The Epic of Gilgamesh (Penguin Classics)
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Book Summary Information
Author: AnonymousTranslator: Andrew George
Introduction: Andrew George
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2003-04-29
ISBN: 0140449191
Number of pages: 304
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780140449198
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of The Epic of Gilgamesh (Penguin Classics)
Book Review: The oldest written story known to man, remains one of the greatest stories ever told - everyone should read this!
Summary: 5 Stars
Before the Bible and long before Beowulf, before Hesiod and Homer, more than 4500 years ago, in ancient Mesopotamia, in a place called Uruk (and in a region now known as Iraq) they told the story of a great and powerful king. Gilgamesh, created by the gods and more powerful than any man, was once an unstoppable force. He took what he wanted, and the people feared him. They pleaded with the gods to control him and so the gods created another man, Enkidu, who was his match in wisdom and cunning and was yet different than him in many ways. Whereas Gilgamesh was a ruler over men, Enkidu roamed freely with the beasts of the fields. Where Gilgamesh lived to conquer, and took advantage of his people, Enkidu protected the beasts from their enemies the hunters. Somehow, though, opposites attract, and these men became fast friends - and Enkidu helped to soften his friend, redirecting his ambitions and channeling his strength, helping him to become a protector and shepherd of his people who would eventually be heralded as a great and heroic king who had established the foundations of a great nation.
It's a wonderful story, that can be read on a number of levels. It is a heroic story, that can be read like the heroic stories from various mythical cultures. It is a parable that explores what it is to be human, and how one can accept one's fate and that one will die. It is a story with many intriguing parallels to other great stories, that have defined cultures and beliefs - there are parallels here, for example, to the creation story of the Bible, to the story of the Fall, and to the story of Noah and the great flood. It is the story of a journey, through which a number of themes can be explored: the nature of man, the significance of gender, death and immortality, friendship, memories, and the character of the hero. Finally, it can be read as a kind of anthropological document in which the peoples who wrote it are coming to grips with the importance and meaning of the shift from a hunter-gatherer type people to an agricultural-based civilization. Enkidu can be thought of as a nomadic group that joined forces with, or was assimilated into an agriculturally based community, and then this is the story of how they, together, conquered or destroyed a forest-dwelling people, but came to see as a result that their own civilization could some day be lost as well. From that perspective the epic can be seen to carry a kind of unwitting ecological message about the impact and costs of civilization: that in order to maintain itself, an agricultural-based, military civilization must constantly be in search of resources outside of itself, and destroy those who claim those resources. Then, of course, we'd have to ask questions about a culture (not so far from our own) that tells just this story about itself and treats its own founders, the plunderers of other nations, as heroic and godlike.
A rich book, and rewards re-reading and reflection. It's short and you could read it in a couple of hours - but it rewards study. This translation reads well and feels fresh, not like some old dead book. The historical introduction is useful, too, for after you've read the actual book a few times, even if it's a bit dry in comparison to the liveliness of the text itself.
Summary of The Epic of Gilgamesh (Penguin Classics)
Translated with an Introduction by Andrew George.Classics Books
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