The
Babylonian Story of the Deluge and the Epic of Gilgamish
by E.A. Wallis Budge
[1929]
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THIS brochure, The Babylonian Story of the Deluge and the Epic of
Gilgamish, was originally written by the late Keeper of the Department,
SIR ERNEST WALLIS BUDGE, LITT.D., F.S.A. It is now re-issued in a
revised form, rendered necessary by the march of discovery in Babylonian
matters during the last few years. The work of revision has been
carried out by Mr. C. J. GADD, M.A., F.S.A., Assistant-Keeper in the
Department.
H. R. HALL.
DEPARTMENT OF EGYPTIAN AND ASSYRIAN ANTIQUITIES, BRITISH MUSEUM,
15th October, 1929.
THE BABYLONIAN STORY OF THE DELUGE AS TOLD
BY ASSYRIAN TABLETS FROM NINEVEH.
THE DISCOVERY OF THE TABLETS AT NINEVEH BY LAYARD, RASSAM AND SMITH.
IN 1845-47, and again in 1849-51, Mr. (later Sir) A. H. Layard carried
out a series of excavations among the ruins of the ancient city of
Nineveh, "that great city, wherein are more than sixteen thousand
persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left; and
also much cattle" (Jonah iv, ii). Its ruins lie on the left or east
bank of the Tigris, exactly opposite the town of At-Mawsil, or
Môsul, which was founded by the Sassanians and marks the site of
Western Nineveh. At first Layard thought that these ruins were not those
of Nineveh, which he placed at Nimrûd, about 20 miles downstream,
but of one of the other cities that were builded by Asshur (see Gen. X,
11, 12). Thanks, however, to Christian, Roman and Muhammadan tradition,
there is no room for doubt about it, and the site of Nineveh has always
been known. The fortress which the Arabs built there in the seventh
century was known as "Kal'at Ninawï," i.e., "Nineveh Castle," for
many centuries, and all the Arab geographers agree in saying that the
mounds opposite Môsul contain the ruins of the palaces and walls
of Nineveh. And few of them fail to mention that close by them is "Tall
Nabi Yûnis," i.e., the Hill from which the Prophet Jonah preached
repentance to the inhabitants of Nineveh, that "exceeding great city of
three days' journey" (Jonah iii, 3). Local tradition also declares that
the prophet was buried in the Hill, and his supposed tomb is shown
there to this day.
THE WALLS AND PALACES OF NINEVEH.
The situation of the ruins of the palaces of Nineveh is well shown by
the accompanying reproduction of the plan of
{p. 2}
the city made by Commander Felix Jones, I.N. The remains of the older
palaces built by Sargon II (B.C. 722-705), Sennacherib (B.C. 705-681),
and Esarhaddon (B.C. 681-669) lie under the hill called Nabi
Yûnis, and those of the palaces and other buildings of
Asshur-bani-pal (B.C. 681-626) under the mound which is known locally as
"Tall al-'Armûshîyah," i.e., "The "Hill of 'Armûsh,"
and "Kuyûnjik." The latter name is said to be derived from two
Turkish words meaning "many sheep," in allusion to the large flocks of
sheep that find their pasture on and about the mound in the early
spring. These two great mounds lie close to the remains of the great
west wall of Nineveh, which in the time of the last Assyrian Empire may
have been washed by the waters of the river Tigris.[1] The river
Khausur, or Khoser, divides the area of Nineveh into two parts, and
passing close to the southern end of Kuyûnjik empties itself into
the Tigris. The ruins of the walls of Nineveh show that the east wall
was 16,000 feet long, the north wall 7,000 feet long, the west wall
13,600 feet, and the south wall 3,000 feet; its circuit was about
13,200 yards or 71 miles.
FIRST
DISCOVERY OF THE ROYAL LIBRARY AT NINEVEH.
In the spring of 1850 Layard, assisted by Mr. H. Rassam, continued the
excavation of the "South West Palace" at Kuyûnjik. In one part of
the building he found two small chambers, opening into each other, which
be called the "chamber of records," or "the house of the rolls." He
gave them this name because "to the height of a foot or more from the
floor they were entirely filled with inscribed baked clay tablets and
fragments of tablets. Some tablets were complete, but by far the larger
number of them had been broken up into many fragments, probably by the
falling in of the roof and upper parts of the walls of the buildings
when the city was pillaged and set on fire by the Medes and
Babylonians. The tablets that were kept in these chambers numbered many
thousands. Besides those that were found in them by Layard, large
numbers have been dug out all along
[1. It has recently been suggested, as a result of careful examination
of the site, that the Tigris never actually flowed under the city wall.
(R. C. Thompson, A Century of Exploration at Nineveh, p. 122 ff.)]
{p. 4}
the corridor which passed the chambers and led to the river, and a
considerable number were kicked on to the river front by the feet of the
terrified fugitives from the palace when it was set on fire. The
tablets found by Layard were of different sizes; the largest were
rectangular, flat on one side and convex on the other, and measured
about 9 ins. by 6½ ins., and the smallest were about an inch
square. The importance of this "find" was not sufficiently recognized at
the time, for the tablets, which were thought to be decorated pottery,
were thrown into baskets and sent down the river loose on rafts to
Basrah, whence they were despatched to England on a British
{p. 6}
man-of-war. During their transport from Nineveh to England they
suffered more damage from want of packing than they had suffered from
the wrath of the Medes. Among the complete tablets that were found in
the two chambers several had colophons inscribed or scratched upon them,
and when these were deciphered by Rawlinson, Hincks and Oppert a few
years later, it became evident that they had formed part of the Library
of the TEMPLE OF NEBO AT NINEVEH.
NEBO AND HIS LIBRARY AT NINEVEH.
Nothing is known of the early history of the Library[1] of the Temple
of Nebo at Nineveh, but there is little doubt that it was in existence
in the reign of Sargon II. Authorities differ in their estimate of the
attributes that were assigned to Nebo (Nabu) in Pre-Babylonian times,
and "cannot decide whether he was a water-god, or a fire-god, or a
corn-god, but he was undoubtedly associated with Marduk, either as his
son or as a fellow-god. It is certain that as early as B.C. 2000 he was
regarded as one of the "Great Gods" of Babylonia, and in the fourteenth
century B.C. his cult was already established in Assyria. He had a
temple at Nimrûd in the ninth century B.C., and King Adad-nirari
(B.C. 811-783) set up six statues in it to the honour of the god; two of
these statues are now in the British Museum. The same Adad-nirari also
repaired the Nebo temple at Nineveh. Under the last Assyrian Empire
Nebo was believed to possess the wisdom of all the gods, and to be the
"All-wise " and "All-knowing." He was the inventor of all the arts and
sciences, and the source of inspiration in wise and learned men, and he
was the divine scribe and past master of all the mysteries connected
with literature and the art of writing (dup-sharrute). Ashur-bani-pal
addresses him as "Nebo, the mighty son, the director of the whole of
heaven and of earth, holder of the tablet, bearer of the writing-reed
of the tablet of destiny, lengthener of days, vivifier of the dead,
stablisher of light for the men who are troubled" (see Tablet, RM. 132).
[1. A group of Sumerian signs for "library" is ### (girginakku), and
these seem to mean "collection of tablets."]
{p. 7}
In the reign of Sargon II the Temple of Nebo at Kuyûnjik[1] was
repaired, and probably at that time a library was housed in it. Layard
found some of the remains of Nebo's Library in the South West Palace,
but it must have been transferred thither, for the temple of Nebo lay
farther north, near the south comer of Ashur-bani-pal's palace. Nebo's
temple at Nineveh bore the same name as his very ancient temple at
Borsippa (the modem Birs-i-Nimrûd), viz., "E-ZIDA."
DISCOVERY OF THE PALACE LIBRARY OF
ASHUR-BANI-PAL.
In the spring of 1851 Layard was obliged to close his excavations for
want of funds, and he returned to England with Rassam, leaving all the
northern half of the great mound of Kuyûnjik unexcavated. He
resigned his position as Director of Excavations to the Trustees of the
British Museum, and Colonel (later Sir) H. C. Rawlinson, Consul-General
at Baghdâd, undertook to direct any further excavations that it
might be possible to carry out later on. During the summer the Trustees
received a further grant from Parliament for excavations in Assyria, and
they dispatched Rassam to finish the exploration of Kuyûnjik,
knowing that the lease of the mound of Kuyûnjik for excavation
purposes which he had obtained from its owner had several years to run.
When Rassam arrived at Môsul in 1852, and was collecting his men
for work, he discovered that Rawlinson, who knew nothing about the lease
of the mound which Rassam held, had given the French Consul, M. Place,
permission to excavate the northern half of the mound, i.e., that part
of it which he was most anxious to excavate for the British Museum. He
protested, but in vain, and, finding that M. Place intended to hold
Rawlinson to his word, devoted himself to clearing out part of the
South West Palace which Layard had attacked in 1850. Meanwhile M. Place
was busily occupied with the French excavations at Khorsabad, a mound
which contained the ruins of the great palace of Sargon II, and had no
time to open up excavations at Kuyûnjik. In this way a year
passed, and as M. Place made no sign that he was going to excavate at
Kuyûnjik, and Rassam's time for
[1. For a description of the ruins of this temple, see R. C. Thompson,
A Century of Exploration at Nineveh, pp. 67-79.]
