OUTLINE
FOR ANTEDILUVIAN EPIC OF GILGAMESH:
Please note: This version of Gilgamesh is rendered in rhyming poetry, with
the intent of it being performed live on stage.
PROLOGUE: Brief character development of Gilgamesh and Enkidu. Gilgamesh, king of Uruk, is 2/3 god and 1/3
man. The gods send an animal version
of Gilgamesh, named Enkidu, 1/3 god, 2/3 man, to test Gilgamesh.
BOOK
I:
CHAPTER 1 : THE PROSTITUTE A farmer gets Gilgamesh to send
a prostitute to trap Enkidu, who is a friend of the animals and a threat to
the hunters and the farmers.
CHAPTER 2: FALLING INTO MAN The prostitute civilizes Enkidu
and leads him to Gilgamesh.
CHAPTER 3: DREAMS Gilgamesh has strange dreams that his mother,
Ninsun, interprets as the coming of Enkidu.
CHAPTER 4: THE SHEPHERDS AND BARBARIANS The prostitute introduces Enkidu to the
hunters and villagers; among whom Enkidu becomes a legend.
CHAPTER 5: THE TRAVELLING FARMER Enkidu gets tired of hearing about Gilgamesh and decides to face
him.
CHAPTER 6: FACE TO FACE Enkidu and Gilgamesh meet, and battle with
each other. Equal in appearance and
strength, they become like brothers.
BOOK
II:
CHAPTER 1: A JOURNEY THAT WILL KILL Gilgamesh convinces Enkidu to go into the
forest of the gods and to confront its guardian, Humbaba. Gilgamesh argues that together, Enkidu and
himself are man and god, and that
they should therefore battle with the gods that oppress them all.
CHAPTER 2: THE ELDERS The Elders and town's folk of Uruk are supportive of their cause,
especially because Gilgamesh is a mean tyrant and the people know that his
cause is a dangerous one.
CHAPTER 3: A JOURNEY Ninsun blesses Enkidu and explains to him the difference between
Shamash and the other gods.
BOOK
III:
CHAPTER 1: THE DARK When they pass through the gate of the
forest of the gods, Enkidu is made ill and the day turns dark.
CHAPTER 2: VOICES A restless night
of pain and nightmares ensues. Gilgamesh
has more dream-state-visions.
CHAPTER 3: THE HUMBABA In battle, the Humbaba is killed and Enkidu is badly wounded.
CHAPTER 4: ISHTAR Ishtar, the goddess
of love, fertility and war, comes to tell Gilgamesh that they have angered
the gods so much that the only way out is for Gilgamesh to marry her and become
her servant. In return, Gilgamesh
verbally abuses Ishtar.
CHAPTER 5: THE BULL OF HEAVEN In anger, Ishtar convinces Anu (the head-god) to send the Bull of
Heaven to kill Gilgamesh; and to punish Uruk with a famine.
CHAPTER 6: THE TABLETS OF DESTINIES Many of the known Sumarian myths are conveyed
through Enkidu's last words as he hallucinates to death.
CHAPTER 7: THE ONE EYE OF THE ONE FACE Enkidu's last words before he dies. Gilgamesh vows to never give up until he finds
the secret to immorality to bring Enkidu back to life.
BOOK
IV:
CHAPTER 1: TO SEEK, TO WANDER Gilgamesh seeks and wanders and looks for Utnapishtim--a Noah-like
figure who has transcended death--to find the secret to immortality.
CHAPTER 2: THE SCORPION PEOPLE Gilgamesh encounters the Scorpion People who warn him to not continue.
CHAPTER 3: THE DARKNESS Gilgamesh overcomes the valley
of Abyss through silence and darkness (deaf and blind.)
CHAPTER 4: THE BAR MAID Gilgamesh comes upon a paradise-like setting where a beautiful maiden
named Siduri tries to convince him to stay and begin a family--but Gilgamesh
relentlessly continues to search for Utnapishtim.
CHAPTER 5: THE SACRED STONES Gilgamesh destroys a bunch of tall Sacred Stones before encountering
Urshanibi: an old boat-man who lives by the canal, near the sea of death,
who in deception finally suggests a way for Gilgamesh to cross the Sea of
Death.
BOOK
V:
CHAPTER 1: THE SEA OF DEATH Urshanibi's idea almost proves fatal; however, Gilgamesh manages
to out smart the Sea of Death. He
finally meets Utnapishtim.
CHAPTER 2: UTNAPISHTIM A series of lengthy metaphysical poems regarding knowledge, understanding,
life and death take place in the dialogue between Utnapishtim and Gilgamesh.
CHAPTER 3: THE FLOOD The Sumarian myth of a great flood that's sent to kill all the living;
and Utnapishtim's building a boat and helping the living survive it; that,
like the rest of the book, is also retold entirely in song.
CHAPTER 4: ETERNITY AND MAN Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh that he must live with Enkidu's death
as he, himself, had to face the death of the world after the flood.
CHAPTER 5: THE PLANT IN THE RIVER Utnapishtim is finally fed up with his inability to convince Gilgamesh
and calls upon the boat-man, Urshanibi, to come and take him back to the other
side of the Sea of Death. Before Gilgamesh
leaves, Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh a secret about an under-water flower that
can make one immortal. Gilgamesh finds and harvests the plant.
CHAPTER 6: THE SERPENT While Gilgamesh is getting
cleaned up in preparation for going back to Enkidu, a serpent crawls out of
the water and eats the plant.
BOOK
VI:
CHAPTER 1: THE KING'S RETURN The defeated king, unable to conquer death and faced with his own
mortality, goes back to his city, Uruk, as a new king.
EPILOGUE: A CELEBRATION One night, through Ea's grace, Gilgamesh
is allowed to speak with Enkidu. Enkidu
tells him to let go of his futile struggle against death and to embrace his
life instead. Suddenly the sounds of celebration in the city capture Gilgamesh
's attention and he walks over to his people to see what's drawn them into
celebration.