Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh (Bilgames in the earliest texts) was a historical king of the Sumerian city-state of Uruk, a major hero in ancient Mesopotamian mythology, and the protagonist of the Epic of Gilgamesh, an epic poem written in Akkadian during the late second millennium BCE. He likely ruled between 2800 and 2500 BCE and was posthumously deified. He became a major figure in Sumerian legends during the Third Dynasty of Ur (c. 2112 – c. 2004 BCE).

For the manga, see Gilgamesh (manga).

Quotes

• Who is there, my friend, can climb to the sky?
  Only the gods dwell forever in sunlight.
  As for man, his days are numbered,
  whatever he may do, it is but wind.
  • To Enkidu, Epic of Gilgamesh, Tablet III of the Old-Babylonian version

• What should I do and where should I go?
  A thief has taken hold of my flesh!
  For there in my bed-chamber Death does abide,
  and wherever I turn, there too will be Death.
  • Epic of Gilgamesh, Tablet XI

Quotes about Gilgames

• The first recognized epic hero is a Sumerian, known as Bilgames in the earliest texts, but since accepted as Gilgamesh. Around 2500 BC, he was the fifth king of the land of Uruk, where Iraq now sits. He was said to have reigned for 126 years and to have lived longer than that. He became the main figure in the Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the best-known examples of early Mesopotamian literature. In this work, he is described as a demigod, son of the mortal Lugalbanda and the goddess Romat (also known as Ninsun).
  • Stan Lee's How To Draw Superheroes, by Stan Lee, co written by Danny Fingeroth, Keith Dallas and Robert Sodaro, Waston-Guptill Publications New York, (2013), “History and Origins of Superheroes”, ch. 1, p. 12.

• Because of your purity, youthful Utu has made everything abundant for you; may a sweet life be your lot, son of Ninsumun.
  • Shulgi in a tablet (𒁾) to Utu, Text online at The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature, early 2nd millennium BCE.

• The hoe buries people, but dead people are also brought up from the ground by the hoe. With the hoe, the hero honoured by An, the younger brother of Nergal, the warrior Gilgamesh – is as powerful as a hunting net. The sage son of Ninsumun is pre-eminent with oars. With the hoe, he is the great barber of the watercourses. In the chamber of the shrine, with the hoe he is the minister.
  • Song of the Hoe, 3rd millennium BCE. Text online at the electronic text corpus of sumerian literature.

External links