Ratings4
Average rating4.8
Vivid, enjoyable and comprehensible, the poet and pre-eminent translator Stephen Mitchell makes the oldest epic poem in the world accessible for the first time. Gilgamesh is a born leader, but in an attempt to control his growing arrogance, the Gods create Enkidu, a wild man, his equal in strength and courage. Enkidu is trapped by a temple prostitute, civilised through sexual experience and brought to Gilgamesh. They become best friends and battle evil together. After Enkidu's death the distraught Gilgamesh sets out on a journey to find Utnapishtim, the survivor of the Great Flood, made immortal by the Gods to ask him the secret of life and death. Gilgamesh is the first and remains one of the most important works of world literature. Written in ancient Mesopotamia in the second millennium B.C., it predates the Iliad by roughly 1,000 years. Gilgamesh is extraordinarily modern in its emotional power but also provides an insight into the values of an ancient culture and civilisation.
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The oldest recorded story to survive the test of time is much older than both the Illiad and the Bible. Gilgamesh is the king of Uruk, who is handsome, powerful, perfect and completely ruthless to his people. In order to save the people from his wrath, the gods gift Gilgamesh with a friend, Enkidu, who is his equal in every way, to keep Gilgamesh's power in check. Gilgamesh and Enkidu are great character foils, and even greater friends. After helping Gilgamesh slay both Humbaba and the Bull of Heaven, Enkidu falls ill and dies, sending Gilgamesh on a journey into the underworld in hopes of rescuing his dearest friend.
It's interesting to see which traits were considered desirable in 2100 BC that are present in our present day heroes. In today's stories, the themes of strength, friendship and death are all as alive as they were during the days of Gilgamesh. There was an essay collected in my edition that I skipped over. I hope I'll be able to find time to return to it soon.