The Epic of Gilgamesh is arguably the oldest story in the world, a thousand years older than the Iliad and the Bible. Dating back to 26th century B.C.E., The Epic of Gilgamesh is probably based on a Sumerian king who ruled the city of Uruk around 2750 B.C.E. The ruins of Uruk were only recently discovered, and the story of Gilgamesh itself was lost to time until a 1872 when a scholar noticed that a set of undeciphered tablets, sitting the the British Museum for decades, contained the story of a Babylonian Noah. He deciphered them all, giving the world its first near complete translation of the Epic of Gilgamesh.

The Epic of Gilgamesh tells the story of a great king, a god-king, who, through friendship, became a human being. As it opens, Gilgamesh is building the city of Uruk, constructing the greatest walled city ever seen. He has no regard for the people whose lives are consumed by his desire nor for the gods who fear it. Enkidu, a wild man capable of defeating Gilgamesh, is sent by the gods to the forests near Uruk. Enkidu lives at peace with nature, a friend to all animals until a beautiful young priestess, Shamhut, arrives. When he falls in love with her, she cuts his hair, cleans him up, civilizes him and brings him back to Uruk where he does battle with Gilgamesh.

The battle is a fierce one, but it eventually becomes apparent that the two great men are equally matched. Gilgmaseh, who has never had an equal before, befriends Enkidu and the two then have a series of adventures. Typically, Gilgamesh suggests the adventure and Enkidu tries to talk him out of it before giving in and going along. Gilgmamesh suggests they defeat the monster Humbaba and cut down the forest he lives in, but Enkidu resists arguing that this will anger the goddess Ishtar to whom the forest belongs. They defeat Humbaba, cut down the forest, and disgrace Ishtar. The gods then send down the Bull of Heaven which Gilgamesh and Enkidu also kill. But during the battle, Enkidu is mortally wounded and dies soon after. Gilgamesh is heartbroken, so he sets off to defeat death itself. It is during this final journey that he meets the man who survived the great flood which destroyed all the world.

Gilgamesh is a compelling story, full of adventure, romance, sex and violence and it does have a few things to say to a modern audience. Who hasn't suffered the loss of a loved one or wanted to defeat death? Mr. Mitchell's translation is both poetic and highly readable; the story can be read in one or two evenings. But if you're looking for something as wonderful as Seamus Heaney's recent translation of Beowulf, you won't find it in Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh feels like a very primitive story, like a rough draft for the epics that will follow it. It lacks the poetry of Homer's Iliad or Virgil's Aeneid, along with the depth of character and narrative complexity of later epics. But it is the first one, and there is something to be said for that.

I believe that one of the most important lessons we can learn from history is that it can all vanish. The historical king, Gilgamesh, built a great city, Uruk, which is now a ruin, one that would be unknown but for the expert eye of archaeologists. The names of its kings are recorded as are many of their deeds, but the only one anybody is still talking about, outside of very refined academic circles, is the fictional one featured in the Epic of Gilgamesh. What survives the passage of time is art. ( )

Honestly, I did NOT think I was going to like Gilgamesh. I had read it for my college literature class.. and.. actually, I really loved it! I think most of my classmates were surprised that they liked it as well. The story was so interesting and well told. I felt like there was a lot of life lessons that were taught. I think it's a timeless story. I highly recommend, Gilgamesh! ( )

Mitchell's introduction is excellent. The translation couldn't sound more modern, it reads very deceptively easily. The story is simple, yet powerful. What could be more human than the fear of death? This story contains so much and yet is so short. Love, sex,and hate, friendship and combat, death, grief and joy, courage and fear, foolishness and wisdom. Amazing considering it was all done on 12 clay tablets, in cuneiform. ( )

There doesn't seem to be much redeeming value to what is known as the oldest story in the world. The narrative is achingly repetitive and spare. It is very easy to read, and there are only a select few images that make this worth reading. For example, the symbol of the snake taking Gilgamesh's only hope for youth away was very clever and brought to mind allusions from the Bible. In the same vein, there were many other references to the Bible, which, interestingly, had not yet appeared. The ending was abrupt, and the prose was dry and left one wanting much more. I don't really see Gilgamesh as particularly important to literature - to history, absolutely - but it doesn't really contribute anything besides the mere fact of its novelty. It did give some interesting insight into the customs and traditions of a nearly-forgotten culture. Mitchell's Introduction was actually more informative than the text itself. But in the end, if one is bored and has a few hours (because it's quite short), it's not a terrible way to pass the time. ( )

I enjoy Stephen Mitchell's rendition, don't get me wrong,. Mitchell is a good poet. It's good to have an edition by a good poet. It's possible that having an edition by a good poet is the best of all possible editions. Yet, I can't help wishing that the critical edition ISBN 0198149220 by A. R. George would get equivalent critical attention from the New York Times and others. An edition published in numbers similar to the Mitchell version would bring the price per copy down to a level non-specialists can afford. As it is, only those associated with institutions can acquire a copy either by getting the institution to buy it for them or buying it and taking it off of their income taxes.

Apologies for the rant. I just really hate to see good work out of reach.

Oh, and George Guidall's reading on the audiobook is excellent. ( )