about the one who made the secret clear,

The message conveyed from ancient antediluvian times,

About tired wanderings in distant countries,

About the one who told about them on the eternal memorial stone,

About for the first time encircling our city of Uruk with a wall,

About Eanna who gave the fence, the great shrine of Uruk.

Climb the wall of Uruk, touch its strong brick.

Was he burned? Visit Eanna's fence,

The one in which the goddess Ishtar has now settled,

Remember King Gilgamesh, his greatness and glory.

Among the rulers of the earth there was no equal to him in valor.

The seven wise men served as an example to him.

The lord of Uruk was born king Lugalbanda

His mother is Mrs. Ninsun, a steppe cow.

Is it not because he did not know himself equal in valor?

Passes of all mountain ranges were opened to him.

He could cross the ocean, open seas,

The sun to see birth in the far east.

Two-thirds god, one-man he.

He could compete with any god with his beauty.

He was like a steppe tour in battle.

And his pukku weapon was worthy of surprise.

And the combatants were his own family.

And the squad rose at this sign instantly.

For days and nights, he raged with the flesh with the good fellows.

Happiness of the father's old man without leaving,

Mother without leaving delight, the only daughter.

The husband for his wife and at night could not be calm.

Complaints about Gilgamesh, about his rampage and squad

The Almighty were not allowed to sleep, depriving Anu of rest.

And the people once turned to the goddess Arura:

Oh goddess, you created the human race.

Who will stop you from creating a likeness of Gilgamesh?

Whoever he may be, but let him not yield to him in anything.

The request reached heaven and touched the heart of the goddess.

She washed her hands in water, took out clay from the bottom

And, plucking from him, she created her husband Enkidu,

A savage warrior covered with long hair.

The hair on his head is like ripe ears of corn.

He grew up among the beasts, not knowing about man.

Fast gazelles were his native family,

He hissed the grass with them and crowded around the watering hole.

Once a hunter looking for prey saw Enkidu,

Dropping his bow in horror, he froze for a moment without moving.

Previously, he could not understand who the gazelle herd,

For which he was chasing, gave such protection.

Even returning home, the hunter was shaking with fear.

Only when he saw his father did he free himself from trembling.

I met my husband today, with a power like a god.

From the mountains he descended into the desert with a herd of gazelles.

I dropped the bow and realized who all the pits are filled with,

What I dug on the path and covered the outside with leaves.

I hate this husband. He deprives me of prey.

Hearing his son's complaint, the wise old man replied:

This husband is not for you. You are not equal to him in strength.

But he, a strong man, will be found in the world of justice.

The city is glorious Uruk. They are ruled by King Gilgamesh.

There is no stronger person on this earth between the rivers.

You turn to him, and he will be able to help you.

The words of the hunter were heard by the lord of the city of Uruk

And he promised him his help and protection.

You go to Eanna, visit Inanna's domain.

The people and animals of the steppe are submissive to her will.

Serves Inanna Shamhat best of all with a girlish body.

Its strength is beauty, before which everything yields.

Step into the steppe together, return together with victory.

Both of them moved from Uruk to the steppe expanses.

By the third day they reached the watering hole and ambushed them.

A day passes, and so does another, followed by a third.

Animals come to drink along their trodden paths.

There is no end to those animals that gladden the hearts with water.

Here he is! - the hunter's cry of the maiden broke her slumber.

Here he is - a savage man is approaching with the herd.

Open the bosom and put it out faster than beauty.

Ionou he will come and admire the spectacle.

Don't be afraid. Let your lips touch it.

Drink the breath from your mouth. Let him cover you with his body.

Give him pleasure - a common thing for women.

And he will forget about the animals with which he grew up in the desert.

So get started. And may your caresses be pleasant.

Shamhat bared her chest, opened her robes.

The savage, clinging to her, forgot everything in the world.

Oanou passed the nights, the seventh rolled to replace them.

Enkidu Shamhat is busy and does not get off her body.

Morning came, and he directed his gaze to the herd.

Horror in the eyes of gazelles who do not recognize their brother.

He wants to approach them, but in fear they fled.

Legs do not hold Enkidu, do not run him, as it used to be.

For, having lost his power, he gained the human mind.

Nae o the feet of a harlot, like a submissive lamb.

Listen, Enkidu, she says. You are like God in beauty.

What is the steppe and grass to you, dumb wild beasts?

If you want, I will take you to the incomparable Uruk

To the house of the lord of heaven Anu and to Gilgamesh?

No one in the world can compare with his power yet.

Friendship awaits you, which has not yet been known in the world.

Immediately Enkidu's face lit up, and he reached out for friendship.

Well, I'm ready," he said. - Lead to your Gilgamesh.

Neea doesn't scare him. And I will shout in the middle of Uruk:

Here I am, born in the steppe, raised in a herd by a gazelle.

My power is great. I control the fate of people.

We set out on the road at dawn. And in Uruk that very morning

The king woke up on his bed, frightened by the dream.

Ninsun, the cow of the steppe, - he turned to the goddess,

An incomprehensible and strange dream oppresses and confuses my soul.

In a host of unfamiliar husbands, among the stars I suddenly found myself

Someone attacked me from behind and I felt heavy

The body of a mighty warrior, as if from the army of Anu.

I tried to reset it, but my efforts were in vain.

My city of Uruk awakened along with the whole district.

I have never seen such a crowd before.

As for the faithful warriors, they are at the feet of the giant.

Soon he himself reached out to him with all his soul.

It's hard to believe, but he seemed more precious to me than my brother.

Your dream, oh my dear boy, - the goddess explained to the king,

Sent by the good gods, and let him not inspire fear.

The man you wrestled with is not from the army of Anu.

Not the heavens of a giant - the desert and mountains have grown,

So that you cling with your whole soul to him, as to your wife,

So that in happiness and in sorrow you are always inseparable.

Table II.

At the same time, Shamhat and Enkidu come out of the steppe,

To the smoke of the fire and to the barns, and to the shepherd's village

Seeing unusual guests, the shepherds quit their job

And surrounded by a crowd noisy Shamhat and Enkidu.

Speech was heard: - He looks like Gilgamesh himself.

No! He is a little lower, but the bone, perhaps, is stronger.

Is it not Enkidu, born of the steppe, that we accept?

How powerful he is. Like a warrior of the heavenly kingdom.

The bread was brought out to the guests and placed before Enkidu.

He was ignored, as if a stone had been thrown under his feet.

The fur was dragged with a strong drink - he did not touch it.

He was not trained in food, in which the life of a person,

And his head from hops was not yet spinning.

Eat, Enkidu, - Shamhat admonished the giant.

Drink strong drink, drink unfamiliar to the beast.

Bread tasted Enkidu, so that others did not get it.

He drained the fur with a single gulp, and the soul cleared up.

He felt his body and anointed himself with oil.

He covered his wool with a solid linen.

The shepherds lay down to sleep, he went hunting

Drive lions across the steppe and wolves that exterminate sheep.

In the morning, Shamhat and Enkidu departed for incomparable Uruk.

He stepped into the walls, almost destroying the gates.

The people left the houses and filled the streets of the city,

To see a miracle, a walking giant.

Arms and legs like logs they bring

From the distant mountains of Lebanon. And where is the harlot

Where is Shamhat, whose beauty Eanna was proud of?

Like a lamb, she trudges after Enkidu.

Like a foal in the field behind a queen mare.

So the cry is heard, familiar to all Uruk.

The call at which the husbands usually closed all the doors,

So that their wives did not come across the eyes of Gilgamesh.

The doors are wide open and the fears of the past are forgotten.

The city at the temple of Ishkhara froze in anticipation of the battle.

Someone wholeheartedly wishes the alien to win.

Maybe the time will come, which people did not look forward to,

Maybe the new ruler will be calmer than the previous one,

Leave the women alone and do something.

Meanwhile, the heroes grappled, trying to overpower each other.

Legs from tension in the ground went to the knee.

And the earth groaned from pain, which from birth did not know.

The veins on the necks were swollen and breathing became heavy.

Drops of salty sweat pour from their faces in a stream.

That we, like sheep, rested our foreheads on each other?

The ruler of Uruk spoke and first weakened his muscles.

And here they are facing each other, drying in the sun.

Not only the people of Uruk, Shamash that goes around the earth,

I have never seen such a fight since the creation of the world.

You taught me by force, - the king turned to Enkidu.

Before, I confess, in my vanity I did not think of equals.

We are equal in strength, Enkidu, in equality - friendship is the basis.

On this day, both of them appeared before the face of Ninsun

Mother, here is the friend that you, explaining the dream,

She told me recently: Enkidu, born of the desert,

Equal in everything to me and my own brother is dearer.

Here he is, not knowing the kind, born of the mountains and the steppe.

But no one can compare with my friend in the whole world.

Tears rolled down his cheeks, burning the ground at his feet.

Why are you crying? Gilgamesh asked Enkidu.

What did you find offensive in my speech?

I am not offended, said Enkidu to Gilgamesh.

Time passes. I am dissatisfied with idleness.

My strength is running out. I don't see any use for them.

You are right, said Gilgamesh. - After all, I'm thinking about the case.

Listen: I know the country, it does not look like a steppe.

The mountains of Lebanon, covered with cedar forests, rise.

This forest is guarded by the monstrous warrior Humbaba.

Invisible mountains. No one will go deep.

Collected evil in his body. Let's destroy Humbaba

And we will drive out evil from the world, and we will also cut down the cedars.

These places are familiar to me, - Enkidu immediately answered.

There, in the neighborhood, I wandered along with a herd of gazelles.

Infinite forest there. No one will penetrate deep

He is like a hurricane. The mouth of Humbaba is a flame.

He breathes death out of his mouth. Who wants to fight him?

That is what I desire,” Gilgamesh replied to Enkidu.

Neither the forest frightens me, nor the moat that surrounds it.

We will penetrate the forest with you. The weapon is combat

I have the ax, and we will order the other craftsmen.

And break, Enkidu, with you any hostile force.

You artisans of Uruk, fan the furnace with bellows.

Let the flame rise, let Humbaba see it.

