Epic of Gilgamesh: Tablet I — The Tyranny of Gilgamish and the Creation of Enkidu · 2 of 6 · tr. R. Campbell Thompson
Tablet I, Section 1b
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], 25.
He is their 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 30.
[Anu] gave ear, call’d the lady Aruru : "’Twas thou, O Aruru, Madest [(primeval seed of) mankind(?)]: do now make its fellow, So that he [happen on Gilgamish], yea, on the day of his pleasure, So that they strive with each other, and he unto Erech give [surcease]." .
So when the goddess Aruru heard this, in her mind she imagined (Straightway, this) Concept of Anu, and, washing her hands, (then) Aruru Finger’d some clay, on the desert she moulded (it): [(thus) on the desert] 35.
Enkidu made she, a warrior, (as he were) born (and) begotten, (Yea), of Ninurta the double, [and put forth] the whole of his body Hair: in the way of a woman he snooded his locks (in a fillet); Sprouted luxuriant growth of his hair-like (the awns of) the barley, Nor knew he people nor land; he was clad in a garb like Sumuqan .
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E’en with gazelles did he pasture on herbage, along with the cattle Drank he his fill, with the beasts did his heart delight at the water.
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(Then) did a hunter, a trapper, come face to face with this (fellow), Came on him [one], two, three days, at the place where (the beasts) drank (their) water ; 45.
(Sooth), when the hunter espied him, his face o’ermantled with terror, He and his cattle went unto his steading, [dismay’d] (and) affrighted, Crying aloud, [distress’d in, his heart, and) his face overclouded, .
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woe in his belly .
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(Aye, and) his face was the same as of one [who hath gone] a far [journey].
Open’d [his mouth (then)] the hunter, and spake, addressing [his father]: "Father, there is [a] great fellow come [forth from out of the mountains], (O, but) [his] strength is the greatest [(the length and breadth) of the country], [Like to a double] of Anu's own self [his strength] is enormous, 5.
Ever (?) [he rangeth at large] o’er the mountains, [(and) ever] with cattle [Grazeth on herbage (and) ever he setteth] his foot to the water, [So that I fear] to approach him.
The pits which I [myself] hollow’d 10.
[(With mine own hands) hath he fill’d in (again)], (and) the traps of my [setting] [Torn up, (and) out of my clutches hath holpen escape] (all) the cattle, Beasts of the desert: to work at my fieldcraft [he will not allow] me." [Open’d his mouth (then) his father, and spake], addressing the hunter: 15.
§ Ask Guru about this passage →Themes
Anthropomorphismtheology
Attributing human characteristics, emotions, or form to the divine; embodied divine imagery.
The gods Anu and Aruru are depicted with human characteristics such as hands, minds, speech, and the ability to wash hands before creation.
All passages →Divine Providencetheology
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.
Anu orchestrates the creation of Enkidu specifically to counter Gilgamesh's tyranny and restore balance to Erech.
All passages →Living Godtheology
The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality.
The deities are portrayed as active and responsive entities who hear human wailing and intervene directly in worldly affairs.
All passages →Prayerpraxis
Direct address to the divine, whether petitionary, contemplative, or liturgical; speech and silence offered upward.
The people's wailing is explicitly described as an appeal that Anu hears and acts upon.
All passages →Ritual Puritypraxis
The maintenance of a state of cleanliness—physical, moral, or spiritual—required for encounter with the divine.
Aruru washes her hands before molding the clay to create Enkidu, indicating a ritual requirement for cleanliness in divine creation.
All passages →Word Power Incantationpraxis
The doctrine and practice that spoken or sung word carries causal-magical force — that uttering names, formulas, songs, or incantations alters reality directly rather than merely communicating about it. Vainamoinen's runo-songs that move mountains and command iron, Norse galdr, Vedic mantra, Shinto kotodama, the magician's barbarous names in the Greek Magical Papyri, Iamblichean arcane signatures and inexplicable symbols, biblical creation-by-word. Distinct from sacred_names (the ontological power of names themselves) and prayer (address to the divine); word_power_incantation is the magical-causal efficacy of the spoken word as such.
Anu's verbal command initiates the creation process, demonstrating the causal power of divine speech to alter reality.
All passages →Related passages · 12 parallels
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