What do you think?
Rate this book
The Epic of Gilgamesh: A Norton Critical Edition
This Norton Critical Edition includes:
• An expanded translation from the Akkadian by Benjamin R. Foster based on new discoveries, adding lines throughout the world’s oldest epic masterpiece.
• Benjamin R. Foster’s full introduction and expanded explanatory annotations.
Eleven illustrations.
• Analogues from the Sumerian and Hittite narrative traditions along with “The Gilgamesh Letter,” a parody of the epic enjoyed by Mesopotamian schoolchildren during the first millennium BCE.
• Essays by Thorkild Jacobsen, William L. Moran, Susan Ackerman, and Andrew R. George, and a poem by Hillary Major.
• A Glossary of Proper Names and a Selected Bibliography.
• An expanded translation from the Akkadian by Benjamin R. Foster based on new discoveries, adding lines throughout the world’s oldest epic masterpiece.
• Benjamin R. Foster’s full introduction and expanded explanatory annotations.
Eleven illustrations.
• Analogues from the Sumerian and Hittite narrative traditions along with “The Gilgamesh Letter,” a parody of the epic enjoyed by Mesopotamian schoolchildren during the first millennium BCE.
• Essays by Thorkild Jacobsen, William L. Moran, Susan Ackerman, and Andrew R. George, and a poem by Hillary Major.
• A Glossary of Proper Names and a Selected Bibliography.
272 pages, Paperback
Published February 14, 2019
About the author
Anonymous
791k books3,167 followersBooks can be attributed to "Anonymous" for several reasons:
* They are officially published under that name
* They are traditional stories not attributed to a specific author
* They are religious texts not generally attributed to a specific author
Books whose authorship is merely uncertain should be attributed to Unknown.
See also: Anonymous
* They are officially published under that name
* They are traditional stories not attributed to a specific author
* They are religious texts not generally attributed to a specific author
Books whose authorship is merely uncertain should be attributed to Unknown.
See also: Anonymous
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
September 9, 2019
As of its Publication this is the most complete English translation of the work without getting into the hyper scholarly material and has some helpful essays with it that help make sense of the text and show some of the depth of the work and simply the very impressive efforts that have gone into restoring it to what we have today.
There are few works of literature out there which make you feel special for just being able to read them but this certainly one of them. It's the oldest example of what we would understand to be a book; being roughly 4000 years old and not only that but largely lost to history with very incomplete translations only starting in the 19th Century and developing onward. Its' hard to imagine any non religious text having such a great and arduous journey to the present.
That said the most interesting parts of this book is the insight it gives into the minds of people living so far back in the past - their struggles with mortality & the divine, their values and their humour. If that's not something that interests you then you probably won't be in for a good time.
Parting comment - the Sumerian afterlife as described in the Epic and the accompanying poems is pretty horrific, I'm not sure if there has ever been a more depressing belief in the afterlife.
There are few works of literature out there which make you feel special for just being able to read them but this certainly one of them. It's the oldest example of what we would understand to be a book; being roughly 4000 years old and not only that but largely lost to history with very incomplete translations only starting in the 19th Century and developing onward. Its' hard to imagine any non religious text having such a great and arduous journey to the present.
That said the most interesting parts of this book is the insight it gives into the minds of people living so far back in the past - their struggles with mortality & the divine, their values and their humour. If that's not something that interests you then you probably won't be in for a good time.
Parting comment - the Sumerian afterlife as described in the Epic and the accompanying poems is pretty horrific, I'm not sure if there has ever been a more depressing belief in the afterlife.
April 21, 2024
Gilgamesh is the funniest bitch around. Pathetic fail guy
Read
February 19, 20236/20/2022-6/23/2022: I read Stephen Mitchell’s version, which I really enjoyed.
6/29/2022-6/30/2022: I read Stuart Kendall’s version, which I thought was terrible. The book is a colossal waste of paper, with some pages containing only one or two lines. In his lengthy introduction, as well as his note on the translation, Kendall makes attempts at justifying the decision to structure the book this way, but as far as I’m concerned they all fail. His claims about the necessity for his own version of the poem are as absurd and pretentious as the layout of the book.
2/12/2023-2/18/2023: I found myself drawn back to this yet again, this time reading the Norton Critical Edition. This served as a wonderful companion (and what felt like a counterpoint as well) to Mitchell’s version, and the critical apparatus was, of course, invaluable.
