Matthew Jankowski > Recent Status Updates

Humbabu: Gilgamesh and enkidu prepare to fight the watchman of the cedar forest, humbabu. They journey far, aided by shamash who entrapped humbabu. Humbabu begs for his life, enkidu insists humbabu be killed. Enlai is furious.

Enkidu: gilgamesh kept killing the men and taling the brides. penguin version finds the priestess of the temple of love a harlot. Gilgamesh demands the right of first night. Enkidu steps in to stop Gilgamesh. Enkidu loses the fight. He and Gilgamesh become fast friends.

Untnapishtim tells Gilgamesh a story similar to Noah's ark. At the end , enlil grants untnapishtim immortality, so long as he lives in the underworld. Utnapisthim tells Gilgamesh of a plant that grants youth. The boatman and Gilgamesh retrieve the plant and return to erech, along the way they nap by a pool and the snake steals the plant.

Suri shows Gilgamesh the way to the bitter river. Ursinabi, the boatman, gets angry at Gilgamesh because Gilgamesh broke his oarlocks. Gilgamesh makes 160 poles and urshinabi takes him across to the underworld.

Shamash sends Gilgamesh to siduri who tells him the facts of life. Siduri lives on the east sea. The facts, live love and be marry look at the face of that child holding your hand and let your wife love your embrace.

Gilgamesh journeys to the end of the earth to find utnapisthim who he hopes will tell him the secret of eternal life. At the end of the earth the scorpion man opens the gate to the underworld. Gilgamesh journeyed through cold and fire finally arriving in the eastern garden where he sees the giant face of smashesh.

Ishtar vows revenge, killing enkidu.

The Cedar Forest: Gilgamesh and enkidu arm themselves to fight humbabu. They enter the cedar forest. Gilgamesh dreams they will beat humbabu and they do. Ishtar, goddess of love, watches the fight. She falls in love with Gilgamesh who spurns her. Enraged, she forces anu to build the bull of heaven to level erech and destroy Gilgamesh. Of course Gilgamesh destroys the bull of heaven.

Ninsun prophesies enkidu will be a great friend to Gilgamesh. There is a passage about how the nobles prerogative to open the hymen. Enkidu enters erech. He and Gilgamesh fight and enkidu prevails, sparing Gilgamesh. They become great friends. Discontent Gilgamesh dreams of great acts, he and enkidu go to assault the flame monster humbabu.

Gilgamesh builds the walls of the city too high, there is no love in erech. The elders consult the gods. Ishtar, goddes of love, is most distressed. The gods ask and to make a wild man who is just as strong as Gilgamesh, enkidu. Enkidu has horns and befriends all beasts. Enkidu's reputation spreads, causing Gilgamesh to send beautiful Hilal from the temple of anu to investigate. She civilized enkidu.

Ajax: Ajax intends to kill Atreus's sons, but Athena tricks him and he kills sheep and livestock instead. He commits suicide, leaving tecmanna and teucer to pick up the pieces. Menelaus wants ajax's body left for the birds. Bit insolent teucer refuses. Agamemnon also wants unburied Ajax, brilliant Odysseus in a conversation for the ages, convinces Agamemnon to allow ajax's burial.

Eumenides: Orestes flees to the temple of Apollo. The furies close behind. Apollo welcomes Orestes, telling him to go be purified at the temple of Athena in Athens. The furies fall asleep, Clytemnestra ghost wakes them. Apollo fights off the furies, they resume to chase Orestes. The very role of the furies is debated.

Orestes and Pylades deceive Clytemnestra and kill Aegisthus and Clytemnestra. After the killing the furies assail Orestes. The chorus asks Orestes to stay, he has done Argo and his father well. Furthermore, Apollo sanctioned this killing. Nonetheless Orestes leaves, fleeing the furies.

The Libation Bearers: Orestes and pylades stand over Agamemnons grave. Orestes leaves two hair locks. Electra approaches with libations for her father. It becomes clear she wants justice, wants revenge on Clytemnestra and Aegisthus. Electra discovers Orestes. They plot revenge. The furies around their fathers corpse demand no less. Orestes and pylades approach the palace gates.

Clytemnestra admits the murder. She claims justice for her dead girl. She dealt justice to Agamemnon and his slave Cassandra. The old men of the chorus are inflamed. More so when Aegisthus walks out and also claims justice. How his father was turned out of Argos by Agamemnon's father when Aegisthus was but a babe. Concludes when Clytemnestra narrowly heads off violence between the Greeks and Aegisthus.

Cassandra, ravaged by Apollo, prophesies her own death and Agamemnons at Clytemnestra's hands. Her speech is quite moving. She goes in to the palace where soon Agamemnons cries are heard. The chorus rushes in to see Agamemnon and Cassandra dead on the floor. Clytemnestra holds a bloody sword. She begins to speak.

