he annual storms raging in Babylonia.
Gilgamesh triumphs as does Marduk, but when once the summer solstice,
which represents the sun's triumph, is past, the decline of the sun's
strength begins to set in. This is indicated by the subsequent course of
the narrative.

The scene of rejoicing at Gilgamesh's triumph is changed to one of
sadness. Eabani is snatched away from Gilgamesh. The few fragments of
the seventh and eighth tablets do not suffice for determining exactly in
what way this happened, but Ishtar is evidently the cause of the
misfortune. A fatal illness, it would seem, seizes hold of
Eabani,--whether as the result of a further contest or directly sent, it
is impossible to say. For twelve days he lingers and then is taken away.
As usual, the catastrophe is foreseen in dreams. For a third time[910]
he sees a vision of fire and lightning, which forebodes the end.

The fragmentary condition of the epic at this point is particularly
unfortunate. There is a reference to Nippur,[911] of which it would be
important to know the purpose.

The relationship between Gilgamesh and Eabani would be much clearer if
the seventh and eighth tablets were preserved in good condition. The
disappearance of Eabani before the end of the epic confirms, however,
the view here maintained, that the career of Eabani was originally quite
independent of Gilgamesh's adventures. His death is as superfluous as is
his association with Eabani. In all critical moments Gilgamesh appears
to stand alone. He conquers Uruk, and it is he who celebrates the
victory of the divine bull. The subsequent course of the narrative after
Eabani's death, except for the frequent mention of Gilgamesh's lament
for his companion, proceeds undisturbed. Moreover, Eabani's punishment
appears to be identical with that meted out to Gilgamesh. The latter is
also stricken with disease, but in his case, the disease has a meaning
that fits in with the mythological phases of the epic. The seventh
month--the one following the summer solstice--marks the beginning of a
turning-point in the year. As the year advances, vegetation diminishes,
and the conclusion was naturally drawn that the sun upon whom vegetation
depended had lost some of his force. This loss of strength is pictured
as a disease with which the sun is afflicted. In this way, the seventh
tablet--and possibly also the eighth--continues the nature myth embodied
in the sixth.

Haupt has ingeniously conjectured that th