{p. 13}
returning to England was drawing near, the owner of the mound, who was
anxious to get the excavations finished so that he might again graze his
flocks on the mound, urged Rassam to get to work in spite of
Rawlinson's agreement with M. Place. He and Rassam made arrangements to
excavate the northern part of the mound clandestinely and by night, and
on 20th December, 1853, the work began. On the first night nothing of
importance was found; on the second night the men uncovered a portion of
a large bas-relief; and on the third night a huge mass of earth
collapsed revealing a very fine bas-relief, sculptured with a scene
representing Ashur-bani-pal standing in his chariot. The news of the
discovery was quickly carried to all parts of the neighbourhood, and as
it was impossible to keep the diggings secret any longer, the work was
continued openly and by day. The last-mentioned bas-relief was one of
the series that lined the chamber, which was 50 feet long and 15 feet
wide, and illustrated a royal lion hunt. This series, that is to say,
all of it that the fire which destroyed the palace had spared, is now in
the British Museum (see the Gallery of the Assyrian Saloon).
Whilst the workmen were clearing out the Chamber of the Lion Hunt they
came across several heaps of inscribed baked clay tablets of "all shapes
and sizes," which resembled in general appearance the tablets that
Layard had found in the South West Palace the year before. There were
no remains with them, or near them, that suggested they had been
arranged systematically and stored in the Chamber of the Lion Hunt, and
it seems as if they had been brought there from another place and thrown
down hastily, for nearly all of them were broken into small pieces. As
some of them bore traces of having been exposed to great heat they must
have been in that chamber during the burning of the palace. When the
tablets were brought to England and were examined by Rawlinson, it was
found from the information supplied by the colophons that they formed a
part of the great PRIVATE LIBRARY OF
[1. These bas-reliefs show that lions were kept in cages in Nineveh and
let out to be killed by the King with his own hand. There seems to be an
allusion to the caged lions by Nahum (ii, 11), who says, "Where is the
dwelling of the lions, and the feeding place of the young lions, where
the lion, even the old lion, walked, and the lion's whelp, and none
made them afraid?"]
{p. 14}
ASHUR-BANI-PAL, which that king kept in his palace. The tablets found
by Layard in 1850 and by Rassam in 1853 form the unique and magnificent
collection of cuneiform tablets in the British Museum, which is now
commonly known as the "Kuyûnjik Collection." The approximate
number of the inscribed baked clay tablets and fragments that have come
from Kuyûnjik and are now in the British Museum is 25,073. It is
impossible to over-estimate their importance and value from religious,
historical and literary points of view; besides this, they have supplied
the material for the decipherment of cuneiform inscriptions in the
Assyrian, Babylonian and Sumerian languages, and form the foundation of
the science of Assyriology which has been built up with such
conspicuous success during the last 70 years.
ASHUR-BANI-PAL, BOOK-COLLECTOR AND PATRON
OF LEARNING.
Ashur-bani-pal (the Asnapper of Ezra iv, 10) succeeded his father
Esarhaddon B.C. 669, and at a comparatively early period of his reign he
seems to have devoted himself to the study of the history of his
country, and to the making of a great Private Library. The tablets that
have come down to us prove not only that he was as great a benefactor of
the Library of the Temple of Nebo as any of his predecessors, but that
he was himself an educated man, a lover of learning, and a patron of
the literary folk of his day. In the introduction to his Annals, as
found inscribed on his great ten-sided prism in the British Museum, he
tells us how he took up his abode in the Crown Prince's dwelling from
which Sermacherib and Esarhaddon had ruled the Assyrian Empire, and in
describing his own education he says:
"I, Ashur-bani-pal, within it (i.e., the palace) understood the wisdom
of Nebo, all the art of writing of every craftsman, of every kind, I
made myself master of them all (i.e., of the various kinds of writing)."
{p. 16}
These words suggest that Ashur-bani-pal could not only read cuneiform
texts, but could write like a skilled scribe, and that he also
understood all the details connected with the
{p. 17}
craft of making and baking tablets. Having determined to form a Library
in his palace he set to work in a systematic manner to collect literary
works. He sent scribes to ancient seats of learning, e.g., Ashur,
Babylon, Cuthah, Nippur, Akkad, Erech, to make copies of the ancient
works that were preserved there, and when the copies came to Nineveh he
either made transcripts of them himself, or caused his scribes to do so
for the Palace Library. In any case he collated the texts himself and
revised them before placing them in his Library. The appearance of the
tablets from his Library suggests that he established a factory in which
the clay was cleaned and kneaded and made into homogeneous, well-shaped
tablets, and a kiln in which they were baked, after they had been
inscribed. The uniformity of the script upon them is very remarkable,
and texts with mistakes in them are rarely found. How the tablets were
arranged in the Library is not known, but certainly groups were
catalogued, and some tablets were labelled.[1] Groups of tablets were
arranged in numbered series, with "catch lines," the first tablet of
the series giving the first line of the second tablet, the second
tablet giving the first line of the third tablet, and so on.
Ashur-bani-pal was greatly interested in the literature of the
Sumerians, i.e., the non-Semitic people who occupied Lower Babylonia
about B.C. 3500 and later. He and his scribes made bilingual lists of
signs and words and objects of all classes and kinds, all of which are
of priceless value to the modem student of the Sumerian and Assyrian
languages. Annexed is an extract from a List of
[1. K. 1352 is a, good specimen of a catalogue (see p. 10); K. 1400 and
K. 1539 are labels (see p. 12).]
{p. 18}
Signs with Sumerian and Assyrian values. The signs of which the
meanings are given are in the middle column; the Sumerian values are
given in the column to the left, and their meanings in Assyrian in the
column to the right. To many of his copies of Sumerian hymns,
incantations, magical formulas, etc., Ashur-bani-pal caused interlinear
translations to be added in Assyrian, and of such bilingual documents
the following extract from a text relating to the Seven Evil Spirits
will serve as a specimen. The 1st, 3rd, 5th, etc., lines are written in
Sumerian, and the 2nd, 4th, 6th, etc., lines in Assyrian.
Most of the tablets from Kuyûnjik end with colophons, which can
be divided broadly into two classes. One of these is the short note,
frequently impressed by a stamp, which reads simply "Palace of
Ashur-bani-pal, king of all, king of Assyria" (see the tablet
illustrated on p. 22). The longer forms of colophon were added by the
scribes who had written the whole tablet. Of these longer colophons
there are several versions, each of which seems to have been
appropriated to a particular class of texts. Two of the most interesting
are here appended; they reveal a distinction between tablets belonging
to the Palace Library and those preserved in the Temple of Nebo.
{p. 20}
1. Palace of Ashur-bani-pal, king of all, king of the country of
Assyria,
2. who trusteth in the god Ashur and the goddess Ninlil,
3. on whom the god Nebo (Nabû) and the goddess Tashmetu
4. have bestowed all-hearing ears
5. and who has eyes that are clearsighted.
6. The finest results of the art of writing
7. which, among the kings who have gone before,
8. no one ever acquired that craft,
9. the wisdom of Nebo [expressed in] rows (?) of writing, of every form,
10. on tablets I wrote, collated and revised,
11. [and] for examination and reading
12. in my palace I placed--[I]
13. the prince who knoweth the light of the king of the gods, Ashur.'
14. Whosoever shall carry [them] off, or his name side by side with mine
15. shall write, may Ashur and Ninlil, wrathfully, furiously
16. sweep away, and his name and his seed destroy in the land.
2. COLOPHON OF THE TABLETS OF THE LIBRARY OF NEBO. (Rm. 132.)
1. To Nebo, the mighty son, director of the whole of heaven and of
earth,
2. holder of the tablet, bearer of the writing reed of the tablet of
destinies,
3. lengthener of days, vivifier of the dead, stablisher of light for
the men who are troubled,
4. the great lord, his lord; Ashur-bani-pal, the prince, the favourite
of the gods Ashur, Bê1 and Nebo,
5. the shepherd, the maintainer of the holy places of the great gods,
stablisher of their revenues,
6. son of Esarhaddon, king of all, king of Assyria,
7. grandson of Sennacherib, king of all, king of Assyria,
[1. Or, probably better. "Thy lordship is beyond compare, O king the
gods, Ashur."]
{p. 21}
8. for the life of his soul, length of his days, [and] well-being of
his posterity,
9. to make permanent the foundation of his royal throne, to hear his
supplications,
10. to receive his petitions, to deliver into his hands the rebellious.
11. The wisdom of Ea, the chanter's art, the secrets of the sages,
12. what is composed for the contentment of the heart of the great gods,
13. I wrote upon tablets, I collated, I revised
14. according to originals of the lands of Ashur and Akkad,
15. and I placed in the Library of E-zida, the temple of Nebo my lord,
which is in Nineveh.
16. O Nebo, lord of the whole of heaven and of earth, look upon that
Library joyfully for years (i.e., for ever).
17. On Ashur-bani-pal, the chief, the worshipper of thy divinity, daily
bestow grace,
18. his life decree, so that he may exalt thy great godhead.
The tablets from both Libraries when unbroken vary in size from 15
inches by 85/8 inches to 1 inch by 7/8 inch, and they are usually about
1 inch thick. In shape they are rectangular, the obverse being flat and
the reverse slightly convex. Contract tablets, letter tablets and "case"
tablets are very much smaller, and resemble small pillows in shape. The
principal subjects dealt with in the tablets are history, annalistic or
summaries, letters, despatches, reports, oracles, prayers, contracts,
deeds of sale of land, produce, cattle, slaves, agreements, dowries,
bonds for interest (with impressions of seals, and fingernails, or nail
marks), chronography, chronology, canons of eponyms, divination (by
astrology, the entrails of victims, oil, casual events, dreams, and
symptoms), charms, spells, incantations, mythology, legends, grammar,
law, geography, etc.[1]
[1. For a full description of the general contents of the two great
Libraries of Nineveh. see Bezold, Catalogue of the Cuneiform Tablets of
the Kouyûnjik Collection, Vol. V, London, 1899, p. xviii ff.; and
King, Supplement, London, 1914, p. xviii ff.]
