A Harlot's Tale

The beginning of the Gilgamesh text talks about an ox king, Gilgamesh, who rules Uruk, “The keeping place of Anu and Ishtar” (p. 3). Things that he wants done are done. It’s his way or the high way. The old men beseeched the gods of the heavens to help them counter the dictatorship of the wild ox. The goddess Aruru heard their plea and sent them Gilgamesh’s double, Enkidu. Enkidu upset the hunters for unsetting their traps and freeing their animals. “I saw a hairy-bodied man today at the watering place, powerful as Ninurta the god of war; he feeds upon the grasslands with gazelles; he visits the watering places with the beasts; he has unset my traps and filled my hunting pits; the creatures of the grasslands get away free. The wild man sets them free. Because of him I am no longer a hunter.” (p. 6) The hunter went to Gilgamesh, king of Uruk, and asked for assistance. Gilgamesh sent with him a temple prostitute to return to the grasslands with him so that she may tempt Enkidu with her body so that afterwards, the beasts will no longer drink with him nor the gazelles run with him. He will become a man. Then there will be no one to undo the traps, and the man can be a hunter once again. Enkidu falls for the trap, laying with the harlot for seven days before deciding to go back to Uruk and challenged the so-called King Gilgamesh. When they meet, it’s two soul-mates uniting. They kiss and hug and hold each other by the hand. Finally, Gilgamesh decides that in order to secure his fame in future generations, he must prove himself to the citizens of Uruk. He decides that with Enkidu’s help, he will travel into the Chedar Forest and defeat Huwawa, a beast who obstructs the way to any traveler who wishes to enter the area. Before their departure, Gilgamesh’s mother, Rimat-Ninsun, adopts Enkidu as her son, so that he may have her blessing during the trip. And there begins the harlot’s tale.

There are two obvious characteristics that can be found within this document that are typical of Mesopotamian literature. Because way of life and beliefs are reflected in literature, one can notice the polytheistic tendency of the text, which matches the common belief of the time. Furthermore, one can be aware of the repetitive affinity, which tends to repeat past information to exactly.