The Epic of Gilgamesh (Full story)

the epic of gilgamesh the oldest story known to  exist the oldest existing versions of this poem   dates back to 2000 BC and Sumerian cuneiform  while incomplete version dates back to 700 BC   in that kadian language even though the texts  themselves were lost for thousands of years the   tale still spread through to Europe and Asia even  the Greeks and the Romans mentioned King Gilgamesh   as late as 200 AD the story was rediscovered  in 1839 by a British archaeologist Austen Laird   leading to the uncovering a much of the lost  Mesopotamian civilizations so without further   ado let's get into this epic tale the prologue of  the Epic of Gilgamesh starts by introducing us to   the hero and his parents lady wild cow then son  of Gilgamesh's mother a minor goddess that was   known for her wisdom luke'll bandha was known as  Gilgamesh is father but we don't know how to 100%   if that's true as there isn't much mention of him  Gilgamesh was a demigod part human and part God   he was the king of a rook and built grant outer  and inner walls that surrounded the city he was   said to have established stunning temples of Anu  the god of the heavens and his daughter Ishtar   the goddess of war and love the story begins of  Gilgamesh he is all-powerful and takes whatever   he wants from his people and crushes anyone who  gets in his way the old men of a rook criticized   Gilgamesh by saying a king is supposed to protect  his people like a shepherd not pester them like   a wild ox the gods hear their concerns and tell  the goddess of creation ever Aroo that since she   made Gilgamesh she must create someone strong  enough to challenge him Haru uses clay and her   own spit and forms into a man named Enkidu and  Kaddu lives in the wilderness with the animals   an important physical trait of Enkidu is his  hairiness eventually a hunter sees the wild man   at a waterhole at a fear he runs to his house to  tell his father about the man the most powerful of   the land the hunter tells his father at the wild  man has disturbed his traps and filled his pits   and now he cannot fulfill his purpose as a hunter  the hunter's father tells his son that he should   head to a rook and ask King Gilgamesh if he could  provide a prostitute to seduce the wild man this   plan works and Enkidu and the prostitute do the  deed for six days and seven nights when Enkidu's   wild tendencies are satisfied he goes back to the  animals but they do not accept him back as they do   not see him as their own and run away from him  Anka do tries to convince the animals to accept   him back but has become weaker and can no longer  run as fast as he could before he didn't know   what to do only to go back to the prostitute  the prostitute comforts him and tells of the   wonders that he will find in the city of a rook  she tells him of the food the festivals and the   King Gilgamesh that uses his own people as soon as  he heard about Gilgamesh he was eager to meet him   and challenge him to a contest of strength the  prostitute tells ANCA do that Gilgamesh is too   strong and could not win but said that Gilgamesh  is lonely and wishes for a friend it turns out   that Gilgamesh has previously had two dreams  about Enkidu in the first dream a meteor lands   in a field somewhere outside a rook he is drawn  to the rock and using his great strength gives   it to his mother his son handle it with great  care in the second dream Gilgamesh finds an axe   lying in the street he was drawn to the axe and  out of appreciation for it takes it back to his   mother handling it with great care Goga mesh's  mother tells him that both the rock and the axe   symbolizes a man that he will soon challenge a  man that would become his most trusted friend   and a person who had the guidance and power to  save Gilgamesh the temple prostitute shares a   pair of garments with Enkidu these are the first  clothes he has ever worn then the prostitute leads   him on the way to the city of a rook on one of  the nights both of them stop at the Shepherd's   camp the herdsmen are amazed by ink adduced size  strength and good looks they serve him plates of   cook food bread and beer at first glance Enkidu  does not recognize these objects as food only   until now he has eaten grass and drank animals  milk he was hesitant at first but the prostitute   urges him to eat he gulps it all down and starts  to sing he washes of oil and gets new clothes he   even picks up a sword and guards the Shepherd's  flocks to keep away the wolves and lions one day   a stranger comes to the Shepherd's camp carrying a  decorative dish and could do ask the prostitute to   find out who the man was and where he was going  