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Gilgamesh: A New English Version

by Anonymous, Stephen Mitchell (Goodreads Author) (Translator)

3.56 of 5 stars 3.56 · rating details · 29,771 ratings · 1,222 reviews

"Gilgamesh" is considered one of the masterpieces of world literature, and although previously there have been competent scholarly translations of it, until now there has not been a version that is a superlative literary text in its own right. Acclaimed translator Stephen Mitchell's lithe, muscular rendering allows us to enter an ancient masterpiece as if for the first tim...more

Hardcover, 290 pages

Published September 28th 2004 by Free Press (first published -1300)

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Mar 16, 2011 Stephen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, audiobook, ebooks, 1499-and-before, fantasy, classics-european, warriors

5.0 stars. I thought this story was AMAZING. However, before I go any further I do want to point out that this review is solely for the version I read which was “Gilgamesh: A New English Version” by Stephen Mitchell. I say this because for a story written over 4000 years ago (approximately 2100 BC) about a King who lived over 4700 years ago (approximately 2750 BC) and was written in cuneiform in an extinct language (Akkadian), I imagine that the particular translation one reads may have a profou...more 5.0 stars. I thought this story was AMAZING. However, before I go any further I do want to point out that this review is solely for the version I read which was “Gilgamesh: A New English Version” by Stephen Mitchell. I say this because for a story written over 4000 years ago (approximately 2100 BC) about a King who lived over 4700 years ago (approximately 2750 BC) and was written in cuneiform in an extinct language (Akkadian), I imagine that the particular translation one reads may have a profound impact on the reading experience. I also note that the version I read has been criticized by others for being too subjective an interpretation. I will probably read an alternative translation at some point to compare the two but for now all I can say is that I LOVED STEPHEN MITCHELL’S VERSION. In addition to having the complete text of the epic poem, Mitchell includes about 75 pages worth on analysis and insight into the story that I thought enhanced the reading experience for me.

Rather then go into the details of the story which are adequately explained in the book description and are fairly well known, I will just give some thoughts about my impression of the story. This is an epic heroic story in the ancient sense of the word. Gilgamesh is a hero like the Greek gods, not necessarily “good” but rather smarter, stronger and more powerful than all those around him. Later when he meets his friend/brother Enkidu, the two embark on the first quest adventure ever written and their travels make for a wonderful story. While reading this, I kept finding myself thinking that I can’t believe this was written over 4000 years ago and is still so incredibly entertaining. I was also amazed that this story (again written over 4000 years ago) includes an almost verbatim version of the “Great Flood” story from the Old Testament down to the smallest details. There is a similar allusion to the loss of innocence through the machinations of an evil serpent that bear a striking example to the “Fall of Adam and Eve.” I thought this was fascinating on many levels.

Finally, and most importantly in my opinion, this story is about the journey of knowledge and self-discovery and about learning that the home you may have once run away from in order to look for greener pastures can turn out to be a pretty special place after all. From that perspective alone, this is a beautifully written and powerful story and one that I would strongly recommend.

One final note: I listened to the audio version narrated by George Guidall who did an absolutely superb job and added to my enjoyment of the narrative. HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION!!!
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Jan 22, 2012 Richard rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

BkC2) THE EPIC OF GILGAMESH: Not sorry I read it, but what a slog.

The Book Report: Evil King Gilgamesh is hatefully cruel to the citizens of Uruk, his kingdom. The gods, hearing the cries of his oppressed people, send Gilgamesh a companion, Enkidu. (Yes, that's right, a man.) Gilgamesh falls so in love with Enkidu, and has such big fun playing around and exploring the world and generally raising hell with Enkidu that his people are left alone to get on with...whatever it was that they weren't al...more BkC2) THE EPIC OF GILGAMESH: Not sorry I read it, but what a slog.

