The Seduction of the Wild Man

This is the third and probably final blog devoted to my rhyming (and pretty literal) version of the first few verses of the oldest written text known to man, the epic poem The Gilgamesh. See my first blog, The Prelude to the Gilgamesh, for background information and whetting the appetite for what we can look forward to in the story. In my second blog, The Creation of the Wild Man, the two main characters are introduced, the king Gilgamesh and the wild man Enkidu. This third part is "The Seduction of the Wild Man". There are interesting parallels with the Fall of man in the Adam and Eve story, except the Fall is also an Awakening. It also sets up the story for how the wild man will leave the wilderness, meet Gilgamesh and how standing together they will accomplish many great deeds.

TABLET I (cont.)

3.

A trapper saw him there quenching his thirst,
A second and third time just like the first,
He stood still in fear and his face went white,
Heart pounding, shaking and drained at the sight.

He asked his father, “Over the mountain,
Has come one who is the mightiest of men.
He jostles with deer at the watering place
And stands, feet planted opposite its face.

I was scared, so did not approach this thug,
But he fills in the pits that I have dug,
Tears out my traps and sets animals free.
I catch nothing now. Please can you help me.”

The father replied, “I know a man, my son,
Called Gilgamesh, who is the greatest one.
Go to Uruk and tell him of your plight.
He will help you against this man of might.

Ask him for Shamhat, a temple priestess,
To take with you into the wilderness,
A woman of love who with practice long
Will overcome him as if she were strong.

When he is drinking water, lead her there.
Have her undress, legs spread, her beauty bare.
He will leave the animals and draw near
And to them he will no longer be dear.”

4.

He followed his father’s advice and went.
Within Uruk’s walls, he proclaimed his vent.
“O Gilgamesh, from over the mountain,
Has come one who is the mightiest of men.

He jostles with deer at the watering place
And stands, feet planted opposite its face.
I was scared, so did not approach this thug,
But he fills in the pits that I have dug,

Tears out my traps and sets animals free.
I catch nothing now. Please can you help me.”
Gilgamesh said, “Take Shamhat, the priestess.
She will overcome him with her caress.

“When he is drinking water, lead her there.
Have her undress, legs spread, her beauty bare.
He will leave the animals and draw near
And to them he will no longer be dear.”

So the trapper set off with no delay
Along with Shamhat and on the third day
Trapper and priestess arrived at the spot
Where they would wait to accomplish their plot.

For two days they watched the water sprinkling
And the wild beasts that came and were drinking
Then he, Enkidu, came down from the fells
He who ate grasses alongside gazelles5.

“Look!” said the trapper, “he is over there!
Cast off your robes and show your beauty bare
When he sees you, nature will take its course.
Do not be restrained. Absorb his life force.

Spread yourself so he may lie upon you.
Show this savage what a woman can do.
The beasts he grew up with, he will then spurn
As his lust for you will begin to burn.”

Shamhat slipped her robe from her bosom fair
And cast it off to show her beauty bare.
He approached her and nature took its course.
She was not restrained but grasped his life force.

Spreading her legs, she used the arts she knew,
Dazzling him with what a woman can do.
The beasts he grew up with were no concern
As he groaned and his lust began to burn.

Six days and seven nights he stayed aroused
Making love until his passions were doused,
But when he left her on the seventh day
The gazelles saw him and bounded away.

The wild beasts no longer stayed by his side
And his knees felt stiff as if they were tied.
His strength gone, he could not run as before
And yet he felt changed, as if he knew more.

6.

He turned back to Shamhat and sat back down,
Gazing at her face with a puzzled frown.
His ears alert, he understood her tongue,
As in sweet melody to him she sung.

“You are handsome, Enkidu, a god-child,
Why do you wander with beasts in the wild?
Come home with me. To Uruk let us ride,
To the shrine where Anu and Ishtar reside.

Land of Gilgamesh, wise to perfection
But who tramples like a bull over men.”
With these words she found she won his favour
As he yearned for a friendship to savour.

“Come Shamhat, to the sacred let us ride,
To the shrine where Anu and Ishtar reside.
Land of Gilgamesh, wise to perfection
But who tramples like a bull over men.

