At last, after prayers, invocations, sacrifices, speeches, and practical preparations, and after listening to more warnings from the elders and declaring their intention to prevail, the two heavily armed heroes step outside the seven-bolt gate of Uruk and set off on their adventure. They do not stop to eat until they have walked twenty leagues. In three days, they cover 150 leagues (450 miles); it would take an ordinary man three weeks to walk so far. They dig a well and make an offering to the god Shamash, then continue on their journey. As they walk, they bolster each other’s spirits. Enkidu urges Gilgamesh on whenever his courage flags, assuring him that they can defeat Humbaba. When Enkidu falters, Gilgamesh reassures him that he is a good warrior, that when the time for battle comes he will not lose heart, and that they will stand and fight together. When they finally reach the forest, they pause for a moment and think about what they are going to do.
Tablet III is even more fragmentary than Tablet II in the Sin-Leqi-Unninni version and Tablet IV is almost nonexistent—only about thirty lines have survived. Again, the various English translations stitch together older variants of the tale. Nonetheless, some important themes emerge.
The extent of Shamash’s importance becomes clear in this tablet. Shamash is the sun god, associated with light and wisdom. Humbaba, whom Shamash detests, is associated with darkness and evil. Gilgamesh and Enkidu do not seek only to glorify their own names. In seeking