The Book Report: Evil King Gilgamesh is hatefully cruel to the citizens of Uruk, his kingdom. The gods, hearing the cries of his oppressed people, send Gilgamesh a companion, Enkidu. (Yes, that's right, a man.) Gilgamesh falls so in love with Enkidu, and has such big fun playing around and exploring the world and generally raising hell with Enkidu that his people are left alone to get on with...whatever it was that they weren't allowed to do before. And there was much rejoicing *yay*

No one is allowed to be too happy for too long. Gilgamesh learns this when he royally screws up by refusing to screw goddess Ishtar because he's busy having fun with Enkidu. It is **NEVER** a good idea to turn down nookie from a goddess. She gets her knickers in a twist and decides that, if he's gonna be *that* way about it, he's not gonna have his boy-toy either! THEN the boys do the colossally stupid thing of stealing Ishtar's bull, and it's lights out for Enkidu.

Gilgamesh's grief, to his peoples' relief, sends him on a quest for immortality. Which, frankly, makes not one whit of sense. Grief, in my extensive experience, makes one want oblivion, not eternity. Well, whatever, not me writin' the story, so off goes Gilgamesh to have more adventures.

My Review: A whole bunch of the Old Testament is lifted from this book. Amazingly whole and entire, too. Methuselah, Noah...all here first.

It's a slog to read, like the Bible, but it's fascinating if kept to smaller doses. I had no faith for it to rock, but it might rock a religious person's sacred book fantasy pretty hard. Highly instructive is the treatment of a strong love between men as perfectly boringly ordinary. No sexual component is implied in their relationship, but go find me a more loving relationship in sacred literature. Their closeness was so complete that it threatened the gods. But, crucially, it was the *CLOSENESS* that threatened the gods, not any inherent evil. The men loved each other so completely that there was no room for gods, which pisses gods off somethin' fierce.

Food for thought, homophobes who think Leviticus is right on *this* count.(less)

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Dec 04, 2007 Alex rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The story of Gilgamesh is the Hero's Journey for all time. It is haunting in its sheer age — a ghostly voice speaking to us from Iraq, five thousand years ago. Yet it remains startlingly relevant to 21st century Americans, as its hero struggles to find a first-world sense of purpose. King Gilgamesh wants for nothing, and then loses the only person he ever loved. He covets eternity. He accomplishes the greatest things a human can... and then what?

Gilgamesh hits bottom and begins to rise from his...more The story of Gilgamesh is the Hero's Journey for all time. It is haunting in its sheer age — a ghostly voice speaking to us from Iraq, five thousand years ago. Yet it remains startlingly relevant to 21st century Americans, as its hero struggles to find a first-world sense of purpose. King Gilgamesh wants for nothing, and then loses the only person he ever loved. He covets eternity. He accomplishes the greatest things a human can... and then what?

Gilgamesh hits bottom and begins to rise from his own ashes during the climactic, contemplative confrontation with a pre-Biblical Noah, the only man who already has what Gilgamesh desperately wants, and the only man who can show Gilgamesh the truth of what he unknowingly needs.

What we know of Gilgamesh (the mythical story, not the real-life king) comes to us in pieces, blanketed in multiple layers of cultural idiosyncrasy. Reading Gilgamesh uninitiated (as I first attempted with a different translation) is like reading Shakespeare translated into Chinese and back into English. Even when the words themselves seem to make sense, only a haze of subtext and significance is apparent: why that odd linguistic rhythm? Why invoke that bizarre metaphor? Why dwell on that seemingly insignificant detail? There's a great deal of meaning — extremely relevant to the story — that either gets lost in translation of language or cultural context.

Which is where this book comes in. Stephen Mitchell's version of Gilgamesh is somewhat analogous to Eugene Peterson's "Message" version of the Bible: there is paraphrasing, some cut and paste, some additions and subtractions, all with the goal in mind of making the material easier to read and digest fully without having a PhD in Assyriology. Mitchell also includes explication and added context in the appendix.

Mitchell's work is, to my layman's mind, resoundingly successful. Mitchell blows layers of dust off this "Oldest Story", and breathes new life into it. Adding to the greatness of this work is George Guidall's wonderful performance in the audiobook version. Guidall brings to the reading aggression and tenderness in equal parts. His voice is pleasantly elderly; I felt like a child sitting at his grandfather's knee around a campfire, hearing for the first of many times the stories that tell us who we are.

