Epic of Gilgamesh: Tablet I — The Tyranny of Gilgamish and the Creation of Enkidu · 1 of 6 · tr. R. Campbell Thompson
Tablet I, Section 1a
THE EPIC OF GILGAMISH.
THE FIRST TABLET OF THE TYRANNY OF GILGAMISH, AND THE CREATION OF ENKIDU.
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He who (the heart of) all matters hath proven let him [teach] the nation, [He who all] knowledge possesseth, therein shall he [school] all the people, [He shall his wisdom impart (?)] and (so) shall they ]share it] together.
[Gilgamish(?)] —he was the [Master] of wisdom, with [knowledge of all things, 5.
He ’twas discovered the secret concealed .
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(Aye), handed down the tradition relating to (things) prediluvian, Went on a journey afar, (all) aweary and [worn with his toiling(?)], 10.
[Graved] on a table of stone all the travail.
Of Erech, the high-wall’d, He (it was) built up the ramparts; (and) he (it was) clamp’d the foundation, Like unto brass, of [E]-Anna , the sacred, the treasury hallow’d, [Strengthen’d] its base to grant wayleave to no [one] .
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the threshold which from [of old (?)] .
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[E]-Anna .
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15 .
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to grant wayleave [to no one (?)] .
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Two-thirds of him are divine, and [one-third of him human,] .
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The form of his body .
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He hath forced to take .
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of Erech ’tis he who hath [taken], .
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(while) tow’reth [his] crest like an aurochs, 10.
Ne’er hath the shock of [his] weapons (its) [peer]; are driven [his] fellows Into the toils , while cow’d are the heroes of Erech un- .
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Gilgamish leaveth no son to [his] father, [his] arrogance swelling (Each) day and [night]; [aye, he] is the shepherd of Erech, the high-[wall’d], 15.
He is [our(?)] shepherd .
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[masterful, dominant, subtle] .
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[Gilgamish] leaveth no [maid to her mother, nor] daughter to [hero], [(Nay), nor a spouse to a husband]" (And so), to (th’ appeal of) their wailing [Gave ear th’ Immortals]: the gods of high heaven address’d the god Anu], 20.
(Him who was) Seigneur of Erech: "’Tis thou a son hast begotten, (Aye, in sooth, all) tyrannous, [while tow’reth his crest like an aurochs], Ne’er hath [the shock of his weapons] (its) peer; are driven [his fellows] Into the toils, awhile cow’d are the heroes of Erech un- .
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Themes
◆Anthropomorphismtheology
Attributing human characteristics, emotions, or form to the divine; embodied divine imagery.
The gods are depicted with human faculties such as hearing wailing, speaking to one another, and having familial relationships like fatherhood.
Pronoia — the doctrine that the divine actively orders the unfolding of the cosmos and human affairs toward intelligible ends, against pure chance or blind necessity.
The gods actively order human affairs by responding to tyranny with a plan to restore balance through the creation of Enkidu.