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Gilgamesh appeals Enlil to save Enkidu, but his appeal is ignored (222–230) Enki enters and requests that Utu open a passage that will allow Enkidu to return (231–243) The final part is a dialogue between Enkidu and Gilgamesh where Gilgamesh learns from Enkidu about the conditions of the underworld (244–end)
Gilgamesh and Enkidu kill the Bull of Heaven, insulting Ishtar in the process, after which the gods decide to sentence Enkidu to death and kill him by giving him a fatal illness. In the second half of the epic, distress over Enkidu's death causes Gilgamesh to undertake a long and perilous journey to discover the secret of eternal life.
The slaying of the Bull results in the gods condemning Enkidu to death, an event which catalyzes Gilgamesh's fear for his own death, which drives the remaining portion of the epic. The Bull was identified with the constellation Taurus and the myth of its slaying may have held astronomical significance to the ancient Mesopotamians.
The deep, tragic loss of Enkidu profoundly inspires in Gilgamesh a quest to escape death by obtaining godly immortality. [10] Enkidu has virtually no existence outside the stories relating to Gilgamesh. To the extent of current knowledge, he was never a god to be worshipped, and is absent from the lists of deities of ancient Mesopotamia.
The story follows the Sumerian king Gilgamesh, typically regarded as a historical figure, and his good friend, Enkidu through various adventures and quests that eventually lead to Enkidu's death. The second half of the epic deal with Gilgamesh, distressed about the death of his friend and his own impending mortality, as he searches for immortality.
But before he dies, Humbaba screams out a curse on Enkidu: "Of you two, may Enkidu not live the longer, may Enkidu not find any peace in this world!" Soon later Enkidu becomes sick and dies. Gilgamesh and Enkidu cut down the cedar forest and in particular the tallest of the cedar trees to make a great cedar gate for the city of Nippur.
After a lacuna, Urshanabi asks Gilgamesh about his poor state, and in response hears the story of Enkidu’s death and realization of own mortality which followed it. [14] This section has been compared to similar recounting of Gilgamesh’s deeds during his lament for Enkidu and during his meetings with Siduri and Utnapishitim. [22]
The Death of Gilgamesh is a Sumerian poem about the death of the legendary hero Gilgamesh, best known in later sources from Epic of Gilgamesh. The text was reconstructed by Samuel Noah Kramer, who produced a critical edition and translation of the text in 1944. [1] According to the Death of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh was on a pursuit of attaining ...