The story of Gilgamesh is one of human civilization's great treasures, and certainly one of the oldest. Mitchell's work is a celebration of its glory and enduring truth; Guidall's performance passionately connects timeless meaning with real people, here and now.(less)

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Jul 23, 2008 Andrew rated it 2 of 5 stars

Gilgamesh, one of the oldest things in writing, is certainly a wonderful read for those who relish things old, such as myself. I'm lately attempting to give myself a belated sort of Classical education, and though Gilgamesh isn't exactly part of the Classical tradition, figuring it to be the oldest thing from the Ancient Near East/Mediterranean, I thought I'd give it a try. I was slightly disappointed though. The story itself is fine, with a great deal of resonant power--something the translator...more Gilgamesh, one of the oldest things in writing, is certainly a wonderful read for those who relish things old, such as myself. I'm lately attempting to give myself a belated sort of Classical education, and though Gilgamesh isn't exactly part of the Classical tradition, figuring it to be the oldest thing from the Ancient Near East/Mediterranean, I thought I'd give it a try. I was slightly disappointed though. The story itself is fine, with a great deal of resonant power--something the translator, Stephen Mitchell, does a good job of teasing out in his introduction--but having just finished the Odyssey and commencing on the Iliad, poor Gil felt rather anemic. The narrative is fragmentary, contradictory, and often sublimely weird, as when Enkidu throws the hindquarters of the Bull of Heaven in the goddess Ishtar's face. Nothing in Gilgamesh reaches the power or complexity of Homer, and that is why I was disappointed. Ultimately, the story seems more of a curiosity than a monument of literature. The remnants of oral tradition are strong and interesting to me. The flood narrative is certainly one of the most archaeologically intriguing passages in ancient literature. But as a powerful expression of the human condition, Gilgamesh is second-class. Sure, the narrative touches upon sexuality, power, and pride. But it ultimately says less than it could. Perhaps sensing this lack, Mitchell goes to great lengths to make the story relevant, ultimately seeing in it a moral lesson concerning American intervention in Iraq. His parallels are mildly interesting, but his analogy becomes tortured the further he pushes it. His move seems unnecessary and detrimental insofar as it will date his translation considerably. Not that dating a work is entirely bad--his reading of Gilgamesh is by the nature historically situated, and I believe he's smart enough recognize this--but he doesn't pull this move off well. He gives a postmodern reading of Gilgamesh that seems self-indulgent and at times a parody of postmodern criticism. Even more embarrassing, he quotes his wife, who appears to be some sort of spiritual pseudo-Buddhist, whom he cowrites with. This has the whiff of self-promotion to me. I'm further worried by Mitchell's tendency to translate rather loosely, as one can see in his Rilke translations. He admits that his Gilgamesh is nowhere near word-for-word and calls this a "version" not a translation. All in all, the book could have used far less from Mitchell and far more from Gilgamesh.(less)

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Jul 03, 2009 Keely rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: epic-poetry, fantasy, reviewed

Why is it that I should feel a pit in my stomach when I think of the Library of Alexandria wreathed in fire? Cotton's Library, too, when we nearly lost Beowulf and The Pearl. Who knows what we did lose?

A copy of an unknown work of Archimedes was found to have been scraped clean, cut in half, and made into a Bible. To think: a unique book of knowledge--one that outlined Calculus 1800 years before its time--was turned into a copy of the most common book in the world.

As a young man, Tolkien once g...more Why is it that I should feel a pit in my stomach when I think of the Library of Alexandria wreathed in fire? Cotton's Library, too, when we nearly lost Beowulf and The Pearl. Who knows what we did lose?

A copy of an unknown work of Archimedes was found to have been scraped clean, cut in half, and made into a Bible. To think: a unique book of knowledge--one that outlined Calculus 1800 years before its time--was turned into a copy of the most common book in the world.

As a young man, Tolkien once gave a speech equating the linguistic shift brought on by the Normans as a sort of genocide, overlaying original languages with endless permutations of Rome. It is remarkable that, between accidents and purposeful destruction, some of our remote history has survived intact. Tolkien's own fictional Middle Earth is better documented than the entirety of the Dark Ages.

Gilgamesh escaped total annihilation, though certainly did not survive unscathed. Buried beneath the desert sands for three thousand years, it was finally unearthed, opening a new world to us, a new history, a deeper root of literary tradition.

