ETCSL 1.8.1.4 (Version B) Gilgameš, Enkidu and the Nether World

Text summary

From: Website · Jeremy Allen Black · 1997

"Gilgameš, Enkidu and the Nether World" (ETCSL 1.8.1.4; Version B) provides a partial English translation of a Sumerian afterlife myth. The main actors are Gilgameš and his servant Enkidu. Version B contains two separate snippets compiled from artifacts UET 6 58 and UET 6 59. The UET 6 58 version is 28 lines long and covers the end of the myth, whereby Gilgameš is asking Enkidu what he saw in the netherworld. The UET 6 59 version is two segments, each about ten lines long. These also contain brief snippets of the end of the myth.
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Text: Full Translation, Collation (partial)

Sumerian  ⟶  English a

Line # Translation
[Version B] A version from Urim (UET 6 58)
1-7"Did you see him who fell down from the roof?" "I saw him." "How does he fare?" "They cannot …… his bones." "Did you see him who was struck in (?) a flood-storm of (?) Iškur?" "I saw him." "How does he fare?" "He twitches like an ox as the worms eat at him." "Did you see the leprous man?" "I saw him." "How does he fare?" "His food is set apart, his water is set apart, he eats the food offered (?) to him, he drinks the water offered (?) to him. He lives outside the city."
8-19"Did you see him who had no respect for the word of his mother and father?" "I saw him." "How does he fare?" " "O my body! O my limbs!" he never ceases to cry." "Did you see him who was reached by the curse of his mother and father?" "I saw him." "How does he fare?" "He is deprived of an heir. His spirit roams about." "Did you see him who …… the name of his god?" "I saw him." "How does he fare?" "His spirit ……." "Did you see the spirit of him who has no funerary offerings?" "I saw him." "How does he fare?" "He eats the scraps and the crumbs …… tossed out in the street." "Did you see my little stillborn children who never knew existence?" "I saw them." "How do they fare?" "They play at a table of gold and silver, laden with honey and ghee." "Did you see him who was set on fire?" "I did not see him. His smoke went up to the sky. His spirit does not live in the underworld."
20-28"Did you see him who lied to the gods while swearing an oath?" "I saw him." "How does he fare?" "He drinks …… which has been drunk …… the libation place at the entrance (?) to the nether world." "Did you see the citizen of Ĝirsu who refused (?) water to his father and his mother?" "I saw him." "How does he fare?" "In front of each of them are a thousand Martu, and his spirit can neither …… nor ……. The Martu at the libation place at the entrance (?) to the nether world ……." "Did you see the citizens of Sumer and Akkad?" "I saw them." "How do they fare?" "They drink the water of the …… place, muddy water." "Did you see where my father and my mother live?" "I saw them." "How do they fare?" "Both of them drink the water of the …… place, muddy water."
[Version B] Another version from Urim (UET 6 59)
Segment A
1-9"Did you see him hit by a ship's board? How does he fare?" " "Alas, my mother!" the man cries to her, as he pulls out ……, he …… crossbeam …… crumbs." "Did you see him who fell down from the roof? How does he fare?" "He twitches like an ox as the worms eat at him." "Did you see him who was reached by the curse of his mother? How does he fare?" "He is deprived of an heir. His spirit roams (?) about." "Did you see him who had no respect for the word of his father and his mother? How does he fare?"
1 line fragmentary
unknown no. of lines missing
Segment B
1-11"His food is set apart, his water is set apart, he eats the food offered (?) to him, he drinks the water offered (?) to him." "Did you see him who fell in battle? How does he fare?" "His father and mother are not there to hold his head, and his wife weeps." "Did you see him who ……? How does he fare?" "…… from his (?) hand ……." "Did you see the spirit of him who has no funerary offerings? How does he fare?" "He eats the scraps and the crumbs tossed out in the street." "Did you see my little stillborn children who never knew existence? How do they fare?" "They play with a bucket of gold and silver, full of honey and ghee." "Did you see him who was set on fire?" "I did not see him. His spirit is not there. His smoke went up to the sky."
Source(s) a Black et al., "ETCSL 1.8.1.4: Gilgameš Nether World [Version B]."

Record notes

About these data

Catalog no. ETCSL 1.8.1.4 (B)
Retrieval date Jun. 15, 2020
Copyright ETCSL @ Oxford

Cite this page

MLA Modern Language Association (8th ed.)

OMNIKA Foundation Contributors. "ETCSL 1.8.1.4 (Version B): Gilgamesh, Enkidu and the Nether World." OMNIKA – World Mythology Index, OMNIKA Foundation, 15 Jun. 2020, omnika.org/stable/631. Accessed 13 Nov. 2024.

APA American Psychological Association (6th ed.)

OMNIKA (2020, June 15). ETCSL 1.8.1.4 (Version B): Gilgamesh, Enkidu and the Nether World. Retrieved from https://omnika.org/stable/631

CMS Chicago Manual of Style (16th ed.)

OMNIKA Foundation Contributors. "ETCSL 1.8.1.4 (Version B): Gilgamesh, Enkidu and the Nether World." Las Vegas, NV: OMNIKA Foundation. Created June 15, 2020. Accessed November 13, 2024. https://omnika.org/stable/631.

Bibliography

Black, Jeremy, Graham Cunningham, Jarle Ebeling, Esther Flückiger-Hawker, et al., eds. ETCSL: The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature. Oxford, UK: The University of Oxford. http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk. Accessed June 11, 2020.
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About

Gilgameš, Enkidu, and the Netherworld Afterlife myth Myth icon
Sumerian Belief system
Gilgameš Main deity

While Enki was saling, the south wind uprooted a single ḫalub tree on the bank of the Euphrates river. A woman found it, planted it in Inanna's garden, and watered it by only using her feet; it grew massive after ten years. Inanna wanted to use it for a chair, but its bark would not break. Inanna cried and asked her brother, Gilgameš, to do it. Gilgameš cut the tree with his strength and also made a powerful mallet from its branches. During a game, both the ball and the mallet fell down into the netherworld. When Gilgameš could not recover items, his servant Enkidu offered to retrieve it. Enkidu became trapped there. Gilgameš asked Enki and Enlil to rescue Enkidu, but without success. Utu, however, obliged and made a hole for Enkidu to return. Gilgameš rejoiced and asked Enkidu how different kinds of people fare in the netherworld, ending the poem.