Tablet XI

1 Gilgameš spoke to him, to Ūta-napišti the Far-Away.
2 ‘As I look at you, Ūta-napišti,
3 your form is not different, you are just like me,
4 you are not different at all, you are just like me.
5 I was fully intent on doing battle with you,
6 [but] in your presence my hand is held back.
7 How was it you attended the gods’ assembly, and found life?’⁠a
8 Ūta-napišti spoke to him, to Gilgameš:
9 ‘I will disclose to you, Gilgameš, a secret matter,
10 and I will tell you a mystery of the gods.
11 The city of Šuruppak – a city you yourself know,
12 the [city that] is situated on the [banks] of the Euphrates–
13 that city was old and the gods were within it,
14 (when) the great gods decided to cause the Deluge.
15 Their father Anu took the oath,
16 their counsellor, the hero Enlil;
17 their chamberlain, Ninurta,
18 their inspector of waterways, Ennugi
19 With them the Prince Ea was under oath likewise,
20 (but) repeated their words to a reed fence:
21 “Reed fence, reed fence! Brick wall, brick wall!
22 Listen, O reed fence! Pay heed, O brick wall!
23 O man of Šuruppak, son of Ubār-Tutu,
24 demolish the house, build a boat!⁠b
25 Abandon riches and seek survival!
26 Spurn property and save life!
27 Put on board the boat the seed of all living creatures!
28 The boat that you are going to build,
29 her dimensions should all be matching:
30 her breadth and length should be the same,
31 cover her with a roof, like the Apsû”.
32 I understood and spoke to Ea my master:
33 “I hereby concur, my lord, with what you told me thus.
34 [I] have paid attention; I shall do it.
35 (But) how should I answer the city, the crowd and elders?
36 Ea opened his mouth to speak,
37 saying to me, his servant:
38 “Then also you will say to them as follows:
39 For sure the god Enlil has conceived a hatred of me!
40 I cannot dwell in your city!
41 I cannot tread on Enlil’s ground!
42 [I shall] go down to the Apsû, to live with Ea, my master;
43 he will rain down on you plenty!
44 [An abundance] of birds, a riddle of fishes!
45 […] … riches (at) harvest-time!
46 In the morning he will rain down on you bread-cakes,
47 in the evening, a torrent of wheat.’”
48 At the very first light of dawn,
49 the population began assembling at Atra-hasīs’s gate.
50 The carpenter was carrying [his] axe,
51 the reed-worker was carrying [his] stone,
52 [the shipwright bearing his] heavyweight axe
53 The young men were…[…,]
54 the old men were bearing rope of palm-fibre.
55 The rich man was carrying bitumen,
56 the pauper brought the […] tackle.
57 On the fifth day I set in place her (outer) surface:
58 one “acre” was her area, ten rods each her sides stood high,
59 ten rods all round was the diameter of her roof.
60 I set in place her body, I drew up her design:
61 I gave her six decks,
62 I divided her into seven parts,
63 I divided her interior into nine.
64 I struck the water pegs into her belly,
65 I found a punting pole and put the tackle in place.
66 Three myriad measures of bitumen I poured into the furnace,
67 three myriad of tar I tipped inside,
68 three times a myriad was the oil that the workforce of porters was fetching,
69 apart from the myriad of oil that libation consumed,
70 there were two myriads of oil [that] the shipwright stowed away.
71 I slaughtered countless oxen,
72 every day I slaughtered sheep.
73 Beer, ale, oil and wine
74 I lavished on my workforce like the waters of a river
75 They were celebrating as on the feast-days of the New Year itself!
76 At sun-rise I set my hand to the oiling;
77 [before] sundown the boat was finished.
78 [...] were very difficult:
79 Poles for the slipway we kept moving from back to front,
80 [until] two thirds of [the boat had entered the water].
81 [Everything I had] I loaded aboard it,
82 I loaded aboard it whatever silver I had,
83 I loaded aboard it whatever gold I had,
84 I loaded aboard it whatever seed I had of living things, each and every one.⁠c
85 All my kith and kin I sent aboard the boat,
86 I sent aboard animals of the wild, creatures of the wild, persons of every skill and craft.
87 Šamaš had set me a deadline–
88 “In the morning he will rain down bread-cakes on us, in the evening a torrent of wheat.
