The Epic of Gilgamesh (Penguin Classics) [Paperback]

Anonymous (Author), Andrew George (Translator, Introduction)

Book Description

Release date: April 29, 2003 | Series: Penguin Classics

Originally the work of an anonymous Babylonian poet who lived more than 3,700 years ago, The Epic of Gilgamesh tells of the heroic exploits of the ruler of the walled city of Uruk. Not content with the immortality conveyed by the renown of his great deeds, Gilgamesh journeys to the ends of the earth and beyond in his search for eternal life, encountering the wise man Uta-napishti, who relates the story of a great flood that swept the earth. This episode and several others in the epic anticipate stories in the Bible and in Homer, to the great interest of biblical and classical scholars. Told with intense feeling and imagination, this masterful tale of love and friendship, duty and death, is more than an object of scholarly concern; it is a vital rendering of universal themes that resonate across the ages and is considered the world's first truly great work of literature.

@UrukRockCity All the ladies want to get it on now that I’ve slain the demon. But I must decline. I’m a clean man these days.

I just can’t win with women. Before, nailing all the ladies was bad. Now I refuse to seduce, and the Gods send a giant bull to kill me?

From Twitterature: The World's Greatest Books in Twenty Tweets or Less

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This edition provides a prose rendering of The Epic of Gilgamesh, the cycle of poems preserved on clay tablets surviving from ancient Mesopotamia of the third mi llennium B.C. One of the best and most important pieces of epic poetry from human history, predating even Homer's Iliad by roughly 1,500 years, the Gilgamesh epic tells of the various adventures of that hero-king, including his quest for immortality, and an account of a great flood similar in many details to the Old Testament's story of Noah. The translator also provides an interesting and useful introduction explaining much about the historical context of the poem and the archeological discovery of th e tablets. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Review

Humankind's first literary achievement...Andrew George provides an excellent critical and historical introduction. -- Independant on Sunday --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics (April 29, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140449191
• ISBN-13: 978-0140449198
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.7 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (106 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,168 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #10 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Epic
  • #11 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Ancient, Classical & Medieval

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

103 of 103 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A peephole into the distant past February 24, 2001

By Ursiform TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback

I ordered the hardcover edition of this book from ... , and it is unfortunate that it is not readily available in the US. At least the softcover edition is now available, and worth acquiring for anyone interested in a glimpse of what life-and thought-was like nearly 4000 years ago. I was unaware, before reading this volume, that Gilgamesh, despite it's significance and popularity in its day, does not come down to us in any complete form. George provides both a background of the civilization that produced Gilgamesh and also a history of the various partial versions that have survived and been found. Throughout the text he is careful to explain where different versions disagree, where he has interpolated fragments from other versions to fill gaps, and where no known version exists. He appends translations of various fragments and of earlier Sumerian poems of "Bilgames". While lacking the completeness, and therefore coherence, of the Homeric epics, George's translation of Gilgamesh offers at least a peephole, if not truly a window, into a civilization very far removed from ours. Despite the distance the desires and fears-particularly the fear of death-expressed seem very human and recognizable. In fact, and in spite of, the archaic structure of the verse, Gilgamesh seems more human to me than many of the semi-divine heros of Homer. Certainly not light reading, but very much worth the time and effort.

67 of 67 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Exceptionally good verse translation May 29, 2006

By Jordan M. Poss VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

This was the first translation of Gilgamesh that ever really grabbed me. I had waded through plodding, tedious translations (mostly in prose) before, and been left feeling like Assyriologists must be the most bored people in the world.

George's translation, however, is in verse and adds vigor to what appeared to me, for years, to be a bland jumping off point for bigger and better epics of later eras. I flew through this translation, hanging on every word, and was almost sad to see it end.

The notes and critical bits were nice as well, and the numerous lacunae showed me just how little of the full story we really have. Heartbreaking, really, and it made appreciate those bored people I used to pity.

If you're new to The Epic of Gilgamesh and want an engaging, readable verse translation of it, this is the one to buy.

Highly recommended.

87 of 92 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars 1500 years before Homer August 30, 2002

By Daniel Jolley HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

The Epic of Gilgamesh is a fascinating tale of great historical importance. Composed 1500 years before Homer's epics, the story is one that modern man can readily understand and appreciate. Gilgamesh was the more than capable ruler of the ancient town of Uruk; his strength and physical beauty were unmatched by any in the land, and his subjects adored him. Although he possessed so much, Gilgamesh wanted desperately to live forever like a god. He was two-thirds god and one-third human, but he refused to accept his destiny to die. If it were his lot to die, he wanted to perform great deeds so that his name would never be forgotten.