The peculiarities of the writing and the culture are remarkable and enlightening. Far more remarkable are the similarities. The work is comprehensible, the character motivations sympathetic, and the philosophical explorations recognizable.

If all the sciences are philosophy, all bent on exploring a vision of our world, then Gilgamesh is valuable to us because of the fundamental human similarities it depicts. However, we cannot say how much is fundamental similarity and how much is the influence of Gilgamesh on later works.

It is either an influence on early stories of The Bible, or both books share a common ancestor. It may also have been an influence on the Greek epic tradition.

There are many works and historical figures that are mentioned or referenced by other texts, but which no longer exist for us. To have one transformed suddenly from rumor to legendary tale is rare to say the least.

To think that now, in the land of Uruk--once a garden, now a desert--American combat boots pound the sand, American bombs level ancient temples, and American soldiers fill sandbags with ceramic fragments. We do not need Gilgamesh to show us how little things change with mankind. We can see for ourselves that ignorance, war, and profit still can take precedence over history, humanity, and culture.

As in his mortal fury Gilgamesh smashes the unknown stone things, we must seek to snatch up the unknown before the sword takes it. We cannot save what is already gone, but at least we can treasure what we find.

I had the pleasure of reading N.K. Sandars' translation (the Penguin edition), which is actually his reworking (for the non-academic) of of several direct translations. Her introduction is informative, though as usual, I thirsted for more footnotes.(less)

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Jan 14, 2012 Antonomasia rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: poetry, non-western-fiction, ancient-world-texts, 2007, took-years-to-get-round-to

The Epic pulses with primitive rhythm and the mesmeric quality of repeating structures constructed under the oral tradition. Some lines of this translation feel as if they could be chanted and accompanied by drums.

It was scary, as well as fascinating: here is a voice from a time when life everywhere was harsher, when values were different - 1500-2000 years before Buddha or Jesus - and so many things we know wouldn't exist for millennia hence. We are very very far from home. At the same time the...more

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May 16, 2010 Philip rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: classics, favorites

Billed as being among the earliest known works of literary writing by the more and more reliable wikipedia. (I really wish wiki would have said oldest but you can't have it all.) Gilgamesh chronicles the life of the King of the Great Walled Uruk and a few of his adventures in his quest for immortality.

He makes some friends, slays some monsters, angers some gods and meets the man who survived the flood that ended all life on earth by building an ark and taking along a bunch of animals... Consequ...more Billed as being among the earliest known works of literary writing by the more and more reliable wikipedia. (I really wish wiki would have said oldest but you can't have it all.) Gilgamesh chronicles the life of the King of the Great Walled Uruk and a few of his adventures in his quest for immortality.

He makes some friends, slays some monsters, angers some gods and meets the man who survived the flood that ended all life on earth by building an ark and taking along a bunch of animals... Consequently, when the arc hit land the man sent out some birds to see if the land was inhabitable - a dove, a swallow, and a raven.

It was a great book. And it wasn't overly complicated, or incomprehensibly academic - as I thought it might be. I credit that to Stephen Mitchell's translation/paraphrase. It's a clear rendition, and powerful in our language. Sometimes he uses the older texts, sometimes the ones found at our old friend Ashurbanipal's library. (You know Ashurbanipal, I'm sure. He (along with Gilgamesh himself) is one of the Mesopotamians.

A couple more points of interest: I'm generally against reading introductions in books because they don't give spoiler alerts. Somehow it's assumed that you've already read Dracula so they start going on some crazy tangents about when Dracula takes out this guy it means this, and when he kills that person it means that... and you're like, "WHAT THE HECK?!? WHY BOTHER READING IT NOW YOU A HOLES?" Point being, I didn't feel like that this time, even though it did give away a couple plot points.

Also, and *ahem* minor spoiler alert here, there's this scene where the Temple Priestess (we're talking ancient Babylonian polytheism now) is using her, "love arts" to seduce/domesticate a wild man who would become the friend and equal of Gilgamesh. I read this article about a human chick ummm... how to make this school appropriate in case my students stumble this far into the review... about a female homo sapien procreating with a Neanderthal guy. I've since gone back and re-read the article and I guess the girl was the Neanderthal, but still...

