Hiram Abiff, Noah, and Gilgamesh

Hiram Abiff, Noah, and Gilgamesh.
Mythology Repurposed
As a young college student, I was fortunate enough to spend a semester studying in Puebla, Mexico at the University Of The Americas. I lived nearby in a small village called San Andres, which sat at the base of a mountain that had been excavated to reveal a buried pyramid, the great Cholula Pyramid. This pyramid is, in fact, the largest pyramid...ever constructed anywhere in the world. Sitting atop of the yet unexcavated part of this temple sits a Catholic church, the Iglesia de Nuestra Seora de los Remedios, built by Spaniards in 1594. When I asked a professor at the University why the church was built upon a pyramid, I was told that the church simply built where the people were already coming to worship that it was an easy way to convert the indigenous population to a new and unfamiliar religion. I later learned that this is called repurposing a religious site. Since then, I have learned that the idea of repurposing is not only done with religious sites, but also with religious myths. An example of this would be the many myths, which have been passed along from the Babylonians to the Egyptians to the Jews, and finally to the Christians. Interestingly enough, a more specific example of repurposing can be found in the stories that form the basis of one of our own Freemasonry rituals. Many brothers may be surprised to learn that the Hiram Abiff legend was not always a part of Masonic lore. Prior to 1730, our masonic brothers were taught that the secret word that they sought was buried with the Old Testament biblical character, Noah. According to the original story, Noahs sons were in search of the word that they believed God had given to Noah that would enable him to start a new civilization after the flood. After a failed attempt by his sons to raise him from his grave, the sons chose a substitute word. The original word was never revealed, and remains lost to this day. While there are differences between the Hiram Abiff story and the story of Noah and his sons, the general outline remains the same a great builder is in possession of a word (or words), which will allow the building to continue. However, the word(s) are lost, and mankind continues to this day to search. Let us now jump ahead to 1844 when a British researcher, named Austen Henry Layard was traveling in Northern Iraq around the town of Mosul. Excavating the ruined palaces of Nineveh, the ancient capital of Assyria, he discovered of a hoard of stone tablets inscribed with cuneiform script. At the time, it was considered to be an interesting, but minor find. These tablets remained undeciphered until 1872 when a young British museum curator named George Smith translated the writing. Reportedly, when he deciphered
one particular section of the tablets, he became so excited that he tore off his clothes and began running around the laboratory. You see, the tablet he deciphered told the story of a Babylonian who survived a great flood. The similarities between what was written on these stone tablets more than five thousand years ago, and the Old Testament flood story were remarkable. These stone tablets tell a story about a man named Gilgamesh who sets off on a journey with a friend. During the journey the friend dies ands Gilgamesh, having never known death, is filled with fear and grief, crying out Must I die too? Must I be as lifeless? How can I bear this sorrow that gnaws at my belly, this fear of death that drives me onward? If only I could find the one man whom the gods made immortal, I would ask him how to overcome death. Here then, in one of the earliest written stories that civilization has yet uncovered, we hear of mans greatest fear the fear of death, and we hear of mans first search for the secret of everlasting life immortality. Written in stone, over five thousand years ago. Could the story of Gilgamesh have been repurposed? Is the story of Hiram Abiffs assailants, and Noahs sons search for the secret word actually a repurposing of Gilgameshs search for everlasting life? Is the search for the lost words so that we may continue building the temple, an allegorical story of mans search to find the one thing that will allow us to continue to build our own allegorical temples -- our lives? In all three stories the content centers on a search -- a search for the greatest of secrets. In the Hiram Abiff story, Hiram is a supervisor of builders, Noah is the builder of the ark, and Gilgamesh is the builder of a great city. Continuing with the Gilgamesh epic, we learn that Gilgamesh eventually meets with the Babylonian who survived the great flood, and asks him to intervene on his behalf and to ask the gods to grant him eternal life. The Babylonian refuses, but tells Gilgamesh where to find a magical plant that will give him everlasting life. Gilgamesh finds the plant only to later lose it to a snake that carries it off. [BTW isnt it interesting that in the bible in the book of Genesis a snake also keeps man from everlasting life]? In the Gilgamesh story, we are not told what this magical plant is. Could it have been from the acacia plant? Remember that in masonic lore, the acacia plant is the symbol of everlasting life. It is the sprig of acacia that marks the grave of Hiram Abiff, and the sprig which the three searchers find when they search for Hiram. Finally, in the Noah legend, and also in the Gilgamesh story, while aboard the ark, we are told that a bird is sent out to search for signs of life. The bird returns after the seventh day with an olive branch in its beak. And although in the Noah story it is an olive branch, doesnt it make more sense that it would be a branch of acacia? That it would represent what Noah was searching for; the continuance of life?
In all three stories, that of Hiram Abiff, Noah, and Gilgamesh, there is a search for the ultimate secret. In all three stories, it is never found and the secret remains forever lost, and forever sought. Most importantly, in each of the three legends we are reminded that God (or in the case of Gilgamesh, gods) hold the ultimate answer. In the end, we find ourselves frail, and painfully human, forever seeking solace from the ultimate question of life: death. Are the legends similar enough in traits to merit our consideration that both the story of Noah and Hiram Abiff were repurposed from one of mans earliest recorded stories? The story of Gilgamesh? I believe that they are. But most importantly, let us forever know that those things that concern every man in this room are simply part of the human condition. Perhaps it is only in a room like this, where we can each turn to the man sitting next to us and know that our concerns, our difficulties, and our struggles whether now, or 5,000 years ago are what make us human, and what make us brothers. Respectfully submitted, Bro. Tavit Smith Note: In my opinion, the best and most complete translation of the tale of Gilgamesh can be found in the book Gilgamesh by Stephen Mitchell, Free Press, NY, 2004. Mitchell tells the tale twice, once with full commentary and background. For additional reading, read The Buried Book, by David Damrosch, Henry Holt & Company, 2006.

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