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Shamhat (Akkadian: 𒊩𒌑𒉺, romanized: Šamḫat; also called Shamkat in the old Babylonian version of Gilgamesh"[1]) is a female character who appears in Tablets I and II of the Epic of Gilgamesh and is mentioned in Tablet VII. She is often characterized as a sacred prostitute, though this identification has been contested, and she plays a significant role in bringing the wild man Enkidu into contact with civilization.
- ^ Stephanie Dalley (2000) Myths from Mesopotamia, Creation, the Flood, Gilgamesh and others, revised edition, Oxford University Press, p.137.