89 Go into the boat and seal your hatch!”–
90 “That time had arrived:
91 “In the morning he will rain down bread-cakes, in the evening, a torrent of wheat.”
92 I watched the look of the weather:⁠d
93 The weather was frightening to see;
94 I went into the boat and sealed my hatch.
95 To the man who sealed the boat, to the ship-wright Puzur-Enlil,
96 I gave the palace with all its goods.
97 At the very first light of dawn–
98 there came up from the horizon a black cloud,
99 within it did Adad bellow continually.⁠e
100 Šullat and Haniš were going at the fore,
101 “throne-bearers” travelling over mountain and land.
102 Errakal was ripping out the mooring poles;
103 Ninurta, as he went, made the weirs overflow.
104 The Anunnaki bore torches aloft,
105 setting the land aglow with their brilliance.
106 The still calm of the storm-god passed against the sky,
107 all that was bright was turned into gloom.
108 [He] charged the land like a bull [on the rampage,] he smashed [it] in pieces [like a vessel of clay]
109 for one day the gale (and) the flood [flattened the country,]
110 Quickly it blew, and [then came] the [Deluge.]
111 like a battle [the cataclysm] passed over(!) the people.
112 One person could not see another,
113 Nor people recognize each other in the destruction.
114 Even the gods took fright at the Deluge!
115 They withdrew, they went up to the heaven of Anu.
116 The gods curled up like dogs, lying out in the open.
117 The goddess, screaming like a woman in childbirth,
118 Bēlet-ilī, the sweet-voiced, wailed aloud:
119 “Indeed the past has truly turned to clay,⁠f
120 because I spoke evil in the assembly of the gods.
121 How was it I spoke evil in the assembly of the gods,
122 (and) declared a war to destroy my people?
123 It is I that gave birth (to them)! They are my people!
124 (Now) like so many fish they fill the sea.”
125 The gods, the Anunnaki, were weeping with her,
126 wet-faced with sorrow, they were weeping [with her],
127 their lips were parched, being stricken with fever.
128 For six days and (seven) nights,
129 was blowing the wind, the Deluge, the gale laying flat the land.
130 When the seventh day arrived,
131 the gale relented, [the Deluge ended].
132 (133a) The sea grew calm, (132) that had fought like a woman in labour,
133 [The translation for this passage appears with passage 132.]
the tempest grew still, the Deluge ended.
134 I looked at the weather, and there was quiet,
135 but all the people had turned to clay.
136 The flood plain was level like a roof.
137 I opened a vent, and sunlight fell on the side of my face.⁠g
138 I fell to my knees and sat there weeping,
139 the tears streaming down the side of my face.
140 I scanned the shores, the edge of the sea,
141 in fourteen places emerged a landmass.
142 On Mount Nimuš the boat ran aground,
143 Mount Nimuš held the boat fast and did not let it move.
144 One day, a second day, Mount Nimuš held the boat fast and did not let it move,
145 a third day, a fourth day, Mount Nimuš held the boat fast and did not let it move,
146 a fifth, a sixth, day, Mount Nimuš held the boat fast and did not let it move.
147 When the seventh day arrived —⁠h
148 I brought out a dove, setting it free:
149 Off went the dove, …
150 No perch was available for it, so it came back to [me].
151 I brought out a swallow, setting it free:
152 Off went the swallow, …
153 No perch was available for [it], so it came back to me.
154 I brought out a raven, setting it free:
155 Off went the raven and it saw the waters receding.
156 So it could eat, scratch, peck (food), and did not come back to me.
157 I brought out an offering and sacrificed to the four corners of the earth,⁠i
158 I scattered incense on the peak of the mountain.
159 Seven flasks and seven I set in position,
160 below them I heaped up (sweet) reed, cedar and myrtle.
161 The gods smelled the aroma,
162 the gods smelled the sweet aroma,
163 the gods gathered like flies round the sacrificer.
164 As soon as Bēlet-ilī arrived,
165 she lifted aloft the great flies that Anu had made when he wooed (her):
166 “O gods, let these be lapis lazuli (beads) around my neck,⁠j
167 so that I remember these days and never forget them!
