An Old Babylonian Version of the Gilgamesh Epic
But after all, the parallels are of too general a character to be of
much moment; and moreover the parallels stop short at the critical
point, for Gilgamesh though worsted is _not_ killed by Enkidu,
whereas one of the "Heavenly Twins" is always killed by the brother,
as Abel is by Cain, and Iphikles by his twin brother Herakles. Even
the trait which is frequent in the earliest forms of the "Heavenly
Twins," according to which one is immortal and the other is mortal,
though applying in a measure to Enkidu who is killed by Ishtar, while
Gilgamesh the offspring of a divine pair is only smitten with disease,
is too unsubstantial to warrant more than a general comparison between
the Enkidu-Gilgamesh pair and the various forms of the "twin" _motif_
found throughout the ancient world. For all that, the point is of some
interest that in the Gilgamesh Epic we should encounter two figures who
are portrayed as possessing the same traits and accomplishing feats in
common, which suggest a partial parallel to the various forms in which
the twin-_motif_ appears in the mythologies, folk-lore and legends
of many nations; and it may be that in some of these instances the
duplication is due, as in the case of Enkidu and Gilgamesh, to an
actual transfer of the traits of one figure to another who usurped
his place.
X.
In concluding this study of the two recently discovered tablets of
the old Babylonian version of the Gilgamesh Epic which has brought us
several steps further in the interpretation and in our understanding
of the method of composition of the most notable literary production
of ancient Babylonia, it will be proper to consider the _literary_
relationship of the old Babylonian to the Assyrian version.
We have already referred to the different form in which the names
of the chief figures appear in the old Babylonian version, dGish as
against dGish-gì(n)-mash, dEn-ki-du as against dEn-ki-dú, Hu-wa-wa
as against Hu(m)-ba-ba. Erech appears as _Uruk ribîtim_, "Erech of
the Plazas," as against _Uruk supûri_, "walled Erech" (or "Erech
within the walls"), in the Assyrian version. [130] These variations
point to an _independent_ recension for the Assyrian revision; and
this conclusion is confirmed by a comparison of parallel passages in
our two tablets with the Assyrian version, for such parallels rarely
extend to verbal agreements in details, and, moreover, show that the
Assyrian version has been elaborated.
Beginning with the Pennsylvania tablet, column I is covered in the
Assyrian version by tablet I, 5, 25, to 6, 33, though, as pointed out
above, in the Assyrian version we have the anticipation of the dreams
of Gilgamesh and their interpretation through their recital to Enkidu
by his female companion, whereas in the old Babylonian version we
have the dreams _directly_ given in a conversation between Gilgamesh
and his mother. In the anticipation, there would naturally be some
omissions. So lines 4-5 and 12-13 of the Pennsylvania tablet do not
appear in the Assyrian version, but in their place is a line (I, 5,
35), to be restored to
"[I saw him and like] a woman I fell in love with him."
which occurs in the old Babylonian version only in connection with
the second dream. The point is of importance as showing that in the
Babylonian version the first dream lays stress upon the omen of
the falling meteor, as symbolizing the coming of Enkidu, whereas
the second dream more specifically reveals Enkidu as a man, [131]
of whom Gilgamesh is instantly enamored. Strikingly variant lines,
though conveying the same idea, are frequent. Thus line 14 of the
Babylonian version reads
"I bore it and carried it to thee"
and appears in the Assyrian version (I, 5, 35_b_ supplied from 6, 26)
"I threw it (or him) at thy feet" [132]
with an additional line in elaboration
"Thou didst bring him into contact with me" [133]
which anticipates the speech of the mother
(Line 41 = Assyrian version I, 6, 33).
Line 10 of the Pennsylvania tablet has _pa-hi-ir_ as against _iz-za-az_
I, 5, 31.
Line 8 has _ik-ta-bi-it_ as against _da-an_ in the Assyrian version I,
5, 29.
More significant is the variant to line 9
"I became weak and its weight I could not bear"
as against I, 5, 30.
"Its strength was overpowering, [134] and I could not endure
its weight."