6/29/2022-6/30/2022: I read Stuart Kendall’s version, which I thought was terrible. The book is a colossal waste of paper, with some pages containing only one or two lines. In his lengthy introduction, as well as his note on the translation, Kendall makes attempts at justifying the decision to structure the book this way, but as far as I’m concerned they all fail. His claims about the necessity for his own version of the poem are as absurd and pretentious as the layout of the book.
2/12/2023-2/18/2023: I found myself drawn back to this yet again, this time reading the Norton Critical Edition. This served as a wonderful companion (and what felt like a counterpoint as well) to Mitchell’s version, and the critical apparatus was, of course, invaluable.
September 25, 2023
as a review, enjoy my favorite quotes from my prof, my classmates, my notes, and the book itself.
aquinas : great books 1006
"has anything from the story so far made you think, *dear god, what the fuck?*"
"gilgamesh is kind of a dick, isn't he?"
"the solution to the enkidu problem - get him laid"
"they were quite literally made for each other - the original gay enemies to lovers plot"
"there's a very fine line between jealousy and respect"
"beer is civilization, damn it! and don't let anyone tell you otherwise!"
""seven, seven, seven, seven!"-monica from friends"
"you can teach a 30-year-old to kill; but you can't teach him to like it"
"they kissed and became friends"
"this is a story of a tyrant king's journey to humanity - aka, becoming less of a dick"
""paint the town red, i'd rather be famous instead"-gilgamesh be like"
"we all want to matter, and that's what fame is"
"we don't just do heroism, we perform heroism"
"friendship is a symptom of being human"
"which of your loves has lasted forever?"
""got a long list of ex lovers, they'll tell you i'm insane"-ishtar be like"
"thanks but no thanks, and by the way you're a whore"
"she's talking shit about his friend, and he doesn't have the time for that, so he flings severed cow pieces at her (as you do)"
"after his death, i have found no life"
essentially, this story is about a tyrant king who falls in love with a wild beast-man from the forest, and then they go fight monsters together.
and then when the wild beast man dies, the king cries about it for three chapters.
aquinas : great books 1006
"has anything from the story so far made you think, *dear god, what the fuck?*"
"gilgamesh is kind of a dick, isn't he?"
"the solution to the enkidu problem - get him laid"
"they were quite literally made for each other - the original gay enemies to lovers plot"
"there's a very fine line between jealousy and respect"
"beer is civilization, damn it! and don't let anyone tell you otherwise!"
""seven, seven, seven, seven!"-monica from friends"
"you can teach a 30-year-old to kill; but you can't teach him to like it"
"they kissed and became friends"
"this is a story of a tyrant king's journey to humanity - aka, becoming less of a dick"
""paint the town red, i'd rather be famous instead"-gilgamesh be like"
"we all want to matter, and that's what fame is"
"we don't just do heroism, we perform heroism"
"friendship is a symptom of being human"
"which of your loves has lasted forever?"
""got a long list of ex lovers, they'll tell you i'm insane"-ishtar be like"
"thanks but no thanks, and by the way you're a whore"
"she's talking shit about his friend, and he doesn't have the time for that, so he flings severed cow pieces at her (as you do)"
"after his death, i have found no life"
essentially, this story is about a tyrant king who falls in love with a wild beast-man from the forest, and then they go fight monsters together.
and then when the wild beast man dies, the king cries about it for three chapters.
June 11, 2023
A little under half this book is the Babylonian Gilgamesh epic, with the remainder equally divided between miscellaneous Gilgamesh stories (mainly the loose Sumerian episodes and the barely readable Hittite Gilgamesh) on the one hand and academic dross not worth anyone's time on the other.
The good ~70% of it strikes a useful balance between a proper scientific edition with full critical apparatus and the usual general-public hash of unknowable provenance: where Foster has had to cobble together passages, he notes it, but he doesn't bother naming specific manuscripts. Controversial translation decisions are sometimes highlit, but for the most part you just have to trust him (which I am inclined to do): despite apparently being aimed at undergrads, this edition includes no original text or unambiguous reference to some standard edition. Normally I would consider that a sin beyond redemption, but for the level at which I was interested in the Gilgamesh stories—casually but not completely uncritically—it works.