168 Let the gods come to the incense,
169 (but) may Enlil not come to the incense,
170 because he lacked counsel and caused the Deluge,
171 and delivered my people into destruction.”
172 As soon as Enlil arrived,
173 Enlil saw the boat and grew angry.
174 He was filled with rage against the Igigi gods:
175 “[From] where escaped (this) living creature?
176 No man should survive the destruction!”
177 Ninurta opened his mouth to speak,
178 saying to the hero Enlil:
179 “Who, if not Ea, can accomplish (such) things?
180 For Ea alone knows (how to do) all tasks,”
181 Ea opened his mouth to speak,
182 saying to the hero Enlil:
183 “You, the sage of the gods, the hero,
184 how could you lack counsel and cause the deluge?
185 On him who commits a sin, inflict his crime!
186 on him who does wrong, inflict [his] wrong-doing!
187 Slack off, lest it be snapped! Pull taut, lest it become [slack!]
188 Instead of the Deluge you caused,⁠k
189 a lion could arise to diminish the people!
190 Instead of the Deluge you caused,
191 a wolf could arise to diminish the people!
192 Instead of the Deluge you caused,
193 a famine could happen to slaughter the land!
194 Instead of the Deluge you caused,
195 Erra could arise to slaughter the land!
196 I did not myself disclose the great gods’ secret;
197 I let Atra-ḫasīs see a dream and so he heard the gods’ secret.
198 And now, consider what is to be done with him.”
199 Enlil came up into the boat,
200 he took hold of my hands and brought me out.
201 He brought out my woman, he made her kneel at my side,
202 he touched our foreheads, standing between us to bless us:
203 “In the past Ūta-napišti was (one of) mankind,
204 but now Ūta-napišti and his woman shall be like us gods!
205 Ūta-napišti shall dwell far away, at the mouth of the rivers!”
206 They took me and settled me far away, at the mouth of the rivers.
207 But now, who will bring the gods to assembly for you,
208 so you can find the life you search for?
209 Come, for six days and seven nights do not sleep!’
210 As soon as he sat down on his haunches,
211 sleep was wafting over him like a fog.
212 Ūta-napišti spoke to her, to his wife:
213 ‘See the fellow who demanded life!
214 sleep is wafting over him like a fog.’
215 His wife spoke to him, to Ūta-napišti the Far-Away:
216 ‘Touch him, let the man awake!’
217 (By) the road he came let him go back in safety,
218 (by) the gate he came out let him return to his land!’
219 Ūta-napišti spoke to her, to his wife:
220 ‘Being deceitful, mankind will deceive you.
221 Go, bake his daily rounds of bread, line them up by his head,
222 and mark on the wall the days that he slept.’
223 She baked his daily rounds of bread, she lined them up by his head,
224 and on the wall noted for him the days that he slept.
225 His first round of bread was dried up,
226 the second was leathery, the third was soggy;
227 His fourth flour-cake had turned white,
228 the fifth had produced a (mouldy) stain;
229 the sixth was fresh-baked,
230 the seventh was on the coals: he touched him and the man awoke.
231 Gilgameš spoke to him, to Ūta-napišti the Far-Away:
232 ‘No sooner than sleep spilled over me,
233 than immediately you touched me and roused me!’
234 Ūta-napišti [spoke to him,] to Gilgameš
235 Come, Gilgameš, count me your rounds of bread,
236 and may [the time that you slept] be made known to you.
237 Your [first round] of bread [was dried up]
238 the second was leathery, the third was soggy;
239 your fourth flour-cake had turned white,
240 the fifth had produced a (mouldy) stain, the sixth was fresh-baked;
241 [the seventh was on] the coals, and then you awoke.’
242 Gilgameš spoke to him, to Ūta-napišti the Far-Away:
243 How should I go on, Uta-napisti? Where should I go?
244 The Thief has taken hold of my [flesh.]
245 In my bed-chamber Death abides,
246 and wherever I might turn [my face], there too will be Death.’
247 Ūta-napisti spoke to [him,] to the boatman Ur-šanābi:
248 ‘Ur-šanābi, may the quay reject you, may the ferry scorn you!
