The Revenge of Ishtar
by Ludmila Zeman
In this second volume in the Gilgamesh trilogy, Enkidu joins Gilgamesh in the quest to slay Humbaba, the monster who has attacked the city and caused great destruction, including the death of the beautiful singer, Shamat. Gilgamesh and Enkidu successfully slay the monster and in so doing, Gilgamesh attracts the attention of the goddess Ishtar. In rejecting her advances, he incurs her revenge and an attack by the Bull of Heaven. Enkidu manages to kill the bull, but is slain by Ishtar, striking at the bond between the two friends. Shattered, Gilgamesh vows he will destroy the last monster: death.
close this panelLudmila Zeman was born in the former Czechoslovakia and immigrated to Canada in 1984. She has taught art in Vancouver, created animated sequences for Sesame Street and, with her husband, made the film Lord of the Sky, an award-winning animated short. Her epic Gilgamesh trilogy won numerous awards. Her book, The First Red Maple Leaf, was a finalist for the Governor General’s Award for Illustration.
close this panelThe Gilgamesh Trilogy:
“A powerful version of the Gilgamesh epic…a stirring and sad tale.”
–The New Yorker
