Myths from Mesopotamia: Creation, the Flood, Gilgamesh, and Others (Oxford World's Classics) [Paperback]

Stephanie Dalley (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 17, 1998 | ISBN-10: 0192835890 | ISBN-13: 978-0192835895

The ancient civilization of Mesopotamia thrived between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates over 4,000 years ago. The myths collected here, originally written in cuneiform on clay tablets, include parallels with the biblical stories of the Creation and the Flood, and the famous Epic of Gilgamesh, the tale of a man of great strength, whose heroic quest for immortality is dashed through one moment of weakness.
Recent developments in Akkadian grammar and lexicography mean that this new translation--complete with notes, a glossary of deities, place-names, and key terms, and illustrations of the mythical monsters featured in the text--will replace all other versions.

Editorial Reviews

Review

`has the great merit of including not only the obvious Gilgamesh and Creation texts but also the Atrahasis, Adapa, Etana, Anzu, and Erra stories and even the slight but highly suggestive "Theogony of Dunnu"' Greece and Rome

'handsomely produced book' A.R. George, SOAS BUlletin

'her enterprise is to be warmly welcomed' John Dillon, Trinity College, Dublin, Hermathera

Language Notes

Text: English (translation) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (September 17, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0192835890
• ISBN-13: 978-0192835895
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #698,048 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

114 of 117 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A good introduction, but not the most recent translation October 4, 2004

By Ray Farmer

Format:Paperback

Dalley presents many of the major myths of the Mesopotamian culture including "The Epic of Creation", "Atrahasis" (The Flood Myth), and "The Epic of Gilgamesh". Additionally, short essays are provided for most of the translations that help the modern reader to understand the stories. I thought Dalley's introduction did a good job of discussing structural markers and literary devices used in Mesopotamian poetry.

Since this book was published in 1990, more recent translations have become available. For example, Benjamin Foster's "From Distant Days" was published in 1995 and provides more complete translations of many of the same myths presented in Dalley. For example, the "Etana" myth in Foster includes a major portion of Tablet IV, which is completely missing in Dalley. Andrew George's "The Epic of Gilgamesh", which was published in 2003, contains a more complete translation of this story, along with Old Babylonian and Sumerian predecessors.

Despite these translation issues, general readers who want to sample a bit of Mesopotamian literature will most likely be pleased with Dalley's book. Dalley's translations are very accessible, despite the numerous gaps and ommissions present in the texts. For the person who wants a more complete anthology of Mesopotamian literature, I would recommend Foster's book, since he presents other types of literary genre, such as king legends, prayers, and love charms, in addition to more current translations of the major myths.

131 of 137 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A trove of tales at a bargin price October 20, 2003

By Christopher B. Siren

Format:Paperback

Dalley's book is perhaps the most recent compilation of Akkadian (the language of the Babylonian empire) myths in translation. The only rival for completeness here would be the Akkadian sections of James Pritchard's Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament - but Dalley trumps Pritchard in having more complete, more modern translations. Each tale is preceded by a brief introduction placing them in their historical context, and are followed by varying amounts of endnotes.

Dalley's translations include:
Atrahasis - one of the Mesopotamian flood stories which resonates with Noah in Genesis and Utnapishtim in Gilgamesh

The Epic of Gilgamesh - the hero of the Sumerian King Lists, in his story's most complete form

The Old Babylonian version of Gilgamesh - This version is very incomplete and contains bits of Enkidu's introduction and the Humbaba episode, as well as a bit surrounding Gilgamesh's lament/quest for the deceased Enkidu.

The Descent of Ishtar to the Underworld - This brief seasonal dying and rising god/goddess story is much more developed in the surviving Sumerian Inanna cycle than it is here.

Nergal and Ereshkigal - Dalley presents the Sulantepe and the Amarna versions of this tale of Nergal's visit to the Underworld.

Adapa - a brief story of the antediluvian king's loss of immortality could draw some parallels with the fall of Adam and Eve in Genesis.

Etana - the story of the king of kish who flew to heaven on the back of an eagle.

Anzu(Standard and Old Babylonian versions) - the storm god Ninurta conquers the bird monster Anzu....

The Epic of Creation - Known elsewhere as Enuma Elish, this is the story of the chaos/water/mother goddess/dragon Tiamat and her defeat at the hands of the storm god Marduk, who uses her body to create the universe, and his conquest to take charge of the pantheon.

Theogony of Dunnu - a brief cosmology that shows that antimosity between cattle herders and shepherds goes back further than the Western.

Erra and Ishum - Erra (Nergal) and Marduk argue, while Isshum calms things down. Read more ›

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A Scholarly Anthology May 5, 2002

By Charles Malcolm

Format:Paperback

An excellent anthology of stories from ancient Mesopotamia presented with a high degree of scholarship. Some readers may find the stories difficult to read due to frequent gaps in the text that have resulted from damage to the original cuneiform clay tablets, but it is a small price to pay to ensure accuracy and authenticity in the translation of ancient texts over 4000 years old. While all the translations are based on the various Akkadian versions of the stories, it would have been nice to read the Sumerian versions of these stories where they are extant. Each story is preceded with an introduction and historical context followed by copious technical notes. A detailed glossary is also included to assist the reader. A chart showing a timeline of the stories would have been helpful especially when making comparisons to other ancient stories from biblical, Greek, Middle Eastern, and Arabian traditions.

40 of 44 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome! And I wonder what these others expected? July 9, 2003

By Alvie Hackle

Format:Paperback

Despite what you see in some other reader reviews, this book is written for intelligent laypeople with an interest in history, not for scholars. Either that, or I'm more of a scholar than I realized, but apparently not, since I don't read any of the original languages. While translating the myths into clear English, this book presents them as they are, instead of constructing a speculative theory of what they might have been. Yes, there are acknowledged gaps. The book also provides multiple versions of some of the tales, with different gaps in each version. This shows the reality of what we are dealing with and lets readers do some theorizing of their own.
For me, the book offered a fascinating glimpse into a part of history that was long suppressed and nearly forgotten and is now often distorted, especially by people who want to transform Mesopotamian literature into external confirmation of the historical truth of biblical stories. Instead, these myths, including the very different version of the flood story in Gilgamesh, open a separate window onto the primitive, very human mindset that produced the Old Testament. Readers who are not prepared to accept that, and who want Discovery Channel-style historical pabulum, undoubtedly feel a need to disparage this book.