Let the green stones melt - those that are brought

On ships from across the sea, let copper pour into molds

And it will turn into axes that will hit our hand.

The craftsmen bowed to the king, fire shot up over Uruk.

From a distance, the city looked like a huge burning furnace.

Having learned what the lord intended, the people left the dwelling.

The elders walked sedately, leading the procession.

In the days when ice floes crumble somewhere in its sources.

Listen, people of Uruk. Humbaba I want to see.

Whose name of the country burns and shakes all the mountains.

And among the mighty cedars I want to overcome him

And the name aicauneou Uruk - let the world hear this name.

And the cedars will bow down to me like captives, I will deliver them to you

And I will forever glorify my name among the nations.

You are still young, Vladyka, - all the elders answered at once.

Follow the call of the heart, regardless of the mind.

Mighty and terrible Humbaba, you will die in a heavy battle.

After all, for him your weapon is like cedar needles.

Glancing at Enkidu, the lord replied to the elders:

Elders, take a look at your brother and leave your worries behind.

With him, Humbaba is not terrible for me. Together we will win.

Should I be afraid of Humbaba, having such a friend.

One will not overcome the steep, but two will climb.

A double-twisted rope will not break soon.

I have found a strong friend. Ready to go with him to anyone.

Table III.

The elders blessed the brothers, saying in parting:

You, Gilgamesh, lord, do not rely on your strength.

Rely on Enkidu in everything. He knows the steppe paths,

He is accustomed to long trips and he knows the way to cedars.

You, Enkidu, take care of your friend. Get tired - turn your back to him

Cover him in battle with your chest and dig a well in the desert.

To be able to get drunk. We entrust the king to you.

If you return to Uruk, you will be with a great reward.

My friend, let's return to Egelmach,

There we will stand before Ninsun.

The path of life is known to her, the goddess will help with advice.

The brothers entered the house of the greatest goddess with timidity.

Seeing her son, Ninsun raised her eyebrows in surprise:

I see you with weapons, - she turned to Gilgamesh.

What enemy is threatening Uruk and are you seeking my help?

The enemy is not dangerous to Uruk, - Gilgamesh answered the goddess.

We threaten Humbaba, protector of the Lebanese cedars.

He absorbed all earthly evil, and we will destroy him.

Leaving the brothers alone, the goddess retired to herself

Refresh your wonderful body with a cleansing root,

Decorate the chest with a necklace and gird with a ribbon.

Having done all this, she ascends to the roof.

There, having finished the incense, she raised her voice:

Shamash, god of justice, enveloping heaven and earth,

Gilgamesh was given to me by you, explain, if you wish,

Why did you put a restless heart in my grief,

Why did he send him on the road, threatening him with death?

They say that there is a lot of evil in the world, but let others fight with it.

So take care of my son at least.

When you go into darkness, entrust it to the guards of the night.

Having prayed, she descended from the roof and extinguished the censers,

And then she called Enkidu and addressed him with a speech:

You are a mighty, great warrior, although not born by me,

I dedicate you to my son, serve my Gilgamesh.

Together with priestess maidens who faithfully serve me.

And as a sign of dedication put on his mighty neck

Talisman, from disasters and the evil eye, and also handed him

The most baked loaf...

Table IV.

Shamash's brothers set off again along the tornado road,

We keep a friendly look. At the end of the day, rest

After one night, Gilgamesh turned to Enkidu:

With a trio of mighty tours alone in the steppe I grabbed.

Dust rose in pillars from powerful hooves and from the roar.

I was smitten. But someone, I don’t know - a beast, a man

He hurried to help me, gave me a drink from a jug.

What does this vision mean and what does it portend to me?

Hear me, Gilgamesh! said Enkidu.

Your dream is beautiful and don't let it scare you.

The one who came to the rescue is not a man and he is not a beast,

Shamash, our god is merciful or perhaps

Your parent is Lugalbanda. Trust me:

The deeds that we will accomplish will not be forgotten by people.

Again they walked and again stood to rest,

They ate a slice of bread and were disturbed by dreams,

For the visions of the night are given by the gods to man.

You called me. Did you touch me? Why did the dream end?

I will tell another dream. We ended up in a gorge.

Suddenly a roar was heard. The mountain collapsed on me.

Pressing my legs. And suddenly someone appears.

The view is beautiful. He threw stones from mine

He calmed my heart and gave me a drink from the jug.

Who is this unknown friend? I want to know, Enkidu.

My friend, said Enkidu, this dream of yours is excellent.

He promises you good, although you were frightened by him.

After all, it was not the mountain that collapsed, it was Humbaba that collapsed.

The mighty guardian of cedars is no longer dangerous to us.

We will throw the body of Humbaba to the birds and pass it to be eaten.

And again they walked and again stood to rest.

They ate a slice of bread. Enkidu dug a well.

Gilgamesh came to the edge of it and threw a pinch

Taken from the house of torment, and turned to the mountain:

Listen, mountain, and the night vision came to me.

The wind blew cold. Enkidu covered Gilgamesh,

Nearby he remained to guard his friend, who fell asleep at once.

Waking up again in the middle of the night, the king said to Enkidu:

I had a third dream, the most terrible.

The sky screamed as if in pain, the earth rumbled.

Lightning flashed in the sky, the downpour was worse than death.

The mountain that hung yesterday has become flying ash.

Recognizing the meaning of the dream, Enkidu said to Gilgamesh:

This is what the dream means: Humbaba is much more dangerous

What did you and I think. He is in fiery robes,

More precisely - in seven robes, dressed one on top of the other.

He is under powerful protection, and I feel that it is more reasonable

Will return to Uruk without entering into battle with him.

My body went numb and my legs became weak.

Brother, - Gilgamesh objects. - Surely with nothing we will return,

Having traveled a great path? Shall we yield to Humbaba?

Remember the victories of the past, and your spirit, Enkidu, will grow stronger,

The numbness will drive away, again the muscles will be filled with strength.

Table V

The ditch is crossed, and they enter in surprise

In the ranks of the forest giants. Nature breathed peace

But the insidious Humbaba crept up to them imperceptibly.

His powerful body in robes was magical.

Shamash noticed the danger, and a storm struck from the sky.

Eight he released the winds, and the thunders rumbled.

Lightning crossed like giants' swords.

And blinded by the winds, and deafened by the thunders,

We surrender to you, the winner! You can take me as a slave!

Cut down the cedars as much as you like, the offspring of my forests.

I myself will deliver them to their place, I will erect a palace for you.

Remember Humbaba's cunning! came the voice of Enkidu.

He is not worthy of mercy. But we will deal with it later.

Much more dangerous than Humbaba are the rays in magical attire.

If they are redeemed, their mighty creator will be eclipsed.

No! Gilgamesh responded. - If a bird is caught,

The chicks have nowhere to go. Let's deal with Humbaba first.

As for the beams of radiance, let's leave them for last.

Thus, convincing Enkidu, Gilgamesh raises the axe,

With force directing it directly to the back of Humbaba's head.

Enkidu plunges his sword into the chest of the keeper of the cedars.

Time to take care of the chicks - said the lord. - And immediately

He began to trample the luminous robe with his feet.

Meanwhile Enkidu plucked another from the motionless body

And he threw it into a pit with water - and the water boiled in the pit,

Steam emitting hot. Enkidu cast a net

For five other lights. And they all turned out

In the same boiling pit, filling it to the brim.

Now let's get to the cedars! - said Gilgamesh and with an ax

He hit the trunk. And the forest trembled from the impact.

What are you doing, my friend, said Enkidu.

You are destroying a living body. I smell blood.

It is similar to human, only a different color.

Table VI.

In the morning, awakening from sleep, Gilgamesh cleans the weapon.

Having thrown off the dirty, he puts on everything clean.

Dressed in a mantle, he tries on a tiara.

Ishtar fixed her eyes on the beauty of Gilgamesh.

She addressed him with a speech: - Become my husband, Vladyka!

As a gift from me you will receive a heavenly chariot,

The wheels shine with gold, the amber frame burns.

Immediately, fast mules will take you to heaven.

You will see my palace and pass through the doors

In the fragrance of cedars. knees in front of you

My servants will bow and bestow wealth.

I don't want to listen to you. - Gilgamesh answers the goddess.

I'd rather give you the gifts you want.

I will decorate your heavenly house, I will fill the barns with grain,

Just don't touch you. Your disgusting bosom.

You are like a brazier that does not bring heat in the cold,

You are like a leaky door that lets all the winds into the house,

You are like a well without a lid, open to a sandy whirlwind,

You are a sandal that squeezes your foot, you are a fur that allows water to pass through.

Remember who you loved and swore in love without blushing.

Where is the wonderful young man Dumuzi, and why is he suffering?

She loved the shepherd bird, and she, like the others, ruined him.

Hear - he cries: "Wings, give me back the wings!"

You fell in love with the mighty lion - seven traps are his reward.

You let the stallion on the bed, then to send it to the stable,

To put a bridle in his mouth and deprive him of the desired freedom.

And you also gave your love to the goatherd shepherd.

He baked cakes on the fire, brought suckers daily

Well, you turned him into a wolf, and he is being chased by the shepherds.

Ishallana was loved by you, he touched your bosom.

Where is this man in love now? You turned him into a spider!

Hearing this impudent speech, the goddess wasp soared into the sky

And appeared before the eyes of her parent Anu.

Tears flowed in a stream, and eyes sparkled like stars.

Oh, my father, she yelled. - Gilgamesh hurt me:

He enumerated my sins, defamed me in front of everyone.

You yourself, - the parent answered her, - offended the king of Uruk.

That is why Gilgamesh listed your sins.

No, he will be punished by me, - the goddess did not let up.

If you do not support me, I will open the underworld

And from there I will release the dead, so that they may devour the living.

Frightened by this threat, Anu turned to the goddess:

I agree. What punishment did you decide to give him?

Give me the bull, said the goddess, let it destroy him.

There will be a bull, - answers Anu. - Only he needs food,

For he is an earthly bull, not heavenly, he loves grass and chaff,

But its main strength is in the grain. So clear the human barns,

So that my bull would not be hungry and could fight with Gilgamesh.

