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Gilgamesh, Humbaba and the Land of the Erin-Trees

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 August 2014

J. Hansman
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Extract

The story of Gilgamesh and the Land of the Living is one of a small group of Sumerian epic tales in which human beings rather than gods dominate the narrative. It is now generally agreed, from the evidence of alternative textual sources, that Gilgamesh was a historical figure; the fifth king of the first dynasty of Uruk who lived between 2700 and 2650 B.C. Kramer, Lambert and other Sumerologists accept that some of the events recounted in these “human epics” may preserve a historical basis. It is recognized, however, that the processes of communication by oral tradition and the literary embellishments of the scribes who first recorded and then copied the tales resulted in the introduction of “unhistorical motifs such as exaggerated notions of the hero's powers, omniscient dreams and the presence of divine beings”. The present article will consider the question of a practical motivation for the visit of Gilgamesh to the Land of the Living. We shall also examine the evidence for the geographical location of this region and attempt to identify the species of tree called by the Sumerians ERIN, which grew there. A source for the monster Humbaba whom Gilgamesh confronts, will also be considered.

Type
Research Article
Information
IRAQ , Volume 38 , Issue 1 , Spring 1976 , pp. 23 - 35
Copyright
Copyright © The British Institute for the Study of Iraq 1976

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References

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