He soon learns the ways of men and is shunned by the animals he used to live with, and the harlot eventually persuades him to come to live in the city. At the request of a trapper, Gilgamesh sends a temple prostitute, Shamhat, to seduce and tame Enkidu and, after six days and seven nights with the harlot, he is no longer just a wild beast who lives with animals. He lives a natural life with the wild animals, but he soon starts bothering the shepherds and trappers of the area and jostles the animals at the watering hole. The goddess of creation, Aruru, creates a mighty wild-man named Enkidu, a rival in strength to Gilgamesh. However, the people of Uruk are not happy, and complain that Gilgamesh is too harsh and abuses his power by sleeping with their women.

The great city of Uruk is also praised for its glory and its strong brick walls. The story begins with the introduction of Gilgamesh, king of Uruk, two-thirds god and one-third human, blessed by the gods with strength, courage and beauty, and the strongest and greatest king who ever existed. It also includes the story of a great flood very similar to the story of Noah in “The Bible” and elsewhere. It follows the story of Gilgamesh, the mythological hero-king of Uruk, and his half-wild friend, Enkidu, as they undertake a series of dangerous quests and adventures, and then Gilgamesh’s search for the secret of immortality after the death of his friend. It originated as a series of Sumerian legends and poems in cuneiform script dating back to the early 3rd or late 2nd millenium BCE, which were later gathered into a longer Akkadian poem (the most complete version existing today, preserved on 12 clay tablets, dates from the 12th to 10th Century BCE). “The Epic of Gilgamesh” is an epic poem from ancient Mesopotamia and among the earliest known literary writings in the world. Introduction | Synopsis | Analysis | Resources Introduction – What is the epic of Gilgamesh 20th – 10th Century BCE, about 1,950 lines)

(Epic poem, anonymous, Sumerian/Mesopotamian/Akkadian, c. Miser Catulle, desinas ineptire (Catullus 8).

Vivamus, mea Lesbia, atque amemus (Catullus 5).Passer, deliciae meae puellae (Catullus 2).

The Epic of Gilgamesh by Anonymous