I will change the order of things, priestess.
The mightiest is he born in wilderness.”
“Come then,” she said, “so he may see your face,
To Gilgamesh, I will show you the place.”



Tablet I continues with a speech by the priestess Shamhat which, like the Prelude, is believed to have been added in the Akkadian translation in the 7th century BC and doesn’t correspond to anything in the original Sumerian from a thousand years earlier.

This seems strange to us today when we have strict notions of authorship and ownership and copyright which forbids such tampering of original texts. But it was not so in ancient times. There are of course disadvantages with such tampering. The loss of original form and context can result in a loss of understanding, like a game of Chinese whispers and the final result could lose the essence of the original. And yet, this form of cooperative story-telling over hundreds of years can also lead to an improved, more refined, if lengthier, finished product. It was how the epic came to be, as combinations of many other stories. Some say that the real hero of the original form of the story was actually Enkidu, hence the introduction of Gilgamesh into the action requires the frequent reminder that Gilgamesh is greater still.

All the folk tales from all parts of the world were passed orally from generation to generation in this way, changing over time until first the culture of memorization and then their recording in written form crystallized them into what we know today. Many of these folk tales have only been recorded in the past hundred years. Many more have been lost. What makes the Gilgamesh so unusual is that it was already in writing so very long ago.

This addition to the epic is considered a good one. It sets the scenery, adding colour and a sense of space. And no doubt it is also of historical interest. It follows on with an early example of dream interpretation as she tells how Gilgamesh has foreseen his future meeting and friendship with Enkidu. And finally it completes Tablet I! I never imagined doing so much.

Shamhat’s Speech

You will see Uruk with its seven walls,
And the people in fine embroidered shawls
Of many splendid colours, fringed with lace,
Each day a celebration in this place.

You will hear music played on lyre and drum,
The singing and laughter of all who come,
And the priestesses who ooze in excess
Beauty, energy and sexual prowess.

They stand by the temple dressed in bright red
And on the couch of night the sheets are spread,
In Ishtar’s name, their service of pleasure
Offered to all men to share her treasure.

Enkidu, you do not know how to live.
Look at Gilgamesh, this advice I give.
He has known extremes of both joy and pain
That would make any other man insane.

Handsome, young, fresh and born of a goddess,
Oozing energy and sexual prowess,
He is stronger than you, his power so deep
That neither day nor night does he need sleep.

Enkidu, you must change your wrong thinking
Or your macho pride will be your sinking.
It is Gilgamesh whom Shamash adores,
The sun god who metes out justice and laws.

Anu, Enlil and Ea grew his mind,
With sky, earth and water he is aligned.
Even before you came down from the fells
He had dreamt of you in a dream he tells.

He asked his mother, “Mother, I’ve had a dream.
The stars came out and a rock it would seem
Came down from the sky and fell next to me
But I could not lift or turn it to see.

And all the people were crowding around
From all of Uruk to see what I’d found,
From all of the land, men journeyed to see
And were kissing its feet like a baby.

I embraced it and laid it at your feet
But against myself you made it compete.”
The mother of Gilgamesh, wise Ninsun
Interpreted thus the dream for her son,

“There will come to you a mighty comrade,
A friend you can trust to come to your aid.
The rock represents the mightiest of men.
You embraced him. It is a good omen.”

A second time, he came to his mother
Asking her to interpret another.
“Mother, in my dream there lay at my gate
An axe so huge I could not lift its weight.

And all the people were crowding around
From all of Uruk to see what I’d found,
From all of the land, men journeyed to see
And were kissing its feet like a baby.

I embraced it and laid it at your feet
But against myself you made it compete.”
The mother of Gilgamesh, wise Ninsun
Interpreted thus the dream for her son,

“There will come to you a mighty comrade,
A friend you can trust to come to your aid.
The axe represents the mightiest of men.
You embraced him. It is a good omen.”

Gilgamesh said, “Mother, so may it be,
By Anu’s will, a friend will come to me.
You have interpreted my dreams of him.
The coin of fate spins balanced on its rim.” ”

Thus Shamhat finished her beautiful speech
And Enkidu learnt what she had to teach.
So it was that he set out on his trip
And there blossomed a wonderful friendship.