the man tells both of them that he is bringing   offerings to a wedding ceremony in a rook the  groom is not King Gilgamesh but the man says   that Gilgamesh gets to live with the bride before  the husband because Gilgamesh can take whatever he   wants because no one can endure his great power  and could do was furious and decides to go to a   rook and challenge Gilgamesh Enkidu is sure that  the king of a rook is no match for him when Enkidu   makes it to a rook Enkidu draws a crowd around  him calling him their champion and Cadoo firmly   stands in front of the bride's bedchamber when  Gilgamesh tries to force his way in both Gilgamesh   and Enkidu lock into combat grappling through the  streets shaking the city as they fight eventually   Gilgamesh proving to be stronger wrestles and  could due to the ground they both forgive each   other and could do then admits that Gilgamesh  deserves to be king Gilgamesh's mother gives   their new friendship her blessing proclaiming  that Enkidu will be Gilgamesh's trustworthy   companion both Gilgamesh and Enkidu search for  a commendable adventure for both of them to take   on and canoe tells of a terrible monster named  whom baba who Anil the god of earth wind and   air created to guard the distant cedar forest  that was banned to humans Gilgamesh can't wait   to take on the Beast while Enkidu warns him that  the demon is invincible Gilgamesh is not deterred   as even if he dies he would still be remembered  for his bravery Gilgamesh convinced and could do   that if they managed to kill him Baba they would  be famous Enkidu joins in on the adventure and   they prepare to order new weapons such as massive  swords axes and bows for their journey before the   two heroes set out they tell the people of a rook  that they are going to slay him Baba and cut down   the cedar trees the monster protects the elders  of the city are furious and tell Gilgamesh that   he is going overboard and misjudges calm Baba's  strength they told Gilgamesh if he is still keen   on his task that he should not only rely on his  great strength and look to inky do for he knows   the wilderness best they also told him to appease  the sun-god shamash for protection which he did   Gilgamesh and Enkidu then make their way through  Gilgamesh's mother and son for her blessing as   well she praises her message protection and adopts  thank you do as her son Gilgamesh and Enkidu are   now truly brothers the two heroes listen to  Mord prayers rituals sacrifices as well as   more warnings from the elders once all the final  preparations are finished the two heroes set off   on their adventure and three days of traveling  they cover a hundred and fifty leagues which   is the equivalent of 724 kilometers that would  take the average man three weeks to walk that   far they finally reached the forest and paused to  plan things out they stand at the forest gates in   amazement as they take in all their surroundings  they see a massive mountain in the distance the   place where the gods are installed they build a  small structure to shelter them from the wind and   go to sleep in the middle of the night Gilgamesh  has a dream where a mountain fell on top of him   Gilgamesh explains the dream to Inca do and  he said at the mountain represented tambaba   who would lie on the plane like a mountain days  pass as they make their way through the forest on   their way they make offerings to shemesh night  falls and they ready for sleep Gilgamesh wakes   up from another dream in this dream a wild bull  attacked him when he was helpless on the ground   then someone offered him water Gilgamesh  explained this to Inca do and he said that   the dream is another dream of good luck he says  the bull is not Humbaba but the god shamash who   blesses him by fighting him and the person giving  him water was his father the two heroes continued   to walk covering hundreds of leagues it rained  that night but they eventually fell asleep in   the third dream Gilgamesh sees the earth shake  with thunder and lightning while fire and ash   fall from the sky again and Kaddu interprets this  dream as luck but Gilgamesh is still scared so   he prays to shemesh asking for his protection  Ramez answers him back and explains that both   heroes are experiencing the effects of Hum Baba's  garments tambaba has seven of these garments with   each layer spreading fear ramesh tells them both  that Humbaba is only wearing one at the moment   and if Mombasa wears all seven the master would be  invincible so the time to strike is now or never   they here who finally reach the mountain of the  gods where it is forbidden to all humans both of   them get their axes and cut down a few trees they  