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kingofallkings) wrote2015-07-04 02:42 pm
kingofallkings) wrote2015-07-04 02:42 pm
Epic IV: Journey to the Forest of Cedar❋
Journey to the Forest of Cedar
At twenty leagues they broke bread,
At thirty leagues they pitched camp:
Fifty leagues they travelled in the course of a day,
By the third day a march of a month and a half;
Nearer they drew to Mount Lebanon.
Facing the sun they dug a well,
They put fresh water into their waterskins.
Gilgamesh climbed to the top of the mountain,
To the hill he poured out an offering of flour:
'O mountain, bring me a dream, so I see a good sign!'
Enkidu made for Gilgamesh a House of the Dream God,
He fixed a door in its doorway to keep out the weather.
In the circle he had drawn he made him lie down,
And falling flat like a net lay himself in the doorway.
Gilgamesh rested his chin on his knees,
Sleep fell upon him, that spills over people.
In the middle of the night he reached his sleep's end,
He rose and spoke to his friend:
'My friend, did you not call me? Why have I wakened?
Did you not touch me? Why am I startled?
Did a god not pass by? Why is my flesh frozen numb?
My friend, I have had the first dream!
The dream that I had was extremely upsetting:
In a mountain valley [we stood]
The mountain fell down on top of [us]
The one born in the wild knew how to give counsel,
Enkidu spoke to his friend, gave his dream meaning:
'My friend, your dream is a good omen,
The dream is precious and bodes us well.
'My friend, the mountain you saw could not be Humbaba:
We shall capture Humbaba, him we shall slay,
We shall cast down his corpse on the field of battle.
And next morning we shall see a good sign from the Sun God.'
At twenty leagues they broke bread,
At thirty leagues they pitched camp.
Fifty leagues they travelled in the course of a day,
By the third day a march of a month and a half;
Nearer they drew to Mount Lebanon.
At twenty leagues they broke bread.
Facing the sun they dug a well,
They put fresh water into their waterskins.
Gilgamesh climbed to the top of the mountain,
To the hill he poured out an offering of flour:
'O mountain, bring me a dream, so I see a good sign!
nkidu made for Gilgamesh a House of the Dream God,
He fixed a door in its doorway to keep out the weather.
In the circle he had drawn he made him lie down,
And falling flat like a net lay himself in the doorway.
Gilgamesh rested his chin on his knees,
Sleep fell upon him, that spills over people.
In the middle of the night he reached his sleep's end,
He rose and spoke to his friend:
'My friend, did you not call me? Why have I wakened?
Did you not touch me? Why am I startled?
Did a god not pass by? Why is my flesh frozen numb?
My friend, I have had the second dream!'
'My second dream surpasses the first.
In my dream, my friend, a mountain stood before us,
It threw me down, it held me by my feet
The brightness grew more intense. A man appeared,
The comeliest in the land, his beauty [unparalleled]
From beneath the mountain he pulled me out and
He gave me water to drink and my heart grew calm.
On the ground he set my feet.'
Enkidu spoke to him, saying to Gilgamesh:
'Humbaba is not the mountain, he is different altogether
Come, cast aside your fear,
And in the morning the word of Shamash [is] favorable.'
At twenty leagues they broke bread,
At thirty leagues they pitched camp:
Fifty leagues they travelled in the course of a day,
By the third day a march of a month and a half;
Nearer they drew to Mount Lebanon.
Facing the sun they dug a well,
they put fresh water in [their waterskins
Gilgamesh climbed to the top of the mountain,
To the hill he poured out an offering of flour:
'O mountain, bring me a dream, so I see a good sign!'
Enkidu made for Gilgamesh a House of the Dream God,
He fixed a door in its doorway to keep out the weather.
In the circle he had drawn he made him lie down,
And falling flat like a net lay himself in the doorway.
Gilgamesh rested his chin on his knees,
Sleep fell upon him, that spills over people.
In the middle of the night he reached his sleep's end,
He rose and spoke to his friend:
'My friend, did you not call me? Why have I wakened?