Everything that you ask will be done, - the goddess answered her father.

People remember this night. The bull fell from the sky to the ground,

Landed on the banks of the Euphrates. In seven gulps he drained the river,

And he wandered, lowing, to Uruk, - after all, Ishtar drove him.

Until now, you can see the pits from the breath of a terrible beast.

The twin brothers heard the noise and left the city walls.

The bull, seeing the walking heroes, splashed caustic saliva into their faces.

And hit with a huge tail. Enkidu was bent over by the blow.

And he grabbed the bull's horn, lifting his mighty muzzle.

Gilgamesh struck him in the throat, and the bull fell down lifeless.

Gilgamesh carved the monster's heart as a gift to Shamash.

From the wall of Uruk, the goddess vomited in impotent anger

Fellow blasphemy and curses. And then Gilgamesh contrived

He cut a root from a bull and threw it in the face of the goddess.

The goddess called all the harlots to mourn this loss.

This bovine huge root that looked like a tree trunk.

Gilgamesh summoned craftsmen to turn the horns into silver.

They included six measures of oil to serve as a libation for them.

In honor of his father Lugalbanda.

Table VII.

That day brought them joy. Remembered before dark

How the bull was smitten and how Ishtar was mocked.

They fell into sleep. And Enkidu cried out in the middle of the night,

Waking Gilgamesh, he told a friend about the vision.

I dreamed of a heavenly palace and a meeting of the great gods.

And he says to An Ellil: - But they killed the bull

And Humbaba, guardian of the forest. And they stole the cedars.

Gilgamesh is responsible for this. The king of Uruk must die.

No, Enkidu will answer for everything! Ellil exclaimed indignantly.

Shamash intervened in their conversation: - What kind of guilt is he responsible for?

Is it not by your command, Anu, that the bull of heaven and Humbaba were killed?

It would be better for you to keep silent, my son, - Anu answered in anger.

After all, you yourself were their guide and accomplice of their crimes.

Enkidu lay down on the couch, pale. His lips fluttered.

Gilgamesh burst into tears: - Why, my dear friend,

Why was I acquitted? After all, we both killed Humbaba

And the bull of heaven was smitten. And Shamash was our adviser.

But I will save you from death. I beg the gods for forgiveness.

I will bring all the riches to the altar. I will gild all idols.

These sacrifices will not help you. You don't need to spend gold.

Anu does not change the decision, the word will not return to his mouth.

Such is the fate of man. All living things are subject to death.

I am ready to obey the gods, Enkidu replies in tears.

May everything that you predicted come true, sending this prophetic dream.

But while my mind is with me, accept my wishes.

I, like a beast, was born in the desert and would not know human suffering,

If a hunter had passed by, he would not have brought a harlot into the wilderness.

Until now, I would have grazed with gazelles and crowded at the watering hole.

Let there be punishment for both. I send them curses.

Let the hunter's hands weaken and he will not pull the bowstring!

Let the arrow not reach the target, let the animals go around the trap!

But the main troubles will fall on the villainous harlot.

Let her forget about the hearth, let her be driven out of the harem!

Let the beer not go to her, let it come out with vomiting!

Let her live alone and let her freeze in the cold!

Let a beggar visit her, let a tramp beat her! .

I lift your curse. Who, Enkidu, fed you bread?

Who introduced you to the strong drink that brings oblivion to troubles?

Who gave Gilgamesh as a comrade, who is now sitting next to you.

He will calm your heart, as it should be for a brother and friend,

He will put him on an honorary bed, he will call foreign kings

And having fulfilled his mournful rite, he will retire to the lions in the wilderness.

Table VIII.

As soon as the morning blushed, Gilgamesh bowed over Enkidu,

Putting a hand on his chest, he sang a funeral hymn to him:

The son of the desert and my best friend, the antelope gave birth to you,

With milk you fed the gazelles in the distant pastures of the mountains.

You are remembered by the animals that crowd around the watering hole,

In the cedar groves, Enkidu, the paths mourn for you,

Cry mountains wooded ledges, on which we climbed with you.

And Evlei sheds tears, and the Euphrates weeps,

Returning to its former course, he remembers the bull of heaven.

Tears are poured by the elders of the city, those who accompanied us on a campaign,

Women cry in Uruk, who fed you with bread

The one who gave you wine is crying. The harlot tears her hair,

Who brought you to the city and made you a man.

How can I not cry about you when we are like brothers.

You, Enkidu, are my powerful axe, you are my flawless dagger,

My shield, which saved me, the cloak that I wear on a holiday.

Why can't you hear me? He touched his chest, but his heart does not beat.

I will cover you with a veil, as they cover the face of a bride ...

As soon as the morning blushed, Gilgamesh called all the craftsmen,

All those who work with their hands - blacksmiths, stone cutters and others.

He instructed them to make an idol, which was not in the world.

To stand, as if alive, Enkidu at the foot of the eternal stone.

So that the body is made of gold, the face is made of light alabaster,

So that curls decorate the forehead and shine with lapis lazuli ...

As soon as the morning blushed, Gilgamesh made a figurine

He made a wooden pole, put a figurine on it.

He filled a vessel of azure with honey, a bowl of carnelian with oil

And he turned to the heavenly gods with a prayer for the soul of Enkidu.

The gods smelled the victim, Gilgamesh heard the word,

And from the dwellings of heaven they descended to earth.

Ellil opens his mouth, he speaks to Gilgamesh:

Everything that breath has must obey the law.

The plowman loosens the earth, sows, sows the crops.

The hunter kills animals, he is full even in the skin of an animal.

But death befalls anyone, darkness is replaced by light,

Light is replaced by darkness. The lot of people is the same.

What are you looking for in a world that lives according to eternal laws?

Table IX.

Heart tormented by crying, leaving his kingdom,

Gilgamesh fled into the desert. And at the sandy hills,

Resembling women's breasts, he sank to the ground.

He fell into sleep instantly. But he brought no consolation.

And without waiting for dawn, he went to the mountains.

He heard the roar of a lion, saw that the animals were frolicking,

Like puppies playing. - Why do you not know grief,

Gilgamesh turned to the lion. - Enkidu is gone

The one with whom they once crowded at the watering hole,

He took away arrows from you, covered traps with earth,

Where is Enkidu, please? From the animals without waiting for an answer,

Gilgamesh raises his ax and charges towards the pack with lightning.

He fell like an arrow between the lions, crushing the unconscious.

Immediately beyond the pass stretched extreme mountains.

Their roots go into the abyss, touch the top of the sky.

Here the beginning of sunrise and the end of sunset,

Mountains named Masha. Door closed cave

And its guards guard in the form of scorpions,

But with a human head.

Horror overcoming, Gilgamesh approaches the scorpion.

People don't have access here. - said the scorpion. - Only Shamash

Can enter a cave. We open the gate for him.

I'm looking for a dead friend, - Gilgamesh replied with a groan.

Enkidu was my younger brother, and together we slew Humbaba.

They also defeated the bull together. I want to see Utnapishti.

He alone achieved immortality. Let me enter this cave.

The doors opened silently, yielding to a powerful feeling.

Gilgamesh entered the cave and walked without counting the steps.

What for Shamash was one short night,

For Gilgamesh it was a dozen years without a dawn.

And yet the dawn broke, and yet the breath of the wind

Gilgamesh's cheek was touched. Walking towards the wind

He came out of the dark cave. A grove opened up.

Fruits hung from the trees, similar to those of the earth,

But the beauty is incomparable. He reached out to them with his hand.

And scratched his fingers, leaving drops of blood

On dead likenesses of apples, figs and grapes.

And it became clear to the hero - the trees turned to stone,

Trunks became black stone and lapis lazuli leaves,

The fruits are topaz and jasper, ruby ​​and carnelian.

And this garden was created for the dead, so that on the way to hell

Remind of the old life to which there will be no return.

Table X.

Leaving the deceitful grove, and going out to the radiance of the Sun,

The hero saw the ocean, the bottomless abyss.

Over the abyss he saw a cliff, like a black bird,

Drinking water with a beak. And the head of this bird

The house seemed low, without windows, with a flat roof.

Gilgamesh approaches him and sees that the door is closed.

But someone's breathing was not hidden from hearing behind the door.

Get out, robber, - a woman's voice was heard.

There is no way for vagrants here, here I am, the hostess of the shelter,

I accept the gods themselves, and treat them with strong drink.

And all the gods know me, for them I am the mistress of Siduri.

Kindly open the door for me. Otherwise I will break them.

I am not at all a robber and not an obscure vagabond.

I am two thirds of God and one third of man.

My name is Gilgamesh, I'm from the city of Uruk,

Which is glorified by me. With my friend Enkidu

I destroyed Humbaba, that the cedar forest guarded,

We also killed the bull that was sent to us from heaven.

I scattered the mighty lions that have no memory

And they do not know how to yearn for those who stood up for them.

Immediately the door opened to admit Gilgamesh.

Looking into the stranger's face, said the mistress of Siduri.

Tell me, who killed Humbaba - I don't feel sorry for him at all,

Tell me why you're sad. Why is the head down?

How not to droop the head, and how not to fade the face,

Gilgamesh answered the mistress, - if my friend Enkidu,

With whom we shared the labors, the grave became ashes.

That is why, like a robber, I wander the world.

The thought of my beloved brother haunts me.

Show me the way to it. How to get to Utnapishti.

I will ford the sea, just to get to it.

The mistress of the hero broadcasts: - From the century there is no crossing.

The leaden waters of death flies around Shamash like a bird,

And the old man Urshanabi sails on a boat,

that transports the dead. He knows the way to Utnapishti,

To the only mortal who escaped the law.

The hero said goodbye to Siduri, directed his steps to the forest.

He came out of the forest to the river, on the shore he saw

The shuttle and next to it is an old man with a spear or a long stick.

Why are you wandering, lagging behind the dead, - said Urshanabi to the hero.

Come in, I'll take you straight to the eternal pier.

No, I did not lag behind the dead, - answered the hero Urshanabi.

My heart beats in my chest, although there is no sparkle in my eyes,

The cheeks withered from grief, the head drooped from tears.