Agamemnon returns. He speaks to the chorus, knowing their are wrongs that mist be set right. Clytemnestra welcomes him home, asks Agamemnon to walk on the red carpet. Agamemnon refuses. Only the gods deserve such honors. Clytemnestra insists and Agamemnon, with regret,takes off his 'slaves' and walks into the palace on red with Clytemnestra.

A herald arrives on the beach, confirms troys fall. The elders welcome the herald, mourning the lost. All the lost. The herald reports disaster at sea, the armada crushed. Of Menelaus there was no report. Agamemnon survived. The chorus relates how old violence begets new violence. Justice loves a hovel. Agamemnon arrives.

Agamemnon: the watchman sees the fire on the horizon. The chorus relates a story of how the warlord sacrifices his virgin daughter, all to appease Artemis. Clytemnestra tells the leader that Troy is argive. She relates how signal fire to signal fire sends the news. Sounds like the return of the king to me :)

Egyptian herald arrives. Threatens to take the daughters by the tresses. Argos king stops them. Herald threatens then goes back to the troops. Argos king invites the daughters to guest housing. Daughters chatter amongst themselves. Of there is marriage will it work out for good or evil?

The citizens of Argo decide to protect the maidens. Protecting both traveller and kin.

Pelasgus, king of Argos, tests them. They look like Libyans to him. The sisters tell the tale of io: Hermes, Hera, Zeus, argus, gadfly. Make the case that the sisters are argives. The suppliants ask for protection from the Egyptians, however the king is caught. Fail to protect the sisters and risk Zeus wrath. Protect the sisters and risk war with Egypt, causing Argos to revolt.

Starts with a lengthy prologue by the chorus, Danaus sisters. They flee Egyptians who want to marry the , in the company of their uncle Danae. They are outside the city of Argos, prayi g to the gods, mainly Zeus. For good reason, Zeus sexed up io who moved from Argos to Egypt. I think the Danae sisters are descendants of io, therefore this is something of a homecoming.

Atossa, the queen has a dream. A messenger arrives and tells of how the Persians died on the Hellespont. Crafty Greeks had them up all night, then attacked Persian lines. The chorus raises Darius, who proclaims Ceres, his son, the biggest failure of the line. Ceres arrives with rent robe, whipping up sympathy for himself from the chorus. Many Persians went forth, few return.

Peace: Agamemnon tells Achilles of his own awesome funeral. Hermes leads the suitors to the underworld. Amphimedon relates how all the suitors died. Awesome. Odysseus meets his father, laertes. The suitors families, warned by the bard and the sewer, seek Odysseus, seek his death. A battle starts and is quickly ended by Athena. The gods willed peace. Awesome.

The Great Rooted Bed: unbelieving Penelope learns the stranger is Odysseus. Joyously reunited, Odysseus asks all to dance and sing, so Ithaca believes all is well. Penelope regrets not recognizing Odysseus. Athena delays the suns rising, having orchestrated so much already. Odysseus tells the story of the great bed. He tells her of all his trials and travels. The four men leave town under Pallas Athena's watchful eye

Slaughter in the Hall: name says it all. Treacherous Melithius the goatherd gets strung up only to be tortured later. All the suitors save the bard and one other die. Antonius is first to go. Eurymachus offers pentane, but is turned down. Odysseus roams the halls killing all. The treacherous maids are brought in to do the cleaning. Then they are strung up. Odysseus then purifies the house with fire.

Odysseus strings his bow: Weeping Penelope fetches Odysseus's bow. One he was given as a gift. The suitor attempt to string the bow to no avail. The cowherd philoetius and Swineherd eumaeus are recruited by Odysseus. His only two honest men. Odysseus asks to try. The bow. The suitors object. Telemachus takes command, impressing Penelope. Eumaeus brings the bow to Odysseus, with hesitation. The S and c lock the doors.

Portents: Odysseus sleeps by the door, watching the serving maids going to the suitors. Clenching his teeth. He wakes to a thunderclap from Zeus, a benign portent. The herdsman arrive, Eumaeus and another ally as well as the unfriendly one, they eat. Ctesippius from same throws a ox hoof at Odysseus. Odysseus ducks. The suitors laugh almost to years. The seer predicts their doom.

Penelope and her Guest: telemachus and odysseus take the extra weapons to the storeroom. Guided bu athena. Melantho, eurymachus's lover, seals her fate. Odysseus visits with Penelope. Tests her. Eurycleia, recognizes the scar onodysseus's thigh. She swears silence. Night falls.