Chapter Summaries

Gilgamesh and Enkidu began a battle at Uruk’s walls, each summoning weapons to fight the other. In the Cedar Forest, Annanu sensed Enkidu was in danger, transformed wings, and flew toward Uruk to protect him.

• Gilgamesh demanded that Enkidu leave Uruk and threatened to kill him, while Enkidu said he had come to retrieve humans who had strayed from the gods.
• A guard pulled Shamhat inside Uruk and shut the gates as Gilgamesh and Enkidu released their magical energy.
• Gilgamesh summoned the weapons of the Gate of Babylon, and Enkidu answered with weapons formed from clay.
• Gilgamesh and Enkidu sent their weapons clashing against each other above the city wall.
• Annanu sensed Enkidu was in trouble, grew wings, and flew toward Uruk to protect him.

Gilgamesh and Enkidu began a serious battle, trading weapons and powerful attacks as Gilgamesh learned that Enkidu’s chains were meant to restrain him. Gilgamesh relished facing an apparent equal but remained wary, and the chapter ended with Enkidu counterattacking as Gilgamesh swung an axe at him.

• Gilgamesh and Enkidu stopped probing each other and prepared to fight in earnest.
• Gilgamesh drew Ea and leaped down from the city wall as Enkidu unleashed the Chains of Heaven.
• Gilgamesh forced back the chains with Ea while his Gate of Babylon weapons attacked Enkidu.
• Gilgamesh reflected on his boredom as king, his divine blood, and his rare pleasure in facing an equal opponent.
• Gilgamesh rushed close, drew an axe, and struck at Enkidu, who blocked the blow with bundled chains and sent another chain toward Gilgamesh.

Enkidu and Gilgamesh fought for three days and three nights before Enkidu paused to ask what humans were, and Gilgamesh urged him to find out for himself. Their conversation ended as a strange approaching presence darkened the sky and alarmed Gilgamesh.

• Enkidu and Gilgamesh battled across the plains and near Uruk, while Shamhat, the guards, and briefly Ishtar watched from afar.
• Enkidu held back despite Gilgamesh’s demands that he fight at full strength, troubled by doubts about meaning and the nature of humanity.
• After three days and three nights, Gilgamesh demanded to know why Enkidu was hesitating, and Enkidu stopped the fight.
• Enkidu asked Gilgamesh what humans were, since the humans described by the gods differed from the humans he had seen.
• Gilgamesh told Enkidu to see for himself, then noticed an approaching presence that darkened the sky and made him fear what was coming.

Annanu, the Key of Heaven created alongside Enkidu, appeared as a monstrous natural disaster and charged toward Gilgamesh. Enkidu moved to contain the storm while Gilgamesh prepared to defend Uruk, and Annanu broke through the storm and flew straight at him.

• Enkidu recognized the approaching monster as his brother Annanu, the gods’ safeguard for the Chains of Heaven and their emergency Key of Heaven.
• Gilgamesh realized the storm threatened Uruk and demanded to know how he could help stop it.
• Enkidu told Gilgamesh to delay Annanu while he used his chains to restrain the storm, lightning, hail, and debris.
• Gilgamesh drew Ea as Enkidu spread his chains through the storm and briefly brought it to a standstill.
• Annanu broke through the halted storm and charged straight at Gilgamesh.

Gilgamesh tried to draw Annanu away from Uruk but was badly wounded by its relentless attacks. Enkidu restrained and calmed Annanu, leaving Gilgamesh alive as the battle paused.

• Gilgamesh fled toward the side of Uruk to draw Annanu away from the city, while Shamhat and the palace aide watched in terror.
• Annanu pursued Gilgamesh and pierced his abdomen with its beak, then attacked him with blade-like wings and a transformed antelope hoof.
• Annanu struck Gilgamesh from beneath the ground with a heavy golden rod, leaving him badly wounded and unable to activate Ea.
• Enkidu bound Annanu with golden chains and gently reassured it until its hostility faded.