The good ~70% of it strikes a useful balance between a proper scientific edition with full critical apparatus and the usual general-public hash of unknowable provenance: where Foster has had to cobble together passages, he notes it, but he doesn't bother naming specific manuscripts. Controversial translation decisions are sometimes highlit, but for the most part you just have to trust him (which I am inclined to do): despite apparently being aimed at undergrads, this edition includes no original text or unambiguous reference to some standard edition. Normally I would consider that a sin beyond redemption, but for the level at which I was interested in the Gilgamesh stories—casually but not completely uncritically—it works.
January 26, 2024
It's pretty cool to read mankind's oldest piece of literature and see how the ancients thought and what sort of stories they had. Also neat to read about The Flood and the survivor from a non-biblical account. I recommend podcast "Classical Stuff You Should Know: Episode 49: Gilgamesh" as a supplement after you finish reading the tablets to gain additional content and process/recap themes.
Read
January 24, 2021So epic
August 17, 2023
The first text ever written was about restorative justice<3
March 14, 2024
I didn't like this epic much, but it's great to have read it.
One of the most notable values of this edition is that it provides the reader with extensive accompanied texts to expound on the Epic of Gilgamesh's origin, traditions, and translations. The reader was well informed of its incompleteness and that many word plays or other poetic elements of the epic had not survived the translation. A sore pity, indeed (but, yeah, this goes with any great work of literature; best is to read them in its 'original' language).
One of the most notable values of this edition is that it provides the reader with extensive accompanied texts to expound on the Epic of Gilgamesh's origin, traditions, and translations. The reader was well informed of its incompleteness and that many word plays or other poetic elements of the epic had not survived the translation. A sore pity, indeed (but, yeah, this goes with any great work of literature; best is to read them in its 'original' language).
November 26, 2019
The world's oldest surviving story, the Epic of Gilgamesh, is a sweeping adventure about the real-life King of Sumerian Uruk. Gilgamesh is blessed by the Gods with everything mortal man would wish for: a kingdom, relentless strength, beauty and even the desire of a Goddess. Yet still, this isn't enough for him. To check his raging ego, the Gods put in his life a one Enkidu, half-man half-wild creature. Enkidu is ALL Gilgamesh wants out of life. Yet tragedy strikes. Gilgamesh is left grappling with a crippling fear of death and begins his quest for immortality.
What is absolutely badass about this story is not only that it is literally the first story to endure since almost three THOUSAND years before christ, but reading it I could see how so many stories are built on Gilgamesh's brawny back.
The meter is thunderous. It's repetitive because the story was first told at court, probably with a bunch of drunk Sumerian nobles. Knowing that added to the fun. I drank in the names of the old gods with relish, fascinated with hearing names that have endured so many millennia of human story-telling.
Of course, it's not a book I want to read every Christmas. Nor do I particularly relate with the god-like Gilgamesh enough for him lodge his way into my five stars, yet the story is without a doubt an early masterpiece. (By the by, it is amazing I have made it this far without mistakenly writing 'Gilgameth'- what a damn name). I digress.
If you enjoy mythology, especially Greek mythology or greek epics like the Odyssey, you'll enjoy the Epic of Gilgamesh. Or if you are an obsessive writer hell-bent on creating a legend by studying stories of old like myself, you had better read Gilgameth with rapt attention.
What is absolutely badass about this story is not only that it is literally the first story to endure since almost three THOUSAND years before christ, but reading it I could see how so many stories are built on Gilgamesh's brawny back.
The meter is thunderous. It's repetitive because the story was first told at court, probably with a bunch of drunk Sumerian nobles. Knowing that added to the fun. I drank in the names of the old gods with relish, fascinated with hearing names that have endured so many millennia of human story-telling.
Of course, it's not a book I want to read every Christmas. Nor do I particularly relate with the god-like Gilgamesh enough for him lodge his way into my five stars, yet the story is without a doubt an early masterpiece. (By the by, it is amazing I have made it this far without mistakenly writing 'Gilgameth'- what a damn name). I digress.
If you enjoy mythology, especially Greek mythology or greek epics like the Odyssey, you'll enjoy the Epic of Gilgamesh. Or if you are an obsessive writer hell-bent on creating a legend by studying stories of old like myself, you had better read Gilgameth with rapt attention.
September 22, 2020
Benjamin R. Foster's new translation of the Epic of Gilgamesh perfectly presents the ancient text in understandable modern English, capturing and conveying the primal power and timelessness of the story. With a thorough introduction and supplemental critical essays, this particular edition of the Epic is what I would consider the go-to.