{p. 24}
GEORGE SMITH'S DISCOVERY OF THE EPIC OF
GILGAMISH AND THE STORY OF THE DELUGE.
The mass of tablets which had been discovered by Layard and Rassam at
Nineveh came to the British Museum in 1854-5, and their examination by
Rawlinson and Norris began very soon after. Mr. Bowler, a skilful
draughtsman and copyist of tablets, whom Rawlinson employed in making
transfers of copies of cuneiform texts for publication by lithography,
rejoined a considerable number of fragments of bilingual lists,
syllabaries, etc., which were published in the second volume of the
Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia, in 1866. In that year the
Trustees of the British Museum employed George Smith to assist Rawlinson
in sorting, classifying and rejoining fragments, and a comprehensive
examination of the collection by him began. His personal interest in
Assyriology was centred upon historical texts, especially those which
threw any light on the Bible Narrative. But in the course of his search
for stories of the campaigns of Sargon II, Sennacherib, Esarhaddon and
Ashur-bani-pal, he discovered among other important documents (1) a
series of portions of tablets which give the adventures of Gilgamish,
an ancient king of Erech; (2) an account of the Deluge, which is
supplied by the Eleventh Tablet of the Legend of Gilgamish (in more
than one version); (3) a detailed description of the Creation; (4) the
Legend of the Descent of Ishtar into Hades in quest of Tammuz. The
general meaning of the texts was quite clear, but there were many gaps
in them, and it was not until December, 1872, that George Smith
published his description of the Legend of Gilgamish, and a translation
of the "Chaldean Account of the Deluge." The interest which his paper
evoked was universal, and the proprietors of The Daily Telegraph
advocated that Smith should be at once dispatched to Nineveh to search
for the missing fragments of tablets which would fill up the gaps in his
texts, and generously offered to contribute 1,000 guineas towards the
cost of the excavations. The Trustees accepted the offer and gave six
months' leave of absence to Smith, who left London in January, and
arrived in Môsul in March, 1873. In the following May he recovered
from Kuyûnjik a fragment that contained "the greater portion of
seventeen
{p. 25}
lines of inscription belonging to the first column of the Chaldean
account of the Deluge, and fitting into the only place where there was a
serious blank in the story."[1] During the excavations which Smith
carried out at Kuyûnjik in 1873 and 1874 he recovered many
fragments of tablets, the texts of which enabled him to complete his
description of the contents of the Twelve Tablets of the Legend of
Gilgamish which included his translation of the story of the Deluge.
Unfortunately Smith died of hunger and sickness near Aleppo in 1876, and
he was unable to revise his early work, and to supplement it with the
information which he had acquired during his latest travels in Assyria
and Babylonia. Thanks to the excavations which were carried on at
Kuyûnjik by the Trustees of the British Museum after his untimely
death, several hundreds of tablets and fragments have been recovered,
and many of these have been rejoined to the tablets of the older
collection. By the careful study and investigation of the old and new
material Assyriologists have, during the last forty years, been enabled
to restore and complete many passages in the Legends of Gilgamish and
the Flood. It now seems that the Legend of the Flood had not originally
any connection with the Legend of Gilgamish, and that it was introduced
into it by a late editor or redactor of the Legend, probably in order
to complete the number of the Twelve Tablets on which it was written in
the time of Ashur-bani-pal.
THE LEGEND OF THE DELUGE IN BABYLONIA.
In the introduction to his paper on the "Chaldean Account of the
Deluge," which Smith read in December, 1872, and published in 1873, he
stated that the Assyrian text which he had found on Ashur-bani-pal's
tablets was copied from an archetype at Erech in Lower Babylonia. This
archetype was, he thought, "either written in, or translated into
Semitic Babylonian, to at a very early period," and although he could
not assign a date to it, he adduced a number of convincing proofs in
support of his opinion. The language in which he assumed the Legend to
have been originally composed was known to
[1. Smith, Assyrian Discoveries, London, 1875, p. 97.]
{p. 26}
him under the name of "Accadian," or "Akkadian," but is now called
"Sumerian." Recent research has shown that his view on this point was
correct on the whole. But there is satisfactory proof available to show
that versions or recensions of the Legend of the Deluge and of the Epic
of Gilgamish existed both in Sumerian and Babylonian, as early as B.C.
2000. The discovery has been made of a fragment of a tablet with a small
portion of the Babylonian version of the Legend of the Deluge inscribed
upon it, and dated in a year which is the equivalent of the 11th year
of Ammisaduga, i.e., about B.C. 1800.[1] And in the Museum at
Philadelphia[2] is preserved half of a tablet which when whole contained
a complete copy of a Sumerian version of the Legend, and must have been
written about the same date. The fragment of the tablet written in the
reign of Ammisaduga is of special importance because the colophon shows
that the tablet to which it belonged was the second of a series, and
that this series was not that of the Epic of Gilgamish, and from this
we learn that in B.C. 2000 the Legend of the Deluge did not form the
XIth Tablet of the Epic of Gilgamish, as it did in the reign of
Ashur-bani-pal, or earlier. The Sumerian version is equally important,
though from another point of view, for the contents and position of the
portion of it that remains on the half of the tablet mentioned above
make it certain that already at this early period there were several
versions of the Legend of the Deluge current in the Sumerian language.
The fact is that the Legend of the Deluge was then already so old in
Mesopotamia that the scribes added to or abbreviated the text at will,
and treated the incidents recorded in it according to local or popular
taste, tradition and prejudice. There seems to be no evidence that
proves conclusively that the Sumerian version is older than the
Semitic, or that the latter was translated direct from the former
version. It is probable that both the Sumerians and the Semites, each
in their own way, attempted to commemorate an appalling disaster of
unparalleled magnitude, the knowledge of which, through tradition, was
common to
[1. Published by Scheil in Maspero's Recueil, Vol. XX, p. 5.5 ff., and
again by Clay, A Hebrew Deluge Story in Cuneiform, Plates I, II.
2. The text is published by A. Poebel with transcription, commentary,
etc., in Historical Texts, Philadelphia, 1914, and Historical and
Grammatical Texts, Philadelphia, 1914.]
{p. 27}
both peoples. It is, at all events, well known that the Sumerians
regarded the Deluge as an historic event, which they were, practically,
able to date, for some of their records contain lists of kings who
reigned before the Deluge, though it must be confessed that the lengths
assigned to their reigns are incredible. After their rule it is
expressly noted that the Flood occurred, and that, when it passed away,
kingship came down again from on high.
It is not too much to assume that the original event commemorated in
the Legend of the Deluge was a serious and prolonged inundation or flood
in Lower Babylonia, which was accompanied by great loss of life and
destruction of property. The Babylonian versions state that this
inundation or flood was caused by rain, but passages in some of them
suggest that the effects of the rainstorm were intensified bv other
physical happenings connected with the earth, of a most destructive
character. The Hebrews also, as we may see from the Bible, had
alternative views as to the cause of the Deluge. According to one, rain
fell upon the earth for forty days and forty nights (Gen. vii, 12), and
according to the other the Deluge came because "all the fountains of the
great deep" were broken up, and "the flood-gates of heaven were opened"
(Gen. vii, ii). The latter view suggests that the rain flood was joined
by the waters of the sea. Later tradition, derived partly from
Babylonian and partly from Hebrew sources, asserts, e.g., in the Cave
of Treasures, a Syriac treatise composed probably at Edessa about the
fifth or sixth century A.D., that when Noah had entered the Ark and the
door was shut "the floodgates of the heavens were opened it and the
foundations of the earth were rent asunder," and that "the ocean, that
great sea which surroundeth the whole world, poured forth its floods.
And whilst the floodgates of heaven were open, and the foundations of
the earth were rent asunder, the storehouses of the winds burst their
bolts, and storms and whirlwinds swept forth, and ocean roared and
hurled its floods upon the earth." The ark was steered over the waters
by an angel who acted as pilot, and when that had come to rest on the
mountains of Kardô (Ararat), "God commanded the waters and they
became separated from each other. The celestial waters were taken up and
ascended to their own place above the heavens whence they came.
{p. 28}
The waters which had risen up from the earth returned to the lowermost
abyss, and those which belonged to the ocean returned to the innermost
part thereof."[1] Many authorities seeking to find a foundation of fact
for the Legend of the Deluge in Mesopotamia have assumed that the
rain-flood was accompanied either by an earthquake or a tidal-wave, or
by both. There is no doubt that the cities of Lower Babylonia were
nearer the sea in the Sumerian Period than they are at present, and it
is a generally accepted view that the head of the Persian Gulf lay
farther to the north at that time. A cyclone coupled with a tidal wave
is a sufficient base for any of the forms of the Legend now known.
A comparison of the contents of the various Sumerian and Babylonian
versions of the Deluge that have come down to us shows us that they are
incomplete. And as none of them tells so connected and full a narrative
of the prehistoric shipbuilder as Berosus, a priest of Bêl, the
great god of Babylon, it seems that the Mesopotamian scribes were
content to copy the Legend in an abbreviated form. Berosus, it is true,
is not a very ancient authority, for he was not born until the reign of
Alexander the Great, but he was a learned man and was well acquainted
with the Babylonian language, and with the ancient literature of his
country, and he wrote a history of Babylonia, some fragments of which
have been preserved to us in the works of Alexander Polyhistor,
Eusebius, and others. The following is a version of the fragment which
describes the flood that took place in the days of Xisuthras,[2] the
tenth King of the Chaldeans, and is of importance for comparison with
the rendering of the Legend of the Deluge, as found on the Ninevite
tablets, which follows immediately after.
