WINGED WORDS WINDSDAY
Compiled & Edited by Rob Chappell
(@RHCLambengolmo)
Vol. 3, No. 5: November 29, 2023
Unraveling the Mysteries of Orion, the Warrior-Hero of
the Winter Sky
Editor’s
Note
The constellation Orion the Hunter is rising in the
East by midevening now – one of the most prominent figures portrayed on the
sky’s dome by our distant ancestors. Probably modeled on Gilgamesh, an early
King of Uruk in Mesopotamia (fl. ca. 27th century BCE), Orion is one
of the most easily recognized constellations, appearing as a giant warrior-hero
in the night sky. Accompanied by his two hunting dogs (Canis Magor and Canis
Minor) and a unicorn (Monoceros), he his facing down the rampaging Bull of
Heaven (Taurus) in a dramatic reenactment of a pivotal scene from the Gilgamesh
Epic, in which the mighty King of Uruk, along with his
warrior-companion Enkidu (possibly represented by Auriga the Charioteer) slew
the monster that was terrorizing the citizens of Uruk.
The
constellation Orion the Hunter, as portrayed in Urania’s Mirror (1825) by
Sidney Hall. The bright blue star Rigel marks Orion’s left foot.
“Ëala Ëarendel,
engla beorhtast,
ofer
middan-geard monnum sended.”
“Hail
Ëarendel, brightest of angels,
over
Middle-Earth to humankind sent.”
à Cynewulf (Old English, 9th Century CE)
Included in this week’s
feature are some classic poems, background articles, and historical tidbits
about Gilgamesh to welcome Orion back into the evening sky.
“The
Winter Scene: Part II” by Bliss Carman (1861-1929)
Out
from the silent portal of the hours,
When
frosts are come and all the hosts put on.
Their
burnished gear to march across the night
And
o'er a darkened Earth in splendor shine,
Slowly
above the world Orion wheels
His
glittering square, while on the shadowy hill
And throbbing
like a sea-light through the dusk,
Great
Sirius rises in his flashing blue.
Lord
of the winter night, august and pure,
Returning
year on year untouched by time,
To
hearten faith with thine unfaltering fire,
There
are no hurts that beauty cannot ease,
No
ills that love cannot at last repair,
In the
victorious progress of the soul.
“Stars”
by Marjorie Lowry Christie Pickthall (1883-1922)
Now in
the West the slender Moon lies low,
And
now Orion glimmers through the trees,
Clearing
the Earth with even pace and slow,
And
now the stately-moving Pleiades,
In
that soft infinite darkness overhead
Hang
jewel-wise upon a silver thread.
And
all the lonelier stars that have their place,
Calm
lamps within the distant southern sky,
And
planet-dust upon the edge of space,
Look
down upon the fretful world, and I
Look
up to outer vastness unafraid
And
see the stars which sang when Earth was made.
“Winter
Stars” (1920)
By
Sara Teasdale (1884-1933)
I went
out at night alone;
The
young blood flowing beyond the sea
Seemed
to have drenched my spirit’s wings —
I bore
my sorrow heavily.
But
when I lifted up my head
From
shadows shaken on the snow,
I saw
Orion in the east
Burn
steadily as long ago.
From
windows in my father’s house,
Dreaming
my dreams on winter nights,
I
watched Orion as a girl
Above
another city’s lights.
Years
go, dreams go, and youth goes too,
The
world’s heart breaks beneath its wars,
All
things are changed, save in the east
The
faithful beauty of the stars.
“Leadership
Lessons from Gilgamesh, the World’s First Superhero” by Rob Chappell, M.A.
Adapted
& Expanded from Cursus Honorum VII: 4 (November 2006)
Read
an English translation of the Gilgamesh Epic @ https://www.jasoncolavito.com/epic-of-gilgamesh.html and
its epilogue at https://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section1/tr1813.htm.
The Gilgamesh
Epic is the oldest extant epic poem in world literature. Based on
a series of Sumerian heroic poems from the late third millennium BCE, the epic
was compiled in Mesopotamia during the 18th century BCE in the Akkadian
language. The plot of the epic revolves around the adventures of Gilgamesh, an
early King of the city-state of Uruk (reigned ca. 27th century BCE). The
compilers of the epic wove together a tapestry of heroic tales that had
gathered around Gilgamesh into a single action-packed narrative.
