The Epic of Gilgamesh: An English Verison with an Introduction (Penguin Classics)

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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.

Customer Reviews:

The tale of the evolution of storytelling that reveals shared mythology in religions.......2007-10-18

This version is a very popular adaptation of the Gilgamesh story because it contains N. K. Sandars' crucial introduction which is just as important as the translation itself because it includes information about the discovery of the tablets in Assyria dating back to the third millennium BC and then goes on to explain the difficulties that scholars have had in rediscovering the story from these artifacts and how during this long laborious translation process found themselves actively engaged in evolving the story, and thus the mythology, which had developed from other sources and had certainly influenced ancient hero epics that proceeded it. There is no one version of Gilgamesh. There are very many. Having a good introduction like this makes reading the story even better because we understand its significance beyond being just a very old fable.

The story of the translation of the epic of Gilgamesh is every bit as important as the epic itself and maybe more so because of its relevance to modern questions about the authenticity of the accounts held by popular traditional sacred texts. It is impossible to ignore the resemblance the epic of Gilgamesh has to Greek mythology as well as to the Judeo-Christian Islamic religions. Elements of the story such as Gilgamesh being part god part man, the flood story which is vertically identical to the one in Genesis and the underlying quest for immortality will peak interest and is probably the main reason why most people want to read the epic of Gilgamesh. The discovery of the tablets only increased popular scholarly opinions that religions have their roots in mythology and here is yet more evidence to back that position. Thus the epic of Gilgamesh and the story behind it is an essential classical text for ancient storytelling and how they evolve with time through the civilizations that come in contact with them. The Epic is not just Gilgamesh but the gradual progression of important themes in life that humans deal with by developing these legends and fables.

Sandar's work also contains an important treatment of the story and an explanation of the role of the gods which are essentials to understanding what the story is about. Gilgamesh is hard to read without these initiations because the era and the setting in which the story was written must be dealt with or else the plot which contains abundant and rapid interactions between the gods, their attributes and the consequences, will not make any sense to the reader. The ancient ways, and we are talking ancient going back some 5000 years at least, are not our ways. Here gods are superabundant and are responsible for every aspect of life and with an outcome, such as the setting of the sun by scorpions, there is also a god who is bringing the fiery ball down into the underworld where two more gods are there to catch it and who influence our lives somehow.

Gilgamesh is another world, almost alien, giving us a glimpse into how our ancestor's explained themselves and the world they found themselves in. It goes to show how far our modern understanding of why we are the way we are and why things are the way they are, has gone.

It was horrible........2007-08-07

I had to read it for a summer reading book. It was horrible. I mean, who wants to read all about the Ancient Sumarians?

Yet another Gilgamesh........2007-07-24

I was reading these thirty-some reviews of The Epic of Gilgamesh, starting the old Sanders one in prose, which isn't half bad. Almost none of translations and/or reditions (translation made from other translations, rather than from the original Akkadian in cuneiform alphabet)...none are really bad, but you certainly can get different slants on the story, and twisted episodes, and missed tone, and so on.
The scholarly translations by Assyriologists (A.George, Foster, Kovacs, Dalley, and so on) are usually too scholarly, and interrupt the read with all the problems that still abound. (Almost a third of the epic is still missing, for example.) The renditions, poets and wanna-be's like Jackson and Ferry, tend to wander off into their own thing; John Gardner (Grendel) included: he's sexy, but he ain't Sin-leqi-unnini (the supposed 'Homer' of the version found in an ancient library in 600 BC). Stephen Mitchell, a great Rilke translator, doesn't let on that he doesn't really read the Akkadian, so that's a rendition without your knowing whose versions he worked from. There's a lot of fudging going on in the Gilgamesh racket. It's a whole sub-story to the epic itself, and almost as much fun.

But if you wanted to get as close to the original text as possible, dig up the 1948 translation by Alexander Heidel (whose text seems sympathetically ancient: the book's typeface makes it look like a dissertation from that era, font by Underwood). But Heidel is closest to what the original sounds like: The Gilgamesh Epic and Old Testament Parellels: "A translation and interpretation of the Gilgamesh Epic and related Babylonian and Assyrian documents."
But really everyone named above, and maybe three times that many in print today, all take it beyond Heidel's crude (albeit with an ancient beauty, almost like an artifact) level, but I think they all err, in going too far, or not far enough, or getting too far from the original, or just keeping a good read going. The politics of getting to the original tablets, by the bye, and the technology of reading the ancient clay fragments covered in cuneiform script three to four thousand years old, is a worthwhile epic in itself. There are 'Gilgamesh wars' out there that you'll never hear about, having to do with careers, withheld translations, transcriptions, etc. And why not, the stakes aren't really that small: this is the very first of work of literature, predating Homer by a thousand years and much longer if you look at earlier versions, the Old Babylonian and the Sumerian mess. Why indeed not lock in the 'definitive translation'?