THE LEGEND OF
THE DELUGE ACCORDING TO BEROSUS.
"After the death of Ardates, his son Xisuthrus reigned eighteen sari.
In his time happened a great Deluge; the history of which is thus
described. The Deity, Cronus, appeared to him in a vision, and warned
him that upon the
[1. Budge, The Book of the Cave of Treasures, pp. i 12 ff.
2. This is a Greek form of Zisudra, the name of the last king before
the Flood, according to the Sumerian tradition.]
{p. 29}
15th day of the month Daesius there would be a flood, by which mankind
would be destroyed. He therefore enjoined him to write a history of the
beginning, procedure and conclusion of all things; and to bury it in the
city of the Sun at Sippara; and to build a vessel, and take with him
into it his friends and relations; and to convey on board everything
necessary to sustain life, together with all the different animals,
both birds and quadrupeds, and trust himself fearlessly to the deep.
Having asked the Deity, whither he was to sail? he was answered, 'To
the Gods ': upon which he offered up a prayer for the good of mankind.
He then obeyed the divine admonition; and built a vessel 5 stadia in
length, and 2 in breadth. Into this he put everything which he had
prepared; and last of all conveyed into it his wife, his children, and
his friends. After the flood had been upon the earth, and was in time
abated, Xisuthrus sent out birds from the vessel; which, not finding
any food nor any place whereupon they might rest their feet, returned
to him again. After an interval of some days, he sent them forth a
second time; and they now returned with their feet tinged with mud. He
made a trial a third time with these birds; but they returned to him no
more: from whence he judged that the surface of the earth had appeared
above the waters. He therefore made an opening in the vessel, and upon
looking out found that it was stranded upon the side of some mountain;
upon which he immediately quitted it with his wife, his daughter, and
the pilot. Xisuthrus then paid his adoration to the earth, and, having
constructed an altar, offered sacrifices to the gods, and, with those
who had come out of the vessel with him, disappeared. They, who
remained within, finding that their companions did not return, quitted
the vessel with many lamentations, and called continually on the name
of Xisuthrus. Him they saw no more; but they could distinguish his
voice in the air, and could hear him admonish them to pay due regard to
religion; and likewise informed them that it was upon account of his
piety that be was translated to live with the gods; that his wife and
daughter, and the pilot, had obtained the same honour. To this he added
that they should return to Babylonia; and, it was ordained, search for
the writings at Sippara, which they
{p. 30}
were to make known to mankind: moreover that the place, wherein they
then were, was the land of Armenia. The rest having beard these words,
offered sacrifices to the gods; and taking a circuit journeyed towards
Babylonia." (Cory, Ancient Fragments, London, 1832, p. 26 ff.)
THE
BABYLONIAN LEGEND OF THE DELUGE AS TOLD TO THE HERO GILGAMISH BY HIS
ANCESTOR UTA-NAPISHTIM, WHO HAD BEEN MADE IMMORTAL BY THE GODS.
The form of the Legend of the Deluge given below is that which is found
on the Eleventh of the Series of Twelve Tablets in the Royal Library at
Nineveh, which described the life and exploits of Gilgamish, an early
king of the city of Erech. As we have seen above, the Legend of the
Deluge has probably no original connection with the Epic of Gilgamish,
but was introduced into it by the editors of the Epic at a comparatively
late period, perhaps even during the reign of Ashur-bani-pal (B.C.
669-626). A summary of the contents of the other Tablets of the
Gilgamish Series is given in the following section of this short
monograph. It is therefore only necessary to state here that Gilgamish,
who was horrified and almost beside himself when his bosom friend and
companion Enkidu died, meditated deeply how he could escape death
himself. He knew that his ancestor Uta-Napishtim a had become immortal,
therefore he determined to set out for the place where Uta-Napishtim
lived so that he might obtain from him the secret of immortality.
Guided by a dream, Gilgamish set out for the Mountain of the Sunset,
and, after great toil and many difficulties, came to the shore of a
vast sea. Here he met Ur-Shanabi, the boatman of Uta-Napishtim, who was
persuaded to carry him in his boat over the "waters of death", and at
length he landed on the shore of the country of Uta-Napishtim. The
immortal came down to the shore and asked the newcomer the object of
his visit, and Gilgamish told him of the death of his great friend
Enkidu, and of his desire to escape from death and to find immortality.
Uta-Napishtim having made to
{p. 31}
Gilgamish some remarks which seem to indicate that in his opinion death
was inevitable,
1. Gilgamish[1] said unto him, to Uta-Napishtim the remote:
2. "I am looking at thee, Uta-Napishtim.
3. Thy person is not altered; even as am I so art thou.
4. Verily, nothing about thee is changed; even as am I so art thou.
5. A heart to do battle doth make thee complete,
6. Yet at rest (?) thou dost lie upon thy back.
7. How then hast thou stood the company of the gods and sought life?"
Thereupon Uta-Napishtim related to Gilgamish the Story of the Deluge,
and the Eleventh Tablet continues thus
8. Uta-Napishtim said unto him, to Gilgamish:
9. "I will reveal unto thee, O Gilgamish, a hidden mystery,
10. And a secret matter of the gods I will declare unto thee.
11. Shurippak,[2] a city which thou thyself knowest,
12. On [the bank] of the river Puratti (Euphrates) is situated,
13. That city is old; and the gods [dwelling] within it
14. Their hearts induced the great gods to make a windstorm
(a-bu-bi),[3]
15. There was their father Anu,
16. Their counsellor, the warrior Enlil,
17. Their messenger En-urta [and]
18. Their prince Ennugi.
19. Nin-igi-ku, Ea, was with them [in council] and
20. reported their word to a house of reeds."
[1. A transcript of the cuneiform text by George Smith, who was the
first to translate it, will be found in Rawlinson, Cuneiform
inscriptions of Western Asia, Vol. IV, Plates 50 and 51: and a
transcript, with transliteration and translation by the late Prof. L. W.
King, is given in his First Steps in Assyrian, London, 1898, p. x61 ff.
The latest translation of the whole poem is by R. C. Thompson, The Epic
of Gilgamish, whose arrangement of the text is adopted in the following
pages.
2. The site of this very ancient city is marked by the mounds of
Fârah, near the Shatt al-Kâr, which is probably the old bed
of the river Euphrates; many antiquities belonging to the earliest
period of the rule of the Sumerians have been found there.
3. Like the habûb of modern times, a sort of cyclone.]
{p. 33}
[FIRST SPEECH OF EA TO UTA-NAPISHTIM
WHO IS SLEEPING IN A REED HUT.]
21. O House of reeds, O House of reeds! O Wall. O Wall!
22. O House of reeds, hear! O Wall, understand!
23. O man of Shurippak, son of Ubar-Tutu,
24. Throw down the house, build a ship,
25. Forsake wealth, seek after life,
26. Hate possessions, save thy life,
27. Bring all seed of life into the ship.
28. The ship which thou shalt build,
29. The dimensions thereof shall be measured,
30. The breadth and the length thereof shall be the same.
31. Then launch it upon the ocean.
[UTA-NAPISHTIM'S ANSWER TO EA.]
32. I understood and I said unto Ea, my lord:
33. See, my lord, that which thou hast ordered,
34. I regard with reverence, and will perform it,
35. But what shall I say to the town, to the multitude, and to the
elders?
[SECOND SPEECH OF EA.]
36. Ea opened his mouth and spake
37. And said unto his servant, myself,
38. Thus, man, shalt thou say unto them:
39. Ill-will hath the god Enlil formed against me,
40. Therefore I can no longer dwell. in your city,
41. And never more will I turn my countenance upon-the soil of Enlil.
42. I will descend into the ocean to dwell with my lord Ea.
43. But upon you he will rain riches
44. A catch of birds, a catch of fish
45. . . . an [abundant] harvest,
46. . . . the sender of . . .
47. . . . shall make hail [to fall upon you].
{p. 34}
[THE BUILDING OF THE SHIP.]
48. As soon as [something of dawn] broke . . .
[Lines 49-54 broken away.]
55. The child . . . brought bitumen,
56. The strong [man] . . . brought what was needed.
57. On the fifth day I laid down its shape.
58. According to the plan its walls were 10 gar, (i.e. 120 cubits) high,
59. And the width of its deck (?) was equally 10 gar.
60. I laid down the shape of its forepart and marked it out (?).
61. I covered (?) it six times.
62. . . . I divided into seven,
63. Its interior I divided into nine,
64. Caulking I drove into the middle of it.
65. I provided a steering pole, and cast in all that was needful.
66. Six sar of bitumen I poured over the hull (?),
67. Three sar of pitch I poured into the inside.
68. The men who bear loads brought three sar of oil,
69. Besides a sar of oil which the tackling (?) consumed,
70. And two sar of oil which the boatman hid.
71. I slaughtered oxen for the [work]people,
72. I slew sheep every day.
73. Beer, sesame wine, oil and wine
74. I made the people drink as if they were water from the river.
75. I celebrated a feast as if it had been New Year's Day.
76. I opened [a box of ointment], I laid my hands in unguent.
77. Before the sunset (?) the ship was finished.
78. [Since] . . . was difficult.
79. The shipbuilders brought the . . . of the ship, above and below,
80. . . . two-thirds of it.
[THE LOADING OF THE SHIP.]
81. With everything that I possessed I loaded it (i.e., the ship).
82. With everything that I possessed of silver I loaded it.
{p. 35}
83. With everything that I possessed of gold I loaded it.
84. With all that I possessed of all the seed of life I loaded it.
85. I made to go up into the ship all my family and kinsfolk,
86. The cattle of the field, the beasts of the field, all
handicraftsmen I made them go up into it.
