Folktales  

Eternal Life

Gilgamesh was two-thirds god and one-third human and was ruler of Rica. At first he was a harsh ruler so the gods decided to create a companion for Gilgamesh, a partner for his adventures and so they created Enkidu. Together they conquered Humbaba, and even killed the Bull of Heaven which the goddess Ishtar had sent against them because Gilgamesh had refused to marry her.

The gods were angry at Enkidu and they said that Enkidu should pay with his life. Enkidu was wholly human and because Gilgamesh was partly god the other gods protected him.

Gilgamesh felt so terrible for his friend that he was scared that what had happened to Enkidu would some day happen to him too. He was afraid of dying.

Gilgamesh ran away from Uruk desperate to find Utnapishtim, a person like him who had escaped the fate for death and now became a god. Utnapishtim lived far to the east and Gilgamesh wanted to find him and ask him the question of life and death.

So Gilgamesh set out on his journey to the east were he hoped to find Utnapishtim and learn how to live forever. The journey was dangerous but Gilgamesh was eager to get there.

When he finally got to the place where Utnapishtim lived he saw Utnapishtim laying on the sand and relaxing. Utnapishtim did not look like a god but like and old man instead. Gilgamesh asked him to tell him the story of how he became god.

So Utnapishtim told him the story of how a long time ago he lived in the city of Shurrupak. The world then was jammed with people and one day the people made such a noise that the gods couldn't sleep or rest. So they decided to wipe out the entire race of humans. Only the god Ea believed that this was wrong. So he came to Utnapishtim in a dream and warned him about what the gods planned to do. He also told him to tear down his house and build a boat whose length is as long as its width and take on this boat the seed of every living thing, because the gods wanted to destroy everything that exists. Utapishtim did as he was told and when the boat was finished he loaded it with gold and supplies. Then he put on board his family, the artisans and every sort of animal. After some time the storm begun. It lasted for seven days and finally stopped. To know if there was land he sent a dove but it returned. The swallow he sent next also returned, but when he sent a raven the raven did not return which meant there was land. Then they roasted meat as a sacrifice to the gods.

The gods were glad to see the storm had ended but their ruler Enlil was angry because Utnapishtim and his wife had escaped death. Then the gods made Utnapishtim and his wife live forever and as gods.

That was the end of Utnapishtim's story. Utnapishtim told Gilgamesh that if he was as godlike as he thought and wanted to live forever, he had to stay awake for six days and seven nights to prove it. But Gilgamesh was tired because of his journey and had grown drowsy as he listened to Utnapishtim's story and he fell asleep.

He was asleep for six days and seven nights. Each day he slept, Utnapishtim's wife baked a loaf of bread and put it beside the sleeping Gilgamesh. Each day she made a mark on the wall to keep track of the time that had passed.

Finally on the seventh day Gilgamesh awoke and told Utnapishtim that he was ready to prove he was godlike and to stay wake for six days and seven nights but it was too late because he already slept for six days and seven nights and so Utnapishtim told him to go back to Rica and get a wife and have children and enjoy life and rule his Kingdom.

So Gilgamesh did as he was told and returned and had a wonderful wife and kids. Gilgamesh did not join the gods as he had wanted but through his story he lives forever.