Shamash is smiling

In the Epic of Gilgamesh, which goes back to ancient times where legend and history cannot usefully be separated, there an evocative moment where the hero, Gilgamesh, rails in frustration before his god Shamash about his unfulfilled need to conquer the land of Humbaba. Here's what he says: "If this enterprise is not to be accomplished, why did you move me, Shamash, with the restless desire to perform it?"

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