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The Epic of Gilgamesh
from: Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 892.1
EAN: 9780865163522
Edition: 2
ISBN: 0865163529
Label: Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers
Manufacturer: Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 115
Publication Date: 1997-07
Publisher: Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers
Studio: Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers
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Editorial Review:
The longing stretch toward the infinite...the reluctant embrace of the temporal. This is the eternal lot of mankind. This is The Epic of Gilgamesh. Our revised 2nd edition of mankind's first epic features a lucid historical and cultural introduction by Dr. Biggs, a new interpretive essay on the themes of Gilgamesh by James G. Keenan and their echoes in other literature, and ancient world and original illustrations.
Though The Epic of Gilgamesh exists in several editions, this version has been undertaken with a very specific intent -- to remain faithful to the source material while attempting to convey the poetic scope of a work that is both lusty and tender and that retains the ability to arouse compassion and empathy in all who follow Gilgamesh on his journey. This edition aims to reanimate the story of Gilgamesh and Enkidu for modern readers, bringing it new life through indelible poetic images.
For centuries the beginnings of the literary history of the West were defined by the Hebrew Bible--what most people call the Old Testament--and Homer's epic poems, the Iliad and Odyssey. These texts were once naively imagined to have come about in splendid isolation either as a miracle of divine creation or the spontaneous combustion of the ?Greek genius.? The mighty stream of words down over the millennia to our own time are so many generations of offspring still somehow beholden to their initial begetters. Thus do we construe Western Literature.
- from Ancient Epic Poetry Chapter 8: Gilgamesh
Charles Rowan Beye
Special Features
* Story Commentary
* Historical Notes
* Illustrated Introduction
* 15 Original Woodcut Prints
* 18 Photos
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - He who saw everything...
I first sought out this book when I was studying the story of the flood from the book of Genesis in a New Testament course. I heard that the theme of a great flood of the world had appeared in many different cultures across time - Native American Indian, Ancient Roman, German, Scandinavian, Chinese, and Hindi myths, to name a few, all recount a similar myth of a great deluge that was sent down to wipe out mankind. The Epic of Gilgamesh is an ancient Babylonian tale that tells of the adventures ... Read More
Rating: - An amazing novel
The Epic of Gilgamesh is an amazing piece of literature. The tablets repeat themselves, and the flow is often hard to follow, but the story is awesome. I like the time period it is from. The Assyrian myth gives a glimpse of what life was like in 2500 BC. I also found the similarities between the Bible and the Epic engaging. In the Bible, Adam and Eve were downcast at leaving their nakedness and the garden of Eden, while in the Epic, Enkidu was civilized and gratefully left behind his nakedness ... Read More
Rating: - The BEST Gilgamesh out there
Danny Jackson's Gilgamesh is the best translation out there for 21st century American readers. It captures the essence of what may be the first and most important work of fiction in human history, yet his modern language brings the story alive in a way no previous translator has done. He does this by treating it as what it was written to be: the ancient world's version of a modern blockbuster movie, not a dry-as-dust study in how boring a professor can make literature or history. (For those of you who ... Read More
Rating: - The first great hero in the history of Western literature
"The Epic of Gilgamesh" dates from the third millennium B.C., making it the oldest epic poem in world literature. It is a relatively short work, which explains why over half of this little volume introduces the ancient text of the first ancient hero. The fullest extant text of the Gilgamesh was found in the Akkadian-language on 12 incomplete clay tablets found at Nineveh in the library of the Assyrian King Ashurbanipal. The narrative gaps have been filled in, somewhat, by fragments found elsewhere. ... Read More
Rating:  - Very readable
I am always suspicious of books with introductory material nearly as long as the text (61 pages vs. 96 pages). Unfortunately, this book confirms my prejudice. The front material provides an easy and useful summary of the material, history of the translation, the 19th century shock at the flood myth etc. The material is superficial - appropriate for late high school students looking for the "good stuff" without any interest in the depth of the story. The translation itself is very readable - almost ... Read More
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