We left He-Who-Sets-Snares sitting facing the courtesan at the water mine for three days waiting for Enkidu to appear. We rejoin them as finally the herds reappeared at the water mine and among them frolicking in the joy of pure water, Enkidu himself. "There he is! Now, woman, bare your breasts, have no shame, do not delay in receiving his embrace. When he approaches, disrobe and lay with him; let him see you naked, let him possess your body. Teach him, a savage, your womanly wisdom because, as he murmurs his love for you, the wild animals who share his life in the hills will surely reject him." Suffice it to say that the courtesan followed instructions effectively, for it was six days and seven nights before Enkidu remembered his abode in the hills and returned to rejoin the wild animals. The latter, as predicted, however, fled and, says the story, Enkidu would have pursued them but his body was tied as if by a rope and his knees gave way when he tried to run. Encode was weak because wisdom was with him and manly thoughts inhabited his heart. He consequently returned to sit at the feet of the woman and listened attentively to what she said: "You are wise, Enkidu and now you are like a god. Why would you want to be a savage like the wild animals? Come with me; I will take you to Uruk, the city of strong walls; come to Ishtar's temple and Amu's; there lives Gilgamesh who is strong as a wild ox and rules over men" Enkidu wanted a companion, someone who would understand his heart, tells the story. And yet, his words to the woman were: "Take me there: I want to defy him, for I am the strongest, I was sent to alter the course of events, I will prove victorious." The desirable virile qualities of being wise, strong and handsome; of having manly thoughts in your heart and wanting a bit of a tussle with a best friend are a heartwarming reminder of those far gone days before the rise of New Man... "Let's go, Enkidu. I know well where Gilgamesh lives and there everyone dresses with coloured robes, they party everyday, the young are beautiful and smell nice. You, who loves life will meet Gilgamesh, a man of many parts, a man of radiant virility and perfect body, in the height of maturity. unstoppable night and day. He is stronger than you, so stop bragging: Gilgamesh was favoured by the gods and he will know you are coming even before you arrive". And indeed, Gilgamesh had a prophetic dream, that a meteorite had fallen from the skies; it was so heavy that it could not be lifted and so beautiful that he had to fall in love with it. He brought the dream to his mother who interpreted that a strong and loyal companion was coming to him. He would be the star from the sky and the axe that gives strength. Gilgamesh's dreams were relayed by the courtesan to Enkidu who entreated him to rise from the floor, gave him half her clothes to adorn him for the journey to Uruk; she then took him to the shepherds who gave him bread and wine and she said to Enkidu: "Eat this bread, which is the staff of life; drink the wine, as is customary in the land" At this moment it is hard to resist the Eucharistic overtones of the scene, but this is a fleeting reference: Enkidu drinks seven goblets and was merry, his heart was fit to burst and his face shone: he was inebriated but still able to untangle his body hair and anoint himself with oil: he became a man then, but when he donned man's clothes, he was like a bridegroom. he hunted and watched over the shepherds, who rested. So now Enkidu is strong, civilised, caring, handsome, and has acquired some polish and manners. Life is good. But then, a messenger arrives. Gilgamesh is behaving as usual, being brutal and lustful and shutting out his people. They needed a champion and Enkidu was sent to earth to be that champion. Cometh the hour, cometh the man!