As always there's plenty more to write, but seriously... when you've got more than 10 friends on goodreads who are legitimate users, you've probably got quite a few more long reviews to read - so have at them.

I do wish a friend or two would read the book though so we could discuss the finer points.

Added bonus: LOST connections abound.
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Jul 24, 2007 Jacob Bentley rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Fantastic. The economy of the storytelling is incredible--for such a short poem, you'll find everything here; if you're patient enough to look, I should add.

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Nov 23, 2012 Lona rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

فِعل الكتابة متأصل تاريخياً عميقاً جداً لفترات زمنية غابرة، من رموز على الصخور وجدران الكهوف لتتطور وتُصنع لها ألواح من الطين أو الصخر، وتستمر الحكاية لنصل لأنواع من الورق الفاخر أو الكتابة في الفراغ كهذه الأسطر التي خربشتها، كيف ستصبح بعد ذلك يا ترى؟! .. .. هو جميل ذلك الشعور بأنني اقرأ كلاماً كان بيوم من الأيام نقشاً على ألواح صخرية اكتشفت بالصدفة .. .. والأجمل هو عندما أدخل أجواء النص أتفاجأ بفراغ أو أكثر يُعلل بهامش أو حاشية أن الألواح في هذه المواضع كانت مخرومة ولهذا لم يعرف ما كتب عليها

(...more فِعل الكتابة متأصل تاريخياً عميقاً جداً لفترات زمنية غابرة، من رموز على الصخور وجدران الكهوف لتتطور وتُصنع لها ألواح من الطين أو الصخر، وتستمر الحكاية لنصل لأنواع من الورق الفاخر أو الكتابة في الفراغ كهذه الأسطر التي خربشتها، كيف ستصبح بعد ذلك يا ترى؟! .. .. هو جميل ذلك الشعور بأنني اقرأ كلاماً كان بيوم من الأيام نقشاً على ألواح صخرية اكتشفت بالصدفة .. .. والأجمل هو عندما أدخل أجواء النص أتفاجأ بفراغ أو أكثر يُعلل بهامش أو حاشية أن الألواح في هذه المواضع كانت مخرومة ولهذا لم يعرف ما كتب عليها

(view spoiler)

نجمتان لأن القصة لم تعجبني "لا تتماشى مع ذائقتي" .. .. أعجبني أكثر حقيقة متى وكيف كتبت القصة
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Nov 30, 2009 Hans rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adventure-survival, poetry, epics

A thought that came to mind while reading this was the idea of how cultures can develop simply as an antithesis to other cultures. Knowing the historical rivalry between Assyrio-Babylonian and Israelite cultures you can see how the two influenced the values and ideas of the other. This makes this book especially relevant since Judeo-christian ideas permeate through out our civilizations today.

Gilgamesh is a hero-epic of a culture that predates the writing of the Bible. What caught my eye was how...more

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Dec 03, 2010 Stacie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Stacie by: Alex

Shelves: i-own

I want to first thank Alex for telling me to read verse and not prose. I started reading them side by side, and quickly decided that the prose version was not for me. It really did lose its lyricism and beauty - I thought a lot of the story was missing. But, this is not a review of the prose version, but of the verse.

I thought it was lyrical and beautiful. I am not entirely sure what I was expecting in reading this, and I am glad because I felt completly open to whatever happened on the page and...more

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Oct 04, 2009 Iris rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: school-reading, mythology

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This version of Gilgamesh is a very readable retelling of the ancient Sumerian and Babylonian tale of Gilgamesh, the hero-king of Uruk. It is a tale for adults. If this were a movie, I would rate it R for sex.

Gilgamesh is immoral. He is powerful and no woman is safe from him. To counter him, the gods send another powerful man, Enkidu. Enkidu helps direct Gilgamesh's power to more warrior-like conquests. However, their actions are still self-centered and bring troubles to the general populace. Ev...more

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Jan 19, 2013 *Reem* rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

يكفي ان نعرف ان هذه الترجمه أخذت من اثنى عشر لوحا وكانت مكتوبه باللغه المسماريه منذ اكثر من اربعة آلاف عام. وهي تتحدث عن كلكامش الأسطوري الذي التقى بصديقه انكيدو ، ثم يذهب في رحلة للبحث عن سر الخلود.
لفت نظري شدة تحضر تلك الامم. فقد كان لديها مجلس شورى وبيوت وقصور وحانات . ووردت فيها أيضاً قصة الطوفان وفناء الامم. وكان كلكامش هو الذي بنى السفينه العظيمه.

