Gilgamesh: A Verse Narrative

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.

Gilgamesh the King (Gilgamesh Trilogy, The)

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The Gilgamesh Trilogy - Gilgamesh for Kids
Still looking...
a must-read for ancient history students!
Wonderful Series!
Wonderful!

Gilgamesh the King (Gilgamesh Trilogy, The)
Ludmila Zeman
Manufacturer: Tundra Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Revenge of Ishtar (Gilgamesh Trilogy, The)
The Last Quest of Gilgamesh (Gilgamesh Trilogy, The)
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ASIN: 0887764371
Release Date: 1998-04-25

Book Description

Gilgamesh, half-god and half-man, in his loneliness and isolation becomes a cruel tyrant over the citizens of Uruk. To impress them forever he orders a great wall to be built, driving his people to exhaustion and despair so that they cry to the Sun God for help. In answer, another kind of man, Enkidu, is sent to earth to live among the animals and learn kindness from them. He falls in love with Shamhat, a singer from the temple, and he follows her back to Uruk. There, Enkidu, the “uncivilized” beast from the forest, shows the evil Gilgamesh through friendship what it means to be human.

Customer Reviews:

The Gilgamesh Trilogy - Gilgamesh for Kids.......2006-07-03

Gilgamesh the King:

"Gilgamesh was part god and part man. He looked human, but he did not know what it was to be human." And that was his trouble, for he lacked empathy and forced his people to build a monument to his pride in the form of a huge wall.

The people sought help from the Sun God who ordered that a man Gilgamesh's equal be created. When Gilgamesh is told of this wild man, Enkidu, "the strongest man in the world," he seeks to destroy him.

Will the people of Uruk ever have rest from their toils? Can Enkidu survive?

Recommended for eight to twelve year olds, this book is the first in a three part series. The illustrations are done Mesopotamian style and add to the story. An author's note on the last page gives some back-ground information on the story of Mesopotamia, Uruk, and how the tale of Gilgamesh came down to us.

The Revenge of Ishtar

The Last Quest of Gilgamesh

Still looking..........2006-05-02

While this version is certainly accessible to children, I don't agree with many of the liberties the author took with any of these stories in the series. The many translations out there for adults at least attempt to stay true to the story. I regret that I cannot share these more accurate versions with my younger kids because of the description of at least one particular excerpt; I've had to settle for these. I believe if a person is going to adapt a classic to suit children that one should keep true to the story as best as possible, not adding and creating their own useless elements to the story. The Epic itself is wonderful, but I am still looking for an appropriate version that retains most of the original elements. I do appreciate the efforts of the author to share this amazing story with children.

a must-read for ancient history students!.......2005-05-19

If you are studying ancient history with your elementary student, you must read this series of Gilgamesh books by Ms. Zeman. This one is the first of 3. It is a great story of love, loyalty, and greatness, the oldest written story in the world, and is wonderfully illustrated. I orginally borrowed them from our local library and then purchased them because my 6 year old loved them so much.

Wonderful Series!.......2005-03-23

We really appreciate the beauty of this series of books as it covers "The Epic of Gilgamesh" in an appropriate and accessible way for our children. We love to use actual historic documents in our study if possible, but the actual epic is too uncomfortably graphic even for our older children, so we use these for everyone as we study Mesopotamia, Sumer and Babylon. There are not many books that cover these Near East cultures, which makes this set especially valuable. Along with "Our Young Folks' Josephus" as our history spine, "Science in Ancient Mesopotamia" and "Ancient Egyptians and their Neighbors: An Activity Guide (covering Hittites, Nubians, Mesopopotamians and Egyptians) this series helps considerably to round out our ancient history studies and to teach our children about one of the most ancient tales in the world in a beautifully engaging way.

