In Assyria, King Ashurbanipal (Ashur was the main god; the land was cald Ashuria.) lived in Nineveh. He was a great patron of the arts but was also one of the cruelest of the Assyrian kings. He wanted to build a library so he sent men out to gather literature. The Rescension, or the Nineveh Rescension, refers to the translation and editing of this literature. All the myths come from this, as does the story of Gilgamesh, King of Uruk. It is a story written on twelve tablets called "Gilgamesh in the Land of the Living," an epic. The story consists of Sumerian episodes put together by a Babylonian editor. This, not Homer, is the first epic. It was found in Nineveh in four different languages: Sumerian, Assyrian, Babylonian, and Hittite (from Anatolia). It was completely written in poetry.
Gilgamesh was two thirds god and one third man (i.e., two of his parents were gods and one was human). He was notorious for being a cruel tyrant because of his superiority. He took anything he wanted.
At one point, the people are desperate so they go over Gilgamesh's head, praying directly to the gods for help. The gods hear them. One of the goddesses takes some earth and creates Enkidu, a wild man. He is stronger than a lion, faster than a gazelle, and friends with the animals. He has long hair and beard. He is naked and eats only grass. He drinks only water from the ditches or milk from female animals. A notice comes to the city elders that this wild man keeps rescuing the wild animals they have captured. The elders perceive Enkidu to be the answer to their prayers. They set out to capture him and bring him back. They select a temple prostitute. She meets a hunter and sets out after Enkidu. The hunter says, "There he is. Bare yourself to him and seduce him." So she opens her robe and they have a wild sexual union for seven days and seven nights. Enkidu then goes to run with the animals but finds himself "strangely weak." He is contaminated by the civilized and the animals reject him. He has no choice but to join civilization. The prostitute and the hunter cut and curl his hair. They wash him and anoint him with oil. They put a robe on him. (Both the anointment and the robe symbolize selection for a task.) They give him bread and beer (both synthetic). They go to Uruk.
Enkidu and Gilgamesh grapple (wrestle). Enkidu goes down on one knee. He has lost. But Gilgamesh takes him to be his comrade because he has finally found a peer. They become lifelong comrades. Enkidu considers himself a lesser person, so he always goes before Gilgamesh. They decide to travel to the Cedar Forest (Lebanon) which is guarded by a giant, called Humbaba (in Assyrian, Huwawa). Gilgamesh is presented with a beautiful bronze axe and sword by the elders. The Cedar Forest was placed there by Enlil, now head of the gods, and Humbaba was made to guard the forest. Enkidu pushes the gate of the forest with his hand and immediately his right side becomes paralyzed. They meet Humbaba, have a great fight, and win. Humbaba pleads for his life. Gilgamesh agrees to spare him. But Enkidu insists they kill him so Gilgamesh decapitates him with his great axe. They return to Uruk, exalting in their victory.
Gilgamesh looks incredibly god-like. He is so magnificent that Inanna notices him and becomes interested. She appears before him and suggests a liaison. He refuses, remembering Dumuzi's fate. Enkidu laughs. Inanna goes stomping back to Enlil and demands that he kill them both. Because they just killed his giant, he allows Inanna to send the Great Bull of Heaven after them. He comes charging out of heaven killing one hundred men with his first snort, two hundred with his second, etc. The people see him coming. Gilgamesh is pleased about the impending fight. Enkidu takes no weapon but stands in front of Gilgamesh. The second the bull gets to him he leaps up and does a handspring off the bull's back. The bull turns to see what has happened and Gilgamesh plunges his sword into the bull's breast (the Minoans of Crete did this same kind of bull jumping as a sport). Gilgamesh takes the prime cut (the right rear thigh) of the bull to place it on Enlil's altar, thinking Enlil is angry about Humbaba's death. Just then Inanna appears. Seeing Enkidu holding the meat, she says she accepts his offering. So Enkidu either throws the cut onto her altar with a sneer or throws the bull's genitals onto her altar (depending on the telling). She is furious. She goes to Enlil demanding their death. Enlil declines. Inanna says Enkidu at least must die. And Enlil can't think of a reason why not. So Enkidu falls ill and dies in three days. Gilgamesh mourns. He begins contemplating that if Enkidu was his equal and he died -- could he die as well? This worries him considerably. So he promises the spirirt of Enkidu that he will wear a lion skin on his back, until it falls off him, in Enkidu's honor. He also promises to travel to the Land of the Living where the immortal man and his wife live. The immortal man is Ziusiudra in Sumerian and Utnapishtim in Babylonian.
Everywhere Gilgamesh goes, people ask him for his story. He eventually meets a barmaid and he asks her where the ferry to the Land of the Living is. She tells him. But the ferryman Urshanabi isn't there. Gilgamesh finds some stones in the boat and smashes the stones on the ground in anger. But Urshanabi then appears and says that these stones would have powered the boat. So they have to cut saplings to pull themselves across. Once across, first thing, Utnapishtim fires Urshanabi in anger. Gilgamesh tells Utnapishtim that he wants to live forever. Utnapishtim says he couldn't even stay awake for seven days let alone live forever. Gilgamesh says, "I can, too." So he sits down and immediately sleeps for seven days (Utnapishtim's wife places a fresh loaf of bread beside him each day, marking the time.) So Gilgamesh agrees that he cannot live forever.
But Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh where to find the herb of eternal youth, a plant with thorns and beautiful flower at the bottom of the sea. So Gilgamesh ties large rocks to the bottoms of his feet, sinks to the bottom, gets the herb, and then cuts the ropes and floats back up (the origins of deep sea diving). Urshanabi and Gilgamesh travel together. They get to a cool pool of water. Gilgamesh puts down the herb of eternal youth so he can bathe. A snake comes out of the water, swallows the herb, and goes back into the water, thus explaining why snakes become young again and again. Gilgamesh has learned humility. He becomes the greatest king ever known.
Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh the story of how he became immortal. It parallels the story of Noah's ark.