249 You who used to walk on its shore, suffer absence from it!
250 The man that you led here,
251 whose body is tousled with matted hair,
252 the beauty of whose flesh the hides have ruined,
253 take him, Ur-šanābi, get him to the washtub,
254 let him wash his matted hair as clean as can be!
255 Let him cast off his hides and the sea carry (them away)!
256 Soak his body so beautiful!
257 Let the kerchief of his head be renewed!
258 Let him be clad in a royal robe, the attire befitting his dignity!
259 Until he goes (home) to his city,
260 until he arrives at (the end of) his road,
261 let the robe show no stain but stay brand new!’
262 Ur-šanābi took him and got him to the washtub.
263 He washed his matted hair as clean as can be,
264 He cast off his hides [and] the sea carried (them away).
265 His body so beautiful was soaked,
266 the [kerchief of] his head was renewed,
267 he was clad in a royal robe, the attire befitting his dignity.
268 ‘Until he goes (home) [to his city,]
269 until he arrives at (the end of) his road,
270 let [the robe show no stain] but stay brand new!’
271 Gilgames and Ur-šanābi boarded the boat,
272 they launched the [craft,] they crewed it themselves.
273 His wife spoke to him, to Uta-napišti the Far-Away:
274 ‘Gilgames came here, toiled, exerted himself,
275 what have you given him as he goes back to his land?'
276 And he, Gilgameš, raised the punting-pole,
277 he brought the boat close to the shore
278 Ūta-napišti [spoke] to him, to Gilgameš:
279 ‘You came here, Gilgameš, toiled, exerted yourself,
280 what have I given you as you go back to your land?
281 I will disclose, Gilgameš, a secret matter,
282 and [I will] tell you a mystery of [the gods.]
283 It is a plant, its [appearance] is like box-thorn,
284 its thorn is like the dog-rose’s, it will [prick your hands.]
285 If you can gain possession of that plant,
286 [you’ll be again as you were in your youth.]’
287 When Gilgameš heard this,
288 he opened a [channel] …
289 Heavy stones he tied [on his feet,]
290 they dragged him down to the Apsû […]
291 He pulled the plant, and pulled [it up and lifted it,]
292 he cut loose the heavy stones [from his feet.]
293 The sea cast him up on its shore.
294 Gilgameš spoke to him, to Ur-šanābi the boatman:
295 ‘Ur-šanābi, this plant is the “plant of the heart-beat”,
296 by which means a man can recapture his vitality.
297 I will take it to Uruk the sheepfold,
298 I will feed some to an old man and put the plant to the test.
299 If the old man grows young (again),
300 I will eat some myself and go back to how I was in my youth!'
301 At twenty leagues they broke bread,
302 at thirty leagues they pitched camp.
303 Gilgameš found a pool whose water was cool,
304 he went down into it to bathe in the water.
305 A snake smelled the fragrance of the plant,⁠l
306 [silently] it came up and bore the plant off;
307 as it turned away it sloughed a skin.
308 Then Gilgameš sat down weeping,
309 the tears streaming down the side of his face.
310 … [He spoke] to Ur-šanābi the boatman:
311 ‘[For whom] of my (kind), Ur-šanābi, did my arms grow exhausted,
312 for whom of my (kind) ran dry the blood of my heart?
313 Not for myself did I establish a bounty,
314 [for] the “Lion of the Earth” I have done a favour.
315 Now for twenty leagues the tide has been rising!
316 When I opened the channel I abandoned the tools:
317 what thing would I find that was placed (to serve) for my landmark? Had I only turned away,
318 and left the boat on the shore!'
319 At twenty leagues they broke bread,
320 at thirty leagues they pitched camp.
321 They arrived in Uruk the Sheepfold.
322 Gilgameš spoke to him, to Ur-šanābi the boatman:
323 ‘Go up, Ur-šanābi, on to the wall of Uruk and walk around,
324 survey the foundation platform, inspect the brickwork!
325 (See) if its brickwork is not kiln-fired brick,
326 and if the Seven Sages did not lay its foundations!
327 One šār is city, one šār date-grove, one šār is clay-pit, half a šār the temple of Ištar:
328 three šār and a half (is) Uruk, (its) measurement.’