Wonderful!.......2003-12-19

Gilgamesh the King, The Return of Ishtar, and The Last Quest of Gilgamesh are exceedingly well-written and show many different themes and life lessons. The themes of friendship, revenge, good vs. evil, ambition, and immortality. But I think the most essential, underlying message is about love. Enkidu shows love to Shamhat and Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh shows love to Enkidu and his city, Shamhat shows love to Enkidu, and the city shows love to Gilgamesh, Enkidu and Shamhat! Love is woven into the theme of eternal life. I think these stories would be fabulous for anybody but recommended for 5-12. I am in middle school and we are reading these stories in class. I enjoyed these stories tremendously. So if you want to teach your children about death or love or friendship, these would be the ultimate choice.

Gilgamesh: A Verse Play (Wesleyan Poetry)

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Gilgamesh: A Verse Play (Wesleyan Poetry)
Yusef Komunyakaa , and Chad Gracia
Manufacturer: Wesleyan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Not Too Late

ASIN: 0819568244

Book Description

Bringing new life to the world's oldest story, Yusef Komunyakaa and Chad Gracia have refashioned a classic Sumerian legend into a compelling verse play. In this ageless saga, Gilgamesh of Uruk, part god and part man, embarks on an other-worldly quest in search of immortality. This new version elaborates on the key themes of the story and weaves them into a vibrant and emotional new form. Wesleyan's edition of Gilgamesh is like no other and will take its place among the most powerful and engaging interpretations of this timeless tale.

Gilgamesh: A New Rendering in English Verse

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An Amazing Story
LOST IN TRANSLATION?!
The Relaxing Version
A work of art!
Wow! 4000 year old tablets ....

Gilgamesh: A New Rendering in English Verse
David Ferry
Manufacturer: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0374162271

Amazon.com

This is one of the more recent translations of the Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh, about the hero-king of ancient Mesopotamia whose adventures--searching for eternal life, surviving a worldwide deluge in an ark filled with animals, to name a couple--make up one of oldest pieces of literature on record. David Ferry's version attempts to provide the most readable rendering of the epic, artfully finding a poetic voice that's particularly accessible to the modern ear, as well as working to smooth over the gaps in the poem caused by the fragmentary record of the original clay tablets.

Book Description

A new verse rendering of the great epic of ancient Mesopotamia, one of the oldest works in Western Literature. Ferry makes Gilgamesh available in the kind of energetic and readable translation that Robert Fitzgerald and Richard Lattimore have provided for readers in their translations of Homer and Virgil.

Customer Reviews:

An Amazing Story.......2007-02-02

I first encountered the tale of Gilgamesh in my college mythology class in which we used this version by David Ferry. As has been said before it is a very good translation of an epic story. Now some might not like the idea that Ferry took some poetic liberties with the story, but by keeping it a literal translation you lose the power and beauty of the story, and basically the main point of the mythos.

LOST IN TRANSLATION?!.......2006-03-13

The classic Babylonian tale Gilgamesh has been stripped of its heritage by a Harvard conspiracy of formalist secondhand vernacular, a misappropriation of visual craft by Dimitri Hadzi (Hadzi's Twin Gates occupies the front cover of the book.), and careful packaging that sacrifices a sincere scholasticism and cultural integrity for profitable accessibility. Having read Gilgamesh a year ago, the prospects of reading the story again for class was initially seen as more of a joy than a burden. I remember being moved by how Gilgamesh struggled over the death of his companion Enkidu. Gilgamesh's foolish search for immortality, struck me in its poignant display by how it was ultimately undermined by a simple passing distraction.

Dimitri Hadzi's involvement is in many ways an accurate portrayal of where the direction of how the "formalist approach"[1] is continued in the translation done by David Ferry. This type of juxtaposition is harmful to the cultural integrity of Gilgamesh since "modernist primitivism ultimately depends on the autonomous force of objects-and especially on the capacity of tribal art to transcend the intentions and conditions that first shaped it."[2] Formally speaking, David Ferry has been able to synthesize a version of Gilgamesh by an osmosis from other translations because he "cannot read cuneiform and [he] do[es] not know the language, or languages the Gilgamesh epic was written in".

Noticing off-hand that most of the direct contributors of the book are Harvard affiliates, it made me think of what the intentions are of this rendition. The author, sculptor, introduction, and review are all either done by Harvard grads or Professors. I found this version to be a disappointment compared to the previous version I have read. So... If you don't like Gilgamesh... maybe it's just the translation that doesn't speak to you.