But enough of human ambition; one final suggestion: if you want to read a version that stays quite close to the original, whatever that is/was, but brings the sensory dimension up to modern taste, and teases out a good deal of the humor that's arguably in the original but which most translations miss, then I'm pleased to inform you that there is yet one more Gilgamesh cropping up in of all places, at Lulu dot com, as a graphic novel. The cartoonist has added his own humor--it feels like/looks like it's for 14 year olds some of the time--but he's also brought out the intrinsic humor of the original, has certainly rendered the scenes vividly, keeps his own contribution distinct from 'the original', and the text for the pure epic reads as well as the best ones above and keeps the reader forefront, not the scholarship. Check it out at Lulu.

Qualifier: It's not finished, but two out of three installments are there, through about Tablet IX (a total of 12), where Enkidu falls sick and then Gilgamesh sets out bereft and alone on his quest for immortality, learning lots of secrets as he goes, including that of the story of the Flood. This is Noah's arc, but written down some one to two millenium before Genesis. When one George Smith first cracked the code, in the 1872, there were riots. It was Darwin all over again, to the literalists of faith, of which there were then as now, many.
A neat new book (2006) on all that is out, listed here in amazon: David Damrosch's The Buried Book: The Loss and Rediscovery of the Great Epic of Gilgamesh.

Back to the graphic version:
A comic book reviewer, former editor at DC Comics, one 'Occasional Superheroine,' begins a pretty favorable revew with something like: Ancient Sumeria meets Krum... This is about right: the epic bleeds through in all its strength and Sumerian-Babylonian wonder and feeling, and the cartoons provide a tongue-in-cheek commentary that's much more sophisticated than it at first appears, with its Ally-Oop hero and his hirsute side-kick. The Bull of Heaven, the giant monster Humbaba, Shamhat and Enkidu out there on the steppes unchaperoned, spoiled little vindictive Ishtar... it's really worth a gander.
Curious note: the artist and writer seem to be brothers, or a father-son team. And in the interest of Full Disclosure, one of them's me!
Occasional Superheroine recommends it; so do I.
~"Sam"

the beggining.......2007-02-13

Almost five thousand years ago. It is unthinkable. To comprehend that ancient time, one would need knowledge and power of imagination that would be no easy to measure or value. Even than, one couldn't possibly be any nearer that time. It is shrouded in mystery.

Origins of entire history of literature, of written words/worlds, emerge from these tablets. And here we find first (written) quest for immortality. And tragedy which is found in fact that that quest cannot ever be successful. That man is forever compelled to roam that vast universe of his, and to raise his voice in vain, constantly fighting for something that is as far away as things can be.

Gilgamesh is a real beaut. Of it's style, importnace, structure numerous books have been written. But those are reserved for scholars and for those of you out there who are burning with desire to know. Gilgamesh greatness lies in a simple fact. It lies in realising that it doesn't matter how far have we gone in comprehending world around us, or how much we advanced technologically. However far we may have traveled, when facing this book, we learned that we are still troubled, and still defined by the same troubles heroes of old had been. What does that teach us? You'll have to answer that one for yourself.

Of this translation I don't know nothing. I haven't actually read it. My comment concernes Gilgames corpus itself. Sorry 'bout that :)

Outstanding presentation of a world treasure.......2006-10-21

N. K. Sandars' presentation of Gilgamesh is an outstanding achievement of editing, interpretation, and paraphrase. "Paraphrase" rather than translation, because she admits that she is unable to read the cuneiform in which the epic was written over four thousand years ago; instead she's compared all the literal scholarly editions available and turned them into very readable and moving English prose. This was easily the finest version for the nonspecialist reader when it was published in 1960, and to my mind it remains unsurpassed.

Readers primarily interested in the cultural background of Gilgamesh will want to look at more recent scholarship, but for the rest of us Sandars's rendition of the text is as powerfully engaging as when it first appeared.

Though tyhe original Gilgamesh is a verse epic, and Sandars writes prose, readers looking for the intensity of poetry will find it here, in what's really a splendid "prose poem." In fact, Sandars's prose strikes me as more, not less, satisfying than David Ferry's currently popular verse translation, which is competent but, to my mind, rather lackluster.

Although Penguin has issued a newer translation in verse by Andrew George, I hope they keep N. K. Sandars's version in print. It's brilliantly done.