87. The god Shamash had appointed me a time (saying)
88. The sender of . . . . . will at eventide make a hail to fall;
89. Then enter into the ship and shut thy door.
90. The appointed time drew nigh;
91. The sender of . . . . . made a hail to fall at eventide.
92. I watched the aspect of the [approaching] storm,
93. Terror possessed me to look upon it,
94. I went into the ship and shut my door.
95. To the pilot of the ship, Puzur-Enlil the sailor
96. I committed the great house (i.e., ship), together with the
contents thereof.
[THE ABUBU (CYCLONE) AND ITS EFFECTS
DESCRIBED.]
97. As soon as something of dawn shone in the sky
98. A black cloud from the foundation of heaven came up.
99. Inside it the god Adad thundered,
100. The gods Nabû and Sharru (i.e., Marduk) went before,
101. Marching as messengers over high land and plain,
102. Irragal (Nergal) tore out the post of the ship,
103. En-urta went on, he made the storm to descend.
104. The Anunnaki[1] brandished their torches,
105. With their glare they lighted up the land.
106. The whirlwind (or, cyclone) of Adad swept up to heaven.
107. Every gleam of light was turned into darkness.
108. . . . . . the land . . . . . as if had laid it waste.
109. A whole day long [the flood descended] . . .
[1. The star-gods of the southern sky.]
{p. 36}
110. Swiftly it mounted up . . . . . [the water] reached to the
mountains
111. [The water] attacked the people like a battle.
112. Brother saw not brother.
113. Men could not be known (or, recognized) in heaven.
114. The gods were terrified at the cyclone.
115. They shrank back and went up into the heaven of Anu.
116. The gods crouched like a dog and cowered by the wall.
117. The goddess Ishtar cried out like a woman in travail.
118. The Lady of the Gods lamented with a sweet voice [saying]:
[ISHTAR'S LAMENT.]
119. May that former day be turned into mud,
120. Because I commanded evil among the company of the gods.
121. How could I command evil among the company of the gods,
122. Command battle for the destruction of my people?
123. Did I of myself bring forth my people
124. That they might fill the sea like little fishes?
[UTA-NAPISHTIM'S STORY CONTINUED.]
125. The gods, the Anunnaki wailed with her.
126. The gods bowed themselves, and sat down weeping.
127. Their lips were shut tight (in distress) . . .
128. For six days and nights
129. The wind, the storm raged, and the cyclone overwhelmed the land.
[THE ABATING OF THE STORM.]
130. When the seventh day came the cyclone ceased, the storm and battle
131. which had fought like an army.
132. The sea became quiet, the grievous wind went down, the cyclone
ceased.
133. I looked on the day and voices were stilled,
{p. 37}
134. And all mankind were turned into mud,
135. The land had been laid flat like a terrace.
136. I opened the air-hole and the light fell upon my cheek,
137. I bowed myself, I sat down, I cried,
138. My tears poured down over my cheeks.
139. I looked over the quarters of the world, (to] the limits of ocean.
140. At twelve points islands appeared.
141. The ship grounded on the mountain of Nisir.
142. The mountain of Nisir held the ship, it let it not move.
143. The first day, the second day, the mountain of Nisir held the ship
and let it not move.
144. The third day, the fourth day, the mountain of Nisir held the ship
and let it not move.
145. The fifth day, the sixth day, the mountain of Nisir held the ship
and let it not move.
146. When the seventh day had come
147. I brought out a dove and let her go free.
148. The dove flew away and [then] came back;
149. Because she had no place to alight on she came back.
150. I brought out a swallow and let her go free.
151. The swallow flew away and [then] came back;
152. Because she had no place to alight on she came back.
153. 1 brought out a raven and let her go free.
154. The raven flew away, she saw the sinking waters.
155. She ate, she waded (?), she rose (?), she came not back.
[UTA-NAPISHTIM LEAVES THE SHIP.]
156. Then I brought out [everything] to the four winds and made a
sacrifice;
157. I set out an offering on the peak of the mountain.
158. Seven by seven I set out the vessels,
159. Under them I piled reeds, cedarwood and myrtle (?).
160. The gods smelt the savour,
161. The gods smelt the sweet savour.
162. The gods gathered together like flies over him that sacrificed.
{p. 39}
[SPEECH OF ISHTAR, LADY OF THE GODS.]
163 Now when the Lady of the Gods came nigh,
164. She lifted up the priceless jewels which Anu had made according to
her desire, [saying]
165. O ye gods here present, as I shall never forget the sapphire
jewels of my neck
166. So shall I ever think about these days, and shall forget them
nevermore!
167. Let the gods come to the offering,
168. But let not Enlil come to the offering,
16q. Because he took not thought and made the cyclone,
170. And delivered my people over to destruction."
[THE ANGER OF ENLIL.]
171. Now when Enlil came nigh
172. He saw the ship; then was Enlil wroth
173. And he was filled with anger against the gods, the Igigi
[saying]:[1]
174. Hath any being escaped with his life?
175. He shall not remain alive, a man among the destruction
[SPEECH OF EN-URTA.]
176. Then En-urta opened his mouth and spake
177. And said unto the warrior Enlil:
178. Who besides the god Ea can make a plan?
179. The god Ea knoweth everything that is done.
18o. The god Ea opened his mouth and spake
181. And said unto the warrior Enlil,
182. O Prince among the gods, thou warrior,
183. How, how couldst thou, not taking thought, make a cyclone?
184. He who is sinful, on him lay his sin,
185. He who transgresseth, on him lay his transgression.
186. But be merciful that [everything] be not destroyed be
long-suffering that [man be not blotted out].
[1. The star-gods of the northern
heaven.]
{p. 40}
187. Instead of thy making a cyclone,
188. Would that the lion had come and diminished mankind.
189. Instead of thy making a cyclone
190. Would that the wolf had come and diminished mankind.
191. Instead of thy making a cyclone
192. Would that a famine had arisen and [laid waste] the land.
193. Instead of thy making a cyclone
194. Would that Irra (the Plague god) had risen up and [laid waste] the
land.
195. As for me I have not revealed the secret of the great gods.
196. I made Atra-hasis to see a vision, and thus he heard the secret of
the gods.
197. Now therefore take counsel concerning him.
[ENLIL DEIFIES UTA-NAPISHTIM AND HIS
WIFE.]
198. Then the god Enlil went up into the ship,
199. He seized me by the hand and brought me forth.
200. He brought forth my wife and made her to kneel by my side.
201. He touched our brows, he stood between us, he blessed us [saving],
202. Formerly Uta-Napishtim was a man merely,
203. But now let Uta-Napishtim and his wife be like unto us gods.
204. Uta-Napishtim shall dwell afar off, at the mouth of the rivers.
[UTA-NAPISHTIM ENDS HIS STORY OF THE
DELUGE.]
205. And they took me away to a place afar off, and made me to dwell at
the mouth of the rivers.
The contents of the remainder of the text on the Eleventh Tablet of the
Gilgamish Series are described on p. 54.
{p. 41}
THE EPIC OF GILGAMISH.[1]
The narrative of the life, exploits and travels of Gilgamish, king of
Erech, filled Twelve Tablets which formed the Series called from the
first three words of the First Tablet, SHA NAGBU IMURU, i.e., "He who
hath seen all things." The exact period of the reign of this king is
unknown, but in the list of the Sumerian kingdoms he is fifth ruler in
the Dynasty of Erech, which was considered the second dynasty to reign
after the Deluge. He was said to have ruled for 126 years. The principal
authorities for the Epic are the numerous fragments of the tablets that
were found in the ruins of the Library of Nebo and the Royal Library of
Ashur-bani-pal at Nineveh, and are now in the British Museum,[2] but
very valuable portions of other and older versions (including some
fragments of a Hittite translation) have now been recovered from
various sources, and these contribute greatly to the reconstruction of
the story. The contents of the Twelve Tablets may be briefly described
thus--
THE FIRST TABLET.
The opening lines describe the great knowledge and wisdom of Gilgamish,
who saw everything, learned everything, under stood everything, who
probed to the bottom the hidden mysteries of wisdom, and who knew the
history of everything that happened before the Deluge. He travelled far
over sea and land, and performed mighty deeds, and then he cut upon a
tablet of stone an account of all that he had done and suffered. He
built the wall of Erech, founded the holy temple of E-Anna, and carried
out other great architectural works. He was a semi-divine being, for his
body was formed of the "flesh of the gods," and "two-thirds of him were
god, and one-third was man," The description of his person is lost. As
Shepherd (i.e., King) of Erech he forced
[1. The name of Gilgamish was formerly read "Izdubar," "Gizdubar," or
"Gishdubar." He is probably referred to as {Greek Gílgamos} in
Aelian, De Natura Animalium, XII, 23: (ed. Didot, Paris, 1858, p. 210).
2. The greater number of these have been collected, grouped and
published by Haupt, Das Babylonische Nimrodepos, Leipzig, 1884 and 1891;
and see his work on the Twelfth Tablet in Beiträge zur
Assyriologie, Vol. I, p. 49 ff.]
{p. 42}
the people to toil overmuch, and his demands reduced them to such a
state of misery that they cried out to the gods and begged them to
create some king who should control Gilgamish and give them deliverance
from him. The gods hearkened to the prayer of the men of Erech, and they
commanded the goddess Aruru to create a rival to Gilgamish. The goddess
agreed to do their bidding, and having planned in her mind what manner
of being she intended to make, she washed her hands, took a piece of
clay, cast it on the ground, and made a male creature like the god
En-urta. His body was covered all over with hair. The hair of his head
was long like that of a woman, and he wore clothing like that of
Sumuqan, the god of cattle. He was different in every way from the
people of the country, and his name was Enkidu. He lived in the forests
on the hills, ate herbs like the gazelle, drank with the wild cattle,
and herded with the beasts of the field. He was mighty in stature,
invincible in strength, and obtained complete mastery over all the
creatures of the forests in which he lived.
