David Ferry, in 1992, conceived and produced a sparse but effective translation of the epic into modern verse. The story is well known, at least from the influence it at on later works such as the Bible (the flood) and other epics. It was the first to develop themes that would continue through western literature, such as the use of the "double" and the contrast of civilization, represented by the city, with the wilderness. Ferry's modern translation allows these themes to come through the text without using a precise literal line by line translation. A very readable rendition of the original western epic. ( )

I find the epic of Gilgamesh intriguing for two reasons: because the themes it deals with are universal and timeless, and because it foreshadows important aspects of the Christian story which many want to believe is unique; it's not. There are direct translations of the epic from the cuneiform, and then there are renditions in poetic form that draw upon these translations. This book by David Ferry is one of the latter, as is the other version I own, and the first I read, by David Mitchell. I also have a translation by Andrew George and am going to seek out others.

I see two principal themes in the epic: first, dealing with the fact of mortality and what, if anything, will live on after our lives; secondly, the power and necessity of friendship. However, there is a very large number of themes or ideas either developed, or adumbrated, through out the story any one of which could be traced through the thousands of years to come in literature and other arts, such as: the effect of tyranny on a people (Gilgamesh in his early days); a fall from grace that was a state of nature (Enkidu); the mysterious and sometimes threatening power of sex that women hold (Enkidu's fall from nature by being seduced by the temple harlot for seven days of sex); defending the oppressed (Enkidu fighting Gilgamesh over his right to sleep with a bride on her first night); the humanity of even the great ones who also experience fear (Gilgamesh and Enkidu in the cedar forest to take on the monster Huwawa ; Gilgamesh in the mountain tunnel of darkness), doubt (Gilgamesh wants to go back at one point in the forest, but Enkidu strengthens his resolve), grief (Gilgamesh for Enkidu); the fleeting nature of fame ("The life of man is short/What he accomplishes is but the wind"); punishment or retribution for unjustified actions or reaching too far (Gilgamesh was right in hesitating to kill Huwawa who had done them no harm, but was urged on by Enkidu); the power of divine intervention (they would not have subdued Huwawa without the help of a god); sexual temptation (the goddess Ishtar trying to seduce Gilgamesh ); the power of a woman scorned (Ishtar's fury at being spurned with harsh terms); hubris and the downfall of tempting fate (Enkidu's death); life as fate preordained by the gods; fear of death (Enkidu on his death bed); the ultimate futility of trying to escape the fate of mortality (the loss of the fountain-of-youth plant that Gilgamesh had retrieved); the futility of railing against one's past because what's done is done (Enkidu on his death bed).

The supporting power of friendship is a strong theme. Enkidu's first reaction after his "fall" now that his "heart was beginning to know itself", was his longing "for a companion", hence his cry to the harlot to take him to Uruk, the city of Gilgamesh. The two fight, but then become fast, inseparable friends. They support and encourage each other; when one has doubts, the other is strong. Together they enter the terrifying cedar forest and take on Huwawa; together they kill the Bull of Heaven sent by Ishtar to kill Gilgamesh after he spurned her, as they cried together: "Two people, companions, they can prevail together". (So, Gilgamesh is the original buddy-story, a theme still much alive today!)

There is an early echo of Odysseus and Hercules's labours in Gilgamesh's voyage in search for Utnapishtim, the one mortal who has achieved immortality, having been blessed by the gods.

The pre-Christian echoes: a fall from grace and state of bliss in nature because of knowledge gained that precludes one from going back (Enkidu cannot return to the animals, they run away from him, after he has gained knowledge of human life through sex); a flood that wipes out all living things on earth except for Utnapishtim and his wife and a sample of every living creature that he was instructed, by a god, to bring on board the boat he was told to build, complete with measurements; the release of birds when the boat finally settles on a mountain as the waters recede; Gilgamesh himself is the child of a mortal coming together with a god; and a nice final touch: it is a snake that steals the fountain-of-youth plant that Gilgamesh is trying to take back to Uruk as kind of a consolation prize for not having obtained the immortality enjoyed by Utnapishtim.

The epic is very much something to enjoyed and pondered.

From the dust jacket flap: Gilgamesh is the great epic of Mesopotamia, one of the oldest works in Western literature, contemporary with the oldest parts of the Bible.

This is one of those books that shows how little humans have changed since we began to record our stories. And it shows bisexuality as an aspect of a heroic life. An amazing book to have on the shelf, and one to return to. ( )