Epic of Gilgamesh: Tablet I — The Tyranny of Gilgamish and the Creation of Enkidu · 4 of 6 · tr. R. Campbell Thompson
Tablet I, Section 1d
Drank he his fill , with the beasts did his heart delight at the water, So beheld him the courtesan-girl, the lusty great fellow, (O but) a monster (all) savage from out of the depths of the desert!
"’Tis he, O girl!
O, discover thy beauty, thy comeliness shew (him), 10.
So that thy loveliness he may possess—(O), in no wise be bashful, Ravish the soul of him—(certes), as soon as his eye on thee falleth, He, forsooth, will approach thee, and thou—O, loosen thy mantle, So that he clasp thee, and (then) with the wiles of a woman shalt ply him; (Wherefore) his animals, bred in his desert, will (straightway) deny him, 15.
(Since) to his breast he hath held thee." The girl, displaying her bosom, Shew’d him her comeliness, (yea) so that he of her beauty possess’d him, Bashful she was not, (but) ravish’d the soul of him, loosing her mantle, So that he clasp’d her, (and then) with the wiles of a woman she plied him, 20.
Holding her unto his breast.
(’Twas thus that) Enkidu dallied Six days, (aye) seven nights, with the courtesan-girl in his mating.
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Sated at length with her charms, he turn’d his face to his cattle, O the gazelles, (how) they scamper’d away, as soon as they saw him!
25.
Him, yea, Enkidu,—fled from his presence the beasts of the desert!
Enkidu losing his innocence —so, when the cattle fled from him, Failed his knees, and he slack’d in his running, (not) as aforetime: Natheless he (thus) hath attain’d his full growth and hath broaden’d (his) wisdom.
30.
Sat he again at the feet of the woman, the woman his features Scanning, and, while she was speaking, his ears heard (the words) she was saying: "Comely thou art, e’en like to a god, O Enkidu, shalt be, 35.
Why with the beasts (of the field) dost thou (ever) range over the desert?
Up!
for I'll lead thee to Erech, the high-wall'd—(in sooth), to the Temple Sacred, the dwelling of Anu and Ishtar, where, highest in power, Gilgamish is, and prevaileth o’er men like an aurochs." 40.
Her counsel E’en as she spake it found favour, (for) conscious he was of his longing Some companion to seek; so unto the courtesan spake he : "Up, then, O girl, to the Temple, the holy (and) sacred, invite me, 45.
Me, to the dwelling of Anu and Ishtar, where, highest in power, Gilgamish is, and prevaileth o’er men like an aurochs—for I, too, I, I will summon him, challenging boldly (and) crying through Erech, 'I too, am mighty!' Nay, I, forsooth [I], will (e’en) destiny alter— (Truly), ’tis he who is born in the desert whose vigour [is greatest!] .
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I will [please] thee, 5.
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§ Ask Guru about this passage →Themes
Anthropomorphismtheology
Attributing human characteristics, emotions, or form to the divine; embodied divine imagery.
Gods like Anu and Ishtar are depicted with human dwellings and power, while Enkidu is compared to a god.
All passages →Childlike Innocenceanthropology
The infant or child as symbol of the unfallen, undivided spiritual state; return to primordial simplicity.
The text explicitly states 'Enkidu losing his innocence' as he transitions from wild to civilized.
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.
Shamhat's actions are guided by a higher purpose to civilize Enkidu and counter Gilgamesh's tyranny.
All passages →Living Godtheology
The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality.
Deities such as Anu and Ishtar are described as dwelling in temples and exercising power over men.
All passages →Separation From Sourcesoteriology
The felt condition of exile from one's divine origin — Rumi's reed flute torn from its bed, Plotinus's 'we have forgotten,' the Gnostic forgetfulness; the affective wound that complements return_to_source and gives the return its motive.
The beasts flee Enkidu after his union with Shamhat, marking his exile from his primordial wild origin.
All passages →Related passages · 8 parallels
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Shared concept: Anthropomorphism — Attributing human characteristics, emotions, or form to the divine; embodied divine imagery. (derived)
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Shared concept: Separation From Source — The felt condition of exile from one's divine origin — Rumi's reed flute torn from its bed, Plotinus's 'we have forgotten,' the Gnostic forgetfulness; the affective wound that complements return_to_source and gives the return its motive. (derived)
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Shared concept: Childlike Innocence — The infant or child as symbol of the unfallen, undivided spiritual state; return to primordial simplicity. (derived)