then hear hum Baba's roar the next thing they know   they are fighting him baba the battle intensifies  and Gilgamesh prays to shemesh in desperation it   works and shemesh releases 13 storms at home  baba tambaba gets stunned allowing Gilgamesh   to get the upper hand defeating him baba come baba  then pleads for mercy he tells Gilgamesh that if   he were to spare him he would be his servant in  the beginning Gilgamesh considers it but Enkidu   on the other hand tries to convince Gilgamesh  to end the monster quickly Imbaba blames Enkidu   for being harsh and claims that Enkidu is just  jealous and scared that Humbaba can replace him   with his friendliness Imbaba then intimidates them  by saying that he is a servant of anil the god of   earth wind and air which surpasses sham mesh by  greater divinity if Gilgamesh were to kill him   they would surely be cursed and Cadoo then tells  Gilgamesh to hurry up and kill him baba as there   is only a matter of time before annealed catches  on to what they are doing and stops them Gilgamesh   then realizing the fame they would gain if they  were to kill the monster and still his Cedars   promptly ended him Baba Gilgamesh then a new gate  for the city of a rook of the tallest tree and   fashions a raft where they can float back to the  city taking who bombas head with them when the two   heroes get back to a rook they clean themselves  from the battle Gilgamesh gets a clean robe and   looks handsome to the point the goddess Ishtar  takes notice Ishtar begs Gilgamesh to be her   husband she promises to give Gilgamesh anything  he has ever wanted because he has nothing to give   to a goddess that has everything he says that her  desire for him is just in the heat of the moment   and she will soon lose interest he also tells  her that he knows how cruel she can be such as   sending her husband to the underworld torture and  turning other lovers into animals Yogesh asks why   would he expect to do any better Ishtar is furious  she goes back to her father and who the god of the   heavens and her mother anthem and demands that  they use the bull of heaven she demands this so   she can watch the bull rip Gilgamesh apart and  who does not understand her daughter's anger as   all the things Goga my said about her was true  Ishtar becomes angrier as she threatens to let   all the dead people out of the underworld so they  can feast on the living and he was still hesitant   of giving in warn her that the bull will unleash  seven years of famine Ishtar was aware of this and   told an you that she planned supplies for the  people of a rook and anhu eventually gives in   to her demands Ishtar releases the bull and the  city of a rook shakes as the bull falls from the   sky the impact left cracks in the earth in which  100 men fell in and died the bull roars and more   cracks open and another hundred men fall to their  demise the third time this happens Inca do attacks   the bull Enkidu calls out to Gilgamesh and he  joins into the battle eventually Enkidu sees   the right moment and grab the Bulls tail and held  it down while Gilgamesh finished the bull with his   sword they then cut out the Bulls heart and offer  it as a sacrifice to Shemesh Ishtar climbs onto   the walls of a rook and spits curses at the two  heroes and Cadoo picks up when the Bulls thighs   and throws it at her shouting that if she comes  any closer he will do the same to her Ishtar and   her followers then mourn the loss of the bull  later Gilgamesh claims the Bulls head as his   trophy the heroes clean the blood off them in  the fray tease and ride around the streets of a   rook claiming their victory that same night and  Cadoo wakes up from a disturbing nightmare in   the dream the gods all met to decide their fate  the God and you declared that they must punish   one of the heroes for killing Humbaba the bull of  heaven and chopping down the tallest tree in the   forbidden woods the dream becomes true as Enkidu  falls ill filled with despair he curses the cedar   gate they made in the forbidden woods Gilgamesh is  hysterical as he said he pleaded to the gods this   of course was no use Gilgamesh promised Enkidu to  build a great monument even better than the Cedar   Gate a giant statue made all out of gold Enkidu  calls out to Shemesh and Cadoo curses the hunter   who first spotted him as a wild man he curses  the temple prostitute that seduced him ruining   his friendship with the animals she mesh answers  back why would you curse the prostitute without   her he would have never tasted the rich foods of  the city never worn good looking clothes and most   of all you would have never met King Gilgamesh  your greatest friend in fact she mesh told