The Babylonian Gilgamesh Epic: Introduction, Critical Edition and Cuneiform Texts 2 Volumes

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The REAL Gilgamesh Epic

The Babylonian Gilgamesh Epic: Introduction, Critical Edition and Cuneiform Texts 2 Volumes
A. R. George
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0198149220

Book Description

The Babylonian Gilgamesh epic is the acknowledged masterpiece of ancient Mesopotamian literature. Nevertheless it has to be re-edited periodically to take account of the enormous increase in primary sources that occurs every generation. Since the last critical edition of the epic seventy years ago the known fragments of the epic have almost doubled. This book collects all the extant texts in one place again, including twenty-three fragments published for the first time. The author has studied personally every available fragment to produce a definitive edition and translation. Four introductory chapters place the epic in its context and examine the name, person and traditions of Gilgamesh and other characters in the poem. The plates present the cuneiform text of all the extant fragments of the epic. The result is a publication which is a standard academic resource.

Customer Reviews:

The REAL Gilgamesh Epic.......2007-01-03

The best edition available. Not cheap, but worth the
price for those interested in the original.

New Babylonians: Contemporary Visions of a Situationist City

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New Babylonians: Contemporary Visions of a Situationist City
Iain Borden
Manufacturer: John Wiley & Sons
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0471499099

Book Description

The Situationists, who first appeared on the architectural scene in the 1960s, regarded cities as the ultimate opportunity for creative self-expression. While there are many publications about the history of the Situationist International, New Babylonians offers unique coverage of how their tactics are currently employed in architectural and urban strategies. It features renowned architects and educators who were first generation Situationists and also highlights some of the most exciting international practitioners involved in urban design today.

Contains contributions from an impressive roster of academics, designers, writers, and art practitioners
Offers timely and lively insights about contemporary urban architecture and art

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"The epic of the fear of death"
A modern way of telling an ancient tale
Ever Ancient, Ever New!
I Hate This Narrator!!!!!!
World Litrature

Gilgamesh: A New English Version
Stephen Mitchell
Manufacturer: Free Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0743261690

Book Description

Gilgamesh is considered one of the masterpieces of world literature, but until now there has not been a version that is a superlative literary text in its own right. Acclaimed by critics and scholars, Stephen Mitchell's version allows us to enter an ancient masterpiece as if for the first time, to see how startlingly beautiful, intelligent, and alive it is.

Customer Reviews:

"The epic of the fear of death".......2007-09-24

I read Mitchell's freer version immediately after Andrew George's Penguin Classic (also reviewed by me). Readers need to remember how incomplete our Gilgamesh story remains for us today. The plot breaks or perplexing contexts are not the fault of its translators or retellers. George-- editor of the first scholarly edition in English-- meticulously keeps the brackets and the italics that expose modern concessions to our ignorance. The two-thirds of the epic estimated that we have today fills with conjectures; the spaces, and the breaks intervene over thousands of years to keep us from the complete epic that once existed. I wonder if may still be revived among the thousands of untranslated tablets that keep being unearthed.

Mitchell admits his lack of Akkadian and his reliance on experts. Many criticize Mitchell's attempt; he has a long career -- reminding me of Ezra Pound's efforts to render the archaic Chinese into vibrant English despite his lack of academic training-- in popularizing scholarly effort so a wider audience can enjoy the tales vigorously and fluently told. So, be warned that this is not a crib or a line-by-line equivalence. This being said, in his defense, the endnotes Mitchell provides often show carefully how he has changed the original word-for-word translations into more poetic form. He retells, therefore, an exciting and moving tale.

Most beginners-- thus educated-- may find a "version" such as Stephen Mitchell's easier to start with for an overview of the storyline, and a briefer introduction-cum-commentary and helpful textual notes that follow the story proper. The poem itself is not lengthy, and can be read easily. From here, moving on to more accurate translations could reward the still curious. But, for many who want the story and not the scholarship, the sufficient introduction, comments, and glossary here will satisfy the curious first-time reader. I returned to this after thirty-plus years and profited from a mature encounter with a text that for a teenager proved too enigmatic. Intriguingly, talking with my own fourteen-year-old son who had read the poem for school, he found Gilgamesh and Enkidu far more recognizably like ourselves than stoic Beowulf or stern Aeneas! Many want also to bowdlerize or censor the few sexual encounters, but I defend Mitchell's claims for the primacy of the civilizing power of the erotic as dramatized sparely but evocatively in the suggestive verse. Speaking of relevance for teens, the slanging sparring verbal showdown between Inanna and Gilgamesh rivals any rapper's challenge today.

George aimed for precision in his translation, and while I liked the careful results, they did aim at academics in their vocabulary. which tended occasionally towards the overly technical or remained awkward. Mitchell chooses more explicit terms for action; he shows an awareness to entertain the reader whereas George may seek to inform the student. Mitchell's also considerably more erotic and develops passages that in their original state, reading George, remain terse. So, be aware of these crucial differences between the more accurate and the more vivid words.

