In the Epic of Gilgamesh, what does Enkidu dream will happen to him after the heroes defeat Humbaba?

In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Enkidu dreams that the gods will condemn him to death after the heroes defeat Humbaba.

The dream appears after Gilgamesh and Enkidu return from the Cedar Forest. Enkidu sees a divine assembly deciding his fate, and the dream signals that the heroes’ victory has brought dangerous consequences. Although Gilgamesh and Enkidu killed Humbaba and later the Bull of Heaven, the gods treat these acts as offenses requiring punishment.

Enkidu’s dream is not simply a prediction detached from the plot. It marks the transition from heroic adventure to mourning and mortality, the epic’s central concern. Enkidu eventually dies, and his death drives Gilgamesh to seek a way to escape human mortality. The dream is sometimes confused with Enkidu’s later underworld dream, but the two episodes occur at different points in the story.