A week after Annanu and Enkidu arrived in Uruk, the brothers discussed their transformation and the gods’ deception about Humbaba. When Annanu led Enkidu out of their room, the still-injured Gilgamesh ordered guards to watch them.

• Annanu and Enkidu sat together and reflected on how Enkidu’s touch had changed Annanu, giving him a human form.
• Annanu questioned Enkidu’s decision to follow the gods’ mission despite learning that Humbaba was not human.
• Annanu took Enkidu by the hand and led him out of their room for a walk.
• Palace guards reported their departure to Gilgamesh, who ordered someone to keep watch on them.
• Siduri told Gilgamesh that the brothers had stayed in their room and had neither eaten the food nor worn the clothes she provided.

Annanu and Enkidu observed Uruk’s people and agreed to stay until they understood humanity. Gilgamesh offered them rooms and warned them to avoid Ishtar’s temple.

• Annanu and Enkidu explored Uruk’s commercial district and residential streets, noticing how the people reacted to them.
• They visited the farmland and pastures, where Annanu questioned why humans had to labor for what they needed to survive.
• Gilgamesh found Annanu and Enkidu on the city wall and reaffirmed his promise that they could see Uruk’s people for themselves.
• Annanu and Enkidu agreed to remain in Uruk and offered to help Gilgamesh and his people if needed.
• Gilgamesh arranged for them to stay in his palace, explaining that they would have to work for their provisions.
• Gilgamesh warned Annanu and Enkidu not to visit Ishtar’s temple, and they decided to settle in first.

Annanu and Enkidu visited Shamhat to ask how they could earn rewards in Uruk. She recommended farming or herding and urged them to find work that suited them, leaving them to consider their next step.

• Annanu and Enkidu left the palace together to visit Shamhat at the sacred courtesans' residence.
• Siduri learned from Ruslan that the two had gone to see Shamhat and sent him to check their room, where their breakfast remained untouched.
• Shamhat was startled to see Enkidu and Annanu, but became less afraid as they spoke with her.
• Annanu and Enkidu asked Shamhat what work they should do to earn rewards.
• Shamhat declined to involve them in her work and suggested that they register for farming or livestock herding, while advising them not to rush their choice.
• Annanu and Enkidu thanked Shamhat and left the residence.

Siduri arranged work for Annanu and Enkidu, who wanted to farm and herd livestock, and learned that they had once planned to kill Gilgamesh or stop him from leading humanity. She trusted that they would refrain from harming the king or Uruk while they explored the city.

• Siduri met Annanu and Enkidu as they returned to the palace and introduced herself as the palace aide.
• Annanu asked to farm, while Enkidu asked to herd livestock, and Siduri promised to present their requests to Gilgamesh.
• Annanu questioned why Siduri called them lords, and Enkidu explained their original mission to return humanity to the gods by killing Gilgamesh or stopping his rule.
• Annanu revealed that he had attacked Gilgamesh to protect Enkidu, while Enkidu had chosen not to kill the king.
• Siduri urged Annanu and Enkidu to explore Uruk and discover their own answers, believing they would not harm the city before seeing it for themselves.

Gilgamesh approved Annanu and Enkidu’s request to work the land, assigning them fields and livestock. Siduri introduced them to human food, and they agreed to begin their work the next morning.

• Siduri told Gilgamesh that Annanu and Enkidu wanted to farm and herd livestock, and Gilgamesh assigned Annanu a plot south of Uruk and Enkidu a pasture with two cattle and fifteen sheep.
• Gilgamesh reflected on his interest in Siduri and Ruslan, then decided he might visit to see how the brothers worked.
• Siduri brought Annanu and Enkidu bread, beer, mutton, and fat, explaining that these were foods eaten by Uruk’s people.
• Annanu and Enkidu tasted the food, praised it, and discussed how it supplied humans with energy and nutrients.
• Siduri said she would take the brothers to their workplace the next morning, then left as they wiped food from each other’s mouths.