Reviewers have shown surprise that Mitchell makes reference to the current destruction in Iraq. Yet, the irony that this tale is set amidst death, the longing to be one with the gods, battles with fearsome foes, contentious marketplaces, angry citizens, and terrifying journeys shows how narratives of human concerns age but little. The story cannot be properly blamed for its leaps in events or jumps between settings. We must remember that a third of the tale is not in our possession, so neither Mitchell or the anonymous tellers can bear fault for the ravages of time and our own lack of understanding of the nuances of Sumerian!

George observes that this epic is still, amazingly and poignantly, one in progress as we await trained Assyriologists able to decipher not only the later Akkadian but the considerably more challenging and often cryptic Sumerian sources. Mitchell reminds us in what Rilke called "the epic of the fear of death" how mortality in its cradle, here amidst one of the earliest civilizations in the Middle East, remains open to violence and ravages today. It's humbling and necessary to learn from such a fragile literary moral and a long-attenuated cultural heritage. It's a shame that in a region where so many billions have been spent to destroy the area between the Tigris & Euphrates that a few thousands can not be provided for the study and restoration of the oldest story text we have ever found.

A modern way of telling an ancient tale.......2007-09-14

Having read several versions of this story over the years I think this is the best of the lot. Mitchell does not pretend to be translating this ancient story from ancient civilizations and languages, but he has done a wonderful job of interpreting an interesting fable that has only been recently found and pieced together with various versions from different societies spanning several millennia. He has made this an understandable epic even though taking many liberties with the many literal translations he used to assemble this tale. Not exactly "West Side Story" vs. "Romeo and Juliet" treatment, but readable, enjoyable, and not much of a "violation" of the original, which still has missing fragments, and has been made unnecessarily stuffy by literalists who may have understood ancient languages but didn't really understand that a classic like this should also be as readable and understandable to today's societies as it was to those that existed thousands of years ago when it was originally told.

Ever Ancient, Ever New!.......2007-08-28

Although reputed to be the oldest story extant, "Gilgamesh" shows that human nature remains constant through the ages. The story of King Gilgamesh and his friend, Enkidu, record the age-old tale of rivalry and friendship, death and remorse and, ultimately, the search for immortality. These themes of daily life and parallels to modern statecraft render Gilgamesh as fresh as today's news.
Some features of "Gilgamesh" bear such a resemblance to the Bible as to clearly establish the Bible as a book of its time and culture. Gilgamesh contains a reference to seven years of famine (Joseph in Egypt), a flood story (similar to, but in critical ways different from Noah's) and sections of repeated dialogue, so reminiscent of Biblical sections. The explanatory essay by Stephen Mitchell helps the reader to understand the significance of portions of the tale's subtleties.
As the oldest surviving example of the literature of civilization, "Gilgamesh" should be within the ken of every civilized person. Besides that, it is entertaining reading.

I Hate This Narrator!!!!!!.......2007-08-03

I love the print edition of this book. It is the most accessible version of the story I have ever read.
But the audiobook version, why oh why do publishers continue to use this man to read books?! He is absolutely awful. He must be blackmailing someone with secret photos to keep getting this type of work.
There have been at least four different audiobooks I was very excited to listen too until I found out this man was the narrator. Two others I quit midstream because I couldn't stand listening to him anymore.
Avoid the displeasure of this audiobook version, get a print edition and enjoy this great story.

World Litrature .......2007-07-21

I had to read this book for my world litrature class and it was very easy to understand. The story line was alright, but Stephen Mitchell did a great job re-writing this book.

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

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Modern Translation in an Attempted Perfectionism
This is the one scholars quote from . . .
Very Interesting
Great Collection Of Early Mesopotamian Literature
A good introduction, but not the most recent translation

Myths from Mesopotamia: Creation, the Flood, Gilgamesh, and Others (Oxford World's Classics)
Stephanie Dalley
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0192835890

Book Description

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.

Customer Reviews:

Modern Translation in an Attempted Perfectionism.......2007-08-06

Revised review: I read the revised edition of 2000 - with 10 new primary sources - of the originally 1989 book. The author chose rather the Akkadian versions over the Sumerian ones. Included are ten stories of variating length: Atrahasis, The Epic of Gilgamesh*, The Descent of Ishtar to the Underworld, Nergal and Ereshkigal*, Adapa, Etana, Anzu*, The Epic of Creation, Theogony of Dunnu, Erra and Ishum. (* = including standard version and older & shorter version). As you see, there isn't a story called "The Flood" as suggested by the title of the book. However, the flood is a recurring theme in several of the other stories.

