Gilgamesh and the Bull of Heaven

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses Tablet VI of the "Epic of Gilgamesh", which contains the story of Gilgamesh and his friend Enkidu's battle with the Bull of Heaven. The paper cites passages from the epic tale and discusses what each of the characters and events represent. The paper concludes that this part of the tale encapsulates major themes in the drama of human existence and the relationship of human beings to the wider cosmos.

From the Paper:

"In these lines it is clear that the Bull represents a force even more terribly destructive than the horrors threatened by Ishtar. Worse than the elimination of law and order, of the creation of moral chaos that Ishtar's threats would represent, the loosing of the bull appears to bring about physical annihilation of the means of existence. The Bull would eat up all the grain and all the grass causing both men and animals to starve. There would be nothing. All the creatures of the earth would die, and the gods would be left without support. It is with this idea in mind that Anu asks Ishtar if she has seen to it that food has been stored up for those who dwell on the Earth. Anu's concern is interesting because it reveal the physical underpinnings of the cosmic order. A civilization's values might be important, but that civilization cannot exist without the material things that sustain it. Anu comes across as concerned with the totality of creation, Ishtar only with the satisfaction of her own desires, as befits a goddess of sexual urges."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Gardner and Maier. The Epic of Gilgamesh
• Jones, Philip. "Embracing Inana: Legitimation and Mediation in the Ancient Mesopotamian Sacred Marriage Hymn Iddin-Dagan A." The Journal of the American Oriental Society 123.2 (2003): 291+.

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