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Nov 01, 2012 أيمن عبد الرازق rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

الأسطورة تغيظ بصراحة .. جلجامش كان قدامه فرصة للخلود بس نام .. وخد فرصة تانية بس نزل يستحمى وضيعها

القصة معجبتنيش .. لكن احساس انك تقرا مخطوطات من 4000 سنة ده لا يقدر بثمن

ترجمه د. طه أعتقد انها الأفضل

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May 19, 2010 Chantelle rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I learned that it's not an appropriate book to read with sixth grade students.

I, however, enjoyed it.

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Dec 02, 2012 Nadia Alblooshi rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

هذه الملحمة القديمة قدم البشرية المتحضرة تثبت للقارئ أن البشر لا يطرأ على فطرتهم تغير جذري.. البحث عن الخلود سيبقى شاغل الكثيرين من العظماء ولكن كلما اكتسب الانسان العلم والمعرفة توجه نحو الخلود المعنوي.. فكما بقوا كما هم منذ 3000 عام قبل الميلاد، ستكون البشرية آلاف السنون القادمة هكذا.. كما توضح النقاط التالية:

1) سينتهي العمر بالموت، ولن ينجو أحد وسينتقل للعالم السفلي
لكن الخلود ليس بأمر محال، فجلجامش خلد نفسه معنوياً بأعماله العظيمة وعدله حتى وإن لم يخلد جسديا.

2) الإنسان سيظل متشوقاً ليكون له ص...more هذه الملحمة القديمة قدم البشرية المتحضرة تثبت للقارئ أن البشر لا يطرأ على فطرتهم تغير جذري.. البحث عن الخلود سيبقى شاغل الكثيرين من العظماء ولكن كلما اكتسب الانسان العلم والمعرفة توجه نحو الخلود المعنوي.. فكما بقوا كما هم منذ 3000 عام قبل الميلاد، ستكون البشرية آلاف السنون القادمة هكذا.. كما توضح النقاط التالية:

1) سينتهي العمر بالموت، ولن ينجو أحد وسينتقل للعالم السفلي
لكن الخلود ليس بأمر محال، فجلجامش خلد نفسه معنوياً بأعماله العظيمة وعدله حتى وإن لم يخلد جسديا.

2) الإنسان سيظل متشوقاً ليكون له صديق، الصداقة علاقة قديمة قدم البشرية والحاجة إليها متجذرة في نخاع كل إنسان وإن كان ملكاً كجلجامش الذي اتخذ من انكيدوا خلاً وفياً.

3) لم تزل المرأة فتنة منذ تلك العهود حتى عهدنا هذا، فإنكيدو لم يفلح بإقناعه للانتقال الى الحياة المدنية بخمورها وملابسها المزركشة وترك حياة الغابة البدائية إلا امرأة.. وسيظل عامل إضعاف الشعوب وقهرهم هو إيقاد شهواتهم وتسفيه أحلامهم ومقاصدهم.

4) يبدو أن البشر يتأثرون بما يرون في مناماتهم منذ القرون الممتدة في التاريخ.. ولا يريح الانسان سوى معرفته لرموز ما يرى ودلالاته ليكمل ما يعزم عليه، أو يبدأ شيئاً جديداً كما هي احلام جلجامش المتكررة التي يفسرها له انكيدو في كل مرة.