Usually I detest footnotes, however, it makes perfect sense to use them here, as a translated text by someone else, from a distant civilisation has to be explained. Lost in translation puns and alliterations are pointed out. Also variating translations, which differ considerably. If the Bible translations via various languages have been done in a similar vagueness, I am not surprised that one or the other message has been misinterpreted. This book now uses modern English, which I am very thankful for, as it wouldn't make any sense to indulge in some sort of pretentious antique "translation". Stephanie Dalley is a perfectionist in the sense that she meticulously includes any missing line and lost word. Which sometimes leaves only a word per line extant. That is frustrating for sure occasionally, but unavoidable, if a reliable translation is sought. With some pages I was happy that I still have 99% of human vision, this tiny the text has been printed.

Though at times purposefully repetitious, the stories themselves are mostly interesting or/and indeed worthy to read. Not only for themselves, but also for the origin of some Western-known stories. However, one should be careful to draw direct lines of origin, as for one thing the same subject may be very different or, as the author points out, may variate considerably WITHIN the very long time of the Mesopotamian culture(s). In fact, the longer stories have largely been pieced together from different sources.

What she fails to mention is that the Mesopotamian culture(s) are derived from the Egyptian culture, as she avers the Mesopotamian one would be the first of mankind. That's an old Western urban legend attempting to dissociate from African culture, from Black culture as far as possible. Which is rather futile as Mesopotamia is located in Africa in geological reality for one thing and for the other, these specific ancients had been Black just the same. Which doesn't become clear at all in this book. Read The Africans Who Wrote the Bible or When We Ruled: The Ancient and Medieval History of Black Civilisations among many other books elaborating on that. However, I find it amazing that the derivations of the goddess Ishtar are mentioned, but she herself is presented as the original. Whereas it is long and officially accepted fact, even by the conservative science establishment that Ishtar in turn is derived from the Egyptian "Isis". In other words the Mesopotamian version may just be a sister derivation from Egypt, not the direct source for Western culture. In some instances that sister culture got remarried into the sources for later Western culture.

Speaking of conservatism and pseudo-origins: Elsewhere, the Epic of Gilgamesh is fancied as the first homosexual story in the world. To begin with, again, the Egyptians are able to top that. (For example with the story of Horus and Seth, though of course the concept of "homosexuality" differs from the modern one.) For another, the Gilgamesh story is rather bisexual, using modern Western terminology, as that concept was viewed differently back then and there as well. However, I find it remarkable that Stephanie Dalley isn't including that information in her veneration list. Accordingly, one can almost read this translation without noticing its however homosexual content. Gilgamesh's mother clearly speaks of Enkidu as if a son-in-law, but in the rest of the text he is translated in the like-a-brother routine. Well, maybe a "warm brother" as dated German slang would term him. Personally, I don't care about the translator's or my own view on this issue. It's even fun and safe for me, no matter my personal opinion, as in Rasta terminology, homosexuals happen in "Babylon" anyway (smile)... It's just interesting that she obviously leaves her path of perfectionism as soon as it comes to her bias. As I am a layperson on this, I wouldn't know, where else she missed some points. But maybe the reason for this is that the running gag in this story is that as soon as it turns homosexual, further text has been lost... Sure interesting to read in the ancient text that God made some humans nonbreeders to slow overpopulation. That almost sounds like modern slang.

I do recommend this book. Be sure to get the latest revision or another more recent book respectively.

This is the one scholars quote from . . ........2005-09-06

A collection of the major Mesopotamian myths translated by a respected scholar. This is an excellent source for those desiring an authoritative translation. Even so, these myths can be somewhat awkward to read given Dalley's use of square brackets to indicate gaps in the text and omission dots to indicate an unknown word or phrase. No doubt these are accepted academic techniques for translating ancient texts, but I do hope someone will come along and render these myths in a more enthralling format. For just such an example of how ancient texts can be made to come alive for the modern reader, see "Gilgamesh: A New English Version" by Stephen Mitchell . Nonetheless, I give Dalley five stars, but also highly, highly recommend Mitchell's new version of Gilgamesh.

Very Interesting.......2005-02-20

This is a thorough compilation of Akkadian myths. These are modern translations based on up to date scholarship. While Dalley does a good job of bringing out the poetry of these myths, these are direct translations of the original texts showing all omissions and as yet untranslated words and phrases. This approach gives a very good idea of both the character of the myths and also of the difficulties encountered by scholars in reconstructing these texts from the fragmentary available records. Readers will end numerous echoes of better known myths in these translations. The introductory essays, footnotes, and background information are excellent.

Great Collection Of Early Mesopotamian Literature.......2004-10-27

This is an excellent collection of several ancient Mesopotamian mythical stories. The original sources used for these translations were all written in Akkadian (which includes Semitic Babylonian and Assyrian dialects). Included in this collection are "Atrahasis", "The Epic of Gilgamesh" (standard and Old Babylonian versions), "The Descent of Ishtar to the Underworld", "Nergal and Ereshkigal" (standard and Amarna versions), "Adapa", "Etana", "Anzu" (standard and Old Babylonian versions), "The Epic of Creation", "Theogony of Dunnu", and "Erra and Ishum".

