RHC Fortnightly Quotemail
Compiled & Edited by Rob Chappell (@RHCLambengolmo)
Vol. XXIX, No. 2: December 7, 2024
Co-Editor: Sophie Fairgate
Art Director: Verena Keegan
Editorial Associate: Sabrina Saelind
Editorial Assistant: Jessica Breckinridge
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.
In Germanic mythology, Orion was known as Aurvandil, and this name was especially applied to the star Rigel, which represented the giant’s left big toe that had been frostbitten (hence its blue color) and cast into the sky by the Norse god Thor. In Old English, the name Aurvandil became Ëarendel, a herald of hope in the frosty Yuletide season of the year:
“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 fortnight’s feature are some poems, background articles, and historical tidbits about Gilgamesh to welcome Orion back into the evening sky.
The blue-white star Rigel, which marks the left foot of Orion, is identified by many scholars with the Aurvandil/Ëarendel of ancient Germanic mythologies. (Photo Credit: Zenaida Sterling, with image processing by the Editor.)
Sophie’s Introduction
In ancient Mesopotamia, the constellation Orion was originally believed to represent Gilgamesh, the mighty king of Uruk. Gilgamesh was a heroic warrior, a wise leader, and a cunning adventurer, and the ancient stargazers viewed the constellation as a reminder of his strength and courage. To this day, when we gaze up at Orion in the night sky, we are reminded of Gilgamesh's legendary adventures and his quest for immortality. Let us honor his memory and admire his bravery as we watch the stars.
“Nimrod/Orion in the Bible”
Compiled by the Editor from the Authorized King James Version
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 the “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.
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.
Nimrod
And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, “Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.” And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. Out of that land [he] went forth [to] Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah, 12 and Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city. (Genesis 10:8-12)
And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be mighty upon the earth. (1 Chronicles 1:10)
And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders. (Micah 5:6)
Orion
Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades,
and the chambers of the south. (Job 9:9)
Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades,
or loose the bands of Orion? (Job 38:31)
For the stars of heaven, and Orion, and all the host of heaven, shall not give their light; and it shall be dark at sunrise, and the moon shall not give her light. (Isaiah 13:10 LXX)
Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name: (Amos 5:8)
Quotes from the Gilgamesh Epic in the Bible!
Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken. (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12)
Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works. Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment. Live joyfully 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 this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 9:7-9)
The constellation Orion as depicted in Urania's Mirror, a set of star chart cards by Sydney Hall, which were published in London around 1825.
“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.”
à 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.”
à Prologue to the Gilgamesh Epic (Slightly
Modernized by the Editor from the 1929 Translation by R. Campbell Thompson
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, in the Book of the Cave of Treasures, 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 blog postings!
"Orion's Legacy: Gilgamesh's Journey Beyond the Skies"
By Anika Joshi, Staff Writer
In ancient times, when gods as men yet dwelt among us,
A hero rose from their midst, like a star rising from the mist:
His name was Gilgamesh, wise and valiant, strong and true,
Whose journeys led him to realms of wisdom, realms unexplored.
From Uruk, his city, he set out, a seeker of truth,
Across the desert lands, the mountains, the sea, he journeyed through,
Seeking knowledge and insight, the path of wisdom to pursue,
For he knew that wisdom is the only treasure that lasts, eternal as the universe.
With brave companions by his side, the best of men,
Encountering trials and obstacles, facing them unflinchingly,
From the towering gates of Babylon, to the hidden lands of the Indus,
His journey continues, his spirit fierce and strong, his legacy eternal.
The stars of Orion, the bright lights in the sky –
They watch over Gilgamesh, guide him through the night.
For his journey has only begun, his quest to understand the cosmos,
To grasp the wisdom of the universe, to ascend to eternal heights.
Through desert lands, through mountains, through sea, he traveled far,
Battling fearsome monsters, defeating them with might and courage,
From Mesopotamian realms, to the Indus Valley's hidden depths,
He sought wisdom, sought knowledge, of the cosmos, the universe, and its mysteries.