The story opens with the story of Enkidu, a wild man of nature who was to become Gilgamesh's best friend and accompany him on his dangerous journeys. The first trip takes them to the Land of the Cedars where Gilgamesh sets out to kill Humbaba, the guardian of the forest. When he later slays the Bull of Heaven, the anger of the gods is turned upon him and Enkidu, leading to new suffering by Gilgamesh. In desperation, he seeks Utnapishtim in the land of the gods; Utnapishtim was granted eternal life after preserving mankind in the wake of a great flood. Gilgamesh again finds only heartache for his troubles. Returning to Uruk, he preserves the story of his journeys and deeds in writing, and it is, perhaps ironically, in this written record that Gilgamesh is recognized today for the great man he was.

One learns much about the ancient gods in this tale, and the story of the great goddess Ishtar's role in the related events is pretty amazing. When Ishtar invited Gilgamesh to be her husband, he issued forth a litany of former lovers whom Ishtar had turned out and cursed, boldly rebuffing Ishtar's advances.... It is this brave act that led to most of Gilgamesh's later troubles. Even Enkidu, whose reported bravery is belied by his reluctance to aid his noble friend in several situations, is rather astonishingly disrespectful to the goddess.

N. K. Sandars does a remarkable job of putting the epic in its proper historical and literary perspective. A glossary of relevant gods and characters is particularly helpful. Along with providing a short history of the man, the gods, and the epic itself, she goes to great lengths to explain her method of producing this modern translation. There is no one extant copy of the Epic of Gilgamesh; a number of tablets, in varying degrees of condition and legibility and differing somewhat in the details of the story, have been compared and contrasted in order to produce the story as she presents it. Perhaps the most useful part of the introduction is an explanation of the form and style of the text. The text was originally told in verse, and Sandars explains that she chose to produce the text in narrative form in the interest of readability. As the order of events is not universally agreed upon, she explains why she chose the order she did for events. One annoying feature of the text, at least to the modern reader, is the constant word for word repetition of speeches between characters, and Sandars does the reader a great service by alerting him/her to this and explaining the rationale behind its use by the ancient writers.

The Epic of Gilgamesh is one of the oldest written texts in history, yet its theme is timeless, its characters all too human, and its appeal universal. Sandars' modern, narrative translation transforms the historically important epic into an eminently readable, quite enjoyable story. The tale of a great flood in this incredibly ancient tale has raised eyebrows ever since the text was discovered. The parallels to the Biblical tale of Noah are obvious, adding great strength to the argument that the legend or memory of a cataclysmic flood was common to diverse cultures in the ancient Near East. Those familiar with the ideas of Zechariah Sitchin will find this story especially fascinating and illuminating. Read more ›

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The greatest story ever told? September 24, 2001

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

The Epic of Gilgamesh is an ancient story-- perhaps 4 thousand to 5 thousand years old. Originating in ancient Sumeria, it spread throughout the Near East and the version we have has been reconstructed from Akkadian, Babylonian, Hittite, and Hurrian translations inscribed on clay tablets. Its themes and motifs (including a divinely ordained Great Flood) influenced the development of other great poetic works and mythological traditions, including those of ancient Egypt, Israel, and Greece.

The story here is mythic and powerful. I won't try to summarize it other than to say that it raises truly timeless questions about what it means to be human-- questions about love sex and friendship, about nature and civilization, of the simple joys in life and about our desire to do great deeds, about our fear of death and the impossiblity of escaping it.

There is much about this story that may seem archaic, naive, and odd to first-time readers, ranging from the description of Gilgamesh as 2/3 god, 1/3 mortal (which may perplex folks who try to work out how that can happen hereditarily speaking), to the repetivite narrative voice that stem from the conventions of orally performed poetry (which does seem a bit odd when being *read* silently in a book). However, once one learns to see beyond these curious features, it is apparent that _The Epic of Gilgamesh_, as it has come down to us, is a brilliant and clever piece of poetic craftsmanship and storytelling. The use of recurrent images and motifs, the narrative symmetries and ironies (e.g. how, after Enkidu's death, Gilgamesh leaves the city, puts on animal furs, and goes off into the wilderness... becoming much like Enkidu was at the beginning of the story).... In truth, I would not hesitate to say that the _Epic of Gilgamesh_ is, from a poetic point of view, as complex and sophisticated as any of Shakespeare's plays.

The Penguin edition of the poem, I should add, offers a loose prose translation that is quite satisfactory and extremely readable. Those who are more interested in the stylistic qualities of the original may prefer a more literal translation, while those more interested in the history of the poem and its sources, may prefer a more scholarly edition-- but for the general or first time reader, Sandars' edition should be more than suitable. Read more ›