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Updated: June 14, 2025
A dear relative has departed this life, and a survivor, a brother, apparently, is anxious to know whether the dead will ever come back again. The situation reminds one of Gilgamesh seeking out Eabani, with this difference: that, whereas Gilgamesh, aided by Nergal, is accorded a sight of his friend, the ordinary mourner must content himself with the answer given to him.
Popular legends are concerned only with the heroes, with the popular favorites not with the great masses. Eabani, who appears to Gilgamesh, is a hero, and so is Samuel. As a matter of fact, we have so far only found evidence that the ancient rulers whose memory lingered in the minds of the people were regarded by later generations as gods.
To be left unburied was the greatest misfortune that could happen to a dead person. With this sentiment the epic closes. Gilgamesh must rest content with the unsatisfactory consolation that Eabani offers him. Man must die, and Gilgamesh cannot escape the universal fate. Let him hope for and, if possible, provide for proper burial when death does overtake him.
Gilgamesh, aided by his patron Shamash, succeeds in gaining Eabani as a 'companion' in a contest that is to be waged against Khumbaba, who threatens Uruk.
He sends a messenger known as Sâdu, that is, 'the hunter, and described as a "wicked man," to ensnare Eabani. For three days in succession, the hunter sees Eabani drinking at the trough with the cattle, but is unable to catch him. The sight of this 'wild man of the woods' frightens the hunter. He returns to Gilgamesh for further instructions.
Gilgamesh weeps for his companion Eabani. In distress he is stretched out on the ground. 'I will not die like Eabani. Sorrow has entered my body. Through fear of death, I lie stretched out on the ground. He determines to seek out a mysterious personage, whom he calls Parnapishtim, the son of Kidin-Marduk. This personage has in some way escaped the fate of mankind and enjoys immortal life.
There is an interesting reference to 'a festival' and to festive garments, but whether, as would appear, Ukhat and Eabani are the ones who clothe themselves upon reaching Uruk or whether, as Jeremias believes, a festival was being celebrated at the place it is impossible to say. Eabani is warned in a dream not to undertake a test of strength with Gilgamesh,
In the sixth tablet, Gilgamesh is celebrated as the victor and not Eabani. We may conclude, therefore, that the episode belongs originally to Gilgamesh's career, and that Eabani has been introduced into it. On the other hand, for Eabani to be placed in a beautiful garden would be a natural consequence of his deserting the gazelles and cattle, the reward, as it were, of his clinging to Ukhat.
The hero, now convinced, as it seems, that death will come to him, and reconciled in a measure to his fate, seeks to learn another secret, the secret of existence after death. He appeals to the gods of the nether world to grant him at least a sight of Eabani. Nergal, the chief of this pantheon, consents. ... he opened the earth, And the spirit of Eabani He caused to rise up like a wind.
Come, I will bring thee to walled Uruk, To the glorious house, the dwelling of Anu and Ishtar, To the seat of Gilgamesh, perfect in power, Surpassing men in strength, like a mountain bull." It would appear from these lines that previous to the coming of Ukhat, Eabani had satisfied his desire on the beasts.
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