“Oh,
come, dear naiads, tune your lyres and lutes,
And
sing of love with chastest, sweetest notes,
Of
Accad's goddess Ishtar, Queen of Love,
And
Gilgamesh, with softest measure move;
Great
Shamash’s son, of him dear naiads sing!
Of him
whom goddess Ishtar warmly wooed,
Of him
whose breast with virtue was imbued.
He as
a giant towered, lofty grown,
As
Babel’s great princeling was he known,
His
armèd fleet commanded on the seas
And
erstwhile travelled on the foreign leas;
His
mother Ellat-gula on the throne
From
Erech all Kardunia ruled alone.”
-- From the Prologue
to Ishtar and Izdubar by Leonidas Le Cenci Hamilton
[1884], Slightly Modernized by the Editor
According to the epic,
Gilgamesh was the son of the mortal human King Lugalbanda and the demigoddess
Ninsumunak. The narrative opens with the story of how King Gilgamesh met the
wildman Enkidu and describes how the two heroes became steadfast
warrior-companions. The poem continues with exciting battle sequences, in which
Gilgamesh and Enkidu destroyed the ogre Humbaba in the Cedar Forest of Lebanon
and slew the Bull of Heaven when it went rampaging through the streets of Uruk.
The
gods were angered by the slaying of the Bull of Heaven, so they afflicted
Enkidu with a fatal illness. Gilgamesh was devastated by his
warrior-companion’s death and set off on a quest to find the secret of
immortality, lest he suffer the same fate as Enkidu. The King of Uruk passed
through many perils as he journeyed to a faraway eastern land, near the gates
of the sunrise. There, Gilgamesh met Siduri (an immortal sage and seer),
Urshanabi (the boatman who ferried Gilgamesh across the Waters of Death), and
finally Utnapishtim (the Mesopotamian equivalent of Noah), who along with his
wife had been granted immortality after the great Flood.
Gilgamesh
found and then lost the secret of eternal youth on his way back home to Uruk,
but he returned to his native city a wiser man. He had discovered – through
finding and loss – that true friendship can change one’s life forever.
Gilgamesh had also learned that although death is unavoidable for mortals, we
should celebrate life while it lasts and undertake heroic deeds to benefit
others. At the end of his long reign as King of Uruk, Gilgamesh died and was
buried, and the Divine Council of the gods made him the Prince of the
Otherworld, where he was reunited with his beloved family and with his
warrior-companion Enkidu. As the Prince of the Otherworld, he meted out justice
and mercy to the dead based on the wisdom and understanding that he had gained
during his lifetime on Earth.
Gilgamesh
has become a pop culture hero in recent decades, as his epic story (which was
lost for over 2000 years) has now been translated into several modern languages.
Whatever historical truth may lie behind his legend, Gilgamesh is remembered
still today because the leadership lessons that he exemplified are timeless
truths that appear again and again throughout world literature. Mortality will
come to us all, Gilgamesh would say, but while life lasts, let us spend it in
service to others through heroic deeds and teaching wisdom by example. As the
Akkadian epic poets wrote of the world’s first superhero, some 4000 years ago:
“He
who the heart of all matters has proven, let him teach the nation, He who all
knowledge possesses, therein shall he school all the people, He shall his
wisdom impart and so shall they share it together. Gilgamesh — he was the
Master of wisdom, with knowledge of all things, He it was who discovered the
secret concealed. Aye, he handed down the tradition relating to things
prediluvian, He went on a journey afar, all aweary and worn with his toiling.
He engraved on a tablet of stone all the travail.”
-- Prologue to the Gilgamesh
Epic (Slightly Modernized by the Editor from the 1929 Translation
by R. Campbell Thompson)
Gilgamesh,
Nimrod, and Orion
Many Assyriologists and mythographers have proposed
that Gilgamesh, the world’s first superhero, was the prototype for the
constellation Orion and was also the same person as Nimrod, a Mesopotamian
warrior-hero whose career as a mighty hunter and city-builder is recounted in “Table
of Nations” from Genesis 10. Exegetes from the
Abrahamic faith traditions have sometimes identified the constellation Orion as
a representation of the biblical warrior-hero Nimrod on the celestial sphere.