Gilgamesh assigned Annanu to reclaim farmland and Enkidu to herd livestock, but their use of the Key of Heaven and Chains of Heaven frightened the people and animals. He took back their assignments and ordered them to remain in the palace while they searched for suitable work.

• Siduri explained the farming work to Annanu and arranged herding work for Enkidu.
• Annanu used the Key of Heaven to till and reclaim his plot in a single day.
• Gilgamesh saw Annanu farming with the Key of Heaven and Enkidu tethering the livestock with the Chains of Heaven.
• Gilgamesh took back the land and animals and told Annanu and Enkidu to stay in the palace until they found suitable work.
• After Annanu and Enkidu called him mercurial, Gilgamesh reflected on Uruk's prosperity and dismissed the opinions of the gods.

Annanu entered Uruk’s barracks out of curiosity and learned that Gilgamesh was still waging war. Troubled by the news, he left to find Enkidu while Siduri hurried to warn the king about his reaction.

• Annanu sneaked into Uruk’s barracks after a guard turned him away and startled the soldiers training there.
• Adekate recognized Annanu as one of Gilgamesh’s powerful retainers and explained that the soldiers were recruits training for battle.
• Annanu asked whether Gilgamesh was still waging war, and Adekate confirmed that he was.
• Annanu flew to the palace, where Siduri stopped him while Gilgamesh met with officials.
• Annanu agreed to wait until Gilgamesh finished working and flew off to find Enkidu, while Siduri returned to warn the king.

Annanu and Enkidu made clay figurines for a child and a pottery shop owner, then discussed asking Gilgamesh why he was waging war. In the Cedar Forest, a small white flower had bloomed at the bottom of the pit Annanu had left behind.

• Annanu joined Enkidu at a pottery shop, and together they shaped a clay child for a young boy.
• Enkidu made a clay figurine of the pottery shop owner as thanks, and the owner considered whether it might sell well.
• Annanu told Enkidu he had found a camp training recruits on Uruk's southern side and wanted to ask Gilgamesh about the war.
• Annanu and Enkidu agreed to speak with Gilgamesh at night after walking around the city.
• A small white flower bloomed at the bottom of the devastated pit in the Cedar Forest.

Gilgamesh explained that he started a war because he wanted to, and because it would bring Uruk land and wealth. After Annanu and Enkidu advised him to stop his tyranny, he admitted to himself that it was revenge against the gods, not resistance.

• Annanu asked Gilgamesh why he had started a war, and Gilgamesh answered that he had done it because he wanted to and expected to gain territory and wealth.
• Annanu accepted Gilgamesh’s explanation as a valid reason but said he could not agree with it, while Gilgamesh challenged Annanu and Enkidu to try to stop him.
• Enkidu told Gilgamesh that his strength made him look down on others, and Annanu and Enkidu said that all beings, including the gods, were weak.
• Annanu and Enkidu warned Gilgamesh that his tyranny would lead to his destruction and advised him to find a better way to resist the gods.
• After Annanu, Enkidu, and Siduri left, Gilgamesh realized his tyranny had never been resistance but revenge against his parents that had become a habit.

Annanu and Enkidu considered whether war benefited Uruk and asked Siduri whether its people wanted the fighting to continue. Siduri opposed the war, and the brothers decided to keep exploring Uruk and learning about humanity.

• Annanu and Enkidu reasoned that Uruk would gain more by using its people to reclaim land than by sending them to war.
• Annanu joked about drawing a turtle or Goddess Ishtar on Gilgamesh’s face, alarming Siduri when she overheard them.
• Annanu and Enkidu asked Siduri whether the people of Uruk wanted the war to continue.
• Siduri said most people, including herself, wanted the war to end because Uruk had no need for it.
• Annanu said he and Enkidu would keep looking around Uruk to see more of humanity.

Nanshe arrived in Uruk after escaping Annanu and noticed the traces he had left behind, while Annanu and Enkidu explored the city and cleared debris from the Cedar Forest. Gilgamesh dismissed a report that demonic beasts there had gone into a frenzy, leaving Siduri uneasy about what the forest contained.

