Enkidu
Enkidu
9 min read
Legendary figure from the Epic of Gilgamesh, created by the gods to be the companion of King Gilgamesh. Born wild and raised among animals, he becomes the hero's inseparable friend before his death triggers the quest for immortality.
Frequently asked questions
Key Facts
- Enkidu is a creation of the goddess Aruru, fashioned from clay to be the equal of Gilgamesh (c. 2100 BCE)
- He first lives among wild animals in the steppe, unaware of human civilization
- The sacred prostitute Shamhat initiates him into civilized life, marking his transition from nature to culture
- His friendship with Gilgamesh begins after a fierce fight; together they slay the giant Humbaba and the Bull of Heaven
- His death, a punishment from the gods for killing the Bull of Heaven, drives Gilgamesh to seek immortality
Works & Achievements
Masterpiece of Mesopotamian literature attributed to the scribe Sin-leqi-unninni, considered the oldest literary text in the world. Enkidu is the central character of the first seven tablets, and his death forms the dramatic turning point of the entire epic.
One of the five original Sumerian poems featuring Enkidu. In this text, Enkidu descends into the underworld to retrieve objects belonging to Gilgamesh and is unable to return — a founding theme later revisited in the twelfth Babylonian tablet.
A Sumerian narrative describing Enkidu's death and Gilgamesh's lamentations. This poem is one of the oldest known texts in human history devoted to grief and male friendship.
Intermediate versions of the epic held in two American university collections. They provide significant variants concerning Enkidu's civilizing by Shamhat and his relationship with Gilgamesh.
Translations and adaptations of the Epic of Gilgamesh in the Hittite language, discovered in central Anatolia (present-day Turkey). They demonstrate the international spread of the Enkidu myth throughout the ancient Near East.
Anecdotes
Enkidu was not born of a mother: the goddess Aruru shaped him from clay, in the image of the god Anu, to be the double and rival of King Gilgamesh. Covered in hair like a beast, he lived in the steppe, drinking at watering holes alongside gazelles and aurochs, knowing nothing of the world of men.
The civilizing of Enkidu is one of the most celebrated episodes in the epic: the priestess Shamhat spent six days and seven nights with him in the steppe. When he returned to the animals, they fled from him. Enkidu realized he was no longer the same — he had gained reason but lost his wild instinct.
Enkidu and Gilgamesh first met in single combat at the gates of Uruk. They fought with such ferocity that the city walls shook, before stopping, exhausted and evenly matched. This struggle immediately gave way to a deep friendship — one of the earliest great friendships in world literature.
After slaying the demon Humbaba and the Bull of Heaven sent by the goddess Ishtar, the gods decreed that one of the two heroes must die. Enkidu was chosen. He died of a mysterious illness, first cursing Shamhat for tearing him away from his wild life, then blessing her again at the advice of the god Shamash.
Enkidu's death shattered Gilgamesh. He refused at first to accept his friend's passing, weeping for seven days and seven nights by his side. This inconsolable grief was the catalyst for his quest for immortality, transforming the narrative into a meditation on the human condition and the inevitability of death.
Primary Sources
Aruru washed her hands, took a pinch of clay and cast it into the steppe. In the steppe she created valiant Enkidu, born of silence, fashioned by the power of Ninurta.
Enkidu opened his mouth and said to Gilgamesh: 'My friend, the great gods have assembled in council. Anu said: one of them must die. Enlil said: let it be Enkidu. Gilgamesh shall not die.'
Enkidu opened his mouth and spoke, saying to Gilgamesh: 'My lord, you have not seen the Cedar; you have not looked upon its mountain. I have seen that place and I know the way.'
Enkidu, who knew neither the land nor its people, dressed as they did, and learned to eat bread and drink strong beer.
For Enkidu, his friend, Gilgamesh wept bitterly, wandering the steppe: 'I too shall die — shall I not be like Enkidu? Grief has entered my belly.'
Key Places
Great Sumerian city-state of which Gilgamesh was king. It is at the gates of Uruk that Enkidu first battles Gilgamesh, and it is in this city that he learns to live among men after his encounter with Shamhat.
Wild territory between the two rivers where Enkidu spent his life as a primordial creature, running with the gazelles and drinking from the same watering holes as the animals. The steppe symbolizes the uncivilized world, set against the walled city.
Mythic place guarded by the monster Humbaba, servant of the god Enlil. Enkidu and Gilgamesh traveled there to cut down the sacred cedars and slay Humbaba — a feat that would earn Enkidu the wrath of the gods and ultimately his death.
Major religious center of Sumerian Mesopotamia where the earliest cuneiform poems recounting the adventures of Enkidu and Gilgamesh were written down. The tablets discovered at Nippur are among the oldest known sources of the epic.
Assyrian capital where the library of King Ashurbanipal preserved the tablets of the Epic of Gilgamesh. Rediscovered in 1849 by British archaeologists, these Nineveh copies are the principal source through which the story of Enkidu is known today.
Mythological subterranean realm of Mesopotamian belief where souls dwell in darkness and dust. After his death, Enkidu's shade briefly rises to reveal to Gilgamesh the bleak reality of the land of the dead.