This large collection of stories, along with the well written introductions and notes provided, enables the reader to put these epic stories into context, and recognize the parallels within the different stories. I prefer this book to those that concentrate only on the Gilgamesh epic.

A good introduction, but not the most recent translation.......2004-10-05

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.

Letters to the King of Mari: A New Translation, With Historical Introduction, Notes, and Commentary (Mesopotamian Civilizations, 12)

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Letters to the King of Mari: A New Translation, With Historical Introduction, Notes, and Commentary (Mesopotamian Civilizations, 12)
Wolfgang Heimpel
Manufacturer: Eisenbrauns
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Binding: Hardcover

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The Epic of Gilgamesh (Penguin Classics)

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Exhaustive, scholarly, for advanced readers
Fragmentary Visions
A non-historian's view of the "Epic of Gilgamesh."
Penguin Epics (review)
Exceptionally good verse translation

The Epic of Gilgamesh (Penguin Classics)
Anonymous
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0140449191
Release Date: 2003-04-29

Book Description

Translated with an Introduction by Andrew George.

Customer Reviews:

Exhaustive, scholarly, for advanced readers.......2007-09-24

I recommend this Penguin Classic, but it offers more thorough scholarly apparatus than usual for the series. This is not meant as a criticism! But, a beginner may find a "version" such as Stephen Mitchell's easier to start with for an overview of the storyline, and a briefer introduction and helpful endnotes. The poem itself is not lengthy, but the ancillary texts and sources, as Andrew George shows us, do take up considerable space which may please enthusiasts but discourage newcomers to this epic poem.

George prepared for Oxford UP in 1999 a two-volume edition, and this Penguin adapts the core of the English translation for a wider audience. It appears ideal for a college classroom or the reader wanting to learn more about the lacunae, the gaps, the language, and the editorial decisions made by George and fellow translators. A fascinating appendix shows how out of grammatical markers, syllabic, and half-syllabic cuneiform incisions the sounds and rhythms and absences that fill this most ancient of narratives turn into what we can understand. To a point.

Terms such as "louvre-door," "glacis-slope," "hie to the forge," and notably Ishtar's exhortation to "stroke my quim" give a rather archaic diction to parts of the translation. George aims obviously for precision in such terminology, but this does clash with the more demotic vernacular chosen by Mitchell in his popularization. Mitchell's also considerably more erotic and develops passages that in their original state, reading George, remain terse. Again, George approaches the thousands of fragments that are still being assembled nearly 150 years after their discovery and observes that this epic is still, amazingly and poignantly, one in progress as we await trained Assyriologists able to decipher not only the later Akkadian but the considerably more challenging and often cryptic Sumerian sources. It's a shame that in a region where so many billions have been spent to destroy the area between the Tigris & Euphrates that a few thousands can not be provided for the study and restoration of the oldest story text we have ever found.

Fragmentary Visions .......2007-08-30

I recently ordered this version to prepare for teaching Giglamesh in a Humanities I course. I had read the famous Sandars version, which compiles the various tablets into one coherent prose narrative. However, Andrews' new version attempts no similar gloss: the work is revealed as a fragmentary masterpiece, with gripping passages of narrative trailing off into maddening gaps and uncertainties. The Introduction offers a very informative, concise overview of Gilgamesh scholarship and the state of the work itself. It is truly humbling to realize how little we have of this great work, yet what we do have literally changed our understanding of the ancient world. And as Sandars suggested in his Introduction to the earlier Penguin volume, it is amazing that such an old, fragmentary work from a forgotten culture still has the power to move us. This sounds like academic hyperbole, but even in its most authentic state, the work is powerful; we see Gilgamesh's grief, his desperation, and his bitter defeat upon losing Enkidu and the possibility of eternal life. The translation carries some powerful imagery that somehow surpasses the more fluid prose translation; perhaps this is a bit of chiaroscuro (sp?), the lost passages showing the more complete, brilliant ones in greater relief.

Even better, this translation includes all the various fragments of the Gilgamesh story, as well as the ealrier Sumerian version of the epic, which is much different than the Standard version. It's a remarkable volume which is fun to pour through and reconstruct this ancient world on the dawn of civilization. It truly inspired me to teach this work to my students, emphasizing how such a powerful work can rest on only a handful of broken tablets.

A non-historian's view of the "Epic of Gilgamesh.".......2007-06-14

I had heard a lot about this story and knew something of what it was about. The particular rendition in this book seemed to leave some points made by other reports of other translations in doubt.I am reading another book about this epic ("Buried book") which I hope and think will cover more than this translation. If it doesn't satisfy my interest I will look for other translations.