One day a certain hunter went out to snare game, and he dug pit-traps
and laid nets, and made his usual preparations for roping in his prey.
But after doing this for three days he found that his pits were filled
up and his nets smashed, and he saw Enkidu releasing the beasts that had
been snared. The hunter was terrified at the sight of Enkidu, and went
home hastily and told his father what he had seen and how badly he had
fared. By his father's advice he went to Erech, and reported to
Gilgamish what had happened. When Gilgamish heard his story he advised
him to act upon a suggestion which the hunter's father had already made,
namely that he should hire a harlot and take her out to the forest, so
that Enkidu might be ensnared by the sight of her beauty, and take up
his abode with her. The hunter accepted this advice, and having found a
harlot to help him in removing Enkidu from the forests, he set out from
Erech with her and in due course arrived at the forest where Enkidu
lived, and sat down by the place where the beasts came to drink.
On the second day when the beasts came to drink and Enkidu was with
them, the woman carried out the instructions which the hunter had given
her, and when Enkidu saw her cast aside her veil, he left his beasts and
came to her, and
{p. 43}
remained with her for six days and seven nights. At the end of this
period he returned to the beasts with which he had lived on friendly
terms, but as soon as the gazelle winded him they took to flight, and
the wild cattle disappeared into the woods. When Enkidu saw the beasts
forsake him his knees gave way, and he could not run as of old; but when
he came to himself he returned to the harlot. She spoke to him
flattering words, and asked him why he wandered with the wild beasts in
the desert, and then told him she wished to take him back with her to
Erech, where Anu and Ishtar lived, and where the mighty Gilgamish
reigned. Enkidu hearkened and the harlot then told him of the glories of
Erech and of Gilgamish, who, she said, had been forewarned of Enkidu's
coming by two dreams, which he had related to his divine mother,
Nin-sun. These she had interpreted as foreshowing the approach of a
strong and faithful friend.
THE SECOND TABLET.
Having related these dreams of Gilgamish, the harlot again urged Enkidu
to go with her to Erech, and they set out together. On the way she
brought him to a shepherds' village, where she instructed him how to eat
the bread and beer which was set before him; for until then he had only
sucked the milk of cattle. By virtue of eating and drinking this human
fare Enkidu became a man instead of a beast, and, taking weapons, he
hunted the lions and wolves which preyed upon the shepherds' flocks. A
messenger from Gilgamish now appeared with a summons to the city. He
announced that the king offered entertainment, but that he would expect
the customary present from a stranger, and would exercise his privilege
over the woman who accompanied him. The entrance of Enkidu into the city
caused a general excitement, all being amazed at his surpassing
strength and his conversion from savagery. The first meeting of
Gilgamish and Enkidu took place when the king came in the night to claim
his right to the strange woman. Enkidu violently resisted him, and the
two heroes in the doorway "grappled and snorted (?) like bulls; they
shattered the threshold, the wall quivered" in their strife. Gilgamish
was finally worsted, but the result of this combat was that the two
became fast friends and allies.
{p. 44}
THE THIRD TABLET.
Owing to mutilation of the text this section begins obscurely, but it
seems that the harlot had deserted Enkidu, for he laments his
association with her. Gilgamish then opened to him his design to go on
an expedition to the Cedar Forest and fight with a fearful ogre named
Khumbaba, who had been appointed by the gods as warden of the forest.
Enkidu sought to dissuade his friend from this rash project, saying that
he himself, when he lived with the beasts, used to penetrate into the
skirts of the forest, where he had learned to dread the roaring breath
and flames emitted by Khumbaba. To this Gilgamish seems to have replied
that he must go to the Cedar Forest to fetch the wood he needed, and
when Enkidu still objected, he concluded with the reflection that death
was inevitable to mortals, and that he would therefore meet it in a
glorious enterprise which should win fame for him among his children
for ever. The craftsmen were then ordered to cast weapons for the pair,
and this they did, making gigantic axes and gold-ornamented swords, so
that each of the warriors was equipped with an armament weighing in all
ten talents. Attracted by these preparations, the people of Erech
gathered at the gate, and Gilgamish announced his project to the elders
of the city, who in turn sought to dissuade him, but in vain. Gilgamish
commended his life to the Sun-god, and the two put on their armour. The
last words of the elders were a warning to the king against rash
presumption in his own strength. Setting out on their journey, the two
warriors first visited the temple of Nin-sun, the divine mother of
Gilgamish, who, at the earnest prayer of her son, besought the Sun-god
to prosper him on his journey and in the fight against the ogre, and to
bring him safely back to Erech. The latter part of this Tablet is
missing.
THE FOURTH TABLET.
So much of this Tablet is missing that only a very general notion can
be obtained of its contents. The two heroes had by now reached the Gate
of the Forest wherein Khumbaba dwelt. Enkidu was amazed at the gigantic
size and beauty of this gate, fashioned out of the timbers of the
forest. When the text begins again, the two are found encouraging each
other to
{p. 45}
their enterprise, and Gilgamish burst through the gate. Soon afterwards
Enkidu was overcome either by sickness or by dread of the combat, and
lay inert for twelve days, apparently as the result of evil dreams which
had visited him. In his weakness he strove again to turn back from
their desperate adventure, but again Gilgamish overcame his fear with
encouragements.
THE FIFTH TABLET.
The two warriors were now in the forest, and this Tablet begins with a
description of its wonders. They saw a straight road running between its
tall cedars, along which Khumbaba trod; they saw also the mountain of
the cedars, the dwelling of the gods, and the pleasant shade and
perfume which the trees spread around. After this they seem to have
fallen asleep, for Gilgamish is next found relating to Enkidu a dream
which he had had: the two were standing together on the top of a
mountain, when the peak fell away, leaving them unharmed. Enkidu
interprets this as a forecast that they were to over-throw the gigantic
Khumbaba. At the sixtieth league they stayed to rest, and Gilgamish
besought the mountain to send him another dream. Falling asleep at once,
he woke in terror at midnight and began to tell how he dreamed that the
earth was darkened, amid loud roarings and flames of fire, which
gradually died away. (This seems to be a description of a volcanic
eruption, and some have thought that Khumbaba was the personification
of a volcano known to the ancient Sumerians.) This dream too was
interpreted by Enkidu, no doubt favourably, but nothing more remains of
this Tablet before the end, when Khumbaba has been fought and defeated,
and his head cut off. A fragment of another version shews that he was
defeated by the help of the Sun-god, who sent eight evil winds against
him on every side so that he could not move. Thus entrapped, he
surrendered to Gilgamish and offered submission in return for his life.
This Gilgamish was disposed to grant, but Enkidu warned him of the
danger of letting the giant live.
THE SIXTH TABLET.
The scene now returns to Erech, whither the heroes returned after their
glorious exploit. As Gilgamish was washing himself
{p. 46}
and dressing himself in splendid attire the goddess Ishtar saw his
comeliness and desired him to be her lover, saying,
Go to, Gilgamish, do thou be (my) bridegroom,
Give me freely the fruit (of thy body).
Be thou my husband, I will be thy wife,
(So) will I make them yoke for thee a chariot of lapis-lazuli and gold,
Its wheels of gold, and its horns of electrum.
Every day shalt thou harness great mules thereto.
Enter (then) our house with the perfume of cedar.
When thou enterest our house
Threshold and dais shall kiss thy feet,
Beneath thee shall kings, lords and princes do homage,
Bringing thee as tribute the yield of the mountains and plains,
Thy she-goats shall bring forth abundantly, thy ewes bear twins,
Thine asses shall be (each) as great as a mule,
Thy horses in the chariot shall be famous for their swiftness,
Thy mules in the yoke shall not have a peer.
In answer to this invitation, Gilgamish made a long speech, in which he
reviewed the calamities of those who had been unfortunate enough to
attract the love of the goddess. To be her husband would be a burdensome
privilege, and her love was deceptive, a ruin that gave no shelter, a
door that let in the storm, a crazy building, a pitfall, defiling
pitch, a leaky vessel, a crumbling stone, a worthless charm, an
ill-fitting shoe. "Who was ever thy lord that had advantage thereby?
Come, I will unfold the tale of thy lovers." He refers to Tammuz, the
lover of her youth, for whom year by year she causes wailing. Every
creature that fell under her sway suffered mutilation or death; the
bird's wings were broken, the lion destroyed, the horse driven to death
with whip and spur. Her human lovers fared no better, for a shepherd,
once her favourite, was turned by her into a jackal and torn by his own
dogs, and Ishullanu, her father's gardener, was turned into a spider (?)
because he refused her advances. "So, too," said Gilgamish, "would'st
thou love me, and (then) make me like unto them."
{p. 47}
When Ishtar heard these words she was filled with rage, and went up to
heaven, and complained to Anu her father and Antu her mother that
Gilgamish had blasphemed her, and revealed all her iniquitous deeds. Anu
replied, in effect, that it was her own fault, but she insisted in the
request that he should create a heavenly bull to destroy Gilgamish.
This he finally agreed to do, and the bull appeared before the citizens
of Erech, and destroyed one, two and three hundred men who were sent out
against him. At length Enkidu and Gilgamish attacked the bull
themselves, and after a hard fight: the details of which are lost, they
slew him, and offered his heart together with a libation to
{p. 48}
the Sun-god. As soon as Ishtar heard of the bull's death she rushed out
on the battlements of the wall of Erech and cursed Gilgamish for
destroying her bull. When Enkidu heard what Ishtar said, he tore out the
member of the bull and threw it before the goddess, saying, "Could I
but get it at thee, I would serve thee like him; I would hang his it
entrails about thee." Then Ishtar gathered together all her temple-women
and harlots, and with them made lamentation over the member of the bull.