Enkidu   that King Gilgamesh would wander the earth in  grief without you and Kaddu suffers for 12 more   days and then his life finally comes to an end  the death of his best friend destroys Gilgamesh   everyone mourns his death like Gilgamesh promised  he ordered the statute to be built to honor   Enkidu Gilgamesh left his rich clothes and donned  animal skins leaving the city to wander the world   with no purpose eventually Gilgamesh fearing death  decided to seek out wouldn't a piston a person who   survived the Great Flood that almost ended life  on Earth bergna piston became the only mortal to   ever be gifted immortality by the gods go kamesh  thought that the immortal man can tell him how he   could escape deaths clutches the immortal man  that's far far away where no mortal has ever   been after much journey gilgamesh arise a twin  headed mountain called Matthew the tops of the   peaks touched the heavens and the bottom of the  mountain leads down to the underworld at its gates   where two monsters a scorpion man and his wife  that guard the gates the male scorpion monster   asks why has come this far to the mountain that  no human is ever journey to Gilgamesh explains his   quest for immortality the scorpion man explains  that their immortal man lives on the other side   of the mountain he also tells him that there was  a tunnel that runs to the other side but it would   take 12 hours to cross and was pitch black he said  no human could survive the journey and they cannot   let him through Gilgamesh then please to let him  through and they concede and tell him to proceed   with caution Gilgamesh endures the darkness of  the caves and on the eleventh double hour sees   the light at the end of the tunnel at the end  of the twelfth double hour he makes it out of   the cave stunned by a beautiful garden of fruit  and flowers beyond the garden was a great sea   Gilgamesh spots a tavern by the edge of the sea he  sees a Dury a barmaid looking towards the sea so   dari looks back to see a crazy ragged looking man  with animal skins for clothes and runs into the   tavern closes the door and bards it up Gilgamesh  bangs on the door and says he is Gilgamesh and   we'll break down the door the barmaid asks why he  looks like a criminal Gilgamesh explains that he   is grieving his best friend's death the barmaid  opens the door and invites him in for food drink   and a new pair of clothes Gilgamesh refuses as  he sees this as distracting him from his quest   the barmaid tells Gilgamesh that the sun-god  shamash crosses the sea every day and that no   human has ever been able to do so she said even  if he could get past the treacherous waters he   could not get past the poisoned waters of death  as he would need her shinobi to immortal man's   boatman to get across the barmaid realizes that  she cannot persuade Gilgamesh from stopping so   she tells him the directions of a Shinobi's house  that is located deep in the forest government sets   for the forest when he reaches the boatman's place  go kamesh see stolen golems and attacks them when   Gilgamesh meets our shinobi he asked if he could  take him to the mortal man the boatman agrees but   says Gilgamesh has made the task more difficult  as he smashed the stone golems that moved and   protected the boat first Nobby orders Gilgamesh  to go into the forest and cut down 120 poles so   he did the boatman dental Gilgamesh to fit the  poles with rings and then cover them with pitch   and they set off for their journey the two travel  for three days which would have taken a regular   boat two months they finally arrive at the waters  of death this is when the boatman tells Gilgamesh   to use the punting poles but to make sure not  to touch the water Gilgamesh uses his inhuman   strength embraced all 112 poles when the last pole  break he takes off his animal skin that he was   wearing and holds it like a sail they both finally  make it to the shore the old man is waiting for   them they both get out of the boat the old man  asks Gilgamesh to explain himself and Gilgamesh   tells him what he told the Dury and ocean avi the  old man asked why he grieves about immortality as   nothing lives forever Gilgamesh realizes that  the old man is the immortal man Gilgamesh poses   the question how does one become an immortal God  and can it be done to him the old man tells the   story of how he became immortal it began long ago  when he was king of the city Shirou back it was   a prosperous city on the banks of the Frey T's he  says that the gods met in a secret Council the god   Anil orders a great flood to wipe out humankind  iya the wisest of all the gods cunningly betrayed   the gods and warned him of the gods plans