And
Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty
hunter before the LORD; wherefore it is said: “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter
before the LORD.” And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and
Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
-- Genesis
10:8-10 (JPS 1917)
An identification of Nimrod
with Gilgamesh has been postulated since the rediscovery of the Gilgamesh
Epic in the 19th century, based on numerous similarities in
their characteristics and heroic deeds, including their place of birth (Uruk)
and renown as giant monster-hunters. In fact, the name Nimrod means “leopard-subduer,”
not “rebel” (as is commonly believed), and he is portrayed in many ancient
sources as an exemplary civilizing king of early Mesopotamia.
From The
Four Monarchies, Part I: The Assyrian
By
Anne Bradstreet (1612-1672)
[Slightly
Modernized by the Editor]
When
time was young, and world in infancy,
Man
did not proudly strive for sovereignty:
But
each one thought his petty rule was high,
If of
his house he held the monarchy.
This
was the Golden Age, but after came
The
boisterous son of Cush, grandchild to Ham,
That
mighty hunter, who in his strong toils
Both
beasts and men subjected to his spoils:
The
strong foundation of proud Babel laid,
Uruk,
Akkad, and Kalneh also made.
The
Lost Years of Gilgamesh
So where did Gilgamesh/Nimrod learn how to be a
mighty hunter and loremaster? An answer to this intriguing question was first
proposed in the 13th century BCE, where a Hittite version of the
Gilgamesh Epic from Anatolia tells how Gilgamesh traveled the world in his
youth, presumably in search of adventure and education. This idea is echoed within
the pages of a Syriac text that was compiled by the disciples and successors of
St. Ephrem the Syrian (306-373) at Edessa in Syria. In this excerpt, young
Nimrod travels to the Far East – in fact, to the Land of the Rising Sun – to be
tutored in astronomy and statecraft by Jonathan, a legendary fourth son of Noah
who was born after the Flood.
Excerpt from the Fourth
Chiliad of the Book of the Cave of
Treasures (Syriac, 5th Century CE)
And Nimrod went to Yokdora of Nod, and when he
arrived at the Lake (or Sea) of Atropos, he found there Jonathan], the son of
Noah. Noah begot this Jonathan after the Flood, and he honored him in many
things, and sent him to the East to dwell there. And Nimrod went down and
bathed in the Lake, and he came to Jonathan and did homage unto him.
And Jonathan said, "Thou art a king; doest thou
homage unto me?"
And Nimrod said unto him, "It is because of thee
that I have come down here"; and he remained with him for three years.
And Jonathan taught Nimrod wisdom, and the art of
revelation, and he said unto him, "Come not back again to me."
Depiction
of Jonathan, the fourth son of Noah, from a relief sculpture in the Cathedral
of Florence, Italy. This depiction of Gilgamesh/Nimrod’s mentor (with
astronomical instruments) was created by Andrea Pisano (1290-1348). Image
Credit: Public Domain via Science Photo Library.
Siduri
in the Gilgamesh Epic
Scholars have noted that women play major roles in
the Gilgamesh Epic, and one of the most enigmatic women whom
Gilgamesh encountered was Siduri, the first Sibyl in world literature. After
the death of his steadfast warrior-companion, Enkidu, King Gilgamesh of Uruk
went on a quest to find the secret of immortality in the far eastern regions of
the world. The following summary describes the events leading up to his meeting
with Siduri, along with the advice that she gives to help him deal with his
heartfelt grief.
Excerpt
from Chapter 8 of Myths of Babylonia and Assyria by Donald A.
MacKenzie (1915)
[Slightly
Modernized by the Editor]
Gilgamesh set out on his journey and in time reached a mountain chasm. Gazing
on the rugged heights, he beheld fierce lions and his heart trembled. Then he
cried upon the Moon god, who took pity upon him, and under divine protection
the hero pressed onward. He crossed the rocky range and then found himself
confronted by the tremendous mountain of Mashu – "Sunset Hill,” which
divided the land of the living from the western land of the dead. The mountain
peak rose to heaven, and its foundations were in Arallu, the underworld. A dark
tunnel pierced it and could be entered through a door, but the door was shut
and on either side were two monsters of horrible aspect – the gigantic
"scorpion man" and his wife, whose heads reached to the clouds. When
Gilgamesh beheld them he swooned with terror. But they did him no harm,
perceiving that he was a son of a god and had a body like a god.