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Gilgamesh was wise, powerful, courageous, well travelled, resolute, gracious and... and lustful. The inhabitants of Uruk, fearful of his despotic power, complained behind closed doors that he "Rings the bells for his own amusement" - presumably a blasphemous act - "and his arrogance has no limits; he takes the children from his parents and takes for himself any virgin that takes his fancy"... and so the gods decided to create a being who would be able to curb Gilgamesh's excesses. And so the noble Enkidu was created. He had the virtues of the god of war; he had long curly hair like a woman and his body was rough and covered in matted fur like that of cattle: he knew nothing of humanity or of tilling the earth. Meanwhile, in the wooded hills above Uruk: He who sets snares was at work by a water mine... [He who sets snares is a character in this story who never is known by any other name and, for my money, seems an archetype of some importance. Maybe comparable to the modern spin doctor, or the press baron, or the jilted Tory Party donour. He is presented as someone who is out setting snares because the animas are invading his lands and destroying his crops, but in reality he persists in the ensnaring business even well out of this remit]: while in the woods, he saw a terrifying creature consorting with the animal herds: running with the gazelles, suckling their milk and eating the grass on the hillside. This vision frightened the man and he returned to his father, who told him to go to Uruk and tell Gilgamesh of this apparition. And so it was. He who sets snares told Gilgamesh, the king of Uruk, that he had seen a scary man, "...different from all others, who roams the pastures; is strong as a star from heaven; helps the wild animals to escape, destroys my snares and fills in my ditches..." [could this be a CND agitator, a primitive ecologist?] As had already been foretold by his father, he who sets snares received from Gilgamesh the obvious instructions in such cases: "Go, you who sets snares, return to the hills, take with you a prostitute, a pleasure woman. At the water mine, tell her to disrobe; when he sees her calling, he will for sure embrace her and then the wild animals will surely reject him." Pretty obvious, really. Who better to carry out this mission than the ensnarer-in-chief himself? I bet he was excited. Whereas the political processes have evolved somewhat, as in people having elections and public enquiries to address the bad behaviour of politicians, the role of women in subverting the natural order and corrupting the innocent has remained pretty much the same. And what have we, my sisters, do to change any of this in the last 8,000 years? 20,000 years? The prostitute and the poacher sat for 3 days facing each other by the water mine, waiting for Enkidu to appear, we are told, before the action really got going. But that is for the next chapter. I picked up a slim volume from the poetry shelves in Bertrand bookstore in Faro last week. I read books in my tablet but not poetry, which I must hold in my hand. This book is the epic poem Gilgamesh. On the cover, an irregular shape painting, fragment or object, coloured as in watercolour shows the rudimentary profile of a man and a shield, or map. See for yourself: The guy has a very low hairline and a curly beard, but appears to boast a great six pack: presumably this is the eponymous hero. I bought the book immediately, how could I resist on such a day, such a stroke of luck? I had vaguely heard of Gilgamesh before, but no details sprang to mind, if I ever knew them. Apparently, Ashurbanipal collected various legends and oral myths and compiled this one narrative in the VII century BC. His catchy title was "He Who Stared Into The Abyss" - and now I know what he means. I actually think that what is not written is just as valuable to understanding both the myth and ourselves as what is there, in incredible language. Of course it has to be taken for granted that women in this book are likened to objects, but with a certain primacy, has to be said. For instance, at a given moment, Gilgamesh encounters an ax, so well crafted, so handsomely finished, so finely balanced that he "loved it like a woman". You make of it what you like, I chose to think he thought it rather nice and desirable. But really women appear in many guises throughout the narrative, and objects they may be, but they are clearly objects of awareness and intent. A brief introduction, then: Gilgamesh himself was a god-like hero of awesome beauty and terrifying strength. This epic poem starts, much as the Odyssey does: "I will proclaim to the world the feats of Gilgamesh..." he reigned over Uruk and there he built strong defences and also the temple Eanna, for Annu, god of the firmament and Ishtar, goddess of love and war, with good fired mud brick. He was wise, saw the mysteries and knew the secret things; he taught us a story about the days of the Deluge. "He had a perfect body which terrified, like a great wild bull". But there was a tiny flaw in his character. And then perhaps not so tiny and perhaps not just the one... this little story is not really a whitewash job on Gilgamesh's character. His relationships were unorthodox to our eyes and his drives shocking even by the standards of the day. I can't wait to get to the women, but first, tomorrow, I will tell you the reasons why it was necessary to create his alter ego and companion of all adventures, Enkidu.
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