THE THIRD TABLET.
Owing to mutilation of the text this section begins obscurely, but it seems that the harlot had deserted Enkidu, for he laments his association with her. Gilgamish then opened to him his design to go on an expedition to the Cedar Forest and fight with a fearful ogre named Khumbaba, who had been appointed by the gods as warden of the forest. Enkidu sought to dissuade his friend from this rash project, saying that he himself, when he lived with the beasts, used to penetrate into the skirts of the forest, where he had learned to dread the roaring breath and flames emitted by Khumbaba. To this Gilgamish seems to have replied that he must go to the Cedar Forest to fetch the wood he needed, and when Enkidu still objected, he concluded with the reflection that death was inevitable to mortals, and that he would therefore meet it in a glorious enterprise which should win fame for him among his children for ever. The craftsmen were then ordered to cast weapons for the pair, and this they did, making gigantic axes and gold-ornamented swords, so that each of the warriors was equipped with an armament weighing in all ten talents. Attracted by these preparations, the people of Erech gathered at the gate, and Gilgamish announced his project to the elders of the city, who in turn sought to dissuade him, but in vain. Gilgamish commended his life to the Sun-god, and the two put on their armour. The last words of the elders were a warning to the king against rash presumption in his own strength. Setting out on their journey, the two warriors first visited the temple of Nin-sun, the divine mother of Gilgamish, who, at the earnest prayer of her son, besought the Sun-god to prosper him on his journey and in the fight against the ogre, and to bring him safely back to Erech. The latter part of this Tablet is missing.