Like the Cedar Forest but So Much Worse

p.42 (6 verses): “No one comes back who ever enters there. ... dead chanters and anointers, bearers of ointments;”

In this passage Enkidu is on his deathbed. The gods, after meeting in council, have decided that he must be punished for felling the tallest cedar. Gilgasmesh was spared even though he killed the guardian of the cedar forest, Huwawa, but he is suffering along with his companion and listens to the horrifying retelling of the dream he had the night before, a vision of the underworld that awaits Enkidu. Enkidu describes to Gilgamesh “No one comes back who enters there.” This statement echoes the earlier sentiment of Enkidu when Gilgamesh said he wanted to make the journey to the cedar forest. Death is a hopeless journey and Gilgamesh cannot follow his friend there to help him. “The garments that they war are made of feathers. The food they eat is clay, the drink is dirt.” These lines talk about the ultimate loss of humanity. Earlier in the epic when Enkidu transitions from beast to human, there is a strong emphasis placed on the use of technology that separates us from nature. To become human, Enkidu had to be clothed and eat and drink the food that men eat and drink. Death strips away that humanity. In death, Enkidu cannot even return to the animal lifestyle of eating grass and drinking water. He will have to eat the earth itself. “There is no light of any sort at all.” Again, this line echoes the cedar forest adventure. Enkidu and Gilgamesh ventured into the dark, untamed forest to destroy Huwawa. The death of Huwawa represented bringing light and humanity into the forest. Death is a return to that darkness. Despite the effort and victories overcoming nature, death is the inevitable regression back to that state. Enkidu then tells about the Kings and people of high status he saw, but their status did not help them or afford them special treatment. When their humanity is lost, glory and fame mean nothing. After this passage Enkidu accuses Gilgamesh of doing nothing to help save him. This scene is a reversal of the cedar quest. Instead of Gilgamesh having nightmares it is Enkidu. Unlike Enkidu, however, Gilgamesh cannot offer any optimistic words of comfort. He knows that he cannot conquer death like he conquered Huwawa. It is because of this horrible realization that Gilgamesh wants to seek out true immortality to avoid the same fate as his beloved, doomed companion.