Here is a miracle! I hear blows,” said Urshanabi.

Indeed, the heart beats. Why did you come here

To this land of no return, to the eternal waters of death.

I came driven by sadness, - Gilgamesh Urshanabi answered.

I want to find a friend and make him immortal.

Now let me in to the boat and take me to Utnapishti.

Let's go, - said Urshanabi. - I will fulfill your request.

Others, whom I drove, did not ask me for anything.

Here's a pole for you to balance. Don't touch the water with them.

Gilgamesh unfastened his belt, undressed his clothes

He tied the pole tightly and raised the pole like a mast.

The boat Urshanabi drove, so that the moisture of lead

The most similar death, Gilgamesh did not touch with a pole.

Utnapishti walks around the island, surrounded by an eternal abyss.

Walking the unchanging path, he bypasses his possessions.

The eternal abyss is motionless. No fish will jump out of it.

There is no sound of wings above her, no sharp bird cry.

Behind the mountains, which are not visible, are Shuruppak and the waters of the Euphrates.

There is no news from there, only the boat Urshanabi comes,

For there is no delay in death. - What happened to my eyes?

Hey wife! This is the boat of Urshanabi, but a sail rises above it.

Never before has a sail been hoisted here.

Don't worry, your eyes are vigilant, Utnapishti's wife replies,

As in those years when, in the midst of the fog that covered the earth and sky,

You saw the mountain of salvation and moored to its top.

And my eyes see the sail. And the dead man holds this sail.

Look how pale his cheeks are. The sailor drowned, probably

What can not live without a sail. And he swims faster than others

To a land where there is no need to rush, for there is no return for the dead.

You are talking nonsense! - objected to his wife Utnapishti,

For many hundreds of years I have been watching how the souls of the dead are transported,

retaining their appearance. Who hasn't been here! And the king, and the plowman,

And a flutist, and a blacksmith, and a carpenter. And they bring them without a crown,

No hoe, no bugle, no flute.

Judge who asks the dead what he would like to take with him.

Gilgamesh comes ashore, leaving the boat of Urshanabi.

He walks, leaving footprints in the sand, and it's immediately clear

Whatever the dead from the boat of Urshanabi, but an alien with a living soul.

And Utnapishti comes up to him, turning to him with a question:

Why did your cheeks sag, why did your head droop?

Maybe your cheeks are singed from long wanderings?

Maybe from the wind and cold there is no more sparkle in your eyes?

I lost my younger brother. He went to the country without return,

The hero Utnapishti answers. - I can't come to terms with it.

Everything in my life became distasteful. Here I am looking for him around the world.

Utnapishti shook his head and responded with a sad speech.

Why don't you want to put up with the share assigned to the people.

For people at the meeting of the immortals, fate left no place.

Realize that goddesses and gods are full grains of wheat,

Well, everything else is chaff. Death gives no mercy to people.

The human house is short-lived, like a seal that we put on clay.

Even our hatred is momentary...

Table XI.

How did you get away from the law? - Gilgamesh asks him.

Why are you better than me and others? Not stronger, not taller.

Why are you honored with immortality. How did he manage to please the Almighty?

It turned out like this. I lived in Shuruppak, which stands on the Euphrates River.

You know this city. I am your countryman and distant ancestor.

The city is ancient, dear to the gods. They came to the meeting

Anu, Ellil, their messenger Ninurta, and Ea were with them.

Their hearts bowed to the flood. They took an oath of non-disclosure.

Didn't break that oath of Ea, to whose heart I was kind.

Having descended from heaven to earth, he turned to his house:

Listen to the wall, dare if you can:

The day will come, it will rain from the sky.

But before that, wall,

The owner will disassemble into logs,

To build a raft of logs,

To put that on a raft,

The house is big, with four corners,

The one who will be in this house,

Avoid sudden death.

This hint was clear to me. But one thing remained unclear

How will my behavior of Shuruppak be perceived by the people and neighbors.

Explain, - advised Ea, - that you decided to sail to the Ocean,

Ea rules over. I started work for a week.

He disassembled his father's house into logs and destroyed the fence at home.

Logs with boards were useful to me, the raft turned out well.

The house was placed with right angles on a huge box similar to

Divided into nine compartments. It was six decks high.

To prevent water from seeping into it, I filled the cracks with resin.

The kids brought it to me. I took a pine tree under the stern paddle.

Started gathering supplies. Introduced sheep and rams for food,

The cattle of the steppe and the beasts of the forest are housed in my dwelling.

I brought in my family with the masters who helped me in my work,

And assigned a place to each. Shamash took care of us,

Announcing the beginning of a downpour, so that we could pitch the door.

The pale morning lit up a little, as a black cloud arose,

Returning the night, and immediately the rumble obeyed Addu,

And, unable to bear his gaze, the whole earth shook like a bowl.

The south wind rushed into the mountains, crushing trees and rocks.

The gods of the flood were afraid, Anu rushed under protection.

And stretched out at his feet, like dogs, howled in horror.

And Ishtar screamed heart-rendingly, like a woman in labor:

Show me the scoundrel that the flood brought down on the earth.

Not then did I give birth to people so that they would turn into fish.

All six days from the beginning of the flood, our ship carried and rocked,

Seven nights in darkness, I felt the blows of stormy waves,

But they got weaker. The young wind subsided little by little.

The downpour no longer beat on the roof. And I decided to open the window.

Shamash illuminated the space for me, and traces gushed out of my eyes

The ocean spread around, Mankind became clay.

How many days have passed, I do not remember, but I went to the window again.

And I saw a mountain protruding from the water on the horizon.

I recognized her by shape. Nicer was the grief of this name.

I managed to direct the ship to it, and the mountain held it back.

Gradually the water subsided, and I began to count the days.

With the onset of the seventh day, I set the dove free.

But he returned back, for the soil had not yet dried out.

After that, I let go of the swift, but he also returned back.

The raven was the last to be released by me. A bird noticed the drop in water

And she hasn't returned. I heard her sharp cry.

Opening the door, he descended to the ground. He made an incense on the mountain.

Twice seven I set up incense burners, I broke cedar branches.

And they flocked like flies to this victim in a greedy crowd.

The Mother Goddess came last. Lapis lazuli necklace

Decorated the marvelous neck, the gift of the lord of heaven Anu.

And touching him with his hand and admiring his radiance

She says: - This stone, presented to me, is intended to mark

Deliverance of the earth from the flood. Satisfy, gods, with gifts,

You are worthy of them, only drive Ellil away from human gifts.

It was he who personally appointed the extermination of people.

Also Ea, my patron, addressed Ellil with reproach.

You made a flood in vain, you made it without thinking.

In vain have you placed an equal punishment on the guilty and the right.

Since there was a surplus of people, I would set lions on them predatory,

Either I would give it to the wolves for food, or Erra would call for help.

Now show Utnapishtim and his wife a place to live.

The culprit of the flood approached. I hid from fear on the ship.

But he brought me to the ground, with the words he addressed me:

You were a man, Utnapishti, and from now on you are like gods.

And from now on, your home is the mouth of the rivers. And there is no death for you.

So I ended up here in the middle of the abyss on a par with my wife.

So, for torment and obedience, he was awarded an endless life.

Suddenly Gilgamesh fell asleep, and he did not hear the speech of the end.

An unusual dream breathed on him, like a sandstorm.

Utnapishti's wife says: Wake the man to life.

Let him return to his homeland by that familiar path.

Utnapishti shook his head. - Do not rush. Let him sleep.

In the meantime, bake him bread and put loaves on the bed.

On the wall, do not forget to mark the daytime notches with a knife.

Seven days passed, from which notches remained on the wall.

And when Gilgamesh woke up, Utnapishti heard from him:

Death took possession of my flesh, for there were no dreams.

A trace of fatigue - your sleep is long, - Utnapishti reassured him.

Look what happened to the bread baked for you by your wife,

It is now unfit for food. but you are alive. Go to the stream

Wash away the remnants of the deadly dream, change your attire.

However, the shuttle appeared. Urshanabi will help you.

And when Gilgamesh departed, the wife of Utnapishtim said:

My bread is stale. What can a man give me on the road now?

Who has a restless heart, Utnapishti answers his wife,

He does not know worldly care, this man is not full of bread,

And with their insane boldness. And instead of stale bread

To a restless husband I will reveal my secret word.

Gilgamesh washed himself with spring water and changed his clothes.

His body became beautiful, but the sadness about his face did not leave.

Gilgamesh sank into the canoe, standing next to Urshanabi,

You walked, tired and worked. What will you return home with?

I will open my secret word to you at parting.

There's a flower at the bottom of the ocean, petals on a tall stem

Flaming tongues. If you, Gilgamesh restless,

You will get this flower, evil old age does not threaten you,

Death will bypass you. Here it is, the hidden word.

Gilgamesh heard this word and rushed to the well with an arrow.

He tied stones to his feet and sank to the bottom of the abyss.

The glance was attracted by the blaze of a flower on a prickly stem.

Petals of fire flamed like tongues in the darkness of the abyss.

Touching the flower with his hand, Gilgamesh pricked himself on the thorns.

And, having received his living blood, the flower flared up like a torch.

And rising with him to the surface, Gilgamesh said to Urshanabi:

Here is a flower taken from the abyss and giving hope to life,

Taking strength from death. I will return to Uruk incomparable

And I will check the flower on people. I will test it on myself.

Gilgamesh said goodbye to Urshanabi. The desert opened before him.

It has an oasis and a deep pond. I wanted to cool my body

Gilgamesh sank into the pool. When he got up,

The snake flashed before him. The snake took away the flower

On the go, changing your skin. Gilgamesh burst into tears.

For what my life I worked, I did not bring good to anyone ...

Alexander Nemirovsky

From the book "Myths of antiquity - the Middle East"

Notes

1. The creator of the epic, just like Homer and his successors, begins with a brief presentation of the merits of his hero, who not only committed

feats, but he himself immortalized them, using for this not clay, but an eternal stone. The author could have known the inscriptions of the king of Lagash Gudea praising his activities, the inscription of the king of Babylon Hammurabi.