And Gilgamish called together the artisans of Erech, who came and
marvelled at the size of the bull's horns, for each of them was in bulk
equal to 30 minas of lapis-lazuli, their thickness two finger-breadths,
and together they contained six kur measures of oil. These Gilgamish
dedicated in the temple of his god Lugalbanda, to hold the god's
unguent, and, having made his offering, he and Enkidu washed their hands
in the Euphrates, took their way back to the city, and rode through the
streets of Erech, the people thronging round to admire them. Gilgamish
put forth a question to the people, saying
Who is splendid among men?
Who is glorious among heroes?
And the answer was:
[Gilgamish] is splendid among men,
[Enkidu] is glorious among heroes.
Gilgamish made a great feast in his palace, and after it all lay down
to sleep. Enkidu also slept and had a vision, so he rose up and related
it to Gilgamish.
THE SEVENTH TABLET.
From fragments of a version of the Gilgamish Epic translated into the
Hittite language, which have more recently been discovered, it is
possible to gain some notion of the contents of this Tablet, the earlier
part of which is almost entirely missing from the Assyrian version. It
appears that Enkidu beheld in his dream the gods Enlil, Ea, and the
Sun-god taking counsel together. Enlil was greatly incensed at the
exploits of Gilgamish and Enkidu, and had resolved that Enkidu must
die, though Gilgamish might be spared. This was finally decreed,
{p. 49}
in spite of the attempted opposition of the Sun-god. In consequence
Enkidu soon afterwards fell sick, though nothing is preserved concerning
the circumstances of this. But he seems to have attributed his
misfortune for some reason to the harlot who had first brought him to
Erech, for he is found heaping curses upon her. While he thus spoke the
Sun-god heard him, and, calling from heaven, rebuked him for
ingratitude to the woman, who had taught him all the ways of civilized
life and had been the means of introducing him to Gilgamish, by whom he
had been raised to great place and would be given signal honours at his
death. Admonished thus, Enkidu repented of his anger and now bestowed as
many blessings on the harlot as he had before uttered curses. He then
lay down again, with sickness heavy upon him, and dreamed a dream which
he told to Gilgamish. He saw a monster with lion's claws which attacked
and overcame him, and led him away to the Underworld, where he saw the
miserable plight of the dead inhabitants, and ancient kings now acting
as servants, and priests and sages who served before Ereshkigal, the
queen of Hades. How the dream ended, and how Enkidu died, is unknown,
for the text breaks off here.
THE EIGHTH TABLET.
This Tablet was entirely occupied by a description of the mourning of
Gilgamish over his dead companion. He lamented to himself, and lamented
to the elders of the city, recalling how they had together overthrown
Khumbaba, and slain the heavenly bull, and shared in many another
exploit. Repeating the words of the Sun-god in the preceding Tablet, he
promised that he would cause all his subjects to join with himself in
the lament for Enkidu. The funeral honours seem to have been described
in the latter part of the Tablet, which is missing.
THE NINTH TABLET.
In bitter grief Gilgamish wandered about the country uttering
lamentations for his beloved companion, Enkidu. As he went about he
thought to himself,
"I myself shall die, and shall not I then be as Enkidu?
Sorrow hath entered into my soul,
Because I fear death do I wander over the country."
{p. 50}
His fervent desire was to escape from death, and remembering that his
ancestor Uta-Napishtim, the son of Ubara-Tutu, had become deified and
immortal, Gilgamish determined to set out for the place where he lived
in order to obtain from him the secret of immortality. Where
Uta-Napishtim lived was unknown to Gilgamish, but he seems to have made
up his mind that he would have to face danger in reaching the place, for
he says, "I will set out and travel quickly. I shall reach the defiles
in the mountains by night, and if I see lions, and am terrified at
them, I shall lift up my head and appeal to the Moon-god, and to
(Ishtar, the Lady of the Gods), who is wont to hearken to my prayers."
After Gilgamish set out to go to the west he was attacked either by men
or animals, but he overcame them and went on until he arrived at Mount
Mashu, where it would seem the sun was thought both to rise and to set.
The approach to this mountain was guarded by Scorpion-men, whose aspect
was so terrible that the mere sight of it was sufficient to kill the
mortal who beheld them; even the mountains collapsed under the glance of
their eyes. When Gilgamish saw the Scorpion-men he was smitten with
fear, and under the influence of his terror the colour of his face
changed, and he fell prostrate before them. Then a Scorpion-man cried
out to his wife, saying, "The body of him that cometh to us is the flesh
of the gods," and she replied, "Two-thirds of him is god, and the other
third is man." The Scorpion-man then received Gilgamish kindly, and
warned him that the way which he was about to travel was full of danger
and difficulty. Gilgamish told him that he was in search of his
ancestor, Uta-Napishtim, who had been deified and made immortal by the
gods, and that it was his intention to go to him to learn the secret of
immortality. The Scorpion-man in answer told him that it was impossible
for him to continue his journey through that country, for no man had
ever succeeded in passing through the dark region of that mountain,
which required twelve double-hours to traverse. Nothing dismayed,
Gilgamish set out on the road through the mountains, and the darkness
increased in density every hour, but he struggled on, and at the end of
the twelfth hour he arrived at a region where there was bright daylight,
and he entered a lovely garden, filled with trees loaded with luscious
fruits, and
{p. 51}
he saw the "tree of the gods." Here the Sun-god called to him that his
quest must be in vain, but Gilgamish replied that he would do anything
to escape death.
THE TENTH TABLET.
In the region to which Gilgamish had come stood the palace or fortress
of the goddess Siduri, who was called the "hostess," or "ale-wife," and
to this he directed his steps with the view of obtaining help to
continue his journey. The goddess wore a veil and sat upon a throne by
the side of the sea, and when she saw him coming towards her palace,
travel-stained and clad in the ragged skin of some animal, she thought
that he might prove an undesirable visitor, and so ordered the door of
her palace to be closed against him. But Gilgamish managed to obtain
speech with her, and having asked her what ailed her, and why she had
closed her door, he threatened to smash the bolt and break down the
door. In answer Siduri said to him:--
"Why is thy vigour wasted? Thy face is bowed down,
Thine heart is sad, thy form is dejected,
And there is lamentation in thy heart."
And she went on to tell him that he had the appearance of one who had
travelled far, that he was a painful sight to look upon, that his face
was burnt, and finally seems to have suggested that he was a runaway
trying to escape from the country. To this Gilgamish replied:--
Nay, my vigour is not wasted, my face not bowed down,
My heart not sad, my form not dejected."
And then he told the goddess that his ill-looks and miserable
appearance were due to the fact that death had carried off his dear
friend Enkidu, the "panther of the desert," who had traversed the
mountains with him and had helped him to overcome Khumbaba in the cedar
forest, and to slay the bull of heaven, Enkidu his dear friend who had
fought with lions and killed them, and who had been with him in all his
difficulties; and, he added, "I wept over him for six days
{p. 52}
and nights . . . . before I would let him be buried." Continuing his
narrative, Gilgamish said to Siduri:
"I was horribly afraid . . .
I was afraid of death, and therefore I wander over the country.
The fate of my friend lieth heavily upon me,
Therefore am I travelling on a long journey through the country.
The fate of my friend lieth heavily upon me,
Therefore am I travelling on a long journey through the country.
How is it possible for me to keep silence? How is it possible for me to
cry out?
My friend whom I loved hath become like the dust.
Enkidu, my friend whom I loved hath become like the dust.
Shall not I myself also be obliged to lay me down
And never again rise up to all eternity?"
To this complaint the ale-wife replied that the quest of eternal life
was vain, since death was decreed to mankind by the gods at the time of
creation. She advised him, therefore, to enjoy all mortal pleasures
while life lasted and to abandon his hopeless journey. But Gilgamish
still persisted, and asked how he might reach Uta-Napishtim, for thither
he was determined to go, whether across the ocean or by land.
Then the ale-wife answered and said to Gilgamish:
"There never was a passage, O Gilgamish,
And no one, who from the earliest times came hither, hath crossed the
sea.
The hero Shamash (the Sun-god) hath indeed crossed the sea, but who
besides him could do so?
The passage is hard, and the way is difficult,
And the Waters of Death which bar its front are deep.
If, then, Gilgamish, thou art able to cross the sea,
When thou arrivest at the Waters of Death what wilt thou do?"
{p. 53}
Siduri then told Gilgamish that Ur-Shanabi, the boatman of
Uta-Napishtim, was in the place, and that he should see him, and added:
"If it be possible cross with him, and if it be impossible turn back."
Gilgamish left the goddess and succeeded in finding Ur-Shanabi, the
boatman, who addressed to him words similar to those of Siduri quoted
above. Gilgamish answered him as he had answered Siduri, and then asked
him for news about the road to Uta-Napishtim. In reply Ur-Shanabi told
him to take his axe and to go down into the forest and cut a number of
poles 60 cubits long; Gilgamish did so, and when he returned with them
he went up into the boat with Ur-Shanabi, and they made a voyage of one
month and fifteen days; on the third day they reached the [limit of the]
Waters of Death, which Ur-Shanabi told Gilgamish not to touch with his
hand. Meanwhile, Uta-Napishtim had seen the boat coming and, as
something in its appearance seemed strange to him, he went down to the
shore to see who the newcomers were. When he saw Gilgamish he asked him
the same questions that Siduri and Ur-Shanabi had asked him, and
Gilgamish answered as he had answered them, and then went on to tell him
the reason for his coming. He said that he had determined to go to
visit Uta-Napishtim, the remote, and had -therefore journeyed far, and
that in the course of his travels he had passed over difficult mountains
and crossed the sea. He had not succeeded in entering the house of
Siduri, for she had caused him to be driven from her door on account of
his dirty, ragged, and travel-stained apparel. He had eaten birds and
beasts of many kinds, the lion, the panther, the jackal, the antelope,
mountain goat, etc., and, apparently, had dressed himself in their
skins.
