The center of the Gilgamesh tale was Erech,
and in the process of combining the stories of Enkidu and Gilgamesh,
Enkidu is brought to Erech and the two perform exploits in common. In
such a combination, the aim would be to utilize all the incidents of
_both_ tales. The woman who accompanies Enkidu, therefore, becomes
the medium of bringing the two heroes together. The story of the
evolution of primitive man to civilized life is transformed into the
tale of Enkidu's removal to Erech, and elaborated with all kinds of
details, among which we have, as perhaps embodying a genuine historical
tradition, the encounter of the two heroes.
Before passing on, we have merely to note the very large part taken
in both the old Babylonian and the Assyrian version by the struggle
against Huwawa. The entire Yale tablet--forming, as we have seen,
the third of the series--is taken up with the preparation for the
struggle, and with the repeated warnings given to Gilgamesh against
the dangerous undertaking. The fourth tablet must have recounted the
struggle itself, and it is not improbable that this episode extended
into the fifth tablet, since in the Assyrian version this is the
case.
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