When Gilgamesh revived, he realized that the monsters regarded him with eyes of
sympathy. Addressing the scorpion giant, he told that he desired to visit his
ancestor, Utnapishtim, who sat in the council of the gods and had divine
attributes. The giant warned him of the dangers which he would encounter,
saying that the mountain passage was twelve miles long and beamless and black.
Gilgamesh, however, resolved to encounter any peril, for he was no longer
afraid, and he was allowed to go forward. So he entered through the
monster-guarded mountain door and plunged into thick unbroken darkness. For
twice twelve hours he groped blindly onward, until he saw a ray of light.
Quickening his steps, he then escaped from the dreadful tunnel and once more
rejoiced in the rays of the Sun. He found himself in an enchanted garden, and
in the midst of it he saw a divine and beautiful tree towards which he
hastened. On its gleaming branches hung clusters of precious stones and its
leaves were of lapis lazuli. His eyes were dazzled, but he did not linger
there. Passing many other wonderful trees, he came to a shoreland, and he knew
that he was drawing nigh to the Sea of Death. The country which he entered was
ruled over by the sea lady whose name was Siduri. When she saw the pilgrim
drawing nigh, she entered her palace and shut the door.
Gilgamesh called out requesting that he should be allowed to enter, and mingled
his entreaties with threats to break open the door. In the end Siduri appeared
and spoke, saying:
“Gilgamesh,
whither are you hurrying?
The
life that you seek, you will not find.
When
the gods created humanity,
They
fixed death for humankind.
Life
they took in their own hand.
You, O
Gilgamesh, let your belly be filled!
Day
and night be merry,
Daily
celebrate a feast,
Day
and night dance and make merry!
Clean
be your clothes,
Your
head be washed, bathe in water!
Look
joyfully on the child that grasps your hand,
Be
happy with the wife in your arms!”
Gilgamesh did not accept the counsel of the fatalistic sea lady. He asked her
how he could reach Utnapishtim, his ancestor, saying he was prepared to cross
the Sea of Death: if he could not cross it he would die of grief.
Siduri answered him, saying: "O Gilgamesh, no mortal is ferried over this
great sea. Who can pass over it save Shamash alone? The way is full of peril. O
Gilgamesh, how canst thou battle against the billows of death?"
At length, however, the sea lady revealed to the pilgrim that he might obtain
the aid of the sailor, Urshanabi, who served his ancestor Utnapishtim.
A
Biblical Echo of Siduri’s Advice:
Ecclesiastes 9:7-9 (JPS 1917)
Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for
God hath already accepted thy works.
Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no oil.
Enjoy life with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy
vanity, which He hath given thee under the Sun, all the days of thy vanity; for
that is thy portion in life, and in thy labor wherein thou laborest under the
Sun.
Gilgamesh
(referred to as Izdubar in the above caption) takes leave of Siduri and her
acolyte Sabitu after staying in their “Happy Halls” near the eastern edge of
the known world in Tablet IX of the Gilgamesh Epic. (Image
Credit: Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
In
Conclusion
Much more could be said about Gilgamesh/Nimrod, but
space and time constraints will not permit me to discuss how he appears in the Book
of Giants from the Dead Scrolls, in the History of Animals
by Claudius Aelianus, and (under the name of Buluqiya) in a fascinating tale
from the Arabian Nights. My research into the world’s first
superhero – Gilgamesh/Nimrod/Orion – is ongoing, so be sure to watch for more
discoveries in future issues of Winged Words Windsday!
Orion
in Aratus’ Phaenomena (3rd Century BCE)
“Aslant beneath the
fore-body of the Bull is set the great Orion. Let none who pass him spread out
on high on a cloudless night imagine that, gazing on the heavens, one shall see
other stars more fair.”