A break in the text makes it impossible to give the opening lines of
Uta-Napishtim's reply, but he mentions the father and mother of
Gilgamish, and in the last twenty lines of the Tenth Tablet he warns
Gilgamish that on earth there is nothing permanent, that Mammitum, the
arranger of destinies, has settled the question of the death and life of
man with the Anunnaki, and that none may find out the day of his death
or escape from death.
{p. 54}
THE ELEVENTH TABLET.
The story of the Deluge as told by Uta-Napishtim to Gilgamish has
already been given on pp. 31-40, and we therefore pass on to the
remaining contents of this Tablet. When Uta-Napishtim had finished the
story of the Deluge, he said to Gilgamish, "Now, as touching thyself;
who will gather the gods together for thee, so that thou mayest find the
life which thou seekest? Come now, do not lay thyself down to sleep for
six days and seven nights." But in spite of this admonition, as soon as
Gilgamish had sat down, drowsiness overpowered him and he fell fast
asleep. Uta-Napishtim, seeing that even the mighty hero Gilgamish could
not resist falling asleep, with some amusement drew the attention of
his wife to the fact, but she felt sorry for the tired man, and
suggested that he should take steps to help him to return to his home.
In reply Uta-Napishtim told her to bake bread for him, and she did so,
but she noted by a mark on the house-wall each day that he slept. On the
seventh day, when she took the loaf Uta-Napishtim touched Gilgamish,
and the hero woke up with a start, and admitted that he had been
overcome with sleep, and made incapable of movement thereby.
Still vexed with the thought of death and filled with anxiety to escape
from it, Gilgamish asked his host what he should do and where he should
go to effect his object. By Uta-Napishtim's advice, he made an agreement
with Ur-Shanabi the boatman, and prepared to re-cross the sea on his
way home. But before he set out on his way Uta-Napishtim told him of
the existence of a plant which grew at the bottom of the sea, and
apparently led Gilgamish to believe that the possession of it would
confer upon him immortality. Thereupon Gilgamish tied heavy stones [to
his feet], and let himself down into the sea through an opening in the
floor of the boat. When he reached the bottom of the sea, he saw the
plant and plucked it, and ascended into the boat with it. Showing it to
Ur-Shanabi, he told him that it was a most marvellous plant, and that it
would enable a man to obtain his heart's desire. Its name was
"Shîbu issahir amelu," i.e., "The old man becometh young [again],"
and Gilgamish declared that he would "eat of it in order to recover his
lost youth," and that he would take it home to his fortified city
{p. 55}
of Erech. Misfortune, however, dogged his steps, and the plant never
reached Erech, for whilst Gilgamish and Ur-Shanabi were on their way
back to Erech they passed a pool the water of which was very cold, and
Gilgamish dived into it and took a bath. Whilst there a serpent
discovered the whereabouts of the plant through its smell and swallowed
it. When Gilgamish saw what had happened he cursed aloud, and sat down
and wept, and the tears coursed down his cheeks as he lamented over the
waste of his toil, and the vain expenditure of his heart's blood, and
his failure to do any good for himself. Disheartened and weary he
struggled on his way with his friend, and at length they arrived at the
fortified city of Erech.[1]
[1. The city of Erech was the second of the four cities which,
according to Genesis x, 10, were founded by Nimrod, the son of Cush, the
"mighty hunter before the Lord. And the beginning of his kingdom was
Babel, and Erech and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar." The
Sumerians and Babylonian called the city "UNU KI,"; the first sign means
"dwelling" or "habitation," and the second "land, country," etc.. and
we may understand this as meaning the "dwelling" par excellence of some
god, probably Anu. The site of Erech is well known, and is marked by
the vast ruins which the Arabs call "Warkah," or Al-Warkah. These lie
in 31º 19' N. Lat. and 45º 40' E. Long., and are about four
miles from the Euphrates, on the left or east bank of the river. Sir W.
K. Loftus carried out excavations on the site in 1849-52, and says that
the external walls of sun-dried brick enclosing the main portion of the
ruins form an irregular circle five and a-half miles in circumference;
in places they are from 40 to 50 feet in height, and they seem to have
been about 20 feet thick. The turrets on the wall were semi-oval in
shape and about 50 feet apart. The principal ruin is that of the
Ziggurat, or temple tower, which in 1850 was 100 feet high and 206 feet
square. Loftus calls it "Buwáriya," i.e., "reed mats," because
reed mats were used in its construction, but bûriyah, "rush mat,"
is a Persian not Arabic word, and the name is more probably connected
with the Arabic "Bawâr," i.e., "ruin," "place of death," etc.
This tower stood in a courtyard which was 350 feet long and 270 feet
wide. The next large ruin is that which is called "Waswas" (plur.
Wasâwis"), i.e., "large stone." The "Waswas" referred to was
probably the block of columnar basalt which Loftus and Mr. T. K. Lynch
found projecting through the soil; on it was sculptured the figure of a
warrior, and the stone itself was regarded as a talisman by the
natives. This ruin is 246 feet long, 174 feet wide and 80 feet high. On
three sides of it are terraces of different elevations, but the
south-west side presents a perpendicular façade, at one place 23
feet in height. For further details see Loftus, Chaldea and Susiana,
London, 1857, p. 159 ff. Portions of the ruins of Warkah were excavated
by German archaeologists in 1912. and this work was resumed in 1928.]
{p. 56}
Then Gilgamish told Ur-Shanabi to jump up on the wall and examine the
bricks from the foundations to the battlements, and see if the plans
which he had made concerning them had been carried out during his
absence.
THE TWELFTH TABLET.
The text of the Twelfth Tablet is very defective, but it seems certain
that Gilgamish, having failed in his quest for eternal life, could now
think of nothing better than to know the worst by calling up the ghost
of Enkidu and enquiring of him as to the condition of the dead in the
Under-world. He therefore asked the priests what precautions should be
taken in order to prevent a ghost from haunting one, and, being informed
of these, he purposely did everything against which he had been warned,
so that the ghosts might come about him. This, however, failed to bring
Enkidu, so Gilgamish prayed to the god Enlil that he should raise him
up, but Enlil made no reply. Next Gilgamish prayed to the Moon-god, but
again his prayer was ignored. He then appealed to the god Ea, who,
taking pity on him, ordered the warrior-god Nergal to open a hole in
the earth. Out of this the ghost of Enkidu rose "like a wind," and the
two friends embraced again. Gilgamish at once began eagerly to question
the ghost about the condition of the dead, but Enkidu was loath to
answer, for he knew that what he must reveal would only cause his
friend dejection. But the last lines of the Tablet tell the lot of
those who have died in various circumstances; though some who have been
duly buried are in better case, the fate of others who have none to pay
them honour is miserable, for they are reduced to feeding upon dregs
and scraps of food thrown into the street.
{p. 57}
NOTE.
The Trustees of the British Museum have published large selections of
cuneiform texts from the cylinders, tablets, etc., that were found in
the ruins of Nineveh by Layard, Rassam, Smith and others, in the
following works:--
CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS OF WESTERN ASIA. Vol. 1. 1861. Fol. Il. (Out of
print.)
------------ Vol. II. 1866. Fol. Il. (Out of print.)
------------ Vol. 111. 1870. Fol. Il.
------------ Vol. IV. Second edition. 1891. Fol. Il. (Out of print.)
------------ Vol. V. Plates I-XXXV. 1880. Fol. 10s. 6d. (Out of print.)
------------ Vol. V. Plates XXXVI-LXX. 1884. Fol. 10s. 6d. (Out of
print.)
------------ Vol. V. Plates I-LXX. Lithographed reprint 1909. Fol. Il.
7s.
INSCRIPTIONS FROM ASSYRIAN MONUMENTS. 1851. Fol. Il.. 1s.
CUNEIFORM TEXTS FROM BABYLONIAN TABLETS, &C., IN THE BRITISH
MUSEUM. Parts I-V, VII-XXIII, XXV, XXVII-XXXIV. 50 plates each.
1896-1914. 7s. 6d. each.
------------ Part VI. 49 plates. 1898. 7s. 6d.
------------ Part XXIV. 50 plates. 1908. Fol. 10s.
------------ Part XXVI. 54 plates. 1909. Fol. 12s.
------------ Part XXXV. 50 plates. 1920. 12s.
------------ Part XXXVI. 50 plates. 1921. 18s.
------------ Parts XXXVII, XXXIX. 50 plates each. 1924, 1926. 15s. each.
------------ Parts XXXVIII, XL. 50 plates each. 19-25, 1928. 16s. each.
ANNALS OF THE KINGS OF ASSYRIA. Cuneiform texts with transliterations
and translations. Vol. I. 1903. 4to. Il.
CATALOGUE OF THE CUNEIFORM TABLETS IN THE KOUYUNJIK COLLECTION. Vol. I.
8vo. 1889. 15s.
------------ Vol. II. 1891. 15s.
------------ Vol. III. 1894. 13s.
------------ Vol. IV. 1896. Il.
------------ Vol. V. 1899. Il. 3s.
------------ Supplement 8vo. 1914. Il.
End of Etext The Babylonian Story of the Deluge and the Epic of
Gilgamish by E.A. Wallis Budge
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