Written during the lockdown and social distancing measures of the Covid-19 pandemic, this essay reflects on the psychological impact of touch in the Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh. Discussing every appearance of the word lapātu, “to touch,” in Gilgamesh, I argue that the epic attributes a strong but undetermined power to the fleeting moment of physical contact: touches are repeatedly shown to transform the characters of the epic, but in unpredictable and contradictory ways.
“The touch in Gilgamesh,” in Kultur – Kontakt – Kultur, edited by Doris Prechel, Alexander Pruß, Thomas Richter, and Dirk Wicke, Comptes Rendu de la Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale 66, dubsar 35 (Münster: Zaphon), pp. 279–95.