• Nanshe emerged from a spring near Uruk, recalled escaping Annanu, and recognized the destruction he had caused at the Cedar Forest.
• Enkidu and Annanu wandered through Uruk, reflected on humanity, and discussed Gilgamesh's changes and their own mission.
• Annanu and Enkidu flew to the Cedar Forest and began clearing the debris left by Annanu's storm.
• Siduri informed Gilgamesh that demonic beasts in the Cedar Forest had recently gone into a frenzy, but Gilgamesh dismissed the report as the hunters' concern.
• Siduri worried about the Cedar Forest and decided to ask Annanu and Enkidu about it when they returned.

Siduri told Annanu and Enkidu that Demonic Beasts had increased in the Cedar Forest, though only common Uridimmu had been spotted so far. Meanwhile, Gilgamesh reconsidered why he had once protected Uruk and was summoned by Siduri with news about the two clay people.

• Annanu and Enkidu explained to Siduri that they were twins and that Kurgarru and Galatur had once been their siblings.
• Siduri reported the rise in Demonic Beasts in the Cedar Forest, and Enkidu offered to investigate while Siduri chose to wait for more reliable information.
• Annanu watched Uruk’s soldiers train, while Enkidu pursued an interest in handicrafts.
• Gilgamesh reflected on why he had stood in front of Uruk during a natural disaster and questioned his relationship with the city-state.
• Siduri entered Gilgamesh’s room and said she had come to report something about Annanu and Enkidu.

Annanu and Enkidu visited Kurgarru and Galatur at Ishtar’s temple, hoping to meet others made from the same source. After learning that the pair were unintelligent tools, they left and went to meet Gilgamesh, who had summoned them to discuss the gods’ weapons.

• Gilgamesh saw Annanu and Enkidu heading to Ishtar’s temple and asked Siduri why they had gone there.
• Siduri suggested they wanted to visit Kurgarru and Galatur, whom Annanu and Enkidu considered siblings because they were all molded from clay.
• Kurgarru and Galatur thanked Annanu and Enkidu for visiting, then urged them to return to their duties as the Key of Heaven and the Chains of Heaven.
• Annanu and Enkidu left disappointed when they realized Kurgarru and Galatur had no intelligence and were made as disposable tools.
• Annanu and Enkidu found Siduri waiting outside and went to meet Gilgamesh, expecting his answer after several days of consideration.

Gilgamesh admitted that he could not answer Annanu and Enkidu’s question, but said his answer lay in watching over Uruk. He decided to end the meaningless war first and challenged Annanu to spar once his wounds healed.

• Gilgamesh warned Annanu and Enkidu to avoid Ishtar, describing her as a grudge-holding goddess who ignored him.
• Gilgamesh told Annanu and Enkidu he could not understand their question and led them to look out over Uruk.
• Gilgamesh said he had not decided what to do, but wanted to put an end to the meaningless war.
• Gilgamesh asked Annanu to spar with him after his wounds healed, insisting their earlier fight had not counted.

Kaderki found more demonic beasts appearing in the Cedar Forest and suspected something had driven them from their homes, so he hurried to report the changes to Uruk. Meanwhile, Annanu irritated the injured Gilgamesh and later told Enkidu he still planned to fight him, leaving Enkidu concerned for Uruk’s king.

• Kaderki observed a newly arrived Mushhushshu and realized dangerous demonic beasts were increasingly appearing in the Cedar Forest.
• Kaderki noticed the beasts were wary and seemed frightened, then rushed to his cabin to report the situation to Uruk.
• Annanu visited Gilgamesh, asked when his injury would heal, and was thrown out after provoking him.
• Annanu told Enkidu he would rather rust than imagine women visiting Gilgamesh at night, then panicked when he misunderstood Enkidu’s offer to question the king.
• Annanu assured Enkidu he would fight Gilgamesh without making him look too bad.