Did you not touch me? Why am I startled?
Did a god not pass by? Why is my flesh frozen numb?
My friend, I have had the third dream!
'The dream that I had was extremely upsetting:
Heaven cried aloud, while earth did rumble.
The day grew still, darkness came forth,
There was a flash of lightning, fire broke out.
'The flames flared up, death rained down .
[A bull appeared,] the flashes of fire went out,
Where it had fallen turned into cinders.
[The appearance of an old man followed.]
You were born in the wild, can we take counsel?'
Having heard the words of his friend,
Enkidu gave the dream meaning, saying to Gilgamesh:
'My friend, your dream is a good omen, fine is its message.
'We draw, my friend, ever nearer the forest,
The dreams are close, the battle soon.
You will see the radiant auras of the god,
Of Humbaba, whom in your thoughts you fear so much.
'Locking horns like a bull you will batter him,
And force his head down with your strength.
The old man you saw is your powerful god,
The one who begot you, divine Lugalbanda.'
At twenty leagues they broke bread,
At thirty leagues they pitched camp:
Fifty leagues they travelled [in the course of a day,
By the third day a march of a month and a half;
Nearer they drew to Mount Lebanon.
Facing the sun they dug a well,
They put fresh water in their waterskins.
Gilgamesh climbed to the top of the mountain,
To the hill he poured out an offering of flour.
'O mountain, bring me a dream, so I see a good sign!'
Enkidu made for Gilgamesh a House of the Dream God,
He fixed a door in its doorway to keep out the weather.
In the circle he had drawn he made him lie down,
And falling flat like a net lay himself in the doorway.
Gilgamesh rested his chin on his knees,
Sleep fell upon him, that spills over people.
In the middle of the night he reached his sleep's end,
He rose and spoke to his friend:
'My friend, did you not call me? Why have I wakened?
Did you not touch me? Why am I startled?
Did a god not pass by? Why is my flesh frozen numb?
My friend, I have had the fourth dream!'
'It surpasses my other three dreams! I saw a Thunderbird in the sky,
Up it rose like a cloud, soaring above us.
Its visage distorted, its mouth was fire, its breath was death.
There was also a man, he was strange of form,
He [approached] and stood there in my dream.
'He bound its wings and took hold of my arm,
He cast it down before me, [and I stood] upon it.'
Enkidu explains the dream:
'You saw a Thunderbird in the sky,
Up it rose like a cloud, soaring above us.
'Its visage distorted, its mouth was fire, its breath was death.
You will fear its awesome splendor,
I shall [take hold of] its foot and let you arise!
'The man you saw was mighty Shamash [...]
'We shall bring about [Humbaba's demise], we shall bind his wings,
We shall stand upon him.
And next morning we shall [see] a good sign from the Sun God.'
At twenty leagues they broke bread,
At thirty leagues they pitched camp:
Fifty leagues they travelled in the course of a day.
Facing the sun they dug a well,
They put fresh water in [their waterskins]
Gilgamesh climbed to the top of the mountain,
To the hill he poured out an offering of flour.
'O mountain, bring me a dream, so I see a good sign!'
Enkidu made for Gilgamesh a House of the Dream God,
He fixed [a door in its doorway to keep out the weather.
In the circle [he had drawn he made him lie down,
And falling flat like a net lay himself in the doorway.
Gilgamesh] rested his [chin on his knees,
Sleep fell upon him, that spills over people.
In the middle of the night he reached his sleep's end,
He rose and spoke to his friend:
'My friend, did you not call me? Why have I wakened?
Did you not touch me? Why am I startled?
Did a god not pass by? Why is my flesh frozen numb?
My friend, I have had the fifth dream!'
'How ominous it was, how desolate, how unclear!
I had taken me hold of a bull from the wild:
As it clove the ground with its bellows,
The clouds of dust it raised thrust deep in the sky,
And I, in front of it, leaned myself forward.
'Taking hold of [me, it] enclosed my arms .
[An old man appeared], he extricated me by force
He gave me water to drink from his waterskin.'