The Epic of Gilgamesh, considered the oldest surviving literary masterpiece, is a grand story teeming with adventure, lust, conquest, and riches. The tyrant Gilgamesh rules his kingdom Uruk capriciously, abusing his subjects to amuse himself. Hearing the lamentations and prayers of the people, the gods create Enkidu, a feral man equal in godly strength to Gilgamesh. After maturing intellectually, Enkidu confronts Gilgamesh to prevent the continued abuse. After a rather quick and brutal fight, Gilgamesh and Enkidu become as brothers (or lovers, depending which lens one reads the work through). From here, Gilgamesh and Enkidu set on a series of quests to secure their legacy in history. Grand, powerful, sexy, brutal, and often times humorous, the Epic explores the fundamental questions of what it means to be a person, what it means to be "civilized", and how to confront and overcome mortality.
The Epic of Gilgamesh, considered the oldest surviving literary masterpiece, is a grand story teeming with adventure, lust, conquest, and riches. The tyrant Gilgamesh rules his kingdom Uruk capriciously, abusing his subjects to amuse himself. Hearing the lamentations and prayers of the people, the gods create Enkidu, a feral man equal in godly strength to Gilgamesh. After maturing intellectually, Enkidu confronts Gilgamesh to prevent the continued abuse. After a rather quick and brutal fight, Gilgamesh and Enkidu become as brothers (or lovers, depending which lens one reads the work through). From here, Gilgamesh and Enkidu set on a series of quests to secure their legacy in history. Grand, powerful, sexy, brutal, and often times humorous, the Epic explores the fundamental questions of what it means to be a person, what it means to be "civilized", and how to confront and overcome mortality.
January 7, 2021
My first exposure to Gilgamesh was reading an excerpt in college in 1989 and writing a very bad paper about it which demonstrated my complete lack of understanding.
My second exposure was in the Star Trek: The Next Generation season 5 episode “Darmok” in 1991, about an encounter with an alien species who only communicates in metaphor (“Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra”). As part of Captain Picard’s attempts to communicate with the alien Captain Dathon, he tells the story of Gilgamesh in the same metaphorical manner (“Gilgamesh. A king at Uruk.” “Gilgamesh and Enkidu at Uruk”).
I read it again a few years ago, and it was interesting. But I think this latest reading is really the first time I’ve actually understood it, and that has everything to do with the Norton Critical Edition I chose. Not only was the translation easier to follow (even with the many gaps where only fragments of the tablets remain), the supplemental material put it into perspective, providing older versions of the epic as well as critical essays.
Literature is not my strong suit, but I’ve always wanted to understand it better, and I think that this edition of Gilgamesh shows that it’s possible.
My second exposure was in the Star Trek: The Next Generation season 5 episode “Darmok” in 1991, about an encounter with an alien species who only communicates in metaphor (“Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra”). As part of Captain Picard’s attempts to communicate with the alien Captain Dathon, he tells the story of Gilgamesh in the same metaphorical manner (“Gilgamesh. A king at Uruk.” “Gilgamesh and Enkidu at Uruk”).
I read it again a few years ago, and it was interesting. But I think this latest reading is really the first time I’ve actually understood it, and that has everything to do with the Norton Critical Edition I chose. Not only was the translation easier to follow (even with the many gaps where only fragments of the tablets remain), the supplemental material put it into perspective, providing older versions of the epic as well as critical essays.
Literature is not my strong suit, but I’ve always wanted to understand it better, and I think that this edition of Gilgamesh shows that it’s possible.
August 3, 2019
I’ll be honest. I just don’t understand why this story has survived for so long. It’s weird, and even considering the possibility of mistranslation, or my infamiliarity with Mesopotamian culture, but I just can’t understand how 7 loaves of bread prove you’ve slept for 7 days or why staying awake for 7 days could prove you are worthy of immortality. Why does a grown man ride on children’s backs to play hockey? What’s going on??? The text is really short, so it doesn’t feel like a deep treatise on MSN’s perception of the concept of death. Instead, I’m mostly confused.
On the other hand, the analyses at the end and the notations were very helpful and it was interesting to examine how the text changed over time. I enjoyed reading scenes from Gilgamesh and recognizing how those story arcs and themes have been recycled and appropriated in other stories so many times. I feel much more culturally literate now, if not at all satisfied with the story itself.
On the other hand, the analyses at the end and the notations were very helpful and it was interesting to examine how the text changed over time. I enjoyed reading scenes from Gilgamesh and recognizing how those story arcs and themes have been recycled and appropriated in other stories so many times. I feel much more culturally literate now, if not at all satisfied with the story itself.