[1] "According to this first view, privileging the study of an object's form (its color, shape, patterns, textures) results in a responsible understanding of what art is really about: an object's aesthetic qualities. The second approach, the anthropological approach, emphasizes contextual education: how an object fits into a culture's social practices. According to this second view, the more one knows about a culture, the better one can contextualize work from that culture and thus responsibly understand the work." Leonard Diepeveen and Timothy Van laar. Art With A Difference: Looking at Difficult and Unfamiliar Art (New York:McGraw-Hill,2001),49.

[2] Museum of Modern Art, "Modernist Primitivism: An Introduction," in "Primitivism" in 20th-Century Art: Affinity of the Tribal and the Modern, ed. William Rubin, vol. 1 (New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1984),x

The Relaxing Version.......2006-03-09

It is no secret that Ferry ignored many of the laws of translation and compiled a much more modern version of the story. For people who have never read Gilgamesh and would like to enjoy the story without fretting over the basic intellectual and scholarly elements, this is exactly what you want to read. It is poetic, relaxing, and enjoyable.

A work of art!.......2006-01-11

Translating poetry is a tricky thing. Some people maintain that it can't be done. I would say that the translator can set himself three possible goals. First, he can try to create a "trot," a plain, "literal" translation where every word of the original is explained. See Nabokov's "Eugene Onegin" for an example of this. Second, he can try "simply" to translate it, to give his reader a good idea of what is there on the page, the mood, and so forth. LOTS of translators do this.

Third, and most elusive, most difficult, is to create a work of literary art IN ENGLISH (or whatever the target language is). Hopefully this third goal will automatically include all the most important elements of "mere translation." But, if the translator succeeeds, he will have created an independent work of art which will then take on a life of its own. The most famous example of this would probably be FitzGerald's "Ruba'iyat of Omar Khayyam," probably better described as a fantasy and variations on themes of Omar Khayyam. Alexander Pope's translation of Homer's "Iliad" surely has legs, still in print after all these years.

David Ferry has attempted the third goal in his translation of "Gilgamesh," and to my mind he succeeds. The result is a moving and beautiful work of literary art, and I predict a very long life for it.

Wow! 4000 year old tablets ...........2005-06-18

... and the questions then were the same as now: is there life after death?, can I achieve immortality?, will people remember me when I'm gone?, what is true friendship/love?, how to get/keep/use power? what makes one human?

This reading of Gilgamesh was my first foray into the writings of the "Ancients." I found Ferry's rendering to be understandable, lyrical, attention-grabbing, interest-holding, heart-wrenching, and even humorous in parts.

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New to Gilgamesh and Grundy and (mostly) enjoyed this book
Could have been much better.
An epic, rich telling of the ancient story
Fascinating
Grundy's Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh
Stephan Grundy
Manufacturer: William Morrow & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Attila's Treasure

ASIN: 0380975742

Book Description

An epic adventure from the earliest days of civilization, this is a tale of greatness and glory that has been passed down through untold generations. Stephan Grundy -- whose stunning retellings of timeless legends have earned him resounding international acclaim-now reawakens a peerless hero as old as human memory and celebrates once more his mighty deeds and magical destiny.

GILGAMESH
"I am Ensi of Erech, son of
Lugalbanda and Rimsat-Ninsun,
two-thirds god and one-third man."

A warrior, impetuous and proud, an insatiable lover, and a man of restless, violent spirit, Gilgamesh has been chosen to guide his kingdom in times of war and peace. His strength and courage are unsurpassed, yet his reckless heart threatens the land and the people who are dependent upon his sober, benevolent rule. He has spurned the gods with his arrogant refusal to take part in a sacred ritual. And they, in turn, have responded by creating one who is his equal -- a beast-man, lord of his own feral domain -- who will lead Gilgamesh on a remarkable quest of accomplishment and discovery, and hasten the destruction of a tragically flawed hero's realm and legend.

