Thursday 31 December 2015

The Flood


By his strength he went distances to find faraway Utnapishtim 
/A He restored the flood- spoiled holy places to their former glory 
/A Establishing for the people the holy rituals of the mystic order 
/A Not one among the kings of the world could compare to him 
/A Who can rightfully avow himself as high king but Gilgamesh! 
/A For he was marked at birth to acquire for himself great fame 
/A He being one- third a mortal while the rest of him was divine 
/A Belet- ili, [§] it was who determined what form his body would take 
/A His facial features were rendered flawless by wise Nudimmud [**] 
/A His countenance was confident, his looks firm and inflexible 
/A Given the radiance of Shamash, and the strong will of Adad,

Neo-Assyrian clay tablet. 
Epic of Gilgamesh, Tablet 11: Story of the Flood. 
Known as the "Flood Tablet".


TABLET IX 

Gilgamesh was overcome and mourned over his friend Enkidu, 
/A And so he wore only a lion- skin, and wandered the wilderness, 
/A “Is death my fate too, for is my life not the same as Enkidu’s? 
/A Beset by an overwhelming anguish that has penetrated my core, 
/A So fearful am I of impending death that I wander the wilderness 
/A I must travel as fast as I can, to Utnapishtim, son of Ubara- Tutu 
/A At night in the mountain passes, lions that came frightened me 
/A So I lifted up my eyes and made a prayer to Sin, heaven’s lantern 
/A ‘ Oh great lord Sin, as you look upon me now , preserve me now!’
/A Enkidu , who had gone to sleep, was startled out of his dream [********] 
/A When he leapt up he was greatly possessed of a fervent instinct 
/A And he grasped the axe beside him, and unsheathed his sword 
/A As fast as a dart he quickly leapt among them and took them on 
/A There he gave blows with his weapons , and smashed their skulls 
/A The following day he went out, standing before Shamash at noon 
/A And he gave the bodies of the lions to him as a thank offering 
/A He carved out their hearts, offering them to the spirits by name [††††††††] 
/A [37] Then he spoke to Shamash, giving him thanks for his aid, saying, 

/- ‘O Shamash, every day you are the one who rules over the world 
/- When you arise, your fire extinguishes the other fires of heaven 
/- And the entirety of humanity calls out in praise to you, Shamash, 
/-coming, /- Man prays aloft to you, his voice is nothing more than a whisper 
/- He calls upon you when his kin are nowhere near, his dwelling far 
/- O mighty Shamash, through the strength you gave me did we live 
/- Now are these dedicated to you for bringing us into your service 
/- May your light never be shed from our heads, and preserve us.’” 
/- And Gilgamesh turned his face to his shield, the warrior Shamash 
/- Shamash watched and considered, speaking to himself, saying, 
/(A) “You have made your way through a great many hard countries 
/(A) And have traversed your way over and across every body of water 
/(A) And you hunt the bear, hyena, lion, leopards, tigers, and deer 
/(A) Mountain goats, buffalo, and other wild animals of the country 
/(A) And you consume their meat, and clothe yourself in their hides 

/B But you attempt to seize the ripples spread across the Euphrates 
/B They are not real, Gilgamesh, only wind running over the waters.” 
/B And Shamash was troubled, and lowered to speak to Gilgamesh, 
/B “Gilgamesh, what is your destination as you search aimlessly 
/B No matter how far you roam, you’ll not find your eternal youth.” 
/B Gilgamesh raised his voice, speaking to the warrior Shamash, 
/B “As long as I am roaming across the countryside, I am yet alive! 
/B There is plenty of sleep for those who reside in the Underworld 
/B Would I rather spend my years on earth getting even more sleep? 
/B Rather I would let my eyes gaze upon the sun, and be given light, 
/B There is nothing to be had in darkness, but how precious light is! 
/B Once the man is dead will he look upon the sun’s beams again?” 
/B Shamash listened to everything Gilgamesh had spoken, and said, 

/- “By what you’ve said you prevail upon me to act as your guide, 
/- And I will set you upon your way, despite that it remains fruitless, 
/- Make your way east to mountains which are called the Mashu.” 

