The Epic of Gilgamesh Characters

Gilgamesh

The hero of our tale: a cocky, selfish young king who befriends a half man/half beast, goes on...

Enkidu

Half-man/half-beast bestie of Gilgamesh. He basically symbolizes the natural, non-civilized...

Utanapishtim

A human given immortality who lives on the other side of earth—literally. Gilgamesh visits...

Shamhat

Even though she only appears in Tablets 1 and 2 (plus getting cursed and blessed in Tablet 7),...

Ishtar

Ishtar, the goddess of love and war, has a small, devastating role in the epic. She basically...

Siduri

She runs the bar in hell, so to speak. And, depending on what version you read, she may or may...

Humbaba

Humbaba is the monster who guards the Cedar Forest. Being a monster and all, he isn't the most...

Ninsun

The mother of Gilgamesh. And, for heaven's sake, don't take parenting advice from this...

Shamash

The Sun-god and Gilgamesh's main go-to-god.It must be nice to have a personal god. Shamash, the...

Anu

Anu is the sky-god in Mesopotamian mythology and the doting daddy of Ishtar.Being the sky-god and...

Enlil

Enlil is the king of the gods and the one who grants immortality to the Utanapishtims.As you...

Utanapishtim's Wife

Nice, also immortal, wife of the grumpy immortal dude. She bakes bread and urges Utanapishtim to...

Ea

Trickster god who keeps Utanapishtim from dying in the flood by giving him the inside scoop on...

Aruru

Goddess who makes Enkidu and places him in the wilderness.Although she has a very important role...

Trapper

The trapper has a very small part in the story. Basically, his purpose is to bring Shamhat into...

The Trapper's Father

We meet the trapper's father after the trapper gets freaked out by seeing Enkidu at the watering...

Antum

The goddess Antum is the wife of Anu, the sky-god. We see her briefly in Tablet 6, when Ishtar...