Anu heard them, he nodded his head,
then to the goddess, mother of creation,
he called out: “Aruru, you are the one
who created humans. Now go and create
a double for Gilgamesh, his second self,
a man who equals his strength and courage,
a man who equals his stormy heart.
Create a new hero, let them balance each other
perfectly, so that Uruk has peace.”

When Aruru heard this, she closed her eyes,
and what Anu had commanded she formed in her mind.
She moistened her hands, she pinched off some clay,
she threw it into the wilderness,
kneaded it, shaped it to her idea,
and fashioned a man, a warrior, a hero:
Enkidu the brave, as powerful and fierce
as the war god Ninurta. Hair covered his body,
hair grew thick on his head and hung
down to his waist, like a woman’s hair.
He roamed all over the wilderness,
naked, far from the cities of men,
ate grass with gazelles, and when he was thirsty
he drank clear water from the waterholes,
kneeling beside the antelope and deer.

One day, a human — a trapper — saw him
drinking with the animals at a waterhole.
The trapper’s heart pounded, his face went white,
his legs shook, he was numb with terror.
The same thing happened a second, a third day.
Fear gripped his belly, he looked drained and haggard
like someone who has been on a long, hard journey.

He went to his father. “Father, I have seen
a savage man at the waterhole.
He must be the strongest man in the world,
with muscles like rock. I have seen him outrun
the swiftest animals. He lives among them,
eats grass with gazelles, and when he is thirsty
he drinks clear water from the waterholes.
I haven’t approached him — I am too afraid.
He fills in the pits I have dug, he tears out
the traps I have set, he frees the animals,
and I can catch nothing. My livelihood is gone.”

“Son, in Uruk there lives a man
named Gilgamesh. He is king of that city
and the strongest man in the world, they say,
with muscles like rock. Go now to Uruk,
go to Gilgamesh, tell him what happened,
then follow his advice. He will know what to do.”