Overall it was an interesting book.

Penguin Epics (review).......2007-04-03

This is a review of The Epic of Gilgamesh (Penguin Epics) published 2006. This is a prose translation by N.K. Sandars, which was first published in Penguin's 1960 edition of Gilgamesh, re-printed here sans the book-length editors introduction. Just the meat, no potatoes or desert. It took me about 2 hours to read as an average reader, was clear and easy to understand. The book is physically tiny, 4x8 inches and a quarter-inch thick, it would disappear on a book shelf.

I purchased this at the same time as The Buried Book: The Loss and Rediscovery of the Great Epic of Gilgamesh, however I wished I had waited, as 'Buried Book' has a good overview of more recent translations available. However I am not disappointed as Sandard's translation is good and easy and understandable - it may not be scholarly level, but perfectly acceptable for most readers who just want to read the epic and enjoy it.

Exceptionally good verse translation.......2006-05-30

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.

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Gilgamesh for Dummies
False teeth
Read this again and again
Nothing needed to be said
A clear and precise rendering of the world's oldest epic

Gilgamesh: A Verse Narrative
Herbert Mason
Manufacturer: Mariner Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0618275649

Book Description

Herbert Mason's best-selling Gilgamesh is the most widely read and enduring interpretation of this ancient Babylonian epic. One of the oldest and most universal stories known in literature, the epic of Gilgamesh presents the grand, timeless themes of love and death, loss and reparations within the stirring tale of a hero-king and his doomed friend. A finalist for the National Book Award, Mason's retelling is at once a triumph of scholarship, a masterpiece of style, and a labor of love that grew out of the poet's long affinity with the original.

Customer Reviews:

Gilgamesh for Dummies.......2007-09-22

The Epic of Gilgamesh is an important literary work to study. It provides the opportunity to contrast our worldview to that of the ancient Babylonians. As a Christian, it confirmed to me the selfless and consistent love of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ in stark contrast to the flawed, self-seeking, and non-covenantial gods in the epic. The culture's examination of mortality and the afterlife also attempts to explain the historical worldwide flood.

Mason's version of Gilgamesh is a wonderful starting point for the beginning student of classical literature. The text is easily attainable while maintaining an enjoyably lyrical style. Our course's study questions revealed that the version did lack some particulars and thoroughness, but managed to catch the key points adequately.

Caution: There is a segment of the book that was inappropriate, in my view, for even a middle/high school grade student. I sought a solution through other versions which were dramatically worse! The segment amounted to a few lines in this version, which we successfully blacked out without affecting the storyline.

False teeth.......2007-09-20

The well meaning Mr. Mason does not represent the Epic of Gilgamesh well in his verse narrative. In fact, it is not a translation of the Epic, rather has he cooked up his own version of somebody else's translation. He did this in times when few knew much about Gilgamesh, and made many novices belive it was the Epic. I have even heard of a small country where the most prominent philosopher translated Mason's narrative into the native language. The literature professor entered it into the curriculum for early literature and everyone thought they were reading the Epic of Gilgamesh.

Mason's verse narrative is strikingly purged of place and time specific references. In his hands this complex monument of Babylonian literature has become just "an old story... that can still be told" about friendship, loss and human mortality. In Mason's popular retelling, the character Gilgamesh has been reduced to a sentimental simpleton, who cannot deal with the facts of life. Such a retelling can be recommended for children, but it is too full of anachronistic references to "thoughts" (unheard of in early texts) and other modern phenomena to deserve the attention of grown-ups. From Mr. Mason's recreation of the poem alone it would seem unlikely that the Epic of Gilgamesh had held the fascination of generations of writers and scholars, ever since it was rediscovered in the 19th century.

One former reviewer states: "If this wonderful epic were familiar to everyone in our culture, as it was to the Babylonians who made it their national epic back in the third millenium B.C., we would be the richer for having a wealth of images to sustain us as we encounter our tragedies and walk through our dark valleys." I do essentially agree, but in that case it is imperative to keep closer to the Epic itself, not to rely on an imitation. My recommendations: For those who need textual supplementary information and variant readings I recommend either of Maureen Gallery Kovacs or Andrew R. George's translations. Stephen Mitchell's New English Version should be easy to use for those who are looking for a simplified translation for a clear understanding.

Read this again and again.......2007-09-16

Mason's translation of the epic can be easily read in one sitting, but it is worth savoring and pondering passages filled with beautiful imagery and timeless meaning. This is a simple story of hubris, friendship, and loss. It is a tale of accepting both the limitations and beautiful power of being human. I have read this translation yearly, and I plan to continue to do so, to remind me of the univeral pain but ultimately triumphant power of the human spirit.

