However, while Gilgamesh draws on and
discusses these myths, it is not itself a myth, but a work of literature.
In other words, though Gilgamesh describes the
stories central to Mesopotamian mythology, such as those of Ishtar
and Tammuz, it reflects upon them and changes them in significant
ways. The poem handles mythological materials in such a way as to
define and portray Gilgamesh’s character and his state of mind at
this point in the story, as opposed to simply trying to preserve
and pass on those myths. Gilgamesh has the chance to follow the
pattern set by Tammuz and to be the goddess’s lover, but he refuses.
In a way, he is refusing his own mythology, standing apart from
it. The literary style and tone of this tablet are playfully allusive,
witty, vulgar, and blasphemous, reminding readers that this epic
is literary rather than sacred.
The portrayal of Ishtar in this tablet is so relentlessly
negative that some scholars have speculated that it reflects a deeper
agenda. Gilgamesh’s repudiation of Ishtar, they say, signifies a
rejection of goddess worship in favor of patriarchy in the ancient
world. From a literary standpoint, however, the most notable
aspect of this tablet is Gilgamesh and Enkidu’s astonishing presumption.
Ishtar is an important goddess in Uruk—her temple is at the center
of the city, and her rites secure its safety and prosperity. Uruk’s
king, in the role of high priest, ritually reenacts Ishtar and Tammuz’s
lovemaking. When Gilgamesh spurns the goddess, he rejects one of
his royal duties. Gilgamesh’s love for a companion of his own gender,
whether chaste or unchaste, might also have offended the goddess
of fertility.
Gilgamesh uses clever language in his dismissal of Ishtar,
but no matter how witty he is, addressing a goddess in this manner
is unimaginably disrespectful. Enkidu’s behavior, such as throwing the
bull’s haunch at the goddess and threatening to slaughter her, is crude
and childish. Gilgamesh and Enkidu seem to have forgotten that they
are mortals. They have gone too far. When they killed Humbaba and
harvested the cedar trees that were under his protection, they defied
the god Enlil. Now they are treating the goddess Ishtar like a cast-off
mistress. Gilgamesh presents the bull to his craftsmen as though
he wants them to fabricate something comparable. Giddy from their
victory over Humbaba, exhilarated from their successful combat with
the bull, they are drunk with pride. The tone of the poetry reflects
their prideful feelings, suggesting that the writer enjoys his wicked
subject matter. Though Gilgamesh and Enkidu continue to pay elaborate
respects to Lugulbanda and Shamash, their boasting to the citizens
of Uruk as they parade through the city threatens to be the last
straw for the already angry divinities.