2. Uruk (the modern city of Varka, in southern Iraq) is one of the most famous cities in Sumer. According to the legendary tradition, this is the second of the cities that achieved hegemony over the Sumerians. Meskiagasher, the son of the sun god Utu, is considered the founder of the royal dynasty. The founding of Uruk is attributed to his son Enmerkar, who was succeeded by the epic hero Lugalbanda, father of Gilgamesh. Archaeological excavations of Uruk, which began in 1849, are still ongoing, because in terms of area (5 sq. Km) Uruk is one of the largest cities of ancient Mesopotamia.

3. Eanna, the temple of Anu, the sky god, in Sumerian "house of Anu". According to archaeological data, this is a complex of buildings, over which a tower towered - a ziggurat. One of the numerous temples of the walled sacred area was the temple of the goddess of love and fertility, Inanna (Ininn), corresponding to the Akkadian-Babylonian Ishtar. The ziggurat, called Zgiyarimin, was the building of Ur-Nammu, the founder of the royal dynasty of Ur.

4. From the walls of Uruk, considered the creation of Gilgamesh, only traces remained in the soil. Archaeologists date them to the beginning of the III millennium BC. e.

5. Seven wise men - the heroes of the etiological myth, common in Mesopotamia, Canaan and India. In the time of Homer, the plot was inherited by the ancient world and filled with new content.

6. Thus, according to formal features, Gilgamesh is a hero in the Greek understanding of this term. True, in the Hellenic myths the ratio of the divine and human principles in the hero was never determined.

7. Pukku - some kind of weapon that cannot be identified with widespread types of weapons. Perhaps this is a net known to the ancient Sumerians and later used in Roman gladiator fights.

8. Squad - a permanent contingent of soldiers, supplemented if necessary by the militia. The king and the combatants had a close relationship. They were entering the palace. In peacetime, as can be seen from the epic, the population suffered from the "exploits" of the tsar and his "fellows".

9. These and other not entirely clear details of Gilgamesh's behavior, omitted in the presentation, characterize him as a "scourge of the people", a "tyrant" in the modern sense of the word. The subsequent victory over him by the man of nature Enkidu humanized Gilgamesh.

10. The king sends a hunter to Eanna, where priestesses lived in the temple of Inanna-Ishtar, who supported the cult of love and fertility with sexual actions. The word "harlot" introduces a negative connotation, alien to the ideas of the ancient worshipers of Inanna-Ishtar.

11. The epithet of the poleonym Uruk is translated by some researchers as “areal”, others as “enclosed”. We conditionally take the term "perfect".

12. Ishkhara - a deity of unknown origin, revered in Western Asia, among the Semites and Hurrians (in Ur, Ugarit, Babylon), possibly belonging to the pre-Sumerian linguistic substrate, originally the goddess of fertility, later the "mistress of justice" and warrior. In the epic of Gilgamesh, she replaces Ishtar, hostile to the hero, and the hero of the epic is in a sacred marriage with her.

13. In Sumerian-Akkadian mythology, the monster Humbaba (Sumerian Huwava), guarding the cedar forest of Lebanon on behalf of the god Ellil, was seen as a many-legged and many-armed creature, the same as in Greek mythology, the lord of the West Geryon.

14. Egalmakh - a great palace.

15. Rays of radiance - a fabulous weapon that Humbaba is endowed with.

16. Ishtar betrayed her beloved Dumuzi, giving him to her sister, the goddess of the underworld.

17. In the stories of Ishtar's lovers, she is not only the goddess of fertility, but also the goddess of hunting, war, and the patroness of culture. Hence the lion she caught, the tamed horse, the animal of war, the connection with the gardener, who later turned into a spider.

18. Enkidu's curse on the harlot characterizes the situation of "free love" in Mesopotamia. Along with priestesses and priests of love, who were in a privileged position, there were street prostitutes who huddled near the walls and waited for clients in crowded places (see: Bott(ro, 1998, 352 et seq.).

19. This verbal formula is used by an Akkadian poet to separate episodes in time.

20. The Evlei River (modern Karun) flowed east of Sumer. In the surviving parts of the epic, there is no information about the heroes visiting these places.

21. Gilgamesh's farewell to Enkidu is reminiscent of Homer's lamentation of Achilles over Patroclus (Il., XVIII, 316 et seq.). Achilles also puts his hands on the body of a friend and remembers the feats they performed together. But how much more humane is Gilgamesh than Achilles. He does not bring human sacrifices to the gods, dedicating only a figurine made of clay to them. Recognizing himself as the culprit of the death of Enkidu, he retires to the desert that gave birth to Enkidu and, not reconciling with death, tries to bring the soul of his friend out of the underworld.

22. Gilgamesh was considered the enemy of lions and was often depicted on clay figurines fighting lions. This visual image was perceived by the Greeks and embodied in the image of Hercules, who was considered the winner of a monstrous lion and was depicted in a lion's skin.

23. The mountains through which Gilgamesh passed, according to the Sumerians and Akkadians, were at the end of the world, supporting the heavenly dome. Through a hole in these mountains, the sun god descended after the end of the day into the kingdom of night, so that the next morning he would pass through the same mountains on the other side of the earth.

24. Impressions from visiting underground caves could be reflected in ideas about the garden of the underworld.

25. Urshanabi - a boatman, a carrier of the souls of the dead to the underworld, the predecessor of the Etruscan Haru and the Greek Charon.

26. The almost ubiquitous distribution of the flood myth has a common archaic source - one or more catastrophes. Variants are the result of migration from Mesopotamia. Floods are part of a kind of cosmic rhythm.

27. Erra - the god of epidemics in Sumero-Akkadian mythology.

28. Because of the break in the text, the role of the flower stolen by the snake is not clear. It is possible that it was similar in purpose to the golden branch in the myth of Aeneas in the underworld as presented by Virgil. Most likely, Gilgamesh, who arrived in the underworld by the way of the sun (alone or together with Enkidu), could return only with the "flower of the sun" as a symbol of the upper world.

5. THE TALE ABOUT GILGAMESH

The clay tablets on which the earliest records of the folk tales of Gilgamesh were made date back to the middle of the 3rd millennium BC. e.

There is reason to believe that Gilgamesh was a real historical figure. His name is preserved in the list of the most ancient kings of Sumer. The real Gilgamesh ruled in the city of Uruk at the end of the 27th - beginning of the 26th centuries BC. e. Legends call Gilgamesh the son of the Uruk king Lugalbanda and the goddess Ninsun. This statement is not as fantastical as it might seem, since in ancient Sumer there was a custom for the king to enter into a "sacred marriage" with a priestess, who was considered the living embodiment of the goddess she served.

The name "Gilgamesh" supposedly means "ancestor-hero". There are several versions of the Epic of Gilgamesh. The most complete and interesting is the so-called "Nineveh version", written in Assyrian cuneiform in Akkadian for the Nineveh library of King Ashurbanipal. This entry was made in the 7th century BC. er ... but, according to the scribe, it is an exact copy from an older original. According to tradition, the Uruk spellcaster Sinlikeunninni, who lived at the end of the 2nd millennium BC, is considered the author of this original. e.

The Nineveh version of the poem about Gilgamesh is called "About the All-Seen." This is one of the most remarkable works of ancient Eastern literature. Disparate legends and tales are brought here to a coherent plot unity, the characters of the heroes are given in psychological development, and the whole narrative is imbued with philosophical reflections on life, death and the meaning of human existence.

At the beginning of the poem, Gilgamesh is a young and frivolous ruler. Not knowing where to put his strength, he brutally oppresses his subjects, and he indulges in revelry.

Driven to despair, the inhabitants of Uruk turned to the gods with a prayer to create a worthy adversary for Gilgamesh.

The goddess Aruru molded from clay a powerful half-man-half-beast named Enkidu. Enkidu was endowed with bestial speed and agility, he had long hair, and his body was covered with wool.

For the time being, Enkidu did not know anything about the world of people, he lived in the forest, eating grass, and wild animals considered him theirs.

Once Gilgamesh had a dream that a heavy stone fell from the sky, to which all the inhabitants of Uruk bowed, and Gilgamesh himself fell in love with him, like a living being, and brought him to his mother.

Gilgamesh's mother, the wise goddess Ninsun, interpreted the dream in this way: Gilgamesh will find a powerful friend whom he will love like a brother.

Soon a hunter came to Gilgamesh with a complaint that a wild man had appeared in the forest, who frightened the hunters and took away their prey, filled up the hunting pits and freed the animals from the snares.

Gilgamesh advised the hunter to lure the wild man out of the forest with the help of a woman.

The hunter hired a beautiful harlot named Shamkhat in the city and went with her to the forest.

The harlot seduced Enkidu and took him to Uruk. There he tasted human food - bread and wine - and thus joined the world of people, having lost his bestial essence.

Enkidu resigned himself - he, as before, did not run!

But he became smarter, deeper understanding.

(Translated by I. Dyakonov)

After some time, Enkidu met Gilgamesh. There was a fight between them, but neither could overcome the other. They recognized that their forces are equal - and fraternized. Gilgamesh took Enkidu to his mother Ninsun, who blessed both of them as her sons.

Despite this favorable turn of his fortunes, Enkidu "disappointed, sat down and wept." And when Gilgamesh asked him about the reason for such sadness, he answered:

“Screams, my friend, tear my throat:

I’m sitting idle, my strength is gone.”

Then Gilgamesh suggested that together they go to the Lebanese mountains, covered with cedar forests, and destroy the monster Humbaba living there.

Enkidu was afraid. In his former forest life, he approached Humbaba's dwelling and knew that "the hurricane is his voice, his mouth is a flame, death is his breath." In addition, the god Enlil endowed Humbaba with the ability, at will, to deprive anyone of courage.

Enkidu began to dissuade his friend from a hopeless enterprise. He was joined by the wise men of Uruk. They said to Gilgamesh, “Why would you want to do this? Unequal fight in Humbaba's dwelling! And the mother of Gilgamesh, the wise Ninsun, exclaimed, addressing the god of the sun:

“Why did you give me Gilgamesh as a son

And put a restless heart in his chest?”

