When Heroes Love: The Ambiguity of Eros in the Stories of Gilgamesh and David (review)

This is the most thorough study published so far on the nature of the relationship of two heroic couples, Gilgamesh and Enkidu in the Epic of Gilgamesh and David and Jonathan in the biblical books of Samuel. Ackerman's engaging study gives these narratives a new interpretive framework and is, therefore, essential—and enjoyable—reading for anyone interested in the history of sexuality in general and in the dynamics of same-sex relationships in particular.

As the subtitle indicates, Ackerman's study focuses on the erotic and sexual language and imagery that have puzzled the readers of these stories ever since "homosexuality" has become an issue in biblical and ancient Near Eastern scholarship. It has been widely noticed that in both cases the main narrative character, Gilgamesh or David, has a particularly close relationship with his heroic companion, Enkidu or Jonathan. For a reason not disclosed to the reader, Ackerman does not discuss the relationship of Achilles and Patroclus, the Greek equivalent to these heroic couples in Homer's Iliad.

For a reader born and raised with the modern categories of homo- and heterosexuality, the stories generate questions regarding the nature of the relationship of the two male couples whose mutual love is so passionate that it is indeed "greater than the love of women" (2 Samuel 1:26). Some scholars have interpreted their relationship as a strictly nonerotic covenantal friendship, others as an eroticized and even homosexual love affair, and yet others—including myself—as an intense male bonding involving homoerotic traits. Ackerman admits that there are compelling arguments to be made in favor of all these positions (or at least the two last mentioned), but she argues that there is more to the stories than these interpretations have been able to reveal. This she seeks to find in analyzing the narrative agenda of each story within the context of ancient Near Eastern conceptions of sex and gender.

Ackerman argues that the basic question to be asked when reading the stories of Gilgamesh and David is not whether they were or were not gay. Instead, the reader will find in the stories an "ambiguity of eros" consciously playing with the implied understanding of gender roles that ancient audiences defined as either active male or passive female. In both stories the erotic language and imagery are blatant enough to catch the reader's eye and correspond to the strategy of the narrators, who present the relationships of the heroic couples as not following the usual expectations of ancient societies: "Although a seeming point of frustration for interpreters, the ambiguity of the texts' erotic and sexual language and images needs to be understood as an integral and even critical feature of the tales their ancient narrators are trying to tell and the conclusions these narrators hope to promote" (xiii–xiv, emphasis in original).

Besides the prologue, the book consists of an introductory chapter; two main sections, one of four chapters that analyze the story of Gilgamesh and one of three chapters that analyze that of David; followed by an epilogue. In the introductory chapter Ackerman manifests her commitment to the social constructionist analysis, adhering especially to David Halperin's analysis of the construction of "homosexuality." She also reveals a lot of often unconsciously essentialist understanding of sexuality and anachronistic use of biblical texts in previous scholarship. She asserts that "all erotic and sexual interactions in the biblical and ancient Near Eastern world need to be analyzed on that world's terms" (30) without falling into the trap of easy correlations with the modern world, even if they would serve the gay rights agenda to which she herself is committed. I find this approach both honest and critical.

The first main section of the book begins with an introduction to the Epic of Gilgamesh from the point of view of both its narrative plot and its literary history...