Andrew George

Translated with an Introduction by Andrew George.

The Babylonian Epic Poem and Other Texts in Akkadian and Sumerian

The Epic of Gilgamesh

aral

'O Bilgames, lord of Kullab, sweet is your praise!'

'O Bilgames, I made your destiny a destiny of kingship, but I did not make it a destiny of eternal life.

The darkest day of mortal man has caught up with you, the solitary place of mortal man has caught up with you...

The comely young man, the pretty young woman - all [too soon in] their [prime] Death abducts them!

'No one at all sees Death, no one at all sees the face [of Death,]  no one at all [hears] the voice of Death, Death so savage, who hacks men down.

'Ever the river has risen and brought us the flood, the mayfly floating on the water. On the face of the sun its countenance gazes, then all of a sudden nothing is there!'

'How can I keep [silent? How can I stay quiet?] My friend, whom I loved, has [turned to clay,] (...) Shall I not be like him, and also lie [down,] [never to rise again, through all eternity?]'

'my friend [whom I loved so dear,] [who with me went through every danger,] [my friend] Enkidu, [whom I loved so dear,] [who with me went through every danger:] [the doom of mortals] overtook [him.] 

'Six days [I wept for him and seven nights:] [I did not surrender his body for burial] until [a maggot dropped from his nostril.] Then I was afraid [that I too would die,] [I grew fearful of death, so wander the wild.] 

'What became of my [friend was too much to bear,]  so on a far road I [wander the wild;]

'May the elders of teeming Uruk-the-Sheepfold mourn you! May the crowd who gave us their blessings [mourn you!]'(10-11)

[On this] very [day] I [myself] shall mourn you! (44)

Enkidu lay down before Gilgamesh, his tears [flowed] down like streams: 'O my brother, dear to me is my brother! They will [never] raise me up again for my brother. [Among] the dead I shall sit, the threshold of the dead [I shall cross,] never again [shall I set] eyes on my dear brother.'

'May the pair of them not grow old, besides Gilgamesh his friend, none shall bury Enkidu!'

The senior advisers rose, good counsel they offered Gilgamesh: 'You are young, Gilgamesh, borne along by emotion, all that you talk of you don't understand.'

"Gilgamesh rose to relate a dream, saying to his mother: "O mother, this is the dream I had in the night- , 

"The stars of the heavens appeared above me, like a rock from the sky one fell down before me. I lifted it up, but it weighed too much for me, I tried to roll it, but I could not dislodge it. 

"The land of Uruk was standing around it, [the land was gathered] about it. A crowd [was milling about] before it, [the menfolk were] thronging around it. ''

"[Like a babe-in]-arms they were kissing its feet, like a wife [I loved it,] caressed and embraced it. [I lifted it up,] set it down at your feet, [and you, O mother, you] made it my equal."

"Enkidu was weakened, could not run as before, but now he had reason, and wide understanding."

Scott Wilson

A wonderfully well written edition of the classic ancient story of Gilgamesh.

The introduction is interesting and informative to provide context around the time of the writing and the locations where the tablets have been found and a modern overview of the Epic.

I found the book longer than necessary with additional versions from different civilizations that had minor tweaks or difference - those details I found more academic in nature and so less interesting.

The story is wonderful and enjoyable. Interesting parallels can be drawn to alternative historical epics and religious texts.

Safiya 

Gilgamesh the king of Uruk... I have heard a few tales about him but only now did I read the epic as it was restored from tablets dating back to some four thousand years!

Not sure but this might be the oldest book I have read so far... (if not the Tao Te Ching)
I liked the foreword more than the corpus of the book. Because some parts of the poem were missing, and my perception of a poem is to at least save its musicality which was not the case for all the translations inside... As for the simile there was one version of piece that had some fine art in it...

Probably because they might be lost in translation...

In any case, the king who saw the deep was looking for the eternal life... And this was the tale of his glory and his journey to infinity!
Actually he came back with one piece of advice from his périple :


  "Let your clothes be clean, 
Let your head be washed, may you bathe in water, 
Gaze on the child who holds your hand, 
Let your wife enjoy your repeated embrace!" 


In today's jargon it could have sounded more like : Life is short y'all, enjoy it and have fun! 

There were interesting symbols : Ninsun, the Netherworld passage (Dante, rings a bell?), Ishtar, 7, Deluge, and visions... 


  "The darkest day of mortal man has caught up with you, 
The solitary place of mortal man has caught up with you,
The flood-wave that cannot be fled has caught up with you, 
The combat that cannot be matched has caught up with you,
The fight that shows no pity has caught up with you! "


Glad to going back to learning about my first history lesson ever : حضارة بلاد الرافدين

للي عقل على الدرس الأول فالسلك الإعدادي يقدر يستمتع مزيان بالكتاب لحقاش سبحان الله الكتابة المسمارية للي كانت جاتنا غريبة فديك السن هي باش مكتوبة هاد الملحمة للي كتابتها وروايتها خلاتنا نفرقو مابين Akkadian و Babylonian literature... 
العجيب انه لم يكن من الممكن جمعها لولا الطلبة الخطاطين كانو كايتعلمو الكتابة وكاينقلوها كل مرة للحفاظ على اللغة Akkadian القديمة.. وللي كانت محفوظة فأرشيفات المعابد... الدرس الأخير : ماتستهنش باي جهد تبذل ولو صغير و بالنسبة لك عبيط... تقدر تحافظ على حضارة بحال والو... 😂

The Epic of Gilgamesh The Babylonian Epic Poem and Other Texts in Akkadian and Sumerian

Reviews

Highlights