The Epic of Gilgamesh (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

by Anonymous (Author), Andrew George (Translator, Introduction) "Prologue and paean..." (more)
Key Phrases: pitiless sheriff, lacuna intervenes, sorrow reside, Bull of Heaven, Forest of Cedar, Sun God (more...)

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 the 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: 7.8 x 4.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #19,680 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #5 in	Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > Mythology > Gilgamesh
  #23 in	Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Epic
  #34 in	Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Ancient, Classical & Medieval

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

56 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

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

By	Ursiform (Torrance, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Epic of Gilgamesh: A New Translation (Penguin Classics) (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.

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good book, November 4, 2000

By	Jonathan Bailey (Lawton, OK USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Epic of Gilgamesh: A New Translation (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

Not having read scores of Gilgamesh translations, I really don't know how many stars to give this one, but I am very happy with it. In addition to giving a 'complete' version, mainly from Standard Babylonian texts from the Nineveh library but supplemented from other sources (even Hittite editions) for the sake of having a complete story, the book publishes in separate chapters, older, more fragmentary sources. Even Sumerian versions are covered. Also, in the beginning is an excellent treatment of the history of the rebirth of the Gilgamesh epic and the state of cuneiform translation and research in general. No speculation about the epic on literary or religious levels is given. George doesn't bother to tell us about the literary or historical relationship of Gilgamesh to the bible, nor does he try to use the epic to define for us Mesopotamian religion. He is simply interested in providing a good translation and is very thorough and scientific in cataloguing his sources and judgment calls, yet he hands us a lively and fluid English text.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Probably the best version out there today., September 6, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Epic of Gilgamesh: A New Translation (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

Andrew George gives you the best of both worlds. He reprints the Old Babylonian version of Gilgamesh, which I find the poetry to be gritty, raw and exciting. (. . . until the maggot dropped from his nose.) He also gives you the newer versions of the story,including tablets 11 and 12. I found that these two additions to the story, written at a later date, did not quite match the OB version. Each version twisted the story from the original Man vs. Hero, into Man vs. King and then Man vs. God. I do believe, though, that this is the best of any Gilgamesh book you will read.