Gilgamesh (27 page)

A
N
TU

Anu's wife, mother of Ishtar (in one tradition).

A
NU

(Sumerian: An, “Sky”) Son of the first pair of gods, Ansar and Kisar; god of the sky and father of the gods, specifically father of Enlil and Aruru.

A
RURU

(“Seed-loosener”; according to some scholars, the meaning of the name is unknown; also called Belet-ili, “Lady of the Gods”) The mother goddess who created mankind with Ea's help. Sister (or wife) of Enlil; in some traditions, Anu's lover.

A
YA

Goddess of dawn, Shamash's bride.

B
ELET-
SE
RI

(“Lady of the Desert”) Ereshkigal's scribe in the underworld, who holds the tablet recording life and death.

E
A

(Sumerian: Enki) The cleverest of the gods, god of intellect, creation, wisdom, magic, and medicine; son of Ansar and Kisar. He was also god of the freshwater subterranean ocean,
apsû,
the “Great Deep.” He sent the Seven Sages to civilize mankind. Among other gifts, he created order in the cosmos, invented the plough, and filled the rivers with fish.

E
A
N
NA

(“House of the Sky”) The temple of Anu and Ishtar in Uruk.

E
N
KIDU

(The name may mean “Lord of the Good Place” or, alternatively, “Enki's [=Ea's] creation,” or “The Wild One.”) A wild man made by gods, to be Gilgamesh's equal, in the Babylonian tradition (or, in the Sumerian tradition, to be his servant).

EN
LIL

(The name may mean “Lord of the Winds.”) Son of Anu, father of Sîn, grandfather (in one tradition) of Shamash and Ishtar. With the help of Anu, Ea, and Aruru he governs the universe. He is sometimes friendly toward mankind, but can also be an irritable and capricious god who sends forth disasters such as the Great Flood. His cult center was at Nippur.

E
N
NU
GI

Sheriff or constable of the gods.

E
R
ESH
KI
GAL

(“Lady of the Great Earth”) Ishtar's sister, queen of the underworld, which she rules with her consort, Nergal.

E
T
ANA

The thirteenth god-king of the Sumerian dynasty ruling the city of Kish (an ancient city-state of northern Babylonia), and the third king after the Flood. After his death he was a ruler in the underworld.

G
IL
GAMESH

(Sumerian: Bilgamesh; the Sumerian form of the name may mean “The Old Man Is a Young Man” or “The Ancestor Was a Hero.”) A historical king of Uruk (ca. 2750
BCE;
some scholars place him a century or so earlier). He was the fifth king of the First Dynasty of Uruk; according to legend, son of Lugalbanda and of the goddess Ninsun.

H
UM
B
ABA

(Sumerian and Old Babylonian: Huwawa) The monstrous guardian of the Cedar Forest, appointed by Enlil to protect it by terrifying men away.

I
SH
TAR

(Sumerian: Inanna, “Queen of Heaven”) Patron deity of Uruk, goddess of sexual love and war; daughter of Anu, according to the tradition of Uruk; in other traditions, she is Anu's consort and daughter of Sîn.

L
U
GAL
BAN
DA

(“Little Lord”) King of Uruk, later deified. In one tradition he was the father of Gilgamesh, in another he was Uruk's guardian deity.

N
AM
TAR

(“Decider of Fate”) The minister or vizier of Ereshkigal and gatekeeper of the underworld.

N
ER
GAL

(“Lord of Erkalla”) God of plague and war, later the husband of Ereshkigal.

N
IN
SUN

(“Lady of the Wild Cows”) A minor Sumerian goddess known for her wisdom; Gilgamesh's mother.

N
IN
UR
TA

(“Lord of the Earth”) Son of Enlil, chamberlain of the gods, god of agriculture, also honored as a war god.

N
IP
PUR

Enlil's cult center, modern Nuffar, near ‘Afaq in central Mesopotamia.

P
U
ZUR-
AMUR
RI

(“Secret of the Western God”) Utnapishtim's shipwright.

S
HA
MASH

(Sumerian: Utu) The sun god, god of justice and patron of travelers and dream interpreters, and Gilgamesh's special protector. His cult centers were at Sippar and Larsa.

S
HA
MHAT

(According to Bottéro, the name means “The Joyous One”; according to George, “something between ‘Good-looking' and ‘Well-endowed.'”) Priestess of Ishtar from Uruk, whose job was to civilize Enkidu.

S
HID
U
RI

(or Siduri; “She Is My Rampart”; some scholars says that the meaning is unknown.) Goddess of brewing and wisdom, who keeps a tavern at the edge of the world.

S
HU
RUP
PAK

Utnaphistim's city in central southern Mesopotamia, between Nippur and Uruk. Modern Tell Fara.

S
în

(Sumerian: Nanna) The moon god, god of fertility, son of Enlil; according to some traditions, father of Shamash and Ishtar.

S
îN-
LË
QI-
UN
NINNI

(“Sîn Is the One Who Accepts a Prayer”) The author/editor of the Standard Version of Gilgamesh. He lived sometime in the thirteenth to eleventh centuries
BCE
.

S
U
MUQAN

(Sumerian: Shakkan) A god of the wilderness, the protector of wild animals.

T
AM
MUZ

(Sumerian: Dumuzi, “Faithful Son”) Lover and husband of Ishtar, sent by her to the underworld.

U
RS
HA
NA
BI

(“Servant of Two-Thirds”; Old Babylonian: Sursunabu) The boatman of Utnapishtim, who sails across the Waters of Death, which divide the garden of the gods from the paradise where Utnapishtim lives forever. (“Two-thirds” refers to Ea, whose symbolic numerical value was 40, two-thirds of Anu's 60.)

U
RUK

An ancient city in southern Mesopotamia. Modern Warka.

U
T
NA
PISH
TIM

(“He Who Found Life”; Sumerian: Ziusudra, “Life of Long Days”) King of Shuruppak who survived the Great Flood and was made immortal. He is called Atrahasis (“Supremely Wise”) in the poem of that name.

I am deeply grateful to Michael Katz, my dear friend and agent, and to my excellent editor, Leslie Meredith. I am also grateful to Chana Bloch and John Tarrant for their many useful suggestions; to Benjamin R. Foster for generously pointing out some mistakes and misunderstandings on my part; to Martha Levin, Carissa Hays, Cassie Dendurent Nelson, Paul O'Halloran, and Phil Metcalf of Free Press for taking good care of the book; to Eric Fuentecilla, Joel Avirom, and Jason Snyder, the designers who made it so beautiful; and to Katie, for everything.

Stephen Mitchell's many books include the bestselling
Tao Te Ching, The Gospel According to Jesus, Bhagavad Gita, The Book of Job, Meetings with the Archangel, The Frog Prince, The Selected Poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke,
and
Loving What Is
(written with his wife, Byron Katie). His website is
www.stephenmitchellbooks.com
.