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The Epic of Gilgamesh

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Greetings!

As you are reading The Epic of Gilgamesh keep in mind that there was a Gilgamesh who actually lived about 2700 B.C. who was the king of Uruk in Babylonia in what is now modern Iraq. This story is, obviously, not a historical account, it is more like a legend. As you read it think of it as a fable or a parable or a myth. The literal aspects of the story mean something else and that is what is most important in this oldest of stories. This is much older than Homer's writings and it's possible, your text says in the introduction, that the Biblical writers may have been familiar with it.

The story itself was found relatively recently (in the mid 1800's) on clay tablets when the palace in Nineveh was being excavated (You may remember Nineveh from the Biblical story of Jonah.). The tablets are not complete and parts of the story are missing. There are also different versions of the story and one version even names an author: Shin-eqi-unninni. Try saying that five times fast!

Anyway, this is a very, very old story, yet it still has much to say to us almost 5,000 years later. Enjoy!

Regards,

Mr. Draeger

Sources:

The Epic of Gilgamesh, translated by N.K. Sandars, Penguin Books, New York, 1972.

Hooker, Richard, Mesopotamia Reader, The Code of Hammurabi, Mesopotamia Glossary, Cuniform, web page: http://www.assyriansocietycanada.org/Gilgamesh.pdf (this link is no longer available, however you can visit the home page here)

©2005-2010 Glen Draeger (all rights reserved)
Millstone Education: World Literature / http://www.millstoneeducation.com/worldLit