“Only once was Ishtar turned down, by Gilgamesh. He mentioned her many lovers, who had all come to sorry ends. And Gilgamesh was also the only one who began his exploits by cutting down a tree, a tree in the forest of the Living One, the terrific Humbaba with his seven magical powers. Gilgamesh had no plans to become the consort of a goddess, his ambition was to defeat death. He became aware of this one day when he leaned over the walls of Uruk and saw a corpse floating in the water, slowly drifting away. And he thought: ‘That will be me soon enough.’”

“In those days, those long-ago days, those days when the heavens had only recently split from the earth, when Ishtar was still called Inanna, and Ea was still called Enki, at that time there was a solitary tree, a solitary willow, on the banks of the sacred Euphrates. It drank the water of the sacred Euphrates. It so happened that a powerful south wind uprooted the tree and broke its branches. Then Inanna gathered it up in her hands and planted it again in Uruk, in her pure garden. Inanna fed it with water that she had trodden in with her own feet.

“The willow grew strong again. Ten years passed. The Knowing Serpent consumed the willow at the base, the Thunderbird hid in its branches, a Demon Girl slid into its trunk. Little by little, the willow was eaten up by its three parasites. Inanna wept over its fate. Her brother Utu, who was also the Sun, offered no help.

“Then Gilgamesh turned up. He struck down the Knowing Serpent, forced the Thunderbird and the Demon Girl to flee. If something is eaten up, it is because an evil power is at work. Now the willow grew whole again. After which Gilgamesh and the young men of Uruk cut it down. He couldn’t stop cutting down trees, whether cedars or willows. And he couldn’t avoid succumbing to death. With the blocks and planks Gilgamesh offered her, Inanna the goddess built her throne and her bed.

“Gilgamesh used what was left of the solitary willow to make a ball and stick. He went down to Uruk’s main square and invited the local boys to join him in playing with the ball and stick. The girls watched and yelled. In the melee, the ball and stick fell into a crack in the ground. And ended up in the Underworld. Gilgamesh realized he would never be able to get them back. On the threshold of the Underworld, he sat down and wept. Saying: ‘Oh, my ball! Oh, my stick, I didn’t enjoy them to the full, didn’t play with them enough!’ Enkidu consoled him. He promised he would go down to the Underworld that very day and bring back the ball and the stick. Gilgamesh warned Enkidu to take care that the shades didn’t recognize him. He mustn’t wear sweet-smelling clothes, mustn’t use perfume, mustn’t wear sandals. Above all, he mustn’t get close to shades he had loved or hated. Seven days went by and Enkidu hadn’t come back. Then Gilgamesh wept for his faithful friend. He said: ‘He didn’t die in battle, on the field of men; the Underworld has snatched him away.’