Notes to Chapter 35. The pathos: the exaltation of Inanna (2300 B.C.)

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General notes on Chapter 35

1. Main references:

   See George 2000 Epic. See George 2003 Gilgamesh.

   Textual notes:

   i 3-4

   Gilgameš ša naqba īmuru,      išdi māti [gimirt]a idū,      kalāma hassu Gilgamesh, che vide la profondità del tutto,      che le fondamenta della sua città arrivò a conoscere in tutta la loro estensione      il saggio in tutto e per tutto Gilgamesh, who saw the depth of all,      (who) the foundations of the land to their full extent came to know,      being wise about everything      naqbu: see the important note of George 2003 Gilgamesh, pp. 444 f. The translation "depth of all" includes the two poles of the semantic range of naqbu, "depth" (physical and metaphorical for "wisdom") and "all."      gimirta: I assume the writing [gi-mi-ir-t]i, with the final a assimilated to the i of idū. – The accusative gimirta would be an apposition of išdi māti, see CADG p. 76a. – The enjambment across the two verses (išdi māti gimirta) is unusual, but it is just as difficult to explain the use of išdi māti as a second object of īmuru. – The notion of the "full extent of the foundations" derives from the fact that they refer not to a building, but to a whole country (mātum), as when Samsu-iluna speaks of the foundations of the "totality of the countries" (naphar mātātim), VAS 1 33 iii 18. It could be translated "to their roots" implying the depth as well as the extent of the foundations.      kalāma: thus according to one manuscript, see George 2003 Gilgamesh p. 538)      hassu: I take it as appositional to the subject Gilgamesh. Note that two manuscritps add the relative pronoun ša (George 2003 Gilgamesh, p. 538), which would imply that hassu is in the predicative state.

   i 9-10

   [u]rha ruqta illikam-ma      anih u šupšuh [šak]in ina narē      kalu manahti Tornò dopo un cammino così immensamente lungo      da esserne sfiancato, e da doversi riposare per esser poi capace di trasporre su una stele      la grande storia della sua fatica. Over a long road he came so that      he is tired and he is rested and he is placing on a stela      all of his travail      Two grammatical elements suggest a tone of urgency and of stasis at the same time. On the one hand the conjunctions -ma and u indicate a dynamic progression; on the other the contrast between the fientive form illikam and the stative forms anih, šupšuh and šakin suggest that after the great effort of the travel, one can now have the sense of having reached a final conclusion.

   i 101-104

   Aruru      imtasī qātī ṭiṭṭa iktariş      ittadī ina şērī ina şērī Enkidu      ibtanī quradu ilitti qulti      kişir Ninurta Aruru      si lavò le mani prese un pizzico di argilla      e lo gettò nella steppa. Nella steppa, formò      Enkidu, l'eroe, un parto del silenzio      un fascio di forza bruta. Aruru      washed her hands took a pinch of clay      and threw it on the steppe. In the steppe, she shaped      Enkidu, the hero, an offspring of silence      a bundle of raw force.      104: ilitti qulti – For the interpretation as "a birth of silence" see the insightful remarks of George 2003 Gilgamesh, Vol. 2, p. 789, who suggests that this expression refers to the fact that Enkidu is born without the pangs of childbirth.      kişir Ninurta – The translation as "bundle of raw force" («fascio di forza bruta») requires an explanation, since the phrase literally means "a knotting of Ninurta." The tying of knots refers to the bringing together of the constitutive elements that make up Enkidu as a primeval creature, not generated by parents, but put together with elemental substance (the clay). The translation as "bundle" («fascio») renders this coming together of primary natural elements. Ninurta is the god associated with single combats (here, too, see George 2003 Gilgamesh, Vol. 2, p. 789): I take it as emblematic of primal raw force, just as Nisaba is used metonymically for barley and Šakkan for sheep and goats (i 107 and 109).

