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"See, Enkidu? There was no need to worry, for Khumbaba would surely fall."
Enkidu smiled at Gilgamesh. "Indeed. It seems that my worry was for nothing."
Khumbaba, a monster guardian of the Forest of Cedars. Gilgamesh and Enkidu had set out to kill it, yet worry had set into Enkidu's mind upon entering the forest.
"However, without your words... I know not if I could have played my part as well."
Gilgamesh had brushed aside all of Enkidu's worry, affirming his belief in the other man. Together, the two had vanquished the beast and returned to Uruk.
At Enkidu's words, Gilgamesh threw his head back and laughed. The sound drew the attention of the servants surrounding them, and the people stared at the pair as they strode through the halls of Gilgamesh's palace. The opulence of the building was stunning, with intricate tapestries and golden inlay visible with a glance in any direction, but Enkidu's gaze passed over it with no hesitation. He had already become accustomed to the palace, and no longer paid it any mind.
"My friend, you are still too modest. In our battle, your skill and power approached my very own! Why, I would almost call you an equal!"
Around them, the servants gasped. Gilgamesh was capable of many things, but to humble himself as such? To declare another to be his equal? It was beyond the arrogance that he had shown.
And yet Enkidu just continued to smile calmly. "Perhaps, but until I have reached you truly, I will have to continue to borrow your power."
Another laugh rang out from Gilgamesh-
-only to be cut off by the appearance of a woman.
Her beauty was astounding, and she wore only the finest of jewelry and clothing. The stares of every person in the hall were drawn to her, including those of Gilgamesh and Enkidu.
"Gilgamesh." A flattering smile played across her face as she spoke the king's name. "I heard that you have slayed the mighty Khumbaba." Gilgamesh haughtily grinned in response.
"Of course. It was no match for my might, as well of that of Enkidu."
The woman's smile faltered for a moment, but returned. "Of course," she mimicked his words. "My king, I... am Ishtar. And I would greatly desire your hand in marriage. Should you accept, many gifts shall be yours: your flocks and herds, and your horses and oxen, would be without rival, and royalty across the land would bring you tribute without question."
"I refuse."
"Then shall we- huh?" Ishtar gaped, as did the servants in the hall who were watching with earnest.
Enkidu simply smiled, for he knew what his friend would say.
"Why would I accept an offer from someone as bereft of value as yourself?" Gilgamesh scoffed. "Shall I name your past lovers, and the horrors you heaped upon them? Tammuz, to whom you clung weepingly year after year. Alalu, who you-"
"Enough!" Ishtar's beauty could not even be marred by the look of pure rage that she possessed at that moment. "How dare you?"
"Because I am king," Gilgamesh spoke simply, and walked past Ishtar without a backward glance. Enkidu gave Ishtar a polite nod, but followed his friend without a glance backward.
Ishtar's scream of rage echoed throughout the palace, and the servants watching the scene scattered in a panic.
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"To think she would set such a creature upon Uruk, because of her own foolish desire for vengeance!"
Covered in blood, Gilgamesh growled with rage. A hand upon his shoulder calmed him, and he turned to look into the face of Enkidu.
"It is over, Gilgamesh. Whatever ills Ishtar and this Bull of Heaven have brought upon Uruk, you have ended them."
Gilgamesh's anger simmered, but he forced it back. "...Very well. I shall dedicate this creature's horns to the sun god. For all the harm it did us in life, it shall hopefully make up for it in death."
The battle between Gilgamesh and the Bull of Heaven had been fierce, but the creature's rampage was no match for the vicious assault of Uruk's king. With servants carrying the Bull's horns, Gilgamesh returned to the city. Enkidu followed him to the city's walls, but while the king entered the city without hesitation, a figure just outside the walls brought Enkidu pause.
It was Ishtar, her face expressing even more rage than it had during her rejection by Gilgamesh.
"A curse upon you, Gilgamesh!" Her voice was raised, full of spite and anger as she shouted toward the distant palace, unwilling to truly confront Gilgamesh but unable to restrain her rage. "You reject my hand in marriage, and now you slaughter my father's bull with no regard! Your arrogance and cruelty know no bounds-!"
Ishtar's words cut off as bloody entrails dropped at her feet. Reeling, she looked to see who would do such a thing and found the blank face of Enkidu.
"Who is it that is arrogant and cruel?" With no expression and an emotionless voice, Enkidu's words were all the more cutting. "Is it the king who rejected a dangerous marriage for the safety of himself and his people? Is it the king who acted to protect his kingdom from a beast that would endanger it?
"Or is it the goddess who acted for her own interests, who wished my friend to be a plaything? The goddess who, in her spiteful anger, targeted not just the king but countless people with her revenge?"
Ishtar was stunned by his words, but as Enkidu spoke, her rage continued to grow further.
Without any regard for such, Enkidu continued. "Your instrument of revenge has fallen, by my friend and king's hand. As for you, I will conquer you, and I will do to you even as my king has done to the bull."
He turned, and made his way into the city, leaving a speechless and furious goddess behind him.
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Author's Notes:
For this story, I used multiple parts of the Epic of Gilgamesh in varying amounts.
Below is the summary of the events in the original story, but my focus in this story was to try and bring out the emotions and interactions of Gilgamesh and Enkidu more. After their meeting, they became close friends, despite the differences. I tried to make it clear that Gilgamesh has not suddenly become a benevolent and humble king, nor has Enkidu become arrogant and prideful. Instead, the personalities of the two have only slightly changed as they learned from each other. I got to show how protective Enkidu is of Gilgamesh at the end, but didn't get to show anything similar from Gilgamesh's end. Thankfully, my next story should allow that!
Khumbaba, the monster mentioned at the beginning of the story, was a monster that guarded the Forest of Cedars. It was also apparently known as the "guardian of the abode of the goddess Irnina," Irnina being a form of Ishtar. Gilgamesh and Enkidu went to slay it, and when they neared the forest, Enkidu complained that he felt weak. Gilgamesh encouraged him, and the two received a dream foretelling of Khumbaba's death - which came true when the two slew him.
Upon their return, Ishtar proposed to Gilgamesh and promised him many gifts, but he rejected her and taunted her with the way she had treated her previous lovers. Ishtar went to her father, Anu, and convinced him that Gilgamesh was the one who had tried to get her to marry him. She also begged him to send a mighty bull down to fight Gilgamesh, and while he was reluctant, Anu eventually agreed. Gilgamesh managed to slay the beast, and when Ishtar showed up cursing Gilgamesh for his actions, Enkidu tore out the entrails of the bull and threatened Ishtar's life.
Picture: Ishtar from "Myths and Legends of Babylonia & Assyria" by Spence, Lewis. Picture on Flickr. Web Source.
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