Overview
The Epic of Gilgamesh, concerning the exploits of the historical Gilgamesh, is counted by many as the first great work of literature in human history.
It was first written on clay tablets in the cuneiform of the Sumerian language in Mesopatamia (modern-day Iraq) almost 4000 years ago.
Tablets containing the text of the Epic of Gilgamesh have been excavated from sites including Assur, Babylon, Nimrud, Shuruppak, Sippar, Sultantepe, Uruk, and, most famously, at the Library of Ashurbanipal in Nineveh.
Modern Editions, Renderings, Translations, and Other Versions of the Epic of Gilgamesh
- Dalley, Stephanie, trans. Myths from Mesopotamia: Creation, The Flood, Gilgamesh, and Others. Rev. ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.
- Ferry, David. Gilgamesh: A New Rendering in English Verse. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1992.
- Gardner, John, and John Maier, trans. Gilgamesh. New York: Random House, 1984.
- George, A. R., ed. and trans. The Babylonian Gilgamesh Epic: Introduction, Critical Edition and Cuneiform Texts. Volume 1. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.
- George, A. R., ed. and trans. The Babylonian Gilgamesh Epic: Introduction, Critical Edition and Cuneiform Texts. Volume 2. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.
- Hines, Derrek, trans. Gilgamesh. New York: Anchor Books, 2004
- Jackson, Danny P, trans. The Epic of Gilgamesh. Wauconda, IL: Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, 1997.
- Komunyakaa, Yusef and Chad Gracia. Gilgamesh: A Verse Play. Middletown: Wesleyan University Press, 2009.
- Mason, Herbert. Gilgamesh: A Verse Narrative. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2003.
- Mitchell, Stephen, trans. Gilgamesh: A New English Version. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2004.
- Sandars, NK, trans. The Epic of Gilgamesh. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1973.
Articles on the Epic of Gilgamesh
- Abusch, Tzvi. "The Development and Meaning of the Epic of Gilgamesh: An Interpretive Essay. Journal of the American Oriental Society 121.4 (Oct-Dec 2001): 614-622.
- Abusch, Tzvi. "Ishtar's Proposal and Gilgamesh's Refusal: An Interpretation of "The Gilgamesh Epic", Tablet 6, Lines 1-79. History of Religions 26.2 (November 1986): 143-187.
- Altes, Liesbeth Korthals. "Gilgamesh and the Power of Narration. Journal of the American Oriental Society 127.2 (Apr-Jun 2007): 183-193.
- Deagon, Andrea. "The Twelve Double-Hours of Night: Insomnia and Transformation in 'Gilgamesh'. Soundings: An Interdisciplinary Journal 81.3/4 (Fall/Winter 1998): 461- 489.
- Dickson, Keith. "Looking at the Other in 'Gilgamesh'." Journal of the American Oriental Society 127.2 (Apr-Jun 2007): 171-182.
- Dickson, Keith. "The Jeweled Trees: Alterity in Gilgamesh. Comparative Literature 59.3 (Summer 2007): 193-208.
- Gracia, Chad. "Collaborating with Komunyakaa: The Creation of Gilgamesh." Callaloo 28.3 (2005): 541-544.
- Gresseth, Gerald K. "The Gilgamesh Epic and Homer. The Classical Journal 70.4 (Apr-May 1975): 1-18.
- Kramer, S. N. "The Epic of Gilgameš and Its Sumerian Sources: A Study in Literary Evolution. Journal of the American Oriental Society 64.1 (January-March 1944): 7-23.
- Vulpe, Nicola. "Irony and the Unity of the Gilgamesh Epic. Journal of Near Eastern Studies 53.4 (October 1994): 275-283.
- Wolff, Hope Nash. "Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Heroic Life. Journal of the American Oriental Society 89.2 (Apr-Jun 1969): 392-398.
Books on the Epic of Gilgamesh
- Ackerman, Susan. When Heroes Love: The Ambiguity of Eros in the Stories of Gilgamesh and David. New York: Columbia University Press, 2005.
- Fleming, Daniel E. and Sara J. Milstein. Buried Foundation of the Gilgamesh Epic : The Akkadian Huwawa Narrative. Leiden: Brill, 2010.
- Harris, Rivkah. Gender and Aging in Mesopotamia: The Gilgamesh Epic and Other Ancient Literature. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2000.
- Heidel, Alexander. Gilgamesh Epic and Old Testament Parallels. 2nd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1949.
- Kluger, Rivkah Schärf. The Archetypal Significance of Gilgamesh: A Modern Ancient Hero. Ed. H Yehezkel Kluger. Einsiedeln: Daimon Verlag, 1991.
- Maier, John R., ed. Gilgamesh: A Reader. Wauconda, IL: Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, 1997.
- Tigay, Jeffrey H. The Evolution of the Gilgamesh Epic. Philadlephia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1982.
- Ziolkowski, Theodore. Gilgamesh Among Us: Modern Encounters with the Ancient Epic. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2012.
Media re: the Epic of Gilgamesh
last modified 2016.02.25 15.50
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