Enkidu
Enkidu (𒂗𒆠𒆕 EN.KI.DU3 "Enki's creation") is a central figure in the Ancient Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh. Enkidu was first created by Anu, the sky god, to rid Gilgamesh of his arrogance. In the story he is a wild-man raised by animals and ignorant of human society until he is bedded by Shamhat. Thereafter a series of interactions with humans and human ways bring him closer to civilization, culminating in a wrestling match with Gilgamesh, king of Uruk. Enkidu embodies the wild or natural world, and though equal to Gilgamesh in strength and bearing, acts in some ways as an antithesis to the cultured, urban-bred warrior-king. Enkidu then becomes the king's constant companion and deeply beloved friend, accompanying him on adventures until he is stricken ill. The deep, tragic loss of Enkidu profoundly inspires in Gilgamesh a quest to escape death by obtaining godly immortality.
Older sources sometimes transliterate his name as Enkimdu, Eabani, or Enkita. Enkidu is a modern variant.
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[edit] Enkidu later in the Epic of Gilgamesh
Enkidu assists Gilgamesh in defeating and killing Humbaba, the guardian monster of the Cedar Forest. Afterwards, he again assists Gilgamesh in slaying Gugalanna the Bull of Heaven, which the gods have sent to kill Gilgamesh as a reprisal for spurning the goddess Ishtar's affections while enumerating the misfortunes that befell her former lovers. Ishtar demands that the pair pay for the bull's destruction. Shamash argues to the other gods to spare both of them, but could only save Gilgamesh. The gods pass judgment that Enkidu had no justification for fighting the Bull of Heaven and was interfering with their will. Enkidu then is overcome by a severe illness. Near death, he has visions of a gloomy afterlife, and curses the trapper and Shamhat for civilizing him. He retracts his curse on Shamhat, however, after Shamash scolds him, reminding him that it was Shamhat who taught him the pleasures of civilization, and ultimately, brought him to Gilgamesh.
Gilgamesh mourns over the body of Enkidu for several desperate days. In a vivid line repeated in the epic, Gilgamesh only allows his friend to be buried after a maggot falls out of the corpse's nose. Gilgamesh's close observation of rigor mortis and the slow decomposition of Enkidu's body provides the hero with the impetus for his quest for eternal life, and his visit to Utnapishtim.
There is another non-canonical tablet in which Enkidu journeys into the underworld, but many scholars consider the tablet to be a sequel or add-on to the original epic.
[edit] Cultural references
- Enkidu and the Gilgamesh Epic have been mentioned in various modern works of fiction; see adaptations of the Epic of Gilgamesh.
- In season 2 episode 8 of the TV show Lost titled Collision, John Locke is seen working on a crossword puzzle in which one of the hints is "Enkidu's Friend," the answer to which is Gilgamesh.
- In the episode Darmok of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Captain Jean-Luc Picard references the story of Enkidu and Gilgamesh as a human parallel to that of Darmok and Jalad.
- In the games series Final Fantasy, whenever Gilgamesh is encountered, he has a canine companion also known as Enkidu.
- Civilization III: Conquests, the second expansion to the computer game Sid Meier's Civilization III, features the civilization of Sumeria under King Gilgamesh. Their special unit is the Enkidu Warrior.
- Enkidu and Gilgamesh are the main antagonists of Peter David's 2003 fantasy novel, One Knight Only.
- In the manga and anime series Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, Enkidu is the name of the first upgraded form of the antagonist Viral's mecha Enki, which may itself have been named after the Sumerian god of the same name.
- In Forgotten Realms's game Neverwinter Nights can be found a heavy armor called Enkidu's Armor
- In Fate/Stay Night "Unlimited Blade Works" Route Enkidu - Divinity subduing chains - is the Noble Phantasm most trusted by the servant Gilgamesh
[edit] Bibliography
The Epic of Gilgamesh, Foster, Benjamin R. trans. & edit. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2001. ISBN 0-393-97516-9
Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). "Eabani". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
