Gilgamesh

Author: Unknown
Written: Unknown
Translator: John Gardner and John Maier
Publisher: Vintage Books (1985 Edition)
Bought from: Book Depository


Introduction

We have to start with a little history lesson. Civilization itself is believed to have begun in Mesopotamia – the region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (the heart of modern Iraq) – roughly around 6000 BC. The first city states emerged in ancient Sumeria around 4,000 BC. The cuneiform alphabet (one of the earliest forms of writing) also developed in Mesopotamia around 3500 BC. Scribes used a blunt reed as a stylus to write on clay tablets and perhaps also papyrus. The impressions left by the stylus were wedge shaped, thus giving rise to the name cuneiform (“wedge shaped” from the Latin cuneus, meaning “wedge). It is fortunate for us that clay tablets were used. When these tablets were fired up (either deliberately in kilns or inadvertently eg. in a fire), they become hard and durable. Many such tablets (including some fragments) have been unearthed in the Middle East.

The most famous surviving literary work from Mesopotamia is The Epic of Gilgamesh. It is generally believed that Gilgamesh was a real-life king who ruled Uruk, a city-state in Mesopotamia, around 2500 BC. Scholars believe the Epic of Gilgamesh began as a series of distinct poems in the Sumerian language. They may have been first written as long ago as 2000 BC. This would make it among the oldest works of literature known to us. There are five extant poems today written in Sumerian with a common central figure named Bilgames.

At some stage, perhaps in the 1700s or 1600s BC, old Babylonian (a dialect of Akkadian) versions of a unified and longer poem began to appear. Fragments of such a poem survive today. The poem was originally titled Shūtur eli sharrī (Surpassing All Other Kings) after its opening line.

The most complete version of the poem – known today as the “standard” edition – was written in standard Babylonian (a later Akkadian dialect). The name of the author, Sin-leqi-unninni, is written in the text itself. It is believed that he compiled various older stories into the unified poem between 1300-1000 BC. This version of the poem was originally titled Sha naqba īmuru (He who Saw the Deep) after its opening line. The work consists of about 3,000 lines over 12 partially damaged clay tablets. Traditionally, the 12th tablet is included as part of the standard edition but it is now accepted that this tablet is actually a translation of one of the Sumerian Bilgames poems.

The 12 tablets, and tens of thousands more, were discovered by Austen Henry Layard and Hormudz Rassam in the ruins of the library of Ashubanirpal (who ruled Assyria from 669-631 BC) in Nineveh (near the modern day city of Mosul, Iraq) in 1849. These tablets, and tens of thousands more, were shipped to the British Museum where they remain until today. The 12 tablets were first translated by George Smith of the British Museum in 1872.

What is it about?

The story of Gilgamesh is fairly straightforward and can be divided into two parts. The first part (I.i - VII.iv) narrates the adventures of Gilgamesh and his companion (lover?) Enkidu as they fight various monsters and demons.

If the first part is basically an action adventure, the second part (VII.v - XII.vi) takes a more dramatic turn. Gilgamesh is devastated by Enkidu’s death. He sets out to obtain the secret to immortality from Utnapishtim who “stands in the assembly of the gods, and has found life” (IX.iii.4). Unfortunately, he learns that there is no magic bullet. Enkidu will not come back from the dead. And Gilgamesh himself will grow old and die one day. Pretty depressing.

The narrative in Tablet XII is inconsistent with the earlier 11 tablets. In Tablet XII, Enkidu is still alive. He dies during a quest for Gilgamesh. In modern terms, Tablet XII is like one of those alternative endings you find on DVDs.

One of the highlights of the Epic of Gilgamesh is the flood story that Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh (XI). This story has parallels with but is more detailed than the story of Noah in the Old Testament (Book of Genesis). The translation of Tablet XI in 1872 caused quite a sensation. It is generally accepted that the Gilgamesh predates the Bible. It is interesting to note that there is a short account of such a flood in one of the extant poems written in Sumerian but none in the fragments of the unified Old Babylonian version titled Surpassing All Other Kings.


What about the book?

Sin-leqi-unninni’s version of The Epic of Gilgamesh is organised into 12 six-columned tablets, for a total of seventy two columns of text. The authors set out their translation column by column and follow each column with notes. The text of the translation is accessible and the notes are informative. But I think the introduction is too much for the casual reader. I would have wanted to read more about George Smith and his work in cataloguing and translating the tablets. Fascinating stuff!


Finally …

This is one of the oldest written stories known to men. Every literate person should read this at least once.