An unnamed Babylonian poet
poet · Babylonia · c. 18th century BC
The author of the Old Babylonian version of the Epic of Gilgamesh, whose name has not come down. These words, spoken by an alewife to King Gilgamesh (Gish in this version) as he wanders in search of a way not to die, survive on a fragment of a clay tablet.
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c. 18th century BC · To the king, wandering in search of a way not to die after the death of his friend Enkidu
Why, O Gish, does thou run about?
The life that thou seekest, thou wilt not find.
When the gods created mankind,
Death they imposed on mankind;
Life they kept in their power.The Epic of Gilgamesh, Old Babylonian version, spoken by the alewife · in place of the original: the English translation by Morris Jastrow and Albert T. Clay (1920)
c. 18th century BC
Thou, O Gish, fill thy belly,
Day and night do thou rejoice,
Daily make a rejoicing!
Day and night a renewal of jollification!
Let thy clothes be clean,
Wash thy head and pour water over thee!
Care for the little one who takes hold of thy hand!
Let the wife rejoice in thy bosom!The Epic of Gilgamesh, Old Babylonian version, spoken by the alewife · in place of the original: the English translation by Morris Jastrow and Albert T. Clay (1920)
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