Adad- The god of thunder, rain, and floods.
- Anu
- The sky god, chief god of Uruk.
- Bull of Heaven
- A beast sent, at Ishtar’s command, by Anu to destroy Uruk.
- Ea
- One of the gods who created humanity. Ea warns
Utnapishtim that the flood is coming.
- Enkidu
- A wild man created by Anu.
- Enlil
- The most powerful god, ruling gods and humans from
Earth; he caused the flood that destroyed almost
all humankind.
- Gilgamesh
- King of Uruk and hero of the epic.
- The Great Cedar Forest
- A far-away paradise of scented
trees that is guarded for the gods, but which Gilgamesh wants in order to use its timbers for his city gates.
- Humbaba
- The demon guardian of the Great Cedar Forest.
- Ishtar
- A goddess, daughter of Anu.
- Mount Mashu
- The mountain that guards the rising and setting of the sun.
- Mount Nimush
- The mountain where Utnapishtim’s boat lands after the flood.
- Ninsun
- A goddess, mother of Gilgamesh.
- Shamesh
- The sun god.
- Shamhat
- A temple harlot in Uruk, sent by the gods to tame
Enkidu.
- Shuruppak
- Utnapishtim's once great city, later destroyed by the flood.
- Siduri
- The tavern-keeper in the lands beyond Mount Mashu.
- Uruk-the-Sheepfold
- The home of Gilgamesh, and of
all that is good and unique about Sumerian culture. Its
protective wall is presented as a wonder of the world,
and Gilgamesh’s story is literally embedded in its
foundation.
- Ur-Shanabi
- The boatman who takes Gilgamesh over the waters to
Utnapishtim, then home to Uruk.
- Utnapishtim
- Once a king of a teeming city, only he and his wife survived the
great flood sent by the gods to destroy humanity.
They now live eternally on an island at the source of
the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.
