The Epic of Gilgamesh (Norton Critical Editions) [Paperback]

Benjamin R. Foster (Editor, Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 2001 | ISBN-10: 0393975169 | ISBN-13: 978-0393975161 | Edition: 1st

The Epic of Gilgamesh is the world’s oldest epic masterpiece.

More than a thousand years before Homer or the Bible, Mesopotamian poets sang of the hero-king Gilgamesh, who sought to crown his superhuman exploits by finding eternal life.  This Norton Critical Edition presents translations by Benjamin R. Foster, Douglas Frayne, and Gary Beckman of the entire Gilgamesh narrative tradition, with some texts now in English for the first time.  In addition to the eleven tablets of the great Akkadian epic, written around 1700 B.C.E., the book includes seven Sumerian poems about Gilgamesh, written before 2000 B.C.E., as well as the later Hittite version and other related sources, among them a Babylonian parody of the epic.

"Criticism" provides interpretive essays by William Moran, Thorkild Jacobsen, and Rivkah Harris and concludes with a modern poetic response to the Gilgamesh epic by Hillary Major.

A Glossary of Proper Names and a Selected Bibliography are also included.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Benjamin R. Foster is Professor of Assyriology at Yale University, where he has taught since 1975. His books include Before the Muses: An Anthology of Akkadian Literature, From Distant Days: Myths, Tales, and Poetry of Ancient Mesopotamia, Sargonic Tablets from Telloh in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum, and Administration and Use of Institutional Land in Sargonic Sumer, and Umma in the Sargonic Period.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 1st edition (December 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393975169
• ISBN-13: 978-0393975161
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #39,317 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Scholarly, wonderful, and unreadable for the lay person, May 1, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Epic of Gilgamesh (Norton Critical Editions) (Paperback)

This edition is perfect for teachers, serious students, and advanced courses. It is fantastic and for the person who wants the best scholarship, this is the place to go. But it is not for the person who simply wants to enjoy the tale or for introductory courses. I would suggest using this book as a resource along with one of the more readable prose versions.

31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent tool for understanding the ancient epic, January 16, 2003

By 

Scott Richardson (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Epic of Gilgamesh (Norton Critical Editions) (Paperback)

Norton Critical Editions are known for providing authoritative texts or notable translations of important texts, and their edition of The Epic of Gilgamesh is no exception. The translation is easy to read without being simplistic, and is heavily (and helpfully) notated.

Where this edition really shines, though, is in providing a context for the work, not only in providing a variety of other Gilgamesh poems and critical interpretations, but in the excellent introduction on how to read the work. The introduction answers questions readers may have about the historical basis for the character of Gilgamesh, the history of the text itself, and provides general information on its style (such as why it continually repeats itself).

This version also includes a number of additional Gilgamesh stories from several different cultures, many of which are close parallels to the epic itself. Perhaps the most interesting (and certainly the weirdest) of these is Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld, in which Gilgamesh loses his prized ball-and-stick game and Enkidu goes down to the Netherworld to get it.

If you're looking to get the most out of your Gilgamesh experience and understand the epic in a larger context, this edition is definitely for you.

30 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars New Translation, July 20, 2004

By 

Dave_42 "Dave_42" (Australia) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Epic of Gilgamesh (Norton Critical Editions) (Paperback)

The Norton Critical Edition of "The Epic of Gilgamesh" is a fairly recent translation of what is currently the oldest known epic. The epic was translated by Benjamin R. Foster. The book also includes "The Sumerian Gilgamesh Poems", translated by Douglas Frayne, and "The Hittite Gilgamesh", translated by Gary Beckman. In addition, there is "The Gilgamesh Letter", several essays discussing the epic, and an Introduction section which helps those who are new to the Epic with their first reading. The translation uses the "standard version" associated with Sin-leqe-unninni as its base, and supplements it with parts from other versions where there are gaps. There are also comments in the text to help the reader follow the passages easier.

An area of weakness of this book was in the area of editorial comments. For example, Mr. Foster states in the introduction:

"There is no evidence that The Epic of Gilgamesh began as an oral narrative performed by bards or reciters and coalesced into a written text only later. In fact, the poem as we now have it shows many signs of having been a formal, written, literary work composed and perhaps performed for well-educated people, especially scholars and members of a royal court."

This is in sharp contrast with other opinions which I have read regarding the origins of the Epic. While it may be that there is no conclusive proof one way or another, there clearly is some evidence to support the theory that it did begin as an oral narrative, just as there is evidence that it may not have. If Mr. Foster completely disregards the evidence on the other side of the argument, then one is left to wonder if there are other "facts" provided by the editor that are equally suspect. When comparing this translation to those by Alexander Heidel and Stephanie Dalley, one can see significant differences at the start of the epic where the other editors use as evidence which suggests that this was an oral narrative originally. Mr. Foster's translation though is worded in a way that does not suggest an oral origin.

On the whole, this was a very readable translation of the Epic. The supplementary material included is also very good. While I may disagree with some of the editor's opinions about the history of the work and the way he presents the evidence, this is still a good choice to read.