THE EPIC OF GILGAMESH English version by N. K. ... - Rosemike.net

DUMUZI: The Sumerian form of Tammuz; a god of vegetation and fertility, and so of
the underworld, also called 'the Shepherd and 'lord of the sheepfolds'. As the
companion of Ningizzida 'to all eternity' he stands at the gate of heaven. In the
Sumerian 'Descent of Inanna' he is the husband of the goddess Inanna, the
Sumerian counterpart of Ishtar. According to the Sumerian King-List Gilgamesh was
descended from 'Dumuzi a shepherd'.
EA: Sumerian Enki; god of the sweet waters, also of wisdom, a patron of arts and
one of the creators of mankind, towards whom he is usually well-disposed. The chief
god of Eridu, where he had a temple, he lived 'in the deep'; his ancestry is uncertain,
but he was probably a child of Anu. See p. 26.
EANNA: The temple precinct in Uruk sacred to Anti and Ishtar.
EGALMAH: The 'Great Palace' in Uruk, the home of the goddess Ninsun, the
mother of Gilgamesh, See p. 15.
ENDUKUGGA: With Nindukugga, Sumerian gods living in the underworld; parents
of Enlil.
ENKIDU: Moulded by Aruru, goddess of creation, out of clay in the image and 'of the
essence of Anu', the sky-god, and of Ninurta the war-god. The companion of
Gilgamesh, he is wild or natural man; be was later considered a patron or god of
animals and may have been the hero of another cycle. See p. 30.
ENLIL: God of earth, wind, and the universal air, ultimately spirit; the executive of
Anu. In the Sumerian cosmogony he was born of the union of An heaven, and Ki earth.
These he separated, and he then carried off earth as his portion. In later times he
supplanted Anu as chief god. He was the patron of the city of Nippur. See p. 24.
ENMUL: See Endukugga.
ENNUGI: God of irrigation and inspector of canals.
ENUMA ELISH: The Semitic creation epic which describes the creation of the gods,
the defeat of the powers of chaos by the young god Marduk, and the creation of man
from the blood of Kingu, the defeated champion of chaos. The title is taken from the
first words of the epic 'When on high'.
ERESHKIGAL: The Queen of the underworld, a counterpart of Persephone;
probably once a sky-goddess. Li the Sumerian cosmogony she was carried off to the
underworld after the separation of heaven and earth. See p. 27.
ETANA: Legendary king of Kish who reigned after the flood; in the epic which bears
his name he was carried to heaven on the back of an eagle.
36