RELS 1201 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Humbaba, Ninsun, Ziggurat
23 Nov 2016
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He asks for their (cid:271)lessi(cid:374)gs a(cid:374)d pro(cid:373)ises to retur(cid:374) o(cid:374) ti(cid:373)e for the (cid:374)e(cid:449) year"s feasts, It doesn"t look like gilgamesh has taken the wise men"s advice not to fight humbaba. That"s because, at the beginning of tablet 3, the wise men are actually giving him advice on how to fight the monster. This suggests that gilgamesh has already made his decision to go on the quest. The demon has the power to hear a deer stir in the forest from sixty leagues away so trespassi(cid:374)g (cid:449)ould(cid:374)"t (cid:271)e a good idea. I(cid:374) seeki(cid:374)g to kill hu(cid:373)(cid:271)a(cid:271)a, gilga(cid:373)esh a(cid:374)d e(cid:374)kidu are doi(cid:374)g a god"s (cid:449)ork, e(cid:448)e(cid:374) if it is dire(cid:272)tly opposed to a(cid:374)other god"s desires. Before they sleep that night, gilgamesh climbs up a mountain and prays, asking for. Shamash, the sun god, to send him a dream. Enkidu performs some more special rituals before gilgamesh sleeps. The ziggurat was a holy mountain in miniature.
