Gilgamesh and Huwawa
Also known as: Gilgamesh and Humbaba, Gilgamesh and the Cedar Forest, Gilgamesh and Huwawa A, Gilgamesh and Huwawa B
Gilgamesh and Enkidu journey to the distant cedar mountain to confront Huwawa, a monstrous guardian endowed with terrifying splendors. With aid from Utu, they defeat and bind Huwawa, fell cedars, and return to Uruk seeking lasting fame.
Description
This Sumerian narrative depicts an expedition from Uruk to the cedar mountain, where Huwawa (later Humbaba) guards the sacred forest by authority of Enlil. Gilgamesh, counseled by Enkidu and blessed by Utu, undertakes the journey for timber and renown. Along the route he experiences ominous dreams that his mother Ninsun interprets. At the mountain, the heroes confront Huwawa’s terrifying radiances (“splendors”), subdue and bind him, and secure cedar wood before returning. The poem survives in parallel recensions (A and B) that differ in details of dialogue and outcome, reflecting a fluid early tradition later adapted into the Akkadian Epic of Gilgamesh’s cedar-forest episode.
Historiography
The tale is known from fragmentary Old Babylonian tablets, especially from Nippur and Ur, copied in scribal schools. Two recensions, conventionally labeled A and B, attest variant speeches and narrative sequencing. Modern editions collate multiple fragments; ETCSL provides standardized transliterations/translations with sigla. The Sumerian story informed but is not identical to the Old and Standard Babylonian versions.
Date Notes
Ur III/Old Babylonian compositions preserved on school tablets; two recensions (A and B) precede the later Akkadian cedar-forest episode.
Themes
Symbols
Major Characters
- Gilgamesh
- Enkidu
- Humbaba
- Shamash
Myths
- The Expedition to the Cedar Forest
- The Defeat of Huwawa
Facts
- Survives in at least two Sumerian recensions, commonly labeled A and B.
- Huwawa (Akkadian: Humbaba) bears Enlil-granted terrifying ‘splendors’.
- Utu, the sun god, is invoked for protection and favor on the journey.
- The goal includes prestigious cedar timber and enduring fame for Uruk’s king.
- Ninsun interprets Gilgamesh’s series of ominous dreams en route.
- The Sumerian plot informed later Akkadian cedar-forest episodes without exact duplication.
- Tablets originate largely from Old Babylonian scribal contexts such as Nippur.