archaicwonder:Gilgamesh Kills The Bull of HeavenThis is a Neo-Sumerian terracotta votive relief (c.
archaicwonder:Gilgamesh Kills The Bull of HeavenThis is a Neo-Sumerian terracotta votive relief (c. 2250-1900 BC) showing Gilgamesh, the legendary King of the city of Uruk (map) fighting against Gugalanna, the Bull of Heaven. In Sumerian mythology, the gods sent the Bull of Heaven to kill Gilgamesh as a reprisal for rejecting Inanna’s (Ishtar’s) affections. However, Gilgamesh and his friend Enkidu manage to kill the Bull instead. Inanna demands that the pair pay for the Bull’s destruction. Utu (Shamash) argues to the other gods to spare both of them, but he could save only Gilgamesh and Enkidu succumbs to a wasting illness. The tragic loss of Enkidu profoundly inspires Gilgamesh on a quest to escape death by obtaining godly immortality. The story is told in both the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Sumerian poem Gilgamesh and the Bull of Heaven.Such votives were placed in temples as offerings or carried in saddlebags to gain the protection and favor of the gods. -- source link