The Defeat of Gilgamesh , livre ebook

The Defeat of Gilgamesh
Greta Sykes
Austin Macauley Publishers
2020-03-31
The Defeat of Gilgamesh About the Author Dedication Copyright Information © Acknowledgment Synopsis Book One The Death Experience The Journey South Homesickness The Birth of Gilgamesh The Forest The Death of Gilgamesh’s Sisters Inanna’s Notes to her Little Sister Miah The Fight with the Lion Dumuzi, the Wanderer The Wild Boar Inanna’s Notes to Miah: The Rape The Death Experience Inanna’s Notes to Miah Inanna’s Recovery Inanna’s Notes to Miah Between the Two Rivers Ikisha’s Story Inanna’s Story Arrival in Kish Gilgamesh Reports a Dream to His Mother The Workshops of Kish The Story of Gilgamesh Inanna’s Notes to Miah The Theft of the Tablets Inanna’s Story of Leaving Home Book Two The Uruk Triathlon The Gods Create Enkidu Inanna’s Notes to Miah Stories from Borsippa High Priestess of Kish Grandmother Ishtar creates Order Visiting Nafen in His Workshop Inanna’s Notes to Miah Sandstorm Days Festival Preparations in Borsippa The Flood Enkidu Lies with a Woman Love Stories in the Temple Duthea’s Story Time of Departure The Harlot brings Enkidu to Uruk Arrival in Uruk Inanna’s Notes to Miah Sen, The High Priestess, Has a Plot Preparations for the Competition The Triathlon Inanna’s notes to Miah Price Giving Celebrations The Sacred Marriage Rite Inanna’s Notes to Miah Enkidu Is Not Well The Poisoning Inanna’s Notes to Miah The Queen and Goddess of Uruk Book Three The Dream of Dumuzi Gilgamesh Longs for Victory The Workshops of Uruk Inanna’s Notes to Miah The Dream of Dumuzi Enkidu’s Warning The Eunuchs The Crowning of Inanna Foreboding Dreams Ninatta’s Disappearance The Journey to the Forest of the Cedars The Death and Funeral of Inanna’s Mother Ninatta’s Story The Combat with Humbaba The Eunuchs Story The Battle with Ninsun and the Brigands Humbaba Begs for His Life A Boat on the Tigris God Ningirsu of Lagash Book Four Inanna and the House of Heaven Gilgamesh’s Fury and Scorn of Inanna Uman from Lagash Joins the Travellers Uman’s wisdom Nadem and Pehem Arrive from Kish Arrival in Borsippa Gilgamesh’s Lament Goddess Inanna’s Temple Work Ninatta Visits the Goddess Gilgamesh Finds Himself at the Edge of the World Ninatta’s Life Crisis The Fertility Festival and Sacred Marriage The Return of Dumuzi Trouble with Arenne Gilgamesh Finds the Secret Dogrose Plant Inanna Visits Shagshag, the Goddess Bau Inanna Visits the Women of Mari Inanna Travels to Support Queen Semiramis Media and Bagistan Meeting with the Astronomer Inanna’s Diary Notes Inanna Departs from Babylon Immortality Denied to Gilgamesh Miah’s Pregnancy Inanna and the House of Heaven Enheduanna’s Meeting with Inanna
About the Author
Greta Sykes is a German-English poet and author, with a professional life in child and adolescent psychology. This is her second novel. Her first novel, Under Charred Skies, is a biographical story which narrates life around her grandmother and mother during the Weimar Republic. It was published in German under Unter Verbranntem Himmel .
Greta Sykes’s poems have been published in many anthologies. Her most recent volume is called The Shipping News and has a strong focus on nature. She also writes essays. Her work can be found on liveencounters.net and academia.edu. She is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association and London Voices Poetry group. Her most recent essays are ‘Secular ecstasies and revolutionary women poets in 1917’ and ‘Powerful women in 12 th century “Early Renaissance” Sicily’.
Dedication
This book is dedicated to Enheduanna. She is the earliest known poet whose name has been recorded. She was a High Priestess of the Goddess Inanna and the moon God Nanna in Mesopotamia in the 23 rd century BC.
Copyright Information ©
Greta Sykes (2020)
The right of Greta Sykes to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.
Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.
ISBN 9781528978521 (Paperback)
ISBN 9781528978545 (ePub e-book)
www.austinmacauley.com
First Published (2020)
Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd
25 Canada Square
Canary Wharf
London
E14 5LQ
Acknowledgment
I wish to thank my diligent readers, Jo Sykes and Gabriell Hecht, for their valuable advice and careful reading of the manuscript.
Enheduanna’s temple hymns to Inanna are available on the internet. The verses from the ‘Epic of Gilgamesh’ are taken from the translations by Andrew George, and I would like to thank him for his support for my work. I also made use of Stephanie Dalley’s translations. I am indebted to the work of assyriologists Zainab Bahrani and Jean Bottero as well as Henry Frankfort et al for their painstaking study of the Mesopotamian culture.
Fran Hazelton, a Zipang Mesopotamian storyteller and the author of Stories from ancient Iraq and Three Kings of Warka writes:
‘3000 years ago, people in ancient Iraq imagined and recorded the world of Mesopotamian mythology with its deities and their stories. 300 years ago, the texts of these stories, written on clay tablets in cuneiform script, began to be unearthed. In recent times, they have been translated from Sumerian and Akkadian into modern languages by Assyriologists. Now, 21st century storytellers and poets can discover Mesopotamian mythology and continue the ancient tradition of retelling its stories. The Defeat of Gilgamesh by Greta Sykes is a very important contribution to this process. It is an imaginative tour de force.’
The front cover is from a painting called ‘Tender touch’ by Manchester-based artist Jas Sykes from Worthing. Copyrights with the artist.
Synopsis
Enheduanna, High Priestess in the city of Ur, tells us the story of Inanna, Goddess of love and war, and the hero Gilgamesh and how Inanna outwits Gilgamesh in an epic battle in the city of Uruk. It is the year 2450 BC. Inanna’s grandmother, the goddess Ishtar, determines that Inanna must rescue the privileges and high status of women and sends her on a voyage. Inanna is allowed to bring her friend Ninatta and a eunuch, who, however, deserts them soon, leaving the two women to fend for themselves. They travel through the scorching desert, encounter wild animals and many other dangers. A near death experience leaves Inanna wounded and weak. They soon learn that one of the great heroes at the time, Gilgamesh, has acquired fame and notoriety, causing the citizens of Uruk to feel bewildered and frustrated. He has some followers who would like to overthrow the rights of women. When the two women reach the town of Kish, they meet the High Priestess, Nin. Together they figure out a plan to bring about his downfall. The revenge of his mother nearly cost them their lives.