in  order to prepare for the flood iya told him to   build a massive boat with six decks and loaded up  with two of every living thing on earth including   his family and belongings he asked iya what should  he tell his people and es said to lie to them and   tell the people that Anil hates him and wants  him to leave when the great storm came the boat   was prepared and eventually the boat breached  on a mountain peak after seven long days he let   loose a dove to find land the Dove could not find  land and came back he released a swallow and a to   could not find land and returned he then released  their Raven and the Raven never came back meaning   he was close to shore when he reaches the shore  he prepares a ritual and summons the gods since   the great flood was a Neal's idea and never really  discussed it with the other gods some of the other   gods would not forgive him for his actions once an  eel made it to the ritual he spotted the boat and   became angry as he wanted to wipe out all humans  iya revealed himself and said that if he wanted to   punish some of the unworthy humans he should have  sent a plague wolves and famine to kill them and   let the good people live and that his flood was  unjust and Neal realising his wrongs made the old   man and his wife kneel and bless them turning  them into gods for saving humanity but only   they deserved that gift the story finishes and  Gilgamesh wonders if he would be worthy enough to   become a god the old man tells Gilgamesh that if  he goes a week without sleeping he would pass the   test Gilgamesh accepts the challenge but as soon  as he does he falls asleep for each day Gilgamesh   sleeps the old man's wife bakes a loaf of bread  on the seventh day the old man wakes him up Girish   denies that he fell asleep and said he came close  to the old man shows him loaves of bread from day   one being moldy to the seventh loaf being fresh  go kamesh feels depressed as he now knows he would   not escape death the old man tells the boatman  and Gilgamesh they can never come here again   but before Gilgamesh leaves he orders Gilgamesh to  clean himself up and wear royal clothes so he can   return to the city and honor the old man's wife  asked her husband if they could give him anything   to take back to the city the old man tells  Gilgamesh of one of the gods secrets he says there   was a thorny plant that grows at the bottom of  the sea that has the power to make the old young   again once at sea Gilgamesh tie stones to his feet  and once he sees the thorny plant he cuts owns and   goes back to the surface once they make it back  to shore yogur must tells the boatman that he will   share this plant the elders of a rook and then  use it on himself to be young again one night when   they both stopped for camp Gilgamesh takes a swim  in a pool of refreshing cold water as he does this   a snake smells the plant and eats it Gilgamesh  spots the snake shedding his skin becoming young   again and sits down beside the pool and cries  knowing that that was his last chance the boatman   and Gilgamesh traveled back to the city of a rook  there Gilgamesh shows the boatman the wonders of   rook and the story ends there so what is the moral  of the story in my opinion at the beginning of the   story Gilgamesh is all-powerful but he has no  compassion for others at the end of the tale   he realizes that death is unavoidable and instead  of gaining immortality he gains capacity the one   thing he was missing and became a better king  we can see this when he wanted to give part of   the magical plant to the elders of the city it is  amazing how the tale leaves us with Gilgamesh and   despair after losing all hope and then transitions  into him finding the truth and admiring the great   city he built thanks for watching what you  guys think about the Epic of Gilgamesh let   me know in the comments section below if you  like the content leave a like if you haven't   already subscribe for more interesting historical  content and I'll see you guys in the next video you

Channel: The Honorable Caligula

Views: 661,832

Keywords: The Epic of Gilgamesh, Enkidu, Gilgamesh, Anu, Ishtar, The Gods, Mesopotamia, the city of Uruk, Sumerian, Akkadian, Humbaba, the bull of heaven, the great flood, story, tale, ancient, texts, epic, epic of gilgamesh (book), history, the honorable caligula, commentary, education, Gilgamesh (Person Or Being In Fiction), hero, journey, summary, The Epic of Gilgamesh (story), Babylonian, Sumer, Ancient, legend, babylon, myth, mesopotamian, Creation, Flood, Shamhat, The Harlot, Temple prostitiute, Shamash, Ea, Enlil, God

Id: 5x3iE0-RhWM

Length: 24min 23sec (1463 seconds)

Published: Mon Jul 31 2017