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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 ...
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.
Gilgamesh (/ ˈ ɡ ɪ l ɡ ə m ɛ ʃ /, [7] / ɡ ɪ l ˈ ɡ ɑː m ɛ ʃ /; [8] Akkadian: 𒀭𒄑𒂆𒈦, romanized: Gilgameš; originally Sumerian: 𒀭𒄑𒉋𒂵𒎌, romanized: Bilgames) [9] [a] was a hero in ancient Mesopotamian mythology and the protagonist of the Epic of Gilgamesh, an epic poem written in Akkadian during the late 2nd millennium BC.
Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh a secret story that begins in the old city of Shuruppak on the banks of the Euphrates River. The "great gods" Anu, Enlil, Ninurta, Ennugi, and Ea were sworn to secrecy about their plan to cause the flood. But the god Ea (Sumerian god Enki) repeated the plan to Utnapishtim through a reed wall in a reed house.
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.
In the second, Gilgamesh dreams that he wrestles a great bull that splits the ground with his breath. Enkidu interprets the dream for Gilgamesh: the dream means that Shamash, the bull, will protect Gilgamesh. In the third, Gilgamesh dreams: The skies roared with thunder and the earth heaved, Then came darkness and a stillness like death.
Similarities have been noted with a folktale from the Ryukyu Islands, in which the moon god decides to give man the water of life (Miyako: sïlimizï), and serpents the water of death (sïnimizï). However, the person entrusted with carrying the pails down to Earth gets tired and takes a break, and a serpent bathes in the water of life ...
However, Gilgamesh has no fear, and his fifty men cut the trees until Huwawa appears. Gilgamesh offers him seven gifts in exchange for leaving his seven Auras, but it is a trap. He strikes Huwawa several times, who asks for mercy. Although Gilgamesh softens his heart, Enkidu nevertheless decapitates the monster.