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Book One

The Death Experience
I, En, High Priestess of Ur, have decided to record the story of Inanna, our beloved goddess who did much to strengthen the resolve of women to stand their ground. Yet, I can feel fate is moving against us, and I am afraid. The display of glory in battle among some of our men fills me with dread. Not that I dislike them. I love my father. I have a male lover. But I have a gut feeling that they won’t be able to cope with maintaining peace and tranquillity. I find times are changing as I write these words down in the year 2340 BC. My father, King Sharukken, was a kind man who loved me and made me the High Priestess. Sadly, he died and my troubles began. The new ruler of Ur has removed me from my position as the High Priestess. This is my song about that fearsome event.
’Me, who once sat triumphant, he has driven out of the sanctuary,
Like a swallow he made me fly from the window, my life is consumed. He stripped me of the crown appropriate for the high priesthood. He gave me a dagger and sword.’
’In my desolation I sought refuge in writing, I wrote to Inanna to come to my aid:
’It was in your service that I first entered the holy temple,
I, Enheduanna, the High Priestess, I carried the ritual basket,
I chanted your praise. Now I have been cast out to the lepers.
Day comes and the brightness is hidden around me. Shadows cover the light, drape it in sandstorms. My beautiful mouth knows only confusion. Even my sex is dust.’
You, my reader of many ages later must listen to me. The words I am writing down come to you from a long time ago, when we had many gods and goddesses. We lived with nature, and all of nature were our gods. You may find that we looked well after our nature and our gods looked well after us. Here is my poem thanking Inanna, our beloved Goddess of love and battle:
Prayer to the Goddess Inanna
’Gracious Inanna, who rules over the universe,
Heroic Inanna, who creates humankind,
Who walks before the cattle, who loves the shepherd,
Without you the river will not open,
The river which brings us life will not be closed,
Without you the canal will not open,
The canal from which the scattered drink will not be closed,
Where you cast your glance, the dead awaken, the sick arise,
The bewildered, beholding your face, find the right way.’
I, Enheduanna, want to speak to you and prey that you listen to my tale about the power of women, about how much we achieved, how m