Enkidu:
'The god, my friend, we are going against,
He's not the wild bull, he's different altogether.
The wild bull you saw was shining Shamash,
He will grasp our hands in time of peril.
'The one who gave you water to drink from his skin
Was your god who respects you, divine Lugalbanda.
We shall join forces and do something unique,
A feat that never has been in the land!'
[the heroes approach the forest, and Enkidu is giving Gilgamesh reassurance:]
'Why, my friend, do your tears flow?
O offshoot sprung from Uruk's midst,
Gilgamesh [the king,] offshoot sprung from Uruk's midst...'
Shamash heard what he had spoken,
Straight away from the sky there cried out a voice:
'Hurry, stand against him! Humbaba must not enter his forest,
He must not go down to the grove,
He must not wrap himself in his seven cloaks!
One he is wrapped in, six he has shed.'
They [rush at Humbaba]
He bellowed once, a bellow full of terror,
The guardian of the forests was bellowing,
Humbaba was thundering like the God of the Storm.
[blank, and then Gilgamesh is reassuring Enkidu:]
Gilgamesh opened his mouth to speak, saying to Enkidu:
'Why, my friend, do we speak like weaklings?
Was it not we crossed all of the mountains?
Let your shout resound like a kettle drum,
Let the stiffness leave your arms, the tremors your knees!
'Take my hand, friend, and we shall go on together,
Let your thoughts dwell on combat!
Forget death and seek life!
"'Let him wh] goes first be on guard for himself and bring his comrade to safety!"
It is they made a name for days long in the future!'
At the distant [forest] the two of them arrived,
They ceased their talking and came to a halt.
SYNOPSIS: Gilgamesh and Enkidu travel to the Forest of Cedar. Five times, Enkidu builds a sleeping house for Gilgamesh, who has prophetic dreams which he describes as a nightmare before Enkidu interprets them as positive omens. As they draw close to the forest, however, Gilgamesh begins to fear at the sound at Humababa's mighty bellows. Enkidu reassures him, but then grows afraid, himself. Gilgamesh reassures Enkidu this time, and they move forward. Note: Lugalbanda is Gilgamesh's father, a human king who ascended post-death, and Ninsun's consort.
At thirty leagues they pitched camp:
Fifty leagues they travelled in the course of a day,
By the third day a march of a month and a half;
Nearer they drew to Mount Lebanon.
Facing the sun they dug a well,
They put fresh water into their waterskins.
Gilgamesh climbed to the top of the mountain,
To the hill he poured out an offering of flour:
'O mountain, bring me a dream, so I see a good sign!'
Enkidu made for Gilgamesh a House of the Dream God,
He fixed a door in its doorway to keep out the weather.
In the circle he had drawn he made him lie down,
And falling flat like a net lay himself in the doorway.
Gilgamesh rested his chin on his knees,
Sleep fell upon him, that spills over people.
In the middle of the night he reached his sleep's end,
He rose and spoke to his friend:
'My friend, did you not call me? Why have I wakened?
Did you not touch me? Why am I startled?
Did a god not pass by? Why is my flesh frozen numb?
My friend, I have had the first dream!
The dream that I had was extremely upsetting:
In a mountain valley [we stood]
The mountain fell down on top of [us]
The one born in the wild knew how to give counsel,
Enkidu spoke to his friend, gave his dream meaning:
'My friend, your dream is a good omen,
The dream is precious and bodes us well.
'My friend, the mountain you saw could not be Humbaba:
We shall capture Humbaba, him we shall slay,
We shall cast down his corpse on the field of battle.
And next morning we shall see a good sign from the Sun God.'
At twenty leagues they broke bread,
At thirty leagues they pitched camp.
Fifty leagues they travelled in the course of a day,
By the third day a march of a month and a half;
Nearer they drew to Mount Lebanon.
At twenty leagues they broke bread.
Facing the sun they dug a well,
They put fresh water into their waterskins.
Gilgamesh climbed to the top of the mountain,
To the hill he poured out an offering of flour:
'O mountain, bring me a dream, so I see a good sign!
nkidu made for Gilgamesh a House of the Dream God,
He fixed a door in its doorway to keep out the weather.
