Book 3

Book 3
Gilgamesh is so upset about his friends death. He says he felt, "no longer a king, but a man who had lost his way." He wants Enkidu back so badly that he wants quest for immorality. He wants to bring his friend back. So he goes to talk to Utnapishtim, who knows the secret to eternal life. Gilgamesh travels to the mountains of Mashu and runs into the Scorpion people who recognize Gilgamesh as being two thirds god. The people think he is stupid for trying to accomplish this mission, but they let him pass anyways into the darkness, where they said he will only find greif and pain. He then runs into the Road of Sun. Still greiving for his friend, enkidu, he shouts his name in a valley that he finds. He also tells the story. Eventually, he reaches the sea and comes across a cottage where a barmaid named Siduri lives. she helps him, cleanses him, lets him sleep and rest and grieve. After awhile , she asks him just to stay and to quit his mission for the quest of immorality. But he gets very mad at that.
She then tells him he must cross the sea of death with the help of the boatman, Urshanabi. She angers Gilgamesh even more when she tells him he is blind with self-love. He replies that he is "blinded with loss, not self-love." On the way to the boatman, Gilgamesh is smashing things into pieces in all his anger and smashes the "stone images" that were going to help him corss the sea of death. urshanabi says that now he must build poles to push his way across the sea of death. Gilgamesh uses all his poles, but one (the poles are rotted by the sea) and with the last pole, he takes his clothes off and amkes a sail that sails him across the sea of death. He meets Utnapishtim. Uptnapishtim and Gilgamesh discuss immortality and how Uptnapishtim thinks it is to be achieved; however, Uptnapishtim does not thnk that nay man should desire everlasting life. Uptnapishtim is lonely, and full of sorrow. He tells how he came to immortality. He was chosen, he did not desire it as Gilgamesh does. He said that the gods decided to send a great flood down on the city, Shurrupak because men are defying mortality and beginning to search for immortality which is not the condition of men. Ea warns Utnapishtim of the flood and tells him to make a great ship and put all life possible in it. Utnapishtim does this and the animals, his family, and some of his people are safe during the flood. However, many others that are not in the great ship die, and Utnapishtim can hardly bear this. The flood lasts seven days. (This story is very similar to Noah's Arc) Enlil touches U's head and says that now he and his family will be like gods because they survived the great flood. However, Utnapishtim is still very upset at having seen so much death. He still suffers fthis grief as he continues to live on. (Utnapishtim says he envies Gilgamesh's freedom.) Gilgamesh again feels sleepy and sleeps seven days. Utnapishtim says that this is a slothlike man, a man living in death, not really living. He tells the boatman to burn the pelts of Gilgamesh so that he may begin to move on from his grief by letting it go and not hanging onto it. Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh of a plant deep in the river that will help Gilgamesh lead a new life. Gilgamesh goes to the river and retrieves the plant and hugs Utnapishtim in thanks. He then crosses with urshanabi back over the sea of death. Gilgamesh is now alone again, but he does not feel very lonely anymore with the plant he has. He goes for a refreshing swim in a pool of water and leaves the plant unguarded. A serpent eats the plant and sheds its skin. Gilgamesh sees that the plant is gone and sees the snake skin.