Section 1: The Tyrant King and the Created Friend The story begins by praising the magnificent walls of the city of Uruk. However, there is a problem behind the walls: King Gilgamesh is a unique being with two-thirds divine and one-third human power, but he uses this power with tyranny. He forces young men to work incessantly and uses young girls and brides for his desires. The cries of his people reach the gods. Hearing the pleas of the people, the sky god Anu assigns the goddess of creation, Aruru. Aruru dips her hands into the water to create a wild rival equal in power to Gilgamesh in the barren steppe and shapes Enkidu from the earth. Enkidu is a "wild man" unaware of humanity, with long hair, a body covered in hair, grazing with gazelles, drinking water, and saving animals from the hunter's traps. His existence disrupts the balance of the steppe. Section 2: Civilization and Struggle A hunter sees Enkidu and is filled with horror, consulting his father. As a remedy, it is suggested to go to Uruk and bring the sacred harlot Shamhat to Gilgamesh. Shamhat is the means to civilize Enkidu. As a result of a six-day, seven-night union by the water, Enkidu's bond with his wild nature is severed; animals now flee from him, his strength weakens, but his mind and understanding expand. Shamhat tells him about Gilgamesh, the city, bread, and beer. Enkidu is now ready to be a part of humanity, not nature. At that moment, Gilgamesh dreams of an axe (or a meteor falling from the sky) piercing his chest and becomes obsessed with it. His mother, the wise queen Ninsun, interprets this dream as the arrival of a friend equal to him. When Enkidu arrives in Uruk, he sees Gilgamesh trying to force his way into a bride's wedding and angrily blocks his path. The two giants clash like bulls in the streets of Uruk; they shake the door frames and tremble the walls. In the end, Gilgamesh emerges victorious, but this fight gives rise to a deep respect and admiration for each other. At that moment, they become inseparable friends. Section 3: The Plan for the Cedar Forest Expedition Now friends, Gilgamesh wants to prove himself and gain an immortal reputation by embarking on a dangerous adventure. His target is the sacred Cedar Forest, guarded by the god Humbaba (or Huwawa). Enkidu knows the dangers of this forest and tries to deter his friend. However, Gilgamesh is determined; "If you are afraid of death, go away, I am ready to face death," he says. The city's elder council also warns them, but they cannot be persuaded. As a last resort, Gilgamesh asks his mother Ninsun for prayer and protection. Ninsun prays to the sun god Shamash and adopts Enkidu as a spiritual protector for her son. Section 4: Journey to Humbaba Gilgamesh and Enkidu reach the Lebanon Mountains, covering a distance that normally takes six weeks in three days. Throughout the journey, Gilgamesh is disturbed by terrifying dreams: the collapse of mountains, wild bulls, thunder. Enkidu encourages his friend by interpreting these dreams positively each time (the collapse of the mountain is Humbaba's downfall, etc.). This section is a powerful demonstration of how friendship transforms fear. When they arrive at the entrance of the forest, they are enchanted by the height of the sacred cedar trees and the scent they emit. Section 5: Fight with the Guardian of the Forest The duo encounters Humbaba in the forest. Enkidu is filled with fear at the monster's seven-layered terrifying splendor, but Gilgamesh encourages him with determination. The god Shamash sends storms and winds from the sky to help them, incapacitating Humbaba. Desperate, Humbaba pleads with Gilgamesh; in exchange for sparing his life, he offers to give him all the trees of the forest and to become his slave. Enkidu warns his friend to be harsh, as Humbaba's words cannot be trusted. Upon this, Gilgamesh, together with Enkidu, kills Humbaba and they cut off his head. Then they cut down the giant cedar trees to make a massive raft and set off triumphantly towards Uruk on the Euphrates River. Section 6: The Bull of Heaven and the Seal of Fate When they return to Uruk, the glory and beauty of Gilgamesh catches the attention of the goddess of love, Ishtar (Sumerian Inanna). The goddess proposes marriage to him, promising wealth and power. However, Gilgamesh humiliates her by rejecting her, reminding her of what she did to her previous lovers. He compares her to a door that destroys those who love her, a leaking bag. Ishtar, driven mad with rage, goes to her father Anu and begs him to unleash the Bull of Heaven (Gugalanna) upon Uruk, threatening to open the gates of the underworld and release the dead among the living if he refuses. Anu reluctantly agrees. When the bull arrives in Uruk, its breathing creates deep fissures in the ground, causing hundreds of people to fall. However, Enkidu and Gilgamesh defeat this divine monster by fighting together. Enkidu grabs the bull by its tail, while Gilgamesh plunges his sword into its neck. In a drunken state of victory, Enkidu tears off the right thigh of the bull and throws it in Ishtar's face. This is one of the greatest insults committed against the gods. Section 7: The Decree of the Gods and the Death of Enkidu That night, Enkidu has a terrible dream. The assembly of the gods, Enlil, Anu, Ea, and Shamash, has gathered and decided that one of the two must die for their roles in the killing of Humbaba and the Bull of Heaven. The declared punishment is the death of Enkidu, who has insulted the will of the gods. Enkidu