After they had killed the Bull of Heaven,
they ripped out its heart and presented it to Shamash.
They withdrew, bowing down humbly to Shamash.
Then the brothers sat down together.
Ishtar went up onto the top of the Wall of Uruk-Haven,
cast herself into the pose of mourning, and hurled her woeful curse:
"Woe unto Gilgamesh who slandered me and killed the Bull of Heaven!"
When Enkidu heard this pronouncement of Ishtar,
he wrenched off the Bull's hindquarter and flung it in her face:
"If I could only get at you I would do the same to you!
I would drape his innards over your arms!" (6.147-157)
This is probably the poem's clearest example of how, in the polytheistic culture of ancient Mesopotamia, people weren't just abstractly "religious." Instead, they had personal relationships with a variety of gods. Some gods would be their friends, but some could even be their enemies. Here, Enkidu and Gilgamesh continue to act as devoted worshippers of Shamash, the god who helped them out throughout their quest against Humbaba. On the other hand, Enkidu really goes nuts on Ishtar—surpassing even Gilgamesh's behavior, earlier on, when he insulted and rejected her.