4) الآلهة تعيث في الأرض فساداً وتطغى وتبطش بالبشر وتعذبهم منذ العصور السحيقة في التاريخ.. ولكن ماذا لو كان إلهاً واحدا هو من يُعبد ويُتقرب إليه هل كان سيحدث ما حدث لجلجامش وانكيدو صديقه الحميم؟

الجدير بالذكر أن أحدهم يدعى "أوتو بنشتم" قد تُوج بالخلود حسب رواية الملحمة لكونه بطل الطوفان الذي نجا ومن معه في سفينة أتقن صنعها حسب التعليمات الإله "ايا" وأركب معه من كل الحيوانات.. ثم أتى مطر مهلك وحل بالقوم الدمار وكان طوفاناً رهيباً هرب من خوفه الآلهة الى سماء الملك آنو صاحب ألسماء أعلى من السابعة.....
تساءلتُ طويلاً حول هذه القصة ومن يشبه من الانبياء، والتحريفات الكبيرة التي أصابت القصة الحقيقية! من المسؤول عنها يا ترى؟ وكم مرةً في التاريخ غُرر بالبشرية وأقحمت عليها أساطير مستوحاة من وقائع جلل؟(less)

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Oct 18, 2010 Theophilus (Theo) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I loved it. I have never been a big poetry reader, but this ancient free-verse epic was fantastic. Before Conan, Ulysses, Tarzan, or other superhumans, there was Gilgamesh. Clay tablets containing pages of this story date back to about 1700 B.C. Gilgamesh, the mighty king of Uruk is "two-thirds divine and one-third human". He has everytihng a king could want, a well-protected beautiful city, women, and wealth, but lacks one thing he really craves, a brother with whom to share adventures. One of...more

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Dec 23, 2009 James rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: antiquities

Amazing.

Rilke says it's the "epic of the fear of death", and that's what it feels like, but in an ultimately warm and human way (I thought!). All the characters feel human in much the way that modern fantasy or fairy-tales can give us very "human" characters by taking little bits of ourselves and amplifying them into fantastical creatures so that those traits are celebrated or explored.

It is very engaging, very easy to read in this translation, and its theme is accessible, evolving, and emotiona...more

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Jan 24, 2010 Evan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009-reads, my-faves, world-literature-top-100-list-poll, __in-my-collection, poetry, dumpster-rescues, favorites

"The common man, the noble man,
Once they have reached the end of life,
Are all gathered in as one..."
--
"Immortal under the Sun are the gods alone,
As for mortals their days must end -
What they achieve is but the wind!"
--
"I must face battle strange to me,
Travel a road unknown to me."
--
"He who leads the way preserves himself
And keeps his companion safe."
--
"Fixing his gaze on me, he led me to the House of Darkness
There where Irkalla lives, He, the God of the Dead.
No one who enters that house comes fo...more

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Nov 17, 2008 Terence rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audio-books, mythologies, poetry

I have an ugly secret to divulge - with few exceptions I have not read in their entirety the foundational epics of Western civilization. You name it, chances are good I haven't read it: Gilgamesh - no; Homer - no; Virgil - no; Beowulf - no; The Song of Roland - no; Cervantes - no. I could go on with the "roll call of shame" but I'm sure you get the idea.

Oh, I've taught parts of many of these works as a TA during my days at UCLA, and I know their gists but I've never been able to sit down and rea...more

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Oct 10, 2008 Stephy rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Teens, especially gamers

Recommended to Stephy by: high school English class assignment

Shelves: classics, drama, have_to_be_able_to_think, thumping_good_read, reading_again_now

I first read Gilgamesh in high school, actually, the assignment was to read the first and last chapters and invent a middle. Very interesting and annoying assignment. Had to think hard. I read it all after the assignment, and was thrilled. It never lets go of your soul, though you may eventually let it slip into dim memory. It becomes the stuff of dreams and ponderings.

Back in the late 70's I reread it, and fell in love with it all over again. This is the foundation for ALL epic writing. It all...more

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Feb 17, 2008 Roxanne rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: EVERYONE, EVER

Shelves: poetry

Wow, I am completely shocked by how much I absolutely loved this. What an amazing story. So great. And uplifting. And just... great. Apparently most of the other translations on the market are really kind of academic in nature; Mitchell, who is not in any way a scholar of ancient Akkadian, compiled this version by studying all the other translations and doing a lot of research into the word choices and finally just making poetic decisions that seemed to fit the tone of the original epic. And it...more

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Dec 23, 2007 Yoke rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 9th-global-lit

Gilgamesh was an historical king of Uruk in Babylonia, on the River Euphrates in modern Iraq; he lived about 2700 B.C. Although historians (and your textbook) tend to emphasize Hammurabi and his code of law, the civilizations of the Tigris-Euphrates area, among the first civilizations, focus rather on Gilgamesh and the legends accruing around him to explain, as it were, themselves. Many stories and myths were written about Gilgamesh, some of which were written down about 2000 B.C. in the Sumeria...more

