Epic Of Gilgamesh Full Version -

Anu gave her the bull. It came down to Uruk—a creature whose first snort opened pits in the earth, killing two hundred men. Its second snort killed three hundred. Gilgamesh and Enkidu caught the bull by its horns. Enkidu leaped onto its back and drove his sword into the nape. Gilgamesh plunged his dagger into the heart.

"I will kill Humbaba," Gilgamesh said, "and carve my name on the mountains."

They forged weapons: axes of twelve pounds, swords of fifty pounds. Gilgamesh prayed to the sun god Shamash, who hated Humbaba. Shamash gave him three dreams, each more dreadful than the last. In the first, a mountain fell on him. In the second, a bull split the earth. In the third, a thunderbird set the world on fire.

"But Gilgamesh," Utnapishtim said, "who will gather the gods for you? Let me test you. Stay awake for six days and seven nights." epic of gilgamesh full version

Gilgamesh screamed. He ordered a statue of Enkidu made from precious stone—head of lapis lazuli, body of gold. He gave Enkidu's grave-goods beyond measure: a mace, a bow, a cup, a dagger. And then he did something no king had done before.

The hunter obeyed. Shamhat bared her breast at the watering hole. Enkidu approached, drawn by a power he did not understand. For six days and seven nights, he lay with her. When he rose, the gazelles fled from him. The wild beasts ran. His body was bound by knowledge; his legs, once swift as a bull, grew heavy. He had gained wisdom and lost his innocence.

This is the story of the king who built those walls: Gilgamesh, the man who saw the deep. He was two-thirds god and one-third man. He knew all things—every secret, every hidden trail. He brought back a tale from before the Flood. He carved his deeds on a lapis lazuli tablet and sealed it in a copper chest. Anu gave her the bull

He came to the twin peaks of Mount Mashu, whose gates were guarded by scorpion-men whose terror was death. The scorpion-man saw the desperation in his eyes. "No mortal has passed this mountain. But go. The path of the sun is ahead."

Prologue: The Walls of Uruk Look upon Uruk-the-Sheepfold, the city of high-walled ramparts. Climb the layered brick stairs and touch the foundation terrace, whose kiln-fired clay gleams like copper. Examine the cedar threshold, whose massive beams were hewn from distant mountains. No later king, not even the mightiest, could match such work.

Gilgamesh laughed in her face. "What lover have you kept? Tammuz—you turned him into a bird, wounded year after year. The lion—you dug seven pits for him. The stallion—you made him a slave to the whip. The shepherd—you turned him into a wolf. The gardener—you struck him into a mole. You will do the same to me." Gilgamesh and Enkidu caught the bull by its horns

Enkidu agreed. But when he heard that Gilgamesh still claimed the bride-right, his new human heart burned with justice. He planted himself at the door of the wedding house, blocking the king's path.

On the twelfth night, Enkidu died. Gilgamesh watched over him like a lion over its cub, tearing his hair, ripping off his fine robes, throwing dust on his head. For seven days, he refused to bury Enkidu, hoping the worms would not find him. But on the seventh day, the body began to move.

Enkidu interpreted each dream as a promise: You will overcome.