In the circle he had drawn he made him lie down,
And falling flat like a net lay himself in the doorway.
Gilgamesh rested his chin on his knees,
Sleep fell upon him, that spills over people.
In the middle of the night he reached his sleep's end,
He rose and spoke to his friend:
'My friend, did you not call me? Why have I wakened?
Did you not touch me? Why am I startled?
Did a god not pass by? Why is my flesh frozen numb?
My friend, I have had the second dream!'
'My second dream surpasses the first.
In my dream, my friend, a mountain stood before us,
It threw me down, it held me by my feet
The brightness grew more intense. A man appeared,
The comeliest in the land, his beauty [unparalleled]
From beneath the mountain he pulled me out and
He gave me water to drink and my heart grew calm.
On the ground he set my feet.'
Enkidu spoke to him, saying to Gilgamesh:
'Humbaba is not the mountain, he is different altogether
Come, cast aside your fear,
And in the morning the word of Shamash [is] favorable.'
At twenty leagues they broke bread,
At thirty leagues they pitched camp:
Fifty leagues they travelled in the course of a day,
By the third day a march of a month and a half;
Nearer they drew to Mount Lebanon.
Facing the sun they dug a well,
they put fresh water in [their waterskins
Gilgamesh climbed to the top of the mountain,
To the hill he poured out an offering of flour:
'O mountain, bring me a dream, so I see a good sign!'
Enkidu made for Gilgamesh a House of the Dream God,
He fixed a door in its doorway to keep out the weather.
In the circle he had drawn he made him lie down,
And falling flat like a net lay himself in the doorway.
Gilgamesh rested his chin on his knees,
Sleep fell upon him, that spills over people.
In the middle of the night he reached his sleep's end,
He rose and spoke to his friend:
'My friend, did you not call me? Why have I wakened?
Did you not touch me? Why am I startled?
Did a god not pass by? Why is my flesh frozen numb?
My friend, I have had the third dream!
'The dream that I had was extremely upsetting:
Heaven cried aloud, while earth did rumble.
The day grew still, darkness came forth,
There was a flash of lightning, fire broke out.
'The flames flared up, death rained down .
[A bull appeared,] the flashes of fire went out,
Where it had fallen turned into cinders.
[The appearance of an old man followed.]
You were born in the wild, can we take counsel?'
Having heard the words of his friend,
Enkidu gave the dream meaning, saying to Gilgamesh:
'My friend, your dream is a good omen, fine is its message.
'We draw, my friend, ever nearer the forest,
The dreams are close, the battle soon.
You will see the radiant auras of the god,
Of Humbaba, whom in your thoughts you fear so much.
'Locking horns like a bull you will batter him,
And force his head down with your strength.
The old man you saw is your powerful god,
The one who begot you, divine Lugalbanda.'
At twenty leagues they broke bread,
At thirty leagues they pitched camp:
Fifty leagues they travelled [in the course of a day,
By the third day a march of a month and a half;
Nearer they drew to Mount Lebanon.
Facing the sun they dug a well,
They put fresh water in their waterskins.
Gilgamesh climbed to the top of the mountain,
To the hill he poured out an offering of flour.
'O mountain, bring me a dream, so I see a good sign!'
Enkidu made for Gilgamesh a House of the Dream God,
He fixed a door in its doorway to keep out the weather.
In the circle he had drawn he made him lie down,
And falling flat like a net lay himself in the doorway.
Gilgamesh rested his chin on his knees,
Sleep fell upon him, that spills over people.
In the middle of the night he reached his sleep's end,
He rose and spoke to his friend:
'My friend, did you not call me? Why have I wakened?
Did you not touch me? Why am I startled?
Did a god not pass by? Why is my flesh frozen numb?
My friend, I have had the fourth dream!'
'It surpasses my other three dreams! I saw a Thunderbird in the sky,
Up it rose like a cloud, soaring above us.
Its visage distorted, its mouth was fire, its breath was death.
