Gilgamesh (A new english version)

‘A magnificent new rendering ... Should become recognised as the standard text’ The Times Gilgamesh is the first work of world literature and remains one of the most important. Written in ancient Mesopotamia in the second millennium BC, it predates the Iliad by roughly 1,000 years. Lost for almost two millennia, the eleven clay tables on which the epic was inscribed were discovered in 1850 in the ruins of Nineveh, and the text was not deciphered and fully translated until the end of the century. The epic is the story of literature’s first hero - the king of Uruk in what is present-day Iraq - and his journey of self-discovery. In giving voice to grief and the fear of death, in portraying love and vulnerability and the ego’s hopeless striving for immortality, Gilgamesh has touched millions of readers in dozens of languages. Although there have been many scholarly translations, until now there has not been a version that is a superlative literary text in its own right. Poet and pre-eminent translator Stephen Mitchell’s vivid rendering allows one to discover the ancient masterpiece as if for the first time, to see how startlingly beautiful and alive it is. His introduction provides a historical and cultural context for this ancient epic, showing that Gilgamesh is more potent and fascinating than ever. ‘A powerful translation ... The most pellucid version of the epic yet to have been written in English’ Daily Telegraph ‘Entrances and enthrals’ Independent