Mythology

The maid Inanna (and) whatever is pleasing to thee, The maid Inanna . . . I shall bring thee.” [6] When we come to deal with Hebrew myths we shall see that various layers of older myths underlie the present form of the Cain and Abel myth, and it is possible that Dumuzi’s rejection of all the farmer-god’s gifts underlies Yahweh’s rejection of Cain’s agricultural offerings. Gilgamesh Myths An important figure in Akkadian mythology is the hero Gilgamesh, who is, according to the Gilgamesh Epic, two parts god, and one part man. But he also belongs to Sumerian mythology, and three Sumerian texts included in The Ancient Near Eastern Texts in Kramer’s translation contain accounts of episodes in which Gilgamesh is concerned. It should be remarked here that in the Sumerian king-lists Gilgamesh is the fifth king of the dynasty of Erech, the second dynasty after the Flood according to Sumerian reckoning. The first of these texts, entitled ‘Gilgamesh and Agga’ in The Ancient Near Eastern Texts, reflects the struggles for domination between the early Sumerian city-states. It contains the story of the conflict between Gilgamesh of Erech and Agga the last king of the dynasty of Kish, the first dynasty after the Flood. Much of the poem is obscure, but it seems to represent a demand by Agga for the submission of Erech, the resistance of the demand by Gilgamesh, the siege of Erech by Agga, and a final reconciliation of the two kings. There is no intervention of the gods, hence the text is not strictly speaking part of Sumerian mythology, and is only included here because of its evidence that the figure of Gilgamesh is derived from Sumerian sources. The second text, entitled in The Ancient Near Eastern Texts ‘Gilgamesh and the Land of the Living’, clearly contains mythical material which was utilized in the composition of the Akkadian Epic of Gilgamesh, with which we shall deal later. Its theme is the search for immortality, a motive which underlies much of Near Eastern mythology. As the substance of this text has been taken up and more fully developed in the Akkadian Epic mentioned above, it need only be briefly summarized here. Oppressed by the all-pervasiveness of death, and conscious that he himself cannot escape it, Gilgamesh determines to find the Land of the Living. His friend and servant Enkidu, of whom we shall learn more in the Akkadian Epic, advises him to consult the sun-god Utu about his adventure. Utu at first warns him of its dangers, but afterwards helps him to cross the seven mountains and reach his goal which appears to be the cedar mountain where the giant Huwawa dwells. Gilgamesh and Enkidu, after some obscure preliminaries, cut off the giant’s head. Here the tablet breaks off. The importance of the text lies chiefly in the fact that it shows the Sumerian preoccupation with the problem of death, and that it is the source from which the Babylonians drew the materials for the complete Gilgamesh story given in the Akkadian form of the myth. The third Gilgamesh fragment, entitled in The Ancient Near Eastern Texts ‘The Death of Gilgamesh’, further develops the theme of death and the quest for immortality. Gilgamesh appears to have had a dream which is interpreted to him by the god Enlil as meaning that the gods have denied immortality to mankind, but that Gilgamesh has been granted fame, wealth, and success in battle. The second part of the poem appears to describe a funerary ritual, which may, as Kramer suggests, throw light on the significance of the death-chamber discovered by Sir Leonard Woolley in his excavation of Ur. The Sumerians may, like the ancient Egyptians,

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