   i 107-112

   107 itiq pertīšu      uhtannaba kīma Nisaba lā idē nisē      ū mātam-ma lubušti labiš      kīma Šakkan 110 itti şabātim-ma      ikkala šammi itti būlim      mašqā iteppir itti nammašē      mē iṭīb libbašu Il viluppo dei suoi capelli      esplode come un rigoglio di orzo: non conosce né il consorzio umano      né il sistema di vivere civile; il vestito di cui si veste      è come il vello delle pecore Proprio come le gazzelle      non mangia se non erba, con il branco      si accalca alla sorgente assieme agli animali      gode dell'acqua. His growth of hair      sprouts as if a field of barley: he does not know the community of men      nor any civic setting; the dress with which he dresses      is but the fleece of sheep. Just like the gazelles      he eats but grass, with the pack      he swarms to the water-hole with the animals      his heart rejoices with only water.      107: uhtannaba – The Dt form of the verb emphasizes the act of sprouting, like an explosion; this can be rendered by stressing the result with the nouns («rigoglio, »field«) relating to the image of barley (personified as the goddess Nisaba.      108: nisē – To translate simply «he does not know people» implies that he is unaware of a given group of people. Here, instead, the sense is that he has never had any contact with other humans, hence «consorzio umano» and «community of men».      108: mätum – Literally, «the country». Here, too, the sense is not that Enkidu is unfamiliar with a given country, but that he does not know how to live in a country, i. e., in an organized society.      110: ikkala šammi. – I render the ventive ikkala(m) by qualifying the object of the verb («se non erba», «but grass»).      111: iteppir. – See George 2003 Gilgamesh, Vol. 2, p. 790, for the suggestion of a verb tepēru.

   i 178-183

   178 īmuršu-ma Šamhat      lullä amēla eṭla šaggäša      ša qabalti şēri  180 annū šū Šamhat!      rummī kirimmiki urki pitē-ma      kuzubki lilqē  182 ē tašhutī      liqē napissu immarki-ma      iṭehhā ana jāši/i> Shamhat lo vede, proprio lui      l'uomo selvaggio questa figura bestiale      nel bel mezzo della steppa. "Ecco, Shamhat, è proprio lui!      Togliti le sottovesti, metti a nudo i genitali      di modo che si accorga del tuo calore! Non temere!      Appena avrai colto il suo fiuto si renderà conto della tua presenza      e così ti si accosterà." Shamhat saw him, yes, him!      the savage man that beastly figure      in the very midst of the steppe. Lo, Shamhat, it's really him!      Remove your undies bare your genitals      so that he may take in your sex appeal! Don't worry!      Just catch his smell as if in heat and he will realize you are here      and thus approach you."      179: eṭla šaggäša – Literally, "a murderous hero." But eṭlu can also be used of any human figure, and the dentoatino of "murderous" may be seen as referring more generally to a beastly aspect.      181: lilqē – The action of "taking" (leqū) describes well the animal instinct which the hunter wants to elicit: Enkidu is supposed to awake to the sexual call which he feels by nature, without having been exposed to it before.      182 – The scene is described very artfully. With reference to a suggestion by Thorkild Jacobsen, George 2003 Gilgamesh, Vol. 2, p. 796, understands liqē napissu, which is literally an imperative "take his breath," as referring to the hunter's skill in understanding animal behavior: the humter does not show himself not because he is afraid of Enkidu, but because he does not want Enkidu to run away as a trapped animal. Instead, he should smell the sexual call of the woman, and go to her of his own accord.

   i 227

   Ašar eṭlūtu      uzzuhu huşanni il posto dove i giovani      indossano la cintura the place where young people      wear the belt      ezēhu means properly "to gird," and uşanni (suggested by George 2003 Gilgamesh, Vol. 2, p. 800, means "a belt." I take this to refer to the wrestling set-up, whereby one had to lift the opponent by his belt, as it happens in the fight between Gilgamesh and Enkidu (OB P 222-29, George 2003 Gilgamesh, Vol. 1, p. 181).