Moving across a richly evoked Mesopotamian landscape and written in a style that brilliantly and faithfully recalls the great epics throughout history, Stephen Grundy's Gilgamesh is an extraordinary achievement: a sweeping saga of gods, magic, adventure, and poignantly imperfect humanity that is at once compelling, original, and relevant to any epoch.

Customer Reviews:

New to Gilgamesh and Grundy and (mostly) enjoyed this book.......2006-05-10

I've never read _Gilgamesh_ before and I'd never heard of Stephan Grundy (the author), but I was searching for ancient Mesopotamian fiction and found this book. I read it cover to cover and had trouble putting it down in many places. The story is not boring or hard to read, as I was afraid when I first checked it out from the library. This author has talent; I intend on looking up his other books.

In _Gilgamesh_, the characters are mostly well developed, though I do agree with other reviews that Enkidu's character had unrealized potential, and I feel that Shamhatu's character is left dangling, having been handled very well in the first half of the novel. Shamhatu's relationship with Inanna is the only "inner life" we get to see of her in the second half of the book.

Grundy's novel needed some "tightening up." I noticed while reading it I often skimmed paragraphs, or even several pages, as if the story were a song, and when I got to the chorus I found it could not hold my attention, though I longed for the next verse where the story I was interested in would again begin to unfold. Let me repeat, _Gilgamesh_ is an over-all captivating story, and the sections where it becomes too predictable are either very brief or else very rare.

Lastly, I feel I must mention the over-the-top, graphically depicted h*mos*xual s*x scenes. The author should have developed the relationship between the lovers by describing the non-s*xual thought life and feelings of his characters, and by hinting at the depth to which the physical desire burns with each lover. Instead, Grundy tells us about *members* and *swellings*, images some of us don't care to have.

In addition, it is a modern American myth that two men cannot love each other deeply without having s*x. S*xual intercourse is not the ultimate expression of love for another; s*x, as it was depicted by Grundy in Gilgamesh's life, is the ultimate form of self-gratification.

Yes, many ancient civilizations had no taboo against h*mos*xuality. That does not mean, however, that every close male relationship in these cultures was h*mos*xual. Men, throughout time, have formed deep bonds of friendship and love--bonds that have nothing to do with s*xual gratification.

All that being said, perhaps the original text was clear on the nature of the relationship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu, in which case it need not be altered, only expressed more responsibly. A very cleaver author can make a reader believe a relationship is extreme close, know it is extremely passionate, and yet not depict scenes that transform their readers into voyeurs. I hope Grundy uses more creativity next time.

In short, this is a well written book, but its graphic content limits it to being recommend to adults only-and among them, only those who can enjoy a great story despite some possibly offensive narrative.

Could have been much better........2004-04-23

I guess I can't say I hated this book, as I did finish it. My main complaints are about the uppers and downers of coming across something I enjoyed, just to be annoyed moments later by a cliche description, a misspelling (not sure if these are Grundy's misspellings or an editor's) i.e. "rainment" was used several times instead of the correct "raiment." I wanted to hear more about Enkidu as a character, less about how he looked like a lion (and made love like one, etc.). Grundy made sure we were very well aware of each character's beard, skin, and hair characteristics... over and over. Did I mention that Enkidu is like a lion? If not, let me mention that metaphor again to the point of nausea. Oh, and the En definitely has a dry, gravelly voice. Let's just say I would have appreciated a little more variety in the descriptive narrative. In particular, description of characteristics beyond the outer bodies throbbing in ecstasy would have been nice.

(...)P>As for what I liked - there were quite a few places where the descriptions were original and poignant enough to make me want to continue ploughing through the monotonous stuff. I like Grundy as a writer, and enjoyed his "Attila's Treasure" much more than "Gilgamesh." I liked the potential that several of the characters in Gilgamesh had, and found Enkidu and the Shamhatu particularly intriguing as people that could have been depicted in a much deeper way, but I never really saw them expanded to their full potential. The book did make me want to search out more information on the Gilgamesh epic, although the downside to that is that I'm looking for something that is better written than Grundy's book. (Sorry!)