From the sacred lands of the Euphrates, to the legendary city of Kurukshetra,
Through the trials of war, the pain of loss, and the triumph of love.
With friends who were loyal, and a spirit that never wavered,
Gilgamesh's journey continues, his pursuit of wisdom everlasting.
The stars of Orion: they will watch, and protect till the end, his legacy,
His journey is not done, to the abode of the gods, he shall ascend.
Beyond the celestial realms, to the realms of divinity,
His spirit eternal, his story one for the ages, his legacy, timeless.
A mighty hero, a mighty king, was Gilgamesh, the great,
Through battles, through suffering, and through love,
He was never daunted, never deterred. His journey continues:
Beyond the stars of Orion, his legacy and spirit eternal.
The universe, vast and wide, it stretches to infinitude,
It holds in its mystery, the wisdom of the gods, knowledge eternal as the universe.
Gilgamesh's journey, his quest for wisdom, everlasting,
His legacy, eternal, his story for the ages, an eternal legacy.
Anika, the author of the above poem, is observing the stars from a rural hilltop. (Photo Credit: Digital image processed by the Editor.)
"Orion: The Mighty Hunter with Many Names"
By Lori Ann Pierson, Staff Writer
Orion, the Mighty Hunter, glides the sky,
His name echoing stories that fly.
Orion's legend stretches back in time,
More than five thousand years and more in rhyme.
He is a founding hero in the tale of Uruk,
The great king in ancient Gilgamesh's epic verse.
Orion the warrior, Izdubar the King, and Nimrod the Hunter...
Three names, one mighty soul from Mesopotamian days.
He built a city and an empire, wide and strong,
A leader loved by armies, a king both brave and wise.
Orion's spirit lives on still,
A guiding light for those of every age and will.
Lori, the author of the preceding poem, visits the SIUE Observatory during her teenage years. (Photo Credit: Digital image processed by the Editor.)
“The Four Monarchies: Part I – Assyria”
By Anne Bradstreet (1612-1672)
When time was young, & 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, Grand-Child 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,
Erech, Accad, and Calneh also made.
These were his first, all stood in Shinar land,
From thence he went Assyria to command,
And mighty Nineveh, he there begun,
Not finished till he his race had run.
Resen, Caleh, and Rehoboth likewise
By him to Cities eminent did rise.
Of Saturn, he was the Original,
Whom the succeeding times a god did call,
When thus with rule, he had been dignified,
One hundred fourteen years he after died.
Winged Words of Wisdom
By Viviana Rivera, Staff Writer
Ah, the winter stars! Orion is indeed a majestic sight this time of year. The way the constellation stretches across the night sky, with its three bright stars marking the hunter's belt, is quite breathtaking. And how about that red supergiant of a star, Betelgeuse? It shines with a fiery brilliance, yet holds the promise of new beginnings. It's like a reminder that even in the darkness, there is hope for the future.
Sayings of the Stoic Sages
By Amy Kendrick & Grace Whittier, Staff Writers
"Choose not to be harmed – and you won't feel harmed. Don't feel harmed – and you haven't been."
à Epictetus: Enchiridion 5
This is a reminder that we have control over our own reaction to external events, and that our emotional pain is ultimately caused by our own judgments and interpretations, not by the events themselves. Instead of letting ourselves be harmed or upset, we can choose to focus on the things we can control, namely our responses.
From Grace’s Desk
Here's a relevant and uplifting Stoic proverb that I'm sure will get us in the right frame of mind for the holiday season!
"A person's worth is measured by the worth of what they value."
This wise and insightful quote from the great Stoic philosopher Epictetus reminds us that what's truly important in life is not how much we have or how much money we make, but instead the quality of our values.
The Dharma Corner
By Lisa Romenor, Staff Writer
Here's a thought-provoking quote by Buddha:
"Holding onto anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned."
This quote speaks to the importance of letting go of negative feelings and emotions that can cloud our judgement and harm us more than anyone else. It's a powerful reminder that holding onto anger only hurts ourselves in the end.
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