But Gilgamesh had already made up his mind. He said to Enkidu:

“I will go before you, and you shout to me:

"Go, don't be afraid!" If I fall, I will leave a name;

Gilgamesh took the fight to the ferocious Humbaba!"

Enkidu then swore that he would fight alongside Gilgamesh, and the brothers set off. In three days they traveled for six weeks and reached the forest where Humbaba lived.

The monster appeared before them surrounded by "seven radiances", and these magical radiances instilled irresistible fear in the heroes. But then the sun god Shamash himself came to the aid of Gilgamesh and Enkidu. Courage returned to the heroes, they defeated Humbaba, slew the seven lights, cut down the magic cedars, which contained the remnants of evil power, and uprooted the stumps.

After hard work, Gilgamesh bathed in the stream, "he parted from the dirty, he put on the clean," and the goddess Ishtar noticed his beauty. She descended from heaven and offered herself to Gilgamesh as his wife. But he refused due to the bad reputation of the goddess.

"What glory are you being given?

Let me list who you fornicated with!”

Some historians see in the conflict between Gilgamesh and Ishtar a reflection of the real conflict between royal and priestly power.

The offended goddess asked her father, the god Anu, to create a gigantic bull that would destroy the impudent Gilgamesh. The bull appeared. But Gilgamesh, with the help of Enkidu, defeated this monster, and the heroes returned in glory to Uruk.

At night, Enkidu saw in a dream the Council of the Gods. The gods were angry because Gilgamesh and Enkidu killed Humbaba, who was under the auspices of Enlil, and the bull created by Anu, and argued whether both heroes should be punished or only one of them. In the end, the gods decided.

"Let Enkidu die, But Gilgamesh must not die."

Enkidu told his dream to Gilgamesh, and both of them were sad. Gilgamesh tried to propitiate the gods with sacrifices, promised to decorate their idols with gold, but the gods replied: “Do not spend, O king, on gold idols, God will not change the words that are said ...” By the will of the gods, Enkidu fell ill and died. Gilgamesh mourned his friend bitterly:

"I cry for Enkidu, my friend,

Like a weeper, I sob bitterly.

My beloved friend became the earth!

Enkidu, my beloved friend, has become the earth!”

Gilgamesh called the best craftsmen from all over the country and ordered them to make a statue of Enkidu: the body is made of gold, the face is made of alabaster, the hair is made of lapis lazuli.

After burying Enkidu with honors, Gilgamesh donned rags and fled into the desert. He was tormented not only by grief for his dead friend, but also by the thought of his own mortality, which he only now realized: “Won't I die like Enkidu? Longing has penetrated into my womb, I am afraid of Death and run into the desert ... ” Gilgamesh decided to find the wise Utnapishti, the only immortal among people, and learn from him the secret of immortality.

Gilgamesh walked for many days and finally reached the high mountains, the tops of which propped up the sky, and the bases went to the underworld. Here the world of people ended and an unknown path began, along which the sun rose to the sky at dawn, and went into darkness at sunset.

This path was guarded by scorpion people. They tried to apprehend Gilgamesh:

“Never, Gilgamesh, has there been a road,

No one has yet walked in the mountains ...

The darkness is thick, no light is visible.

But Gilgamesh answered:

"And in the heat and in the cold, in the dark and in the gloom,

In sighs and weeping - I will go forward!

He rushed into the darkness and, passing through it, went out to the light of another world. He saw a wonderful garden, where the leaves on the trees were of lapis lazuli, and the fruits were of carnelian. Behind the garden stretched an endless sea - the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bDeath, and on its shore, on a steep cliff, lived the mistress of the gods Siduri.

Learning that Gilgamesh wants to find immortality, Siduri did not approve of his intentions:

"Gilgamesh! Where are you aiming?

The life you seek, you will not find.

The gods when they created man

"Day and night, may you be cheerful,

Celebrate every day...

Look how the child is holding your hand

Make your friend happy with your hugs -

That's just the business of man."

But Gilgamesh refused to return to the human world and continued on his way. Having crossed the dark waters, he appeared before the immortal Utnapishti, who lived on the other side of the Sea of ​​Death.

Utnapishti, as well as Siduri, tells Gilgamesh that the gods determined life and death for man and commanded "to live alive." The wise old man reproaches Gilgamesh for neglecting the duty of the ruler and leaving his people: “Turn your face, Gilgamesh, to your people. Why does their ruler wear rags?” This is followed by an inserted episode: Utnapishti tells that during the Great Flood it was he who built the ark, saved his family and a couple of all the animals and birds, not allowing life to fade on earth. For this, the gods rewarded him with immortality.

The legend of the Great Flood is not connected with the epic of Gilgamesh and was included in the narrative only to emphasize the idea that only through an exceptional, unprecedented feat in the past and impossible in the future, a person could gain immortality, that this is the only case.

Gilgamesh falls into despair:

“What shall I do, Unapishti, where shall I go?…

Death dwells in my chambers,

And wherever I look, death is everywhere!”

Wishing to console Gilgamesh, Utnapishtim told him that at the bottom of the Sea of ​​Death a flower grows that restores youth. The one who obtained it, although he will not gain immortality, will still lengthen his life.

Gilgamesh tied two heavy stones to his feet, dived to the bottom of the sea and plucked a wonderful flower. With the precious booty, Gilgamesh safely reached the world of men.

He stopped at the lake to bathe in earthly water, but then a snake crawled out of the hole and stole a wonderful flower. The snake shed its old skin and gained new youth, and Gilgamesh returned to his hometown empty-handed.

But when he saw the mighty walls of Uruk, once erected at his command, his soul was filled with pride.

The end of the poem is difficult to interpret, but most researchers tend to see here the optimistic idea that the true immortality of a person lies in his deeds accomplished during his life.

This text is an introductory piece. From the book The Most Incredible Cases author

THE LEGEND ABOUT THE CITY OF KITEZH For many years scientists have been trying to unravel the mystery of the small Russian lake Svetloyar. According to legend, on its banks once stood the city - Big Kitezh. Fate decreed that it acquired a special symbolic meaning, becoming a mystical secret.

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THE LEGEND ABOUT THE CITY OF KITEZH For many years scientists have been trying to unravel the mystery of the small Russian lake Svetloyar. According to legend, a city once stood on its banks - Big Kitezh. Fate decreed that it acquired a special symbolic meaning, becoming a mystical secret.

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« Epic of Gilgamesh", or a poem" About everything that has seen"(Akkad. sa nagba imuru) - one of the oldest surviving literary works in the world, the largest work written in cuneiform, one of the greatest works of literature of the Ancient East. The "Epos" was created in the Akkadian language on the basis of Sumerian legends over a period of one and a half thousand years, starting from the 18th-17th centuries BC. e. Its most complete version was discovered in the middle of the 19th century during excavations of the cuneiform library of King Ashurbanipal in Nineveh. It was written on 12 six-column tablets in small cuneiform writing, included about 3 thousand verses and was dated to the 7th century BC. e. Also in the 20th century, fragments of other versions of the epic were found, including those in the Hurrian and Hittite languages.

In 1839, a young Englishman, Austin Henry Layard, set out on an overland journey to Ceylon. However, in Mesopotamia, he lingered on the excavations of the Assyrian burial mounds. This "delay" dragged on for many years; at this time, the ancient cities of Nineveh (1849) and Nimrod were excavated. Thanks to these excavations, Layard brought to the British Museum a large part of the collection of Assyrian sculptures, as well as thousands of broken tablets from the palace in Nineveh.

During further excavations, the cuneiform library of King Ashurbanipal was found in the city. The cuneiform tablets from this library were transferred to the British Museum by Layard's assistant, Ormuzd Rassam, who excavated the second part of the library in 1852, which contained the tablets of the Assyrian collection of the Epic of Gilgamesh.

More than 25,000 tablets were safely delivered to the British Museum in London. The decryption was started by an English intelligence officer in Baghdad, Henry Rawlinson. On his way to Baghdad, Rawlinson, then an army officer and employee of the East India Company, discovered what became the master key to deciphering the cuneiform script, the Behistun inscription, inscribed on a rock near Kermanshah, in Persia. This inscription was written in Old Persian, Elamite and Babylonian. The work begun by Rawlins in Baghdad was continued by him in London, where he returned in 1855.

Later, a talented self-taught assistant of the Egyptian-Assyrian department of the museum, George Smith, was engaged in the research of the found tablets. On December 3, 1872, he gave a talk to the Society for Biblical Archeology. In the report, he stated that he had discovered a flood myth similar to that set out in the Bible.

It was the famous 11th tablet from the Assyrian epic collection. Shortly after this speech, Smith published The Chaldean Account of the Flood, and with it a brief description of the epic. Interest in the epic immediately awakened. However, the flood tablet was incomplete and other tablets were needed. The Daily Telegraph provided 1,000 guineas to equip a new expedition to Nineveh that Smith organized on behalf of the British Museum. Shortly after arriving in Nineveh, Smith found the missing lines from the description of the flood, which were then, as now, the most complete part of the entire epic. More tablets were found in the same year and the following year, and Smith was able to compile an extensive description of the epic before, in 1876, he fell ill and died near Aleppo at the age of 36.

Continuing to decipher the tablets, Smith discovered that the flood message was part of some large poem called the Gilgamesh Tales by the Babylonians. According to the scribes, "Tales" consisted of 12 songs, each of which was about 300 lines. He soon realized that part of the story was missing, as several tablets were missing. As a result of the expedition organized by him in 1873, 384 tablets were found, among which was the missing part of the Epos.

When publishing The Flood, Smith claimed that it was probably a copy from a much earlier version written in Uruk (biblical Erech, modern Varka). Significant to the history of the Epic of Gilgamesh was an American archaeological expedition from the University of Pennsylvania, which in the late 19th century, under the direction of John Peters, began excavations at the mound of Niffar (ancient Nippur), in southern Iraq. By this time, archeology had accumulated much excavation experience, but this expedition was foolishly frivolous: the first season of work at Nippur in 1888-89 began when Peters and his party rode at a frantic gallop through the reeds to the excavation site, and ended when the same the expedition left the mound, and hostile Arabs performed a combat dance on the site of the destroyed camp. Nevertheless, work was continued the following year, and about 40,000 tablets were found and distributed among museums in Philadelphia and Istanbul. Among these tablets were several containing the oldest versions of the Gilgamesh cycle in Sumerian.