/A So Gilgamesh continued onward until he arrived at one Mashu [‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡] 
/A Which is the guardian of Shamash when he rises each morning, 
/A Their high peaks reach up to the very underpinnings of the sky 
/A In the other direction their bases extend down to deep Arallu [§§§§§§§§] 
/A And there guarding the gate were the legions of scorpion- men 
/A Their very form strikes one with terror, having the look of death 
/A It is their Mantles of Brilliance which enshrouded the mountains 
/A It is they who are guardians of the sun both at sunrise and sunset 
/A Gilgamesh gazed at them, his face overcome by a fear and dread 
/A But he made his first move, approaching them in the usual way 
/A The scorpion- man then called out, alerting his wife of his coming, 
/A “There is a man here to see us who is made of the flesh of gods.” 
/A The scorpion- man’s wife called back, and answered him, saying, 
/A Would I rather spend my years on earth getting even more sleep? /B Rather I would let my eyes gaze upon the sun, and be given light, /B There is nothing to be had in darkness, but how precious light is! /B Once the man is dead will he look upon the sun’s beams again?” /B Shamash listened to everything Gilgamesh had spoken, and said, /- “By what you’ve said you prevail upon me to act as your guide, /- And I will set you upon your way, despite that it remains fruitless, /- Make your way east to mountains which are called the Mashu.” 
/A So Gilgamesh continued onward until he arrived at one Mashu [‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡] 
/A Which is the guardian of Shamash when he rises each morning, 
/A Their high peaks reach up to the very underpinnings of the sky 
/A In the other direction their bases extend down to deep Arallu [§§§§§§§§] 
/A And there guarding the gate were the legions of scorpion- men 
/A Their very form strikes one with terror, having the look of death 
/A It is their Mantles of Brilliance which enshrouded the mountains 
/A It is they who are guardians of the sun both at sunrise and sunset 
/A Gilgamesh gazed at them, his face overcome by a fear and dread /A But he made his first move, approaching them in the usual way /A The scorpion- man then called out, alerting his wife of his coming, /A “There is a man here to see us who is made of the flesh of gods.” /A The scorpion- man’s wife called back, and answered him, saying,

Scorpion men encountered by Gilgamesh, who guard the mountain of Mashu, west of the Gilgamesh. Drawing by Faucher-Gudin from an Assyrian intaglio.

circa 1900

History of Egypt, Chaldea, Syria, Babylonia and Assyria, Vol. III

Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from an Assyrian intaglio

/A “Only two- thirds he is a god, the other third of him is yet mortal.” /A Then the male scorpion- man called to the god- man Gilgamesh, 
/A “ Does this not look like a man who long ago set out on his quest, 
/A Who comes into my presence, who makes this difficult passage? 
/A First of all , tell me your name and the place of your family tomb 
/A Second of all , tell me what people you are from, what city you flee.” 
/A [38] Gilgamesh raising his voice to be heard, said to the scorpion- man, 
/(A) “Look at me again, and gaze upon this sore- stricken face of mine 
/(A) Know then that I have become a companion of the wilderness 
/(A) You must have heard of me, I am the King of Uruk, Gilgamesh, 
/(A) And I am on a journey to seek out Utnapishtim, the faraway, 
/(A) He whom the people spoke of, so I sought through every land 
/(A) I made my way into and through a great many hard countries 
/(A) And have traversed my way over and across every body of water 
/(A) Never was I able to get enough sleep, I was so sorely beset inside 
/(A) And from this deficiency of sleep did I become even more restless 
/(A) But I have now to ask myself what good it does me to suffer so? 
/(A) I have hunted the bear, hyena, lion, leopards, tigers, and deer 
/(A) Mountain goats, buffalo, and other wild animals of the country 
/(A) And I consumed their meat, and clothed myself in their hides 
/(A) It is from my own bad fortunes that I have been driven to despair.” /(A) Gilgamesh raising his voice to be heard, said to the scorpion- man, 
/(A) “Concerning Utnapishtim, the faraway, my father spoke of him 
/A Who stood within the gods’ assembly and sought for eternal life 
/A Death and life were made just the same for him, by the high gods. ” 
/A The scorpion- man raising his voice to be heard, said to Gilgamesh, 
/A “ Do not trouble yourself with it , Gilgamesh, the way is impossible 
/A Not one man has successfully crossed the mountainous expanse 
/A After just twelve leagues of traversing this tract you will be lost 
/A The dark is far too pervasive, there is no light with which to see 
/A You must know the dawn is a formidable distance, the way hard 
/A You must know the dusk is a formidable distance, the way uneven, 
/A Yet to the dusk is a distance once measured by kings of your kind 
/A Who sent forth a survey team to record the distance, here to there 
/A But as for you, how is it that you would be able to survive the way? 
/A Are you going there by yourself, and making this journey alone? 
/A For while the expedition went forth and covered the entire space, 
/- [39] They were incapable of making it back again, and never returned /-


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