Gilgamesh

   This epic hero of Sumeria, whose adventures are told in the epic bearing his name, appears to have lived at a time when the activities of the Mesopotamian tribes were cohering to a point when the state was beginning to emerge. This period can be set back to the fourth millennium BC, if not earlier. Gilgamesh is recorded as having been the fifth divine King of Erech after the Flood, his immediate predecessor having been Tammuz. The record of his adventures was put into writing at about the same time that Homer was composing the Greek Epics.

   Gilgamesh was the son of Lugalbanda, the third king and Ninsun, a minor goddess of Erech. When he reached manhood he recaptured his native city after a long siege, and his initial period of rule was marked by unwonted severity. To distract his attention the inhabitants brought to him Enkidu, the natural man, with whom Gilgamesh contracted a great friendship. They go together to the mountains to secure cedar wood for the city and its temples and the support of the god Shamash is secured for the venture. The giant Humbaba, guardian of the forests, is subdued only with the help of Shamash.

   But Humbaba is the liege man of Enlil, with unpleasant results later. After victory the triumphant king is desired by Ishtar, and in revenge for the flouting of her wishes she conjures up the Bull of Heaven, which causes a seven years’ drought and which has eventually to be killed. After this decisive victory Humbaba asks for mercy but Enkidu refuses this, and because of this and other offences the gods decide that one of the two must die. The lot falls on Enkidu and Gilgamesh is left alone.

   Gilgamesh then goes to seek the wisdom of his forefathers and has numerous adventures, including the slaying of the lion, whose skin he is frequently depicted as wearing. He then comes to Mount Mashu, where he meets the Scorpion Man, who allows him through the pass. He crosses the ocean and meets Utnapishti, who tells him the story of the Deluge, the same as in the Babylonian Creation Legends and in the Book of Genesis. He then returns home. The conflict with the Bull may refer to the bringing of bull worship into the Fertile Crescent. In general it is clear that all the races in this area shared the same creation and flood legends, although the names of the chief protagonists varied according to the political situation at the time. Gilgamesh seems to have been an actual king to whom were attributed the deeds of earlier generations, a process encountered elsewhere, as with King Arthur of Britain.

   The city of Erech is also known as Uruk.