Most of the ancient texts are commercial and administrative in nature, not of particular interest to the general public. The more important are the results of excavations in Nippur, Nineveh and other centers of the early civilization of Mesopotamia, because they opened to us the most interesting literary monuments.

The Epic of Gilgamesh must have been quite famous in the second millennium B.C. one version of the poem, in Akkadian, was found in the archives of the capital of the Hittite empire, Bogazkoy (in Anatolia). It was also translated into Hittite. In southern Turkey, fragments have been found at Sultantepe. A small but important fragment from Megiddo, in Palestine, points to the existence of a Canaanite version of the epic, and also to the possibility that the biblical writers were familiar with the Epic of Gilgamesh.

At the beginning and middle of the 20th century, a number of other tablets were found containing fragments of the Epos in different languages.

In 2015, the famous epic expanded by another 20 new lines. This happened after employees of the Museum of Iraqi History bought dozens of clay tablets from a smuggler, unaware of their true content. As it turned out later, a fragment of the epic, unknown until that moment, was recorded on one of the tablets.

The Epic of Gilgamesh was created over a period of one and a half thousand years. Cuneiform tablets have survived to our time, in which the songs about Gilgamesh, which are part of the Epic, are recorded in four languages ​​​​of the Ancient East - Sumerian, Akkadian, Hurrian and Hittite. The oldest of the texts are written in the Sumerian language. At the same time, the Akkadian version, which is a huge artistic achievement, is considered the most important.

The surviving Sumerian legends about Gilgamesh are not united into any group of works. In total, nine of them have been preserved, and all of them belong to the category of epic monuments. Three legends are known only from retellings, the remaining six have survived and have been published.

Early stories refer to the so-called Nippur canon, which was part of the Akkado-Sumerian epic. Initially, their protographs were probably part of a cycle that tells about the rulers of the city of Uruk from the First Dynasty of Uruk. In addition to the epic Gilgamesh , who was the fifth ruler of Uruk, legends about Enmercare , the second ruler of Uruk, and Lugalbande , fourth ruler and father Gilgamesh .

Akkado-Sumerian legends associated with Gilgamesh have been preserved in lists dated to the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. e. (around the 18th century BC). However, based on numerous clerical slips and inaccuracies, as well as on the basis of the nature of the language, which looked archaic for that time, researchers believe that the poem was written much earlier. Taking into account the fact that the poem, apparently, was created before the establishment of the unity of the divine pantheon by the kings of Ur, and also on the basis of data on the spread of the Akkadian language in southern Mesopotamia, the creation of the poem is attributed to the XXIII-XXI centuries BC. e.

The following legends are currently known:

Gilgamesh and Aga- tells about the conflict between Akki, the king of Kish, and Gilgamesh. Unlike other works about Gilgamesh, the king is not endowed with fairy-tale features. This poem was not included in the Epic of Gilgamesh.

Gilgamesh and the Mountain of the Living(Gilgamesh and the Land of the Living, Gilgamesh and the Mountain of the Immortal) - tells about the campaign of Gilgamesh to the giant Huvava, who defended the sacred cedars.

Gilgamesh and the Bull of Heaven- describes the love for Gilgamesh of the goddess Innin (Ishtar), which he rejected, and the battle of Gilgamesh and his slave Enkidu with a heavenly bull sent by an angry goddess. The end of the poem has not survived.

Gilgamesh and willow(Gilgamesh, Enkidu and the Underworld) - tells how Gilgamesh, at the request of the goddess Innin, expelled the lion-headed eagle and lilith from the willow that settled there, after which he made an armchair and a bed for the goddess of wood, and for himself - a drum and a wand (according to the latest interpretation - a wooden ball and a bat for the game). Later, the drum fell into the underworld, and the slave Enkidu sent for him could not return, as he violated several prohibitions. Only after Gilgamesh's request did the gods allow him to communicate with Enkidu's spirit.

Death of Gilgamesh- Describes how Gilgamesh seeks immortality, but finds out that it is unattainable. The poem has survived only in fragments.

Flood- contains a story about the creation of man, the emergence of royal power, the flood, and how King Ziusudra escaped the flood by building a ship and became immortal. The end of the tablet was destroyed.

No one remembered Gilgamesh as a historical person when these stories were written. Written in the genre of an epic poem, they are primitive in content and archaic in form, which is very different from the Akkadian poem about Gilgamesh, which was created not much later.

According to the researchers of the Epos, the first songs about Gilgamesh were created at the end of the first half of the 3rd millennium BC. e. The first tablets that have come down to our time were created 800 years later. Around this time is also the creation Akkadian version poem, which probably finally took shape in the last third of the III millennium BC. e. In the second millennium BC. e. in Palestine and Asia Minor, another version of the Akkadian poem was created - “ peripheral ". The translation of the Epic into the Hurrian and Hittite languages ​​is attributed to the same time. From the end of the second millennium to the VII-VI centuries BC. e. the final version of the "Epos" was created - " Nineveh ”, which was found in the library of Ashurbanipal.

The epic was based on both mythological motifs based on the religious beliefs of the Sumerians and historical legends. Gilgamesh was a historical figure - a lugal of the Sumerian city of Uruk around 2800-2700 BC. e. His name, conventionally rendered in Sumerian as "Bilgames" (Bil-ga-mes), is mentioned in a Sumerian tablet with a list of Sumerian rulers dated to the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. e. However, quite early Gilgamesh began to be deified. From the 18th century BC e. his name in the form "Bilgemes" or "Bilgames" is mentioned among the Sumerian deities. Numerous legends arose around him, in which he was represented as a divine hero, the son of the goddess Ninsun and the hero Lugalbanda (according to another version, the spirit "lilu"). Later, the name of Gilgamesh became very popular in Babylonia, the Hittite kingdom and Assyria, the image of a hero fighting animals was associated with him, his companion was a half-bull-half-man hero. Later it was believed that Gilgamesh is a deity that protects people from demons, a judge of the underworld. His images were placed at the entrance to the house, because it was believed that in this way the dwelling was protected from evil spirits. At the same time, Gilgamesh did not play any special role in the official cult.

The Sumerians were the first educated inhabitants of Mesopotamia; it was their language that was the language of the oldest tablets from Nippur, associated with the story of Gilgamesh. The Sumerians already knew the irrigation system before they were conquered by the Semitic tribes in the third millennium. The Sumerians themselves were perhaps conquerors who came from the north and east during the fourth millennium. Their language was still in use, although the Sumerians themselves no longer played a large role at the beginning of the second millennium, when the Epic of Gilgamesh was written in this language.

Because of their wealth, the cities were a desirable prey for the wild Semitic tribes of Arabia and the warlike peoples of Elam and the Persian highlands. Shortly after the fall of the royal dynasty of Uruk, when the Semites established themselves in Agade in the north, their king, Sargon, tore down the walls of Uruk. There used to be a saying: “There are strong walls in Uruk”, and Gilgamesh was their builder.

In the era of the early Sumerian kings, each city already had a temple dedicated to one main god. These were magnificent buildings, decorated with reliefs and mosaics, with a courtyard and an inner sanctuary, and sometimes, as in Uruk, with a ziggurat. The ziggurat was a miniature holy mountain; he served as an intermediary between heaven and earth, where the gods could talk to people. So, when Gilgamesh calls to his mother, the goddess Ninsun, she goes to the roof of the temple to pray and make a sacrifice to the great sun god. The temples were served by priests, in whose hands, at one time, there was almost all the wealth of the state and among whom were many archivists and teachers, scientists and mathematicians. In the early centuries they had unlimited power, until "the royal dignity descended from heaven", i.e. royal dynasties did not form. The influence of the temples remained, however, significant.

The main characters of the "Epos" are the demigod Gilgamesh - a mighty warrior, the king of Uruk, as well as Enkidu - a wild man, whom the goddess Aruru created from clay. The goddess created Enkidu in response to the requests of the inhabitants of Uruk, dissatisfied with their ruler - Gilgamesh, whom they accuse of the fact that his rampage knows no bounds. Enkidu must confront Gilgamesh, and possibly defeat him.

Enkidu is not familiar with civilized life, lives in the steppe among wild animals and does not suspect what he was created for. At the same time, Gilgamesh has visions, from which he understands that he is destined to find a friend.

One day, news came to Uruk that some powerful man had appeared in the steppe, who did not allow hunting, protecting animals. Gilgamesh decides to send a harlot to him, believing that this will force the beasts to leave Enkidu. He achieved his goal - Enkidu was seduced, after which the harlot takes him with her to the city, where he joins civilization and tastes bread and wine for the first time.

Enkidu meets Gilgamesh in the city. A duel takes place between them, but none of them manages to win. After that, they become friends and together they begin to perform feats. They fought the ferocious Humbaba who guards the mountain cedars, then their rival becomes a monstrous bull sent by the goddess Ishtar, furious at Gilgamesh for his refusal to share his love with her. The murder of Humbaba causes the wrath of the gods, which falls on Enkidu, as a result of which he dies.

The death of Enkidu shocked Gilgamesh, from grief he flees into the desert, longing for a friend, his despair is enormous. Gilgamesh realizes for the first time that he is mortal and realizes that death is the fate of all people.

As a result of his wanderings, Gilgamesh finds himself on the island of the blessed, where Ut-napishtim lives - a man who alone of all became immortal. Gilgamesh wants to understand how Ut-napishtim succeeded, who tells the story of a worldwide flood, after which he was the only survivor. After that, Ut-napishtim tells Gilgamesh that for his sake the council of the gods will not convene a second time. He then suggests to Gilgamesh that he find a way to overcome the dream, but this proves to be impossible.

The wife of Ut-napishtim, who took pity on the hero, persuaded her husband to give him a parting gift. Gilgamesh learns about the flower of eternal youth, which is very hard to find. Gilgamesh managed to find, but not taste the flower: when he decided to swim, the snake eats the flower, sheds its skin and becomes young.

After what happened, the hero returned to Uruk, where he invited his helmsman Urshanabi to take a walk with him along the walls of the city, which were built by Gilgamesh himself. Gilgamesh shows the walls and expresses the hope that posterity will remember his deeds.

In Canto XII, which is of later origin and was mechanically attached to the Epos, is a literal translation into Akkadian of the second part of the Sumerian poem Gilgamesh and the Willow. It tells how Enkidu decides to go down to the underworld to return the drum, but in doing so, he violates magical prohibitions and cannot return. Gilgamesh makes a request to the gods, and as a result, he was allowed to communicate with the spirit of Enkidu, who told how bleak the fate of the dead is. This part, despite the fact that it is not linked to the previous plot, made it possible to emphasize the idea that death cannot be avoided by anyone.

Sumerian songs lack the connecting rod found by the Akkadian poet. The strength of character of the Akkadian Gilgamesh, the greatness of his soul - not in external manifestations, but in relations with the man Enkidu. The Epic of Gilgamesh is a hymn to friendship, which not only helps to overcome external obstacles, but also transforms and ennobles.

The epic also reflects many views of the philosophy of that time on the surrounding world (elements of cosmogony, the story of the "Great Flood" in a later edition), ethics, place and destiny of man (search for immortality). In many ways, the Epic of Gilgamesh is compared with the works of Homer - the Iliad, which he is a thousand years older than, and the Odyssey.

"Old Babylonian" version . 3 different versions of the Epic of Gilgamesh in Akkadian have come down to our time. The oldest of these is the so-called "Old Babylonian" version. It has been preserved in 6 fragments on tablets dating back to the 18th-17th centuries BC. e.

Pennsylvania table. Corresponds to I and II songs from the later version of the Epos. Published by Stephen Langdon.

Yale table . Corresponds to II and III songs from the later version of the Epos. Perhaps it goes back to the same list as the Pennsylvania Table. Published by Morris Jastrow and Albert Clay.

First fragment from Tell Harmal . Corresponds to the IV song from the later version of the Epos. Published by Van Dyck.

Second fragment from Tell Harmal .

Bower table . Corresponds to the fifth song from the later version of the Epos.

Meissner table . Corresponds to X (and possibly VIII) song from the later version of the Epos.

These tablets do not refer to the same place in the "Epos", which is why there is no complete certainty that they all go back to the same list of the "Epos". However, they share similarities in style and language. The handwriting in all the tablets is fluent and poorly understood, their language is difficult to understand. In addition, most of the tablets are poorly preserved - only 4/5 of the text remains from the Pennsylvania Table. Also, only the "Pennsylvania", "Yale Tables", and "Meissner Table" contain the text that is in the later version. The rest of the text was not preserved in the later version.

"Peripheral" version . This version of the poem has come down to our time on a small fragment that was found during excavations in the Bogazkoy settlement, which at one time was the capital of the Hittite kingdom. This fragment contains several songs corresponding to the VI and VII songs of the later version of the Epos, but they are shorter. Another fragment was also found at the site of the ancient city of Megiddo in Palestine, which corresponds to canto VII of the later version of the Epos. Both fragments date back to the 15th-14th centuries BC. e.

The "peripheral" version also includes the Hittite and Hurrian translations of the Epos. From them, several fragments have come down to our time, corresponding to I, V and X songs of the later version of the Epos. These fragments are dated to the 14th century BC. e.

"Nineveh" version . This version got its name from the place where it was found. Sometimes it is also called "Assyrian". For this version, researchers distinguish 4 groups of lists:

1. Fragments found during the excavations of the city of Asshura. They contain the well-preserved text of the VI song. These fragments are dated to the 13th-12th centuries BC. e.
2. More than a hundred fragments found during the excavation of the library of Ashurbanipal in Nineveh. They contain fragments of all songs, and the lyrics of songs I, VI, XI and XII have been preserved in full and have only minor damage. 8 fragments are currently unpublished. All fragments are dated to the 7th century BC. e.
3. Student's copy found during excavations of the ancient settlement of Sultan-Tepe (Northern Mesopotamia). Contains fragments of VII and VIII songs. Dated to the 7th century BC. e.
4. Fragments found during the excavations of the city of Uruk. Approximately dated to the 6th century BC. e.

Compared to the "Old Babylonian" version, the "Nineveh" version has an introduction, according to the first verse of which the new name of the poem appeared - "On the One who has seen everything." In addition, the poem probably had a conclusion.

Originally, the "Nineveh" version ended with Canto XI, the end of which was the conclusion of the poem. However, later the XII song, which is of a later origin, was mechanically attached to it. It is a literal Akkadian translation of the Sumerian poem Gilgamesh and the Willow.

Version Differences

« Old Babylonian " And " Nineveh The versions are generally similar to each other. Their text is largely the same. The main differences are in the replacement of a number of words (mostly obsolete words are replaced by more modern synonyms), as well as in the expansion or reduction of the lyrics. The expansion occurred either through the multiplication of epic formulas (moreover, some were borrowed from other works), or through repetitions. Also in some cases there was a rearrangement of some pieces of the text.

« Peripheral » version is significantly different from the other two - it is shorter. In fact, it is not just a translation of " Old Babylonian » version, but its complete processing. It contains abbreviations - it probably lacks episodes that had a specific meaning for Babylon (for example, episodes that took place before the appearance of Enkidu in Uruk, conversations with elders, etc.). In addition, moments that were unacceptable from a religious point of view (in particular, the shame of the goddess Ishtar) were removed from it. As a result, the "peripheral" version is actually a new poem about Gilgamesh.

Composition and development of the poem

The most complete version of the "Epos" is written on 12 six-column tablets in small cuneiform and includes about 3 thousand verses. In modern translations of the text of the poem, it is customary to divide it into 12 parts, each of which is indicated by a Roman numeral (from I to XII). Each part, called a table or a song, corresponds to a separate tablet in " Nineveh » versions.

Such a division was initially carried out mechanically - when there was no space left on one plate, a new one began. However, in " Nineveh » version of the division into tables more harmonious, each of the tables recorded a separate song

Table	Song
	The rampage of Gilgamesh and the creation of Enkidu
	The arrival of Enkidu in Uruk and the friendship of the heroes
	Preparations for the campaign against Humbaba
	Campaign against Humbaba
	Battle with Humbaba
	Ishtar and Gilgamesh. Fight with the heavenly bull
	Illness and death of Enkidu
	Lamentation and funeral of Enkidu
	Gilgamesh's journey to the shores of the World Ocean
	Gilgamesh crossing the ocean
	Gilgamesh on the island of Utnapishti. Return
	Summon the spirit of Enkidu from the underworld

In the composition of the poem, 4 songs can be distinguished, which, according to the assumption of some researchers, were originally independent:

« Enkidiad”, which tells about the savage hero Enkidu, as well as how he was introduced to culture;

campaign against Humbaba(Huvawas);

episode with Ishtar, the prototype of which was the Sumerian goddess Innin, as well as a fight with a bull;

Gilgamesh's journey in an attempt to gain immortality.

At present, prototypes of songs about the campaign against Humbaba and about the fight with the bull, written in the Sumerian language, are known. However, when creating the Epos, these songs could not be mechanically connected, since the connection between them in terms of idea and composition is well thought out and has a deep philosophical meaning. At the same time, a number of songs about Gilgamesh, which the author of the Epos probably considered unsuitable for his purposes, were not included. So the song about Gilgamesh and Hagga was not used.

In addition to songs from the heroic epic, mythological epic was also used to create the poem. In particular, the text from the poem "Ishtar's Journey to the Underworld" was used.

The Epos was first translated into Russian by the poet Nikolai Gumilyov in 1918. As a basis, he took the recently published French translation of the Epos, made by the French orientalist E. Dorm. At the same time, Gumilyov was advised by Vladimir Shileiko, a specialist in Sumerian and Assyrian texts, who wrote an introduction to the translation, published in 1919. Like Dorm's translation, Gumilyov's translation is full of errors. In addition, Gumilyov supplemented the translation with excerpts of his own composition.

The next translation into Russian was made by Shileiko himself.

Shileiko completed his translation of the Epos in 1920. Shileiko also paid attention to the poetic form of the Epos. To transmit it in Russian, he chose dolnik as a meter, which was introduced into Russian poetry by A. Blok. The translation was supposed to be published as part of the Assyrian-Babylonian Epic volume by the Eastern Literature publishing house, but in 1925 the publishing house was closed, and the volume was never published, and after the author’s death, its manuscript was lost. The Shileiko family kept the second copy of the manuscript. Excerpts from it were published in 1987 in the collection of V. V. Ivanov "Shoots of Eternity" and in 1994 in the collection of A. V. Shileiko "Through Time". Only in 2007 V. V. Emelyanov published "The Assyro-Babylonian epic"

The next translation of the "Epos" into Russian was undertaken in 1961 by the orientalist I. M. Dyakonov. Unlike Gumilyov, Dyakonov translated from the Akkadian language. At the same time, he was also familiar with the manuscript of Shileiko's translation and also used dolnik as a meter to convey the poetic form. The translation was provided with extensive reference material and was distinguished by philological accuracy. In addition, Dyakonov distinguished between all versions of the text, and also pointed out the difficulties of reconstructing lost and damaged fragments. This translation was reprinted in 1973 and 2006.

Another translation of the "Epos" into Russian was made by S. I. Lipkin. If Shileiko and Dyakonov set as their goal the creation of philologically accurate translations with a detailed reference apparatus, then Lipkin tried to make the text of the Epos more modern. He used Dyakonov's translation as the basis for the translation. However, Lipkin changed the rhythm. Based on the study of the sound structure of the Epos, he replaced the dolnik with a three-syllable meter. In addition, there are no gaps and conditional reconstructions in the translation.

In 2012, a reconstructed version of the Russian translation of the "Epos" in Dyakonov's translation was released, supplemented by the 2003 edition of Andrew George, undertaken by a group of employees of the Department of History and Philology of the Ancient Near East of the Institute of Oriental Cultures and Antiquity of the Russian State Humanitarian University.