Digvijay and Ridhima's blog

The Epic of Gilgamesh: A Review

I have been thinking about reading the ancient epic of Gilgamesh for a while and on a recent visit to the library I picked up Steven Mitchell’s translation “Gilgamesh”.

“The Epic of Gilgamesh” (Wikipedia Link) is an ancient Babylonian poem written about Gilgamesh who was a Sumerian king in the city of Uruk, one of the largest cities for several millenniums. Several versions survive starting at 2100 BCE but the Standard version, used by this translation, was written around 1200 BCE. This version was consolidated in the mid-second millennium by the scribe and incantation-priest Sîn-lëqi-unninni.

It is one of the earliest epic work of literature and while that in itself would make it a must read, the poem is truly epic in it’s depiction of the mythical hero king and his journey to conquer death. I would recommend it to everyone.

The poem has several facets but I want to highlight the ones that made it a special book for me.

Firstly, for my sense of historical wonder, the book is a masterpiece of ancient thinking. In 2000 BCE, the author talks about rituals, gods, dreams, death, the after-life and several theological and literary themes that one would expect to have originated much later in our history. The poem is, at times, explicit in its sexuality and nudity. Yet it is always clear that for these ancient people, who are yet to be bound by our modern morality, these parts represent nothing out of the ordinary. Several rituals, which would be barbaric in todays world, make perfect sense in the city of Uruk.

Secondly, for the literary themes that have lived till today this book is the point of origin. It talks of the mythical hero out to conquer death. A mythical hero whose power has become his arrogance. It talks of friendship and the quest for eternal life.

Finally, the description of the great flood given to Gilgamesh by Utnapishtim, an earlier Sumerian king who was awarded eternal life by the gods, is fascinating in it’s similarities to the Biblical floods. Utnapishtim is the Sumerian Noah. That such stories originated somewhere in the ancient world and were spread far and wide by the way of story telling is interesting. That they have then found their way, still resembling each other, into several modern cultures which on surface seem unrelated to each other is outstanding.

Steven Mitchell does a good job of the translation. He takes liberties with the actual poem in modifying it but makes it very readable and understandable in today’s context. For those looking for accuracy in translation, his notes at the back point out every change he has made and the basis for that change.

I would suggest reading the first few pages of the introduction then moving straight to the actual poem. Later you can come back and browse through the rest of the introduction and the notes at the back for more details on the origins of the poem.

A must read.

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• Angels & Demons: Dan Brown
• The World’s Religions: Our Great Wisdom Traditions
• Deception Point – Dan Brown
• Bleachers – John Grisham
• The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown

Tags: Ancient Books, Ancient History, Books, Gilgamesh, Reading, Reviews