Soundscapes, Portentous Calls, and Bird Symbolism in the Gilgameš Epic

Literary symbols are complex by their very nature. They are inherently polyvalent. At their best, symbols are both denotative and suggestive. They anchor the reader in the storyline and simultaneously direct her to significance and meaning beyond the literal to something less obvious. This article considers how birdcalls and bird imagery help to develop the setting and storyline in the Gilgameš Epic and also function as symbols that accentuate important themes. An appreciation of birds’ denotative and suggestive meanings is facilitated by the presentation and perceptions of these animals in first-millennium lexical lists and commentaries (ur5-ra = ḫubullu, mur-gud), the omen compendium Šumma ālu, and especially the scholarly tablets known as “the birdcall texts.” After drawing upon the cultural associations of birds and their calls to explain the imagery in the Gilgameš Epic, consideration will be given to possible historical circumstances whereby lexical traditions, omen literature, and birdcall texts might have influenced the tradents who standardized this literary composition. Tablet V of the Standard Babylonian Gilgameš Epic1 opens with a scenic description of the Cedar Forest and its soundscape. This mythical woodland was “ . . . the gods’ dwelling place, the goddesses’ exalted abode” (V:7). As such, it was characterized by “luxuriance” and “plenty” (e.g., ḫiṣbu [V:8], nuḫšu [V:23]) with birds and other creatures contributing to the Forest’s lively noises.2