December 18, 2021
It doesn’t seem right to rate a story that’s been around some 4000 years, so I’m only rating this edition.
I liked the edition a lot. It gave a brief introduction and then a translation of the whole work. After this it has a section with other Gilgamesh stories through time. This was an awesome touch for comparative studies. It helped me appreciate the whole story better in the Standard Version knowing some of the potential source material. And then the last section contains critical essays. I definitely liked this touch, as it gave me an introduction into some of the thought and perspectives on this story in scholarship. Overall, I really loved what this edition enabled me to dig into with my first reading of The Epic of Gilgamesh.
I want to write a longer review or essay of this work because I have many thoughts, but I don’t want to do it on my phone so it’ll have to wait for a later addition.
I liked the edition a lot. It gave a brief introduction and then a translation of the whole work. After this it has a section with other Gilgamesh stories through time. This was an awesome touch for comparative studies. It helped me appreciate the whole story better in the Standard Version knowing some of the potential source material. And then the last section contains critical essays. I definitely liked this touch, as it gave me an introduction into some of the thought and perspectives on this story in scholarship. Overall, I really loved what this edition enabled me to dig into with my first reading of The Epic of Gilgamesh.
I want to write a longer review or essay of this work because I have many thoughts, but I don’t want to do it on my phone so it’ll have to wait for a later addition.
June 16, 2021
I never had to read this epic story in college, and I was a History major and English minor. I am glad I decided to pick it up and go through. This Norton sponsored tea station is excellent, and provides a lot of great insights into various versions of the text, as well as supports and criticisms.
It was interesting to read the take of another culture on their version of the Flood, reasons for it, why their Noahic figure saved animals and people, and what his reward for doing so was. There are some.great parallels between this and the Genesis version of the Flood.
Overall, my rating is based on the text itself, not the work of the translators. I found parts of the Epic to be rather tedious. Still prefer Beowulf 🙂
It was interesting to read the take of another culture on their version of the Flood, reasons for it, why their Noahic figure saved animals and people, and what his reward for doing so was. There are some.great parallels between this and the Genesis version of the Flood.
Overall, my rating is based on the text itself, not the work of the translators. I found parts of the Epic to be rather tedious. Still prefer Beowulf 🙂
September 21, 2022
A more challenging read due to its broken up nature and poetic structure, but certainly an impressive work when viewed in context, such as the effort involved in the translation and piecing together of such an ancient narrative for a contemporary audience.
The additional critiques and analyses add a whole lot of value, definitely worth reading; they enrich understanding of the source text significantly and provide additional food for thought, as well as highlighting symbolisms, references and devices that may be lost on readers less well versed in interpreting such old texts.
The additional critiques and analyses add a whole lot of value, definitely worth reading; they enrich understanding of the source text significantly and provide additional food for thought, as well as highlighting symbolisms, references and devices that may be lost on readers less well versed in interpreting such old texts.
February 7, 2021
"He anointed himself with oil, turned into a man,
He put on clothing, became like a warrior,
He took his weapon, did battle with lions"
surprisingly beautiful, queer, humorous, and relatable.
(little disappointing that after 4000 years many aspects of western civilization's sexist attitudes have held steady.)
He put on clothing, became like a warrior,
He took his weapon, did battle with lions"
surprisingly beautiful, queer, humorous, and relatable.
(little disappointing that after 4000 years many aspects of western civilization's sexist attitudes have held steady.)
June 14, 2022
This is a must read if you are trying to understand as much about Gilgamesh as possible. The translation is very good because it meshes many versions from the known tablets. It still shows gaps that will not be filled in until more tablets are found or translated. The essays are excellent especially interesting is the one about the liminal women in the epic.
June 25, 2022
I read this for my college humanities class, but for being written thousands of years ago, it’s highly compelling. The characters feel very human, with human needs and desires. There are definitely some weird parts, but that’s only to be expected. The ending is very depressing, the story is basically saying you can’t live forever no matter what you do.
June 2, 2020
A scholarly reading experience, and a somewhat disjointed one, but not without its pleasures.
October 24, 2022
A beautiful story about human nature and how we navigate life
Read
September 5, 2023Damn. This was so gay.
Read
September 17, 2023Not for me. Interesting. Very repetitive.
February 1, 2024
ancient mesopotamians make gay fanfic??
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews