Home › Glossary › Letter E

Enkidu

Historical Figure
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Wild man and companion of Gilgamesh in the ancient Mesopotamian epic

Detailed Definition
Created by gods to humble Gilgamesh, Enkidu’s friendship and death teach the king about mortality and humanity. Though mythical, he functions as a historical archetype. Poets reference him to explore primal innocence, brotherhood, and the civilizing power of relationship.
Example
Example in poetry:
Enkidu appears in modern poetry inspired by the “Epic of Gilgamesh” as the wild man civilized by friendship; Poets use Enkidu to explore the loss of innocence and nature; In existential verse, Enkidu symbolizes mortality and human limits; Modern ecopoets reference Enkidu to critique urban alienation; His death becomes a catalyst for Gilgamesh’s quest, inspiring poems on grief and meaning; Enkidu’s creation from clay echoes creation myths in lyrical form.
Additional Notes
Enkidu is the wild man created by gods as a counterpart to Gilgamesh in the “Epic of Gilgamesh”; he represents nature, innocence, and friendship; in poetry, Enkidu symbolizes the civilizing process, mortality, or the loss of primal connection—his death catalyzes Gilgamesh’s quest for immortality; essential for understanding allusions to Mesopotamian myth in modern verse (e.g., by Rilke or Ginsberg).
Also Known As
Enkidu (mythological figure; no historical aliases)
Skip to main content