rebels against this decision; he curses Shamhat, who civilized him, and the hunter. However, with Shamash's warning, he realizes how valuable a life Shamhat has actually given him and retracts his curse, blessing her instead. Enkidu falls ill and suffers in bed for twelve days, writhing in pain. On his deathbed, he suffers most from the pain of falling ill and dying like a sick person instead of dying honorably in battle. In his last moments, he bids farewell to Gilgamesh and closes his eyes to life. Gilgamesh mourns over his friend for days, refusing to bury him until worms fall from the corpse. Section 8: The Mourning and Funeral of Gilgamesh This section is entirely devoted to Gilgamesh's deep mourning for Enkidu. With the death of his friend, Gilgamesh has lost not only a companion but also a part of himself. He commands the people of Uruk, the mountains, the animals, and everything to weep for Enkidu. He erects a magnificent statue in his honor and prepares a tomb filled with precious items like gold, silver, and lapis lazuli. This mourning is the turning point of the epic; for the first time, the fear of his own death falls upon Gilgamesh's heart. Section 9: The Quest for Immortality Begins Shaken by the death of his friend, Gilgamesh is horrified by his own mortality. "Will I die like Enkidu? My heart is filled with sorrow, I wander the steppe in fear of death," he says as he leaves Uruk. His goal is to find his ancestor Utnapishtim, who survived the Great Flood and was granted immortality by the gods. His journey takes him to the end of the world, to the gate through which the sun rises and sets every day, Mount Mashu. Here, he encounters terrifying guardians who are half-scorpion, half-human. He explains his purpose to them and, thanks to his determination, manages to pass through the pitch-black tunnel inside the mountain in twelve hours. Section 10: Wisdom at the End of the World Emerging from the tunnel and reaching the garden of the gods, Gilgamesh meets the wise woman Siduri, who is sitting in an inn by the seaside. Seeing Gilgamesh's exhausted and wild state, Siduri tries to convince him to turn back and utters the most famous words of the epic: "O Gilgamesh, where are you running? You will never find the immortality you seek. When the gods created man, they allotted death to him as his share, while they kept life in their hands. You, O Gilgamesh, fill your belly beautifully, day and night enjoy yourself, let every day be a festival for you..." However, seeing Gilgamesh's determination, she shows him Urshanabi, the only one who can cross the waters of death. Gilgamesh crosses the waters of death with Urshanabi and finally reaches the distant island where Utnapishtim lives. He tells Utnapishtim how he came all this way and asks about the secret of immortality. Section 11: The Great Flood and the Lost Opportunity (The Climax of the Epic) Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh that immortality is a gift from the gods, that it cannot be repeated, and recounts his own story, that is, the Great Flood. This is a very ancient story that parallels almost exactly with Noah's Flood in the Bible. The god Enlil's decision to destroy humanity because he is disturbed by their noise, the god Ea warning Utnapishtim to build a boat and take the seeds of all living things into it, the storm lasting six days and six nights, the boat resting on Mount Nisir, and finally Utnapishtim being rewarded with immortality by the gods... Listening to this story, Gilgamesh begins to realize that his quest is in vain. Utnapishtim, to test Gilgamesh, says, "Come, stay awake for six days and seven nights, and let’s see if you are worthy of immortality." However, the most fundamental weakness of mortality, sleep, immediately overtakes Gilgamesh, and he sleeps soundly for seventy-two hours. When he wakes up, he understands everything. Utnapishtim takes pity on him and, as a farewell gift, tells him the location of the "plant of life" that grows at the bottom of the sea and rejuvenates the old. Gilgamesh ties stones to his feet and dives down to pluck the plant. He sets off to return to Uruk in triumph. However, one night while they take a break, as he enters a puddle, a snake smells the scent of the plant, slithers over, eats the plant, and sheds its skin, rejuvenating itself. Gilgamesh is left empty-handed and tearful. After all that wasted effort, he turns to Urshanabi and points to the lofty walls of Uruk: "Here is my work, here is my immortality." Section 12: Additional Tablet – Journey to the Land of the Dead The 12th tablet of the standard version is actually a piece added from a Sumerian poem that does not fit perfectly into the main story. Some of Gilgamesh's valuable possessions (a pukku and mekku , usually translated as drum and mallet) fall into the underworld. Enkidu volunteers to go down there to retrieve them. Gilgamesh warns him sternly: he must wear clean clothes to avoid drawing attention, not apply any perfume, and make no noise. However, Enkidu cannot adhere to any of these rules and is captured by the underworld. Upon Gilgamesh's plea, the gods allow Enkidu's spirit to rise to the surface for a moment. Gilgamesh asks his friend what the land of the dead is like. Enkidu's answers are grim: there is no peace for the man whose body is eaten by wolves, but the situation is a bit better for those who leave children behind. The more sons, the more offerings and comfort. The tablet ends by emphasizing the relentless reality of death once again.