An epic, rich telling of the ancient story.......2002-10-17

I got this book because it is by Stephan Grundy, and having read his two previous books 'Atilla's Treasure' and 'Rhinegold' I knew I would have a great book to read. I wasn't dissapointed, but was a bit surprised at parts of it. As the other reviws say, a main part of the plot is his relationship with Enkidu.

I felt totally drawn into the world of ancient Sumeria....the rich detailed descriptions of temples, cerimonies, sexuality, people interacting with each other are all so well done. The Ensi's journey from rash, impulsive youth in love with his power, to the man who has been through trials and peril is so thoroughly enchanting. If you're not squeamish about sexuality, and homosexuality, then you will likely love this book.

Fascinating.......2002-07-15

I found "Gilgamesh" to be a marvelous story.

To those who saw a story "of Gilgamesh transformed into a vehicle for the advancement of a gay political agenda," you are far off the mark as educated readers. Gilgamesh in ancient Sumeria has absolutely nothing to do with any political agenda in 21st century America.

It is a story of ancient Sumeria. The story is a fictionalized account of a wonderful hero overcoming tremendous odds for love of a friend. It is based upon the truth of ancient legends.

I find it hard to dismiss this book on the basis of excessive concern with homo[sexuality] or heterosexuality.

I find it a beautiful tale of heroics and wonder. There is nothing we can do about life's being imperfect so love it while you have it. It simply is.

To those who think that this book has moral flaws, it does. So however does all of life.

Grundy's Gilgamesh.......2001-09-23

The epic saga of Gilgamesh is one of civilization's most enduring tales. Grundy gives us an intimate account of life in ancient Sumeria rich in texture. I was very impressed with the attention to details of everyday life Grundy brings to bear. Indeed we are well into the book by the time Enkidu and Gilgamesh first meet. At this point there is a clear shift in emphasis. The central focus no longer centers around the adventures of the two great heroes but on their personal relationship, the homosexual details of which Grundy never tires of presenting. If not for this one fatal flaw the book would have garnered at least four stars. Grundy is a gifted writer with a bright future. It is disappointing to see the story of Gilgamesh transformed into a vehicle for the advancement of a gay political agenda.

Average customer rating:

a social history of Sumer
A face to the legend
Gilgamesh the mundane
One of Silverberg's best.
An uplifting, hopeful adventure story

Gilgamesh the King
Robert Silverberg
Manufacturer: Bantam Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 055325250X

Customer Reviews:

a social history of Sumer.......2004-12-11

The narrator of Gilgamesh the King is the hero of the oldest surviving literary epic. His ruminations about the gods of ancient Sumer paint a picture of a period of history when goddesses had become subservient to male gods but had not yet been totally suppressed.
Gilgamesh the King is categorized as science fiction. In fact all of its fantasy elements constitute the conditioned beliefs of the narrator, who more than once raises the possibility that the true explanation of events he interprets metaphysically could be coincidence or something equally mundane. Even when he travels to an island I identify from the context as Bahrain, to seek immortality from Ziusudra, whose ark later evolved into Noah's ark, he learns that the alleged world-covering flood was a localized thunderstorm, the "ark" was a fairy-tale elaboration, and Ziusudra's immortality was likewise mere myth.
This book will appeal to lovers of science fiction (which it is not), lovers of historical fiction, and persons who like to see ancient myths demythologized into the possible historical events from which the myth evolved. I loved it.

A face to the legend.......2002-02-06

Gilgamesh The King is a thoroughly engrossing retelling of the famous Sumerian myth from the perspective of the figure himself. It creates a plausible blend of superstition, ancient knowledge and characterization as underpinnings of the legend.
In the same way that Mary Stewart's historical tales carry the reader to ancient times through the eyes and thoughts of the main character, Gilgamesh The King brings a profound humanity to such fabled material.

Gilgamesh the mundane.......1999-10-06

Being fond of ancient Sumer in general and the Gilgamesh epic in particular, I found Mr. Silverberg's book a profound disappointment. It appears that the author's intention was to rework the venerable story to remove its fantastic elements. Along the way he practically ignores an interesting milieu, makes the characters boring, and replaces dynamic episodes with confusing ones.