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Sep 20, 2011 Sandie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: epics, classics

I give this 5 stars for one main reason - it's old as hell!!! Any piece of "written" work, and I quote that bc "chiseled" was more like it, deserves a 5-star rating simply for surviving that long. More deeper than that, this book had so many lessons to offer - it is a parable, signifying 1000 different things: the right way to be a king, the importance of friendships, the understanding that we are mortal and trying to be immortal is simply unachievable, to not take for granted our own positions....more

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Aug 11, 2011 Jeremiah Depta rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is worth reading just because it is a major ancient epic. Clearly large portions of it have been lost over the eons. This particular edition does a great job of weaving together the many fragmented tablets that have been found and translated to create a mostly cohesive tale. As a casual reader, its fun, although this edition would be handy for a scholar as well, given its analysis of the separate tablets concerning this legend. Beyond that, Enkidu rocked. Everybody loves a wild man who beco...more

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Apr 09, 2008 Jacob added it · review of another edition

Gilgamesh makes me want to listen Paul Simon. I listen to Paul Simon and steal his lyrics and put them into my writing. It's a weird practice and I mainly do it with the Graceland. Perhaps, this life is really a dreamscape that I'm inhabiting and it is a space where the borders of my being are becoming blurred by the books I read and the music I listen to. This weekend kind of feels millennial to me. Maybe it's because of Gilgamesh and the walls of Uruk being the walls of the book and the book o...more

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Dec 08, 2011 Jeremy added it · review of another edition

It's basically the oldest recorded story of any kind, and that gives it a weird sort of prominence. Gilgamesh feels like a prototype of Achilles in a lot of ways. The ultimate, hubristic badass, caught up in a quest for masculine honor which eventually breaks and humbles him after he looses his closest friend. Physical strength and sexual prowess are the end-all-be-all of these people's lives. Yet there is also this incredibly dark, world-weary sensibility at play: no matter how many monsters th...more

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Mar 10, 2010 Nikki rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: myth-legend-saga-etc, classics

I knew very little about Gilgamesh before I picked up this book in the library. I knew I wanted to read it, and I had a vague idea it was one of the oldest works of literature, but other than that, I was relatively ignorant. This edition helped a lot with that, since it has an informative introduction. It's not exactly a new translation, being based on (if I remember rightly) seven earlier literal translations, but it is lovely and clear and also, where the story needs it, tender and touching.

I...more

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Aug 27, 2010 Joe Milazzo rated it 4 of 5 stars

Prior to picking up this new "version" (it is more of an intervention in and reconstruction of the ancient epic that a straight translation of the surviving texts), I was only familiar with Mitchell via his work on Rilke. While I find Mitchell's Rilke more enjoyable than, say, Bly's, I never thought of Mitchell as an author in his own right until finishing this book. He does a more than admirable job of preserving both the distinctive linguistic and narrative patterns of the Akkadian original. B...more

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Jun 16, 2012 Nicolas Shump rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What a difference a text can make. I did not find Ferry's translation of Horace to be impressive, but I love what he has done with Gilgamesh: A New Rendering in English Verse. His method is reminiscent of Robert Lowell's work in Imitations, where Lowell often translates from other English translations rather than consulting the original language. Ferry does this here. His use of repetition, similar to Homeric epithets is well done.
I've taught N.K. Sandars' Penguin edition, which is probably mor...more

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Quotes from The Epic of Gilgamesh

“Gilgamesh, where are you hurrying to? You will never find that life for which you are looking. When the gods created man they allotted to him death, but life they retained in their own keeping. As for you, Gilgamesh, fill your belly with good things; day and night, night and day, dance and be merry, feast and rejoice. Let your clothes be fresh, bathe yourself in water, cherish the little child that holds your hand, and make your wife happy in your embrace; for this too is the lot of man.” — 13 people liked it

“Strange things have been spoken, why does your heart speak strangely? The dream was marvellous but the terror was great; we must treasure the dream whatever the terror.” — 8 people liked it

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