   ii 36-39

   şabtassu-ma      kīma ilī [ireddēšu] ana gupri ša rē'ī      ašar tarbaşi; rē'ūtu      puhhurat elīšu ina ṭēmīšunū-ma      ina ramänīšu-ma (Shamhat,) tenendolo ben saldo,      lo conduce quasi fose una statua degli dei alle capanne dei pastori      dove si trova l'ovile il "pastoraggio"      si accalca attorno a lui, loro, per scelta propria      lui, così com'è (Shamhat,) holding firmly on to him,      leads him as if a divine statue to the huts of the shephers      where is found the sheep pen the "shepherdship"      gathers upon him, they, of their own deliberate choice      him, just as he is      36: kīma ilī – The plural is curious (see the note by George 2003 Gilgamesh, Vol. 2, p. 804). But it is just as curious that the prostitute should be leading Enkidu with a sacral overtone. I take it to mean that Enkidu is being led by Shamhat the way the gods are i a procession: statues that have a profound meaning even though they are set in stone. Since Enkidu appears from the overall conetxt a "petrified", the parallel seems telling.      38: rē'ūtu – this is the abstract for shepherd, hence literally "shepherdship." It is a common noun to refer to the profession, but not to a group of shepherds. Here it may indicate that it is in fact the professional dimension of mankind, embodied in a group of specific "professional" men, which comes to look at this "monstrous" being.      39 – George 2003 Gilgamesh, Vol. 2, p. 804, stresses the syntactical peculiarity of the two noun phrases that seem to be pending. I suggest that they serve in fact as qualifiers of the predicate (puhhurat) in the preceding verse. On the one hand, the shepherds come of their own volition, in spite of the fear that they had in the past for Enkidu. On the other, Enkidu, though led by Shamhat, is in fact spontaneouisly there, not being led as a captive – hence also the significance of the statement that he is led "as (a statue of) the gods": with reverence, not with coercion.

   ii 44-45

   akalu      iškunū maharšu šikari      iškunū maharšu pane      gli pongono dinnanzi birra      gli pongono dinnanzi bread      they place in front of him beer      they place in front of him      For the use of «šakānu» "to place" in front of statues see for example: 7 akalē rabūti 7 akalū şehrūti ana pan Šamaš tašakkan «you place seven large loaves of bread and seven small loaves of bread in front of Shamash» (AMT 100 3:16). For the use of bread and beer for the gods see CADA 1, p. 240, where there are also several examples of nadānu «to give» used in normal contexts.

   iii 2-3

   lä tanakkil, Gilgameš,      ana gimir emūqīka ināka lišbä      mihişka tukkil Non fidarti, oh Gilgamesh,      di tutta la tua forza assicurati della tua mira      in modo da poterti fidare del tuo colpo Don't place your trust, Gilgamesh,      in all of your strength be sure of our aim      so that your shot may hit the mark.      iii 3 – Literally: "Let your eyes be satisfied, make your striking blow sure of itself"

   iv 246

   [x-]nu itpallu      pitqudu amēlu non sa reagire      chi sia prudente            itpallu "schlagfertig" in AHw 404a

   vi 145-146

   u Gilgameš kī ṭābihi      [...] qardi u le'ī ina birīt tikki qarnī u naplaqi      pataršu [ummid] e Gilgamesh come un macellaio      [...] forte e abile nel mezzo della nuca fra le corna e cioè nel punto debole vitale      affondò il suo pugnale. and Gilgamesh, like a butcher      [...] strong and capable in the midst of the nape by the horns in the vital point to strike      he plunged his dagger.      ina birīt tikki qarnī: I take this as a construct state, "the nape of the horns," meaning the part of the nape that is close to the horns snd between them.      naplaqu is the "place of the paläqu," i. e., the place where the final blow is struck, with force and expertise (qardi u le'ī), because it has to go the spinal cord, as in bullfighting. I take naplaqu as a noun coordinated with tikki qarnī: the upper part of the nape (by the horns) is also the spot where the dagger can reach the vital point of the animal. If so, tikki qarnī u naplaqi is a compound noun phrase that depends from ina birīt: "in the midst of the upper nape and thus in the very center of the killing point."      ummid "he leaned against," a verb which stresses the ease with which, knowing the right spot (as an "able" butcher would), the dagger (hence not a massive weapon) can be used, plunging it "with force" in the right spot (naplaqu).

   xi 295

   šammu nikitti      la pianta del battito del cuore      the plant of the heartbeat      See George 2003 Gilgamesh, Vol. 2, pp. 895-896: following Watanabe, he connects nikittu with nakādu "to beat, throb." – [ Giorgio Buccellati, January 2022]