Nothing needed to be said .......2005-10-19

Words fail. I love this book, this translation, especially. It's not verbose; it relies on detail to express pathos. The lack of embellishments enhances the story and characters. I'm afraid to talk about this book too much. Simply elegant, and heartbreakingly honest.

A clear and precise rendering of the world's oldest epic .......2005-08-27

When I read this version, I wanted to buy and I did! I loved this simplified translation and Herbert Mason provided a clear understanding of the Mesopotamian story. I loved the use of the blank verse style, Mason has done well in this abridged version of the epic. I'd like to see more abridged works of ancient epics by Mason! I loved the Babylonian relief on the front cover too. I would have appreciated Mason to provide to ending where Gilgamesh finally dies. Get this version of Gilgamesh.

Ancient Mesopotamia: The Sumerians, Babylonians, And Assyrians (People of the Ancient World)

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Well made and informative
Good book for an 8th grader
Solid information, good illustrations

Ancient Mesopotamia: The Sumerians, Babylonians, And Assyrians (People of the Ancient World)
Virginia Schomp
Manufacturer: Franklin Watts
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0531167410

Customer Reviews:

Well made and informative.......2007-03-13

This attractive and informative book is part of the People of the Ancient World series of books by Scholastic, Inc. The book explains the culture of ancient Mesopotamia, describing the inhabitants' government, economy, science, and culture. Along the way, the reader is treated to many pictures and sidebars.

Overall, I found this to be a well made and informative book. Now, as you might expect with a book written for young readers, the book does not go into any great depth on any subject. But, it is nonetheless very broad in its reach, and it is an excellent resource for readers of any age who want an introduction in the culture of the peoples of ancient Mesopotamia. I highly recommend this book.

Good book for an 8th grader.......2007-02-03

While I do feel that the information in this book is good, it is written so that your 14 year old will have no problem gliding through this book. This is by no means a college level book, although it does have some really nice pictures. I personally would have preferred more thorough information as opposed to large fonts with full page pictures.

Solid information, good illustrations.......2005-02-25

This book is good for anyone seeking an overview of ancient Mesopotamia. There are plenty of color photographs of artifacts, as well as substantial information that seems to be well-researched. Chapters focus on the daily life of people in different occupations (e.g., Merchants and Traders, Peasant Farmers, Doctors and Scientists). The glossary, biographical dictionary, and timeline (covering the period c. 9000 BC to 539 BC) add to the value of this resource.

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The Art and Architecture of Mesopotamia
Giovanni Curatola , Jean-Daniel Forest , Nathalie Gallois , Carlo Lippolis , and Roberta Venco Ricciardi
Manufacturer: Abbeville Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0789209217

Book Description

The artistic traditions of ancient Iraq, or Mesopotamia, are among the oldest in the world, for it was in this flat, fertile land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers that the world's first advanced civilization, that of the Sumerians, arose around 3000 BC. But the long history of Mesopotamian art was marked by change as much as continuity; the region was then as now a center of political conflict, and the Sumerians gave way to a succession of powers both indigenous and foreign, each of which left a cultural imprint.

This volume's contributing authors, all art historians and archaeologists specializing in the ancient Near East, provide accessible and lively overviews of the successive phases of this eventful artistic saga. The first two chapters cover the "classic" age of the great Mesopotamian city-states, from the pre-Sumerian Ubaid culture to Alexander's conquest of Babylon; the remains of this era range from the fabulous treasures of the royal cemeteries at Ur to the mighty ziggurats of Uruk and Babylon. The third chapter concerns the Greco-Mesopotamian art of the Hellenistic dynasty founded by Alexander's general Seleucus; the ruins of Seleucia, his capital on the Tigris, cover some 1500 acres. The fourth chapter investigates the artistic contributions of the two Persian dynasties, the Parthian and the Sassanid, that dominated the region from the first century BC to the seventh century AD and established the soaring iwan, or vaulted portico, as one of its typical architectural forms. The final chapter is devoted to the area's early Islamic period, during which the Abbasid caliphs (eighth to thirteenth century AD) made Iraq the center of the Islamic world, constructing splendid mosques in their capitals of Baghdad and Samarra and elaborating the fantastic arabesques that have never disappeared from Islamic decorative art.

The ancient masterpieces discussed in these chapters are depicted in 217 stunning illustrations, most of them full-color photographs, and appended to the main text is a unique visual guide to Iraq's principal archaeological sites, which provides a further 247 black-and-white photographs. With its authoritative, up-to-date texts and this wealth of illustrations, Iraq: The Art and Architecture of Mesopotamia is an essential publication for anyone with an interest in the cultural heritage of mankind.

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