Gilgamesh Tablet VI

This tablet tells of the tiumphant return of Gilgamesh to Uruk where the goddess Ishtar fall in love with him and desires his body. However, Gilgamesh knows of her past relations that have ended in tragedy and he rejects her. Ishtar, mad at Gilgamesh, sends the bull of heaven after him to kill him. Enkidu and Gilgamesh fight the bull together and are able to kill it. Then, Enkidu yells curses at Ishtar for her wretchedness.

I find this blog as a black sheep from the others because how it is just fighting. I think the only point of this tablet is to lead up to the next one; however, in the end of this tablet, Enkidu's wild side really shines as he yells at Ishtar full of anger.

Gilgamesh Tablets IV and V

These tablets tell how Gilgamesh and Enkidu enter the Cedar Forest and traverse through it. They traveled fifty leagues a day and didn't rest until the night. They would stop to dig a well and drink from it to quench their thirst. Then, they would give their thanks to Shamash through the act of offering. During the adventure, Gilgamesh had three dreams that caused him fear but Enkidu interpreted them as good. One where a mountain fell on them, one where he was trampled by a bull, and one where it rained fire and ashes after a thunderstorm. They went deeper into the forest until they found Huwawa who surprised them and scared them with many different faces. They asked for Shamash's help and he raised the thirteen winds against Huwawa. Huwawa tells Gilgamesh to not kill him but Enkidu tells him to do so. Gilgamesh ends the beast by pulling on his tongue. They cut down the tallest tree and with it they make a raft and gate

I find this the conflict between civilization and wilderness. I think an important thing is how every time Huwawa's face appears, it is different. This symbolizes how this conflict keeps on reappearing and every time it is from a different source. It might be from an animal, person, or natural disaster, but it will keep on happening. When they cut down the tallest cedar, they are showing their victory over the wilderness and their power over it. They build the gate which separates civilization from wilderness and build a raft, a way of transportation, to show how it will change and modernize for civilization's use.

Gilgamesh Tablets II and III

These tablets tell of the events where Enkidu is brought into civilization by the temple prostitute. She takes him to Uruk where Enkidu fights Gilgamesh because he is going to sleep with a future bride. When the fight is over, they embraced, they kissed, and took each other by the hand. Then, Gilgamesh decides to go after Huwawa and Enkidu warns him of Huwawa's power. Enkidu decides to go with Gilgamesh and is adopted by Gilgamesh's mother, Rimat-Ninsun.

I found it interesting how even though Enkidu is the wild part of civilization and Gilgamesh is the civilized, Enkidu is the more careful and thoughtful one while Gilgamesh is more reckless and ruthless one. It shows how even though we have civilized, we are not necessarily better. We have civilized but values have been the price. We become too shure of ourselves and too cocky putting ourselves in trouble. Gilgamesh says that he is not afraid of death and his children will have fame while Enkidu tells him to be careful with Huwawa due to its strength. We have to keep these values and stop ourselves from being too cocky because it will cause trouble for us.

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