The important lines 31-36 are not found in the Assyrian version,
with the exception of I, 6, 27, which corresponds to lines 33-34,
but this lack of correspondence is probably due to the fact that the
Assyrian version represents the anticipation of the dreams which,
as already suggested, might well omit some details. As against this
we have in the Assyrian version I, 6, 23-25, an elaboration of line
30 in the Pennsylvania tablet and taken over from the recital of
the first dream. Through the Assyrian version I, 6, 31-32, we can
restore the closing lines of column I of the Pennsylvania tablet,
while with line 33 = line 45 of the Pennsylvania tablet, the parallel
between the two versions comes to an end. Lines 34-43 of the Assyrian
version (bringing tablet I to a close) [135] represent an elaboration
of the speech of Ninsun, followed by a further address of Gilgamesh
to his mother, and by the determination of Gilgamesh to seek out
Enkidu. [136] Nothing of this sort appears to have been included in
the old Babylonian version.Our text proceeds with the scene between
Enkidu and the woman, in which the latter by her charms and her appeal
endeavors to lead Enkidu away from his life with the animals. From
the abrupt manner in which the scene is introduced in line 43 of the
Pennsylvania tablet, it is evident that this cannot be the _first_
mention of the woman. The meeting must have been recounted in the
first tablet, as is the case in the Assyrian version. [137] The second
tablet takes up the direct recital of the dreams of Gilgamesh and
then continues the narrative. Whether in the old Babylonian version
the scene between Enkidu and the woman was described with the same
naïve details, as in the Assyrian version, of the sexual intercourse
between the two for six days and seven nights cannot of course be
determined, though presumably the Assyrian version, with the tendency
of epics to become more elaborate as they pass from age to age, added
some realistic touches. Assuming that lines 44-63 of the Pennsylvania
tablet--the cohabitation of Enkidu and the address of the woman--is
a repetition of what was already described in the first tablet, the
comparison with the Assyrian version I, 4, 16-41, not only points to
the elaboration of the later version, but likewise to an independent
recension, even where parallel lines can be picked out. Only lines
46-48 of the Pennsylvania tablet form a complete parallel to line 21
of column 4 of the Assyrian version. The description in lines 22-32
of column 4 is missing, though it may, of course, have been included
in part in the recital in the first tablet of the old Babylonian
version. Lines 49-59 of the Pennsylvania tablet are covered by 33-39,
the only slight difference being the specific mention in line 58 of
the Pennsylvania tablet of Eanna, the temple in Erech, described as
"the dwelling of Anu," whereas in the Assyrian version Eanna is merely
referred to as the "holy house" and described as "the dwelling of
Anu and Ishtar," where Ishtar is clearly a later addition.
Leaving aside lines 60-61, which may be merely a variant (though
independent) of line 39 of column 4 of the Assyrian version, we now
have in the Pennsylvania tablet a second speech of the woman to Enkidu
(not represented in the Assyrian version) beginning like the first
one with _alka_, "Come" (lines 62-63), in which she asks Enkidu to
leave the "accursed ground" in which he dwells. This speech, as the
description which follows, extending into columns 3-4, and telling how
the woman clothed Enkidu, how she brought him to the sheep folds, how
she taught him to eat bread and to drink wine, and how she instructed
him in the ways of civilization, must have been included in the second
tablet of the Assyrian version which has come down to us in a very
imperfect form. Nor is the scene in which Enkidu and Gilgamesh have
their encounter found in the preserved portions of the second (or
possibly the third) tablet of the Assyrian version, but only a brief
reference to it in the fourth tablet, [138] in which in Epic style the
story is repeated, leading up to the second exploit--the joint campaign
of Enkidu and Gilgamesh against Huwawa. This reference, covering only
seven lines, corresponds to lines 192-231 of the Pennsylvania tablet;
but the former being the repetition and the latter the original
recital, the comparison to be instituted merely reveals again the
independence of the Assyrian version, as shown in the use of _kibsu_,
"tread" (IV, 2, 46), for _sêpu_, "foot" (l. 216), _i-na-us_, "quake"
(line 5C), as against _ir-tu-tu_ (ll. 221 and 226).
Such variants as
_d_Gish êribam ûl iddin (l. 217)
against
_d_Gilgamesh ana surûbi ûl namdin, (IV, 2, 47).
and again
_issabtûma kima lîm_ "they grappled at the gate of the family
house" (IV, 2, 48),
against
_issabtûma ina bâb bît emuti_, "they grappled at the gate of
the family house" (IV, 2, 48),
all point once more to the literary independence of the Assyrian
version. The end of the conflict and the reconciliation of the two
heroes is likewise missing in the Assyrian version. It may have been
referred to at the beginning of column 3 [139] of Tablet IV.
Coming to the Yale tablet, the few passages in which a comparison may
be instituted with the fourth tablet of the Assyrian version, to which
in a general way it must correspond, are not sufficient to warrant any
conclusions, beyond the confirmation of the literary independence of
the Assyrian version. The section comprised within lines 72-89, where
Enkidu's grief at his friend's decision to fight Huwawa is described
[140], and he makes confession of his own physical exhaustion, _may_
correspond to Tablet IV, column 4, of the Assyrian version. This
would fit in with the beginning of the reverse, the first two lines
of which (136-137) correspond to column 5 of the fourth tablet of the
Assyrian version, with a variation "seven-fold fear" [141] as against
"fear of men" in the Assyrian version. If lines 138-139 (in column
4) of the Yale tablet correspond to line 7 of column 5 of Tablet IV
of the Assyrian version, we would again have an illustration of the
elaboration of the later version by the addition of lines 3-6. But
beyond this we have merely the comparison of the description of Huwawa
"Whose roar is a flood, whose mouth is fire, and whose breath
is death"
which occurs twice in the Yale tablet (lines 110-111 and 196-197),
with the same phrase in the Assyrian version Tablet IV, 5, 3--but here,
as just pointed out, with an elaboration.
Practically, therefore, the entire Yale tablet represents an addition
to our knowledge of the Huwawa episode, and until we are fortunate
enough to discover more fragments of the fourth tablet of the Assyrian
version, we must content ourselves with the conclusions reached from
a comparison of the Pennsylvania tablet with the parallels in the
Assyrian version.
It may be noted as a general point of resemblance in the exterior form
of the old Babylonian and Assyrian versions that both were inscribed
on tablets containing six columns, three on the obverse and three on
the reverse; and that the length of the tablets--an average of 40 to
50 lines--was about the same, thus revealing in the external form
a conventiona1 size for the tablets in the older period, which was
carried over into later times.
PENNSYLVANIA TABLET