Gay Gilgamesh
In an Advocate interview, Stephen Mitchell argues that the Epic of Gilgamesh (full text) presents the world's first same-sex union. Mitchell gives good reasons for believing that the tale of love and friendship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu is a homoerotic, sexual one.
Here's a clip:
Gilgamesh is widely regarded as the oldest piece of literature on earth, written before the Bible, before the Iliad—even before Queer as Folk. In the introduction to his new translation, Mitchell presents the argument that the ancient epic contains not only one of the first recorded friendships in literature but also the first gay marriage.
Those who dismiss Mitchell’s claim as sensational should consider his prolific, acclaimed career: His work has been hailed by critics and scholars, with Harold Bloom, Robert Coles, and Elaine Pagels all praising his new English version of Gilgamesh. Most recently, Malcom Jones of Newsweek wrote, “This book proves that in the right hands, no great story ever grows stale.”
Mitchell claims that the sexual nature of the relationship between Enkidu and Gilgamesh is made explicit in "Tablet XII," a separate poem not always included with traditional translations. However, I don't know what he's talking about. At least in this translation of this tablet, there are no gay sex scenes (just references to Enkidu kissing a girl, striking a woman, and fighting with his son):
- He kissed a happy girl.
- He struck a good woman.
- He enjoyed his fatherhood.
- He fought with his son.
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