Gilgamesh

From: via RadioMail <David>
Date: Fri, 13 Jan 1995 00:09:17 -0800


I'm not sure how directly relevant this is to Glorantha, but I just finished re-reading the Epic of Gilgamesh, and had some thoughts.

The God Learners would have been annoyed by the Babylonian deities. Shamash is the sun god, but his aid to Gilgamesh and Enkidu is the eight winds: "the great wind, the north wind, the whirlwind, the storm and the icy wind, the tempest and the scorching wind." (Yes I know that's seven.) That seems like more than just Orlanth's darkness powers from the Sandals of Darkness subcult. And Enlil is described as god of earth, wind, and air -- again, two elemental runes. His wife is Ninlil, goddess of heaven, earth, and air (two again).

On both of Gilgamesh's quests, he proposes to bring back the treasure for his people (the cedar and the immortality plant: "I will take it to Uruk ... [and] give it to the old men to eat ... and at last I shall eat it myself..."). He's a proper hero.


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