Admittedly, Mr. Silverberg did make an effort to make his characters seem as though they actually are living in a different day and time. However, as historical fiction this book falls flat. (If you want historical fiction set in Sumer check out The Three Brothers of Ur by J.G. Fyson, and forget this book.)

One of Silverberg's best........1999-10-01

An entertaining spin on the myth of Gilgamesh, by one of our foremost living authors. I have read the original (or a translation, anyway) and it is remarkable how he manages to be so faithful to the tone of the book and yet to shore up an often-fragmentary narrative. Definitely, a must-read.

An uplifting, hopeful adventure story.......1999-08-12

This book may be a peculiar exception to what people expect from this author. The book seems to be somewhat maligned in reviews, and by library staff as well - i think that is extremely undeserved.

Silverburg tells the story of the archetypical royal hero Gilgamesh in this book. The story here is stark and sophisticatedly simple versus well developed and textured, maybe analogous to the simple early Middle Eastern figurines, staring hauntingly down through the ages with their exaggeratedly large eyes, versus some busy Bosch painting.

Paintings and such aside, Silverburg's telling of the story has Gilgamesh swashbuckling his masculine way through the times of early Middle Eastern city-states. While the times may have actually been brutal, Silverburg's version makes it seem better characterized as 'passionate', royalty and dominion being established by hubris and warring, and sexuality being an integral part of the society.

In the original story, from the beginnings of history, a rivalry goes unresolved in a contest; Gilgamesh meets his match, and becomes an admirer of the mysterious Enki-du, his proven equal. Silverburg's Gilgamesh has a big heart. Gilgamesh's hearty confidence and gusto, through which the reader sees the events in the story, tempers the impression of the actual time and place. In fact, the warmth and uplifting emotional buoyancy of this character puts a winning and human face on masculinity.

In a culture that has turned to hatefully undermining heterosexual masculinity and destroying fraternity wherever it is found, this book is a hopeful illustration, not only of a distant past, but maintenance of a spirit for the future. Definitely, it is the opposite of one of our contemporary 'chick books'.

Book Description

Toward the end of the Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh King Gilgamesh laments the untimely death of his comrade Enkidu, "my friend whom I loved dearly." Similarly in the Bible, David mourns his companion, Jonathan, whose "love to me was wonderful, greater than the love of women." These passages, along with other ambiguous erotic and sexual language found in the Gilgamesh epic and the biblical David story, have become the object of numerous and competing scholarly inquiries into the sexual nature of the heroes' relationships. Susan Ackerman's innovative work carefully examines the stories' sexual and homoerotic language and suggests that its ambiguity provides new ways of understanding ideas of gender and sexuality in the ancient Near East and its literature.

In exploring the stories of Gilgamesh and Enkidu and David and Jonathan, Ackerman cautions against applying modern conceptions of homosexuality to these relationships. Drawing on historical and literary criticism, Ackerman's close readings analyze the stories of David and Gilgamesh in light of contemporary definitions of sexual relationships and gender roles. She argues that these male relationships cannot be taken as same-sex partnerships in the modern sense, but reflect the ancient understanding of gender roles, whether in same- or opposite-sex relationships, as defined as either active (male) or passive (female). Her interpretation also considers the heroes' erotic and sexual interactions with members of the opposite sex.

Ackerman shows that the texts' language and erotic imagery suggest more than just an intense male bonding. She argues that, though ambiguous, the erotic imagery and language have a critical function in the texts and serve the political, religious, and aesthetic aims of the narrators. More precisely, the erotic language in the story of David seeks to feminize Jonathan and thus invalidate his claim to Israel's throne in favor of David. In the case of Gilgamesh and Enkidu, whose egalitarian relationship is paradoxically described using the hierarchically dependent language of sexual relationships, the ambiguous erotic language reinforces their status as liminal figures and heroes in the epic tradition.

