The Transformation of Enkidu

p. 40 (10 verses): “Because of her you eat the food and drink…. Gilgamesh the king will build a statue / to celebrate the fame of Enkidu.”

In these verses, Shamash points out to Enkidu the favorable differences between life in the wild and life in a city when Enkidu curses the harlot. The main point of it is that Shamhat should not be cursed because she brought him to civilization. “The food and drink the palace affords” Shamash describes Enkidu now has access to is in contrast to the grass and water holes that Enkidu ate and drank at while he lived in the forest—one is processed and refined by mankind while one is crude and natural. Shamash also points out that Enkidu now wears “garments suitable for a prince to wear.” Again, the new clothes are a symbol of Enkidu’s introduction to living with other humans and their society. These are all the basic things that Shamash is exposed to because of Shamhat.

Not only does Enkidu become part of a civilization, he also becomes part of a community. The sun god goes on to mention that Enkidu has secured the “place of honor nearest the king; the great ones of the earth bow down before [him].” For a man in the wild, having that status of importance would mean nothing. Only to a man who is part of a community would understand it as something to be desired, a symbol of status and respect to be proud of. The same concept applies to Gilgamesh’s predicted grief over Enkidu’s death and the “woe and wailing in the city.” The individual friendship of a companion and the close relationship with other beings of the same species are also things that Enkidu realizes he has gained from coming to the city--things that he would not have been able to experience with animals in the wild. Also, Gilgamesh says that he will build a statue to celebrate Enkidu’s fame. The idea of glory and being remembered in the future would mean little to an animal, but a human amongst humans would be glad to know that he will not be forgotten in death. The fact Enkidu then retracts the curse to Shamhat shows that all of these things now mean a lot to him, which marks the thorough transformation of Enkidu from wildebeast to civilized man.