There was also a man, he was strange of form,
He [approached] and stood there in my dream.
'He bound its wings and took hold of my arm,
He cast it down before me, [and I stood] upon it.'
Enkidu explains the dream:
'You saw a Thunderbird in the sky,
Up it rose like a cloud, soaring above us.
'Its visage distorted, its mouth was fire, its breath was death.
You will fear its awesome splendor,
I shall [take hold of] its foot and let you arise!
'The man you saw was mighty Shamash [...]
'We shall bring about [Humbaba's demise], we shall bind his wings,
We shall stand upon him.
And next morning we shall [see] a good sign from the Sun God.'
At twenty leagues they broke bread,
At thirty leagues they pitched camp:
Fifty leagues they travelled in the course of a day.
Facing the sun they dug a well,
They put fresh water in [their waterskins]
Gilgamesh climbed to the top of the mountain,
To the hill he poured out an offering of flour.
'O mountain, bring me a dream, so I see a good sign!'
Enkidu made for Gilgamesh a House of the Dream God,
He fixed [a door in its doorway to keep out the weather.
In the circle [he had drawn he made him lie down,
And falling flat like a net lay himself in the doorway.
Gilgamesh] rested his [chin on his knees,
Sleep fell upon him, that spills over people.
In the middle of the night he reached his sleep's end,
He rose and spoke to his friend:
'My friend, did you not call me? Why have I wakened?
Did you not touch me? Why am I startled?
Did a god not pass by? Why is my flesh frozen numb?
My friend, I have had the fifth dream!'
'How ominous it was, how desolate, how unclear!
I had taken me hold of a bull from the wild:
As it clove the ground with its bellows,
The clouds of dust it raised thrust deep in the sky,
And I, in front of it, leaned myself forward.
'Taking hold of [me, it] enclosed my arms .
[An old man appeared], he extricated me by force
He gave me water to drink from his waterskin.'
Enkidu:
'The god, my friend, we are going against,
He's not the wild bull, he's different altogether.
The wild bull you saw was shining Shamash,
He will grasp our hands in time of peril.
'The one who gave you water to drink from his skin
Was your god who respects you, divine Lugalbanda.
We shall join forces and do something unique,
A feat that never has been in the land!'
[the heroes approach the forest, and Enkidu is giving Gilgamesh reassurance:]
'Why, my friend, do your tears flow?
O offshoot sprung from Uruk's midst,
Gilgamesh [the king,] offshoot sprung from Uruk's midst...'
Shamash heard what he had spoken,
Straight away from the sky there cried out a voice:
'Hurry, stand against him! Humbaba must not enter his forest,
He must not go down to the grove,
He must not wrap himself in his seven cloaks!
One he is wrapped in, six he has shed.'
They [rush at Humbaba]
He bellowed once, a bellow full of terror,
The guardian of the forests was bellowing,
Humbaba was thundering like the God of the Storm.
[blank, and then Gilgamesh is reassuring Enkidu:]
Gilgamesh opened his mouth to speak, saying to Enkidu:
'Why, my friend, do we speak like weaklings?
Was it not we crossed all of the mountains?
Let your shout resound like a kettle drum,
Let the stiffness leave your arms, the tremors your knees!
'Take my hand, friend, and we shall go on together,
Let your thoughts dwell on combat!
Forget death and seek life!
"'Let him wh] goes first be on guard for himself and bring his comrade to safety!"
It is they made a name for days long in the future!'
At the distant [forest] the two of them arrived,
They ceased their talking and came to a halt.
SYNOPSIS: Gilgamesh and Enkidu travel to the Forest of Cedar. Five times, Enkidu builds a sleeping house for Gilgamesh, who has prophetic dreams which he describes as a nightmare before Enkidu interprets them as positive omens. As they draw close to the forest, however, Gilgamesh begins to fear at the sound at Humababa's mighty bellows. Enkidu reassures him, but then grows afraid, himself. Gilgamesh reassures Enkidu this time, and they move forward. Note: Lugalbanda is Gilgamesh's father, a human king who ascended post-death, and Ninsun's consort.