Customer Reviews:

Groundbreaking View of Sexuality in the Ancient World.......2005-07-23

It seems to be generally accepted that Alexander the Great did not go without love on his wars. First he took several wives, but second he seemed to have a, shall we say, very close companion. ==In our homophobic world, Alexander just simply couldn't be called a queer. You certainly wouldn't want to use such derogatory language to his face, it doesn't seem to have been such a nice person either.

In this book Dr. Ackerman examines the epic story of King Gilgamesh and the biblical story of King David in the view of sexual relationships and gender roles that were in place at the time. This was a time before romantic love. This was a time when the present day definitions of the proper roles for males and females shouldn't be applied.

She carefully analyzes these tales from a view that she thinks fits the views of the original narrators.

We think we live in a time and a culture that must have existed for all time. It didn't. This groundbreaking book helps us to understand the past, and perhaps points to a future that will be different than our present. What the gender roles will be in the future is impossible to say, but they will be different, just as they are different in various parts of the world now.

Chronology of the Larsa Dynasty (Yale Oriental Series : Researches, V. 4, 1-3.)

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Chronology of the Larsa Dynasty (Yale Oriental Series : Researches, V. 4, 1-3.)
Ettalene M. Grice , Clarence E. Keiser , and Morris Jastrow
Manufacturer: Ams Pr Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Assyria, Babylonia & Sumer | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0404602746

Average customer rating:

Innaccurate and far from the epic itself
I agree with Frank Perry
Not Really Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh
Derrek Hines
Manufacturer: Anchor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Gilgamesh: A New English Version

ASIN: 1400077338
Release Date: 2004-10-19

Book Description

In his thrillingly contemporary retelling of the world’s oldest epic, award-winning poet Derrek Hines brings us as close as we may ever come to re-creating the power it had over its original listeners more than four thousand years ago in the ancient Near East.

Gilgamesh, the semi-divine ruler of Uruk, is a larger-than-life bully and abuser of his people. In order to tame the arrogant king, the gods create the wild and handsome Enkidu. But after Enkidu and Gilgamesh become fast friends, they defy the gods in a series of outsized adventures that brings Gilgamesh face to face with both loss and death itself. Hines energizes this timeless tale with vivid and electrifyingly modern images, from the goddess Ishtar cracking the sound barrier, to a battlefield nightmare of spectral snipers and exploding hand grenades, to the CAT-scan image of a dying friend. The themes of love and friendship, grief, despair, and hope had their first great expression in this story, and this dazzling new interpretation brings us into its thrall again.

Customer Reviews:

Innaccurate and far from the epic itself .......2005-03-30

I read this version at Barnes and Noble bookstore and I could not read it all the way twice. It does not tell the story of the Sumerian hero properly and the poetry is far from the true story of the classic! It is too modernized and can confuse the reader. It's not bad poetry, but a bit more accuracy is needed from Derrek Hines. I much prefer the Herbert Mason translation!

I agree with Frank Perry.......2005-01-25

Just wanted to second the review above... this Gilgamesh is kind of the hip boy in tight levis version, it has its charms but is not Gilgamesh... and definitely doesnt take its place alongside Heaney's Beowulf... I recommend the Mitchell translation... though I have to say, I have a fond spot for the NK Sandars in the Penguin Classics, coz its the first one I read and I have chunks of it in memory...

Not Really Gilgamesh.......2004-12-22

I bought this Gilgamesh along with the new rendition by Stephen Mitchell. Of the two, I would highly recommend that the potential reader buy the Mitchell version.

My problem with this lusty, powerfully written and masculine poem, is that it is not Gilgamesh. The poet has been so free in rendering Gilgamesh into modern English that the epic story is almost completely lost. I would rate it higher if it had a different title with something like "A New Poem Loosely Based on the Ancient Epic"... something like that. And very loosely at that! Kind of like "Truth-in-Lending".

The reader who is new to Gilgamesh will be totally baffled by this ancient classic if the Hines version is the one he or she buys. I think that the reader who is well acquainted with this nearly 5,000-year-old epic might very well find new delights in Derrek Hines's poem. But again, it just isn't Gilgamesh and should be sold as something else.

Average customer rating:

Gilgamesh, king of Erech
F. L Lucas
Manufacturer: Golden Cockerel Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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