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Our reading of Gilgamesh begins on February 12. It’s not a very long epic poem, consisting of 11 tablets/books. Some translations also include an Appendix (Tablet XII), but since the Appendix is not available in all translations and since it tells a separate story, we won’t be including it in the reading and discussion. The tablets vary in length. Some are fragmentary and/or have extensive gaps. But there is plenty to discuss in the available text.

Some available translations:

Myths from Mesopotamia: Creation, the Flood, Gilgamesh, and Others by Stephanie Dalley.

Gilgamesh: A New English Version translated by StephenMitchell. Mitchell adds lines or passages to bridge the gaps and make the poem more accessible to a modern audience.

Gilgamesh: A New Translation of the Ancient Epic translated by Sophus Helle.

I’ve also found an online prose version translated by N.K. Sandars


There is an online modernized version in narrative form. I don’t particularly recommend it but it might be helpful as a supplement to the original:


I found an online reading of the epic for those of you who prefer audiobooks:


Although I have the Dalley and Mitchell translations and will dip into them occasionally, I will be relying primarily on the Sophus Helle translation. It has the added benefit of including all currently available versions, including the Old Babylonian version, the Standard Babylonian version, and the Assyrian version.

A quick online search yields several other translations available in book form.

Many translations include an introduction to the poem. You are welcome to read the intro if you want but it isn’t necessary. I am posting a brief introduction to situate the text and a glossary of names. This should be sufficient for our purpose which is to engage with the actual text, discuss it, and (hopefully!) enjoy it without getting bogged down in a lot of the ancillary material.

This is the place to let us know if you have a different translation you plan to use.

READING SCHEDULE

I have allocated two tablets/books per week for discussion, which should give us ample time to explore the epic.

Week 1: February 12 � 18
Tablets I (includes Prologue) & II

Week 2: February 19 - 25
Tablets III & IV

Week 3: February 26 � March 4
Tablets V & VI

Week 4: March 5 � March 11
Tablets VII & VIII

Week 5: March 12 � March 18
Tablets IX & X

Week 6: March 19 � March 25
Tablet XI and the poem as a whole

I will be reading Davis, Gerald J.. Gilgamesh: The New Translation . Insignia Publishing. Kindle Edition. I have the Audible audiobook of the same as well.

I am tempted to also read along with Gilgamesh by Gary Beckman (Introduction), Stanley Lombardo (Translator). Lombardo's translations of Homer appealed to me more than some others.

Reviews say the Davis translation is more literal and structured, while the Lombardo version is more poetic and readable.

I'm reading Gilgamesh in French, as it's far easier than English for me. I chose the translation by Jean Bottéro, who is a Babylonian/ Akkadian scholar. It seems he tried to stick as close to the text as possible, so I'm not sure about the "readability" of the text. I'll probaby use another, looser, translation for ease of reading. I know I have a translation meant for students somewhere.

My edition has a long introduction, which I plan to read. But I have a question : do you all read the introduction before or after reading the main text? I like to readit after, so as not to "spoil" the storyline. But, very often, ancient texts are easier to understand when you have more elements beforehand.

La_mariane wrote: "My edition has a long introduction, which I plan to read. But I have a question : do you all read the introduction before or after reading the main text?.."

It's up to you if you want to read the introduction. I have posted a brief introduction to the text and a glossary here, which should be sufficient for our purpose:
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I am waiting for the David Mitchell translation to come in from my library.

That is a good translation

Sorry for showing up late but my browser did not update the discussions for me, something related to the browser cache according to my son...

As I have mentioned before, I am using a version in Portuguese, by a Brazilian professor Jacyntho Lins Brandão, published in 2017. It was translated straightly from the akkadian. So it is the "Sin-leqi-unninni" version where Gilgamesh is described as "the one who saw the abyss". Brandão decided to reflect the original text of the Assurbanipal tablets which means that he did not use other sources even if those other fragments / manuscripts / tablets would make the story much more comprehensible (filling a lot of gaps in the "original" tablets). But Brandão has provided tons of comments and translation notes in this version which means that it is really a very interesting one.

Monica wrote: "Sorry for showing up late but my browser did not update the discussions for me, something related to the browser cache according to my son...

As I have mentioned before, I am using a version in Po..."

No worries, Monica. You're not late and are always welcome. Looking forward to your contributions to the discussion.

Monica wrote: "Sorry for showing up late but my browser did not update the discussions for me, something related to the browser cache according to my son...

As I have mentioned before, I am using a version in Po..."

I am reading his translation too. I started today.

The Davis Translation has 2 appendices containing Tablet XII and The Death of Gilgamesh respectively. The Note on the Translation reads:

Many scholars of the ancient Middle East feel that Tablet XII is not properly a part of the Epic of Gilgamesh, but rather an Akkadian translation of an earlier Sumerian poem, Gilgamesh, Enkidu and the Netherworld. Some view it as an epilogue, reprising the themes of the original Epic, while others view it as an appendage written by an inferior author and thus not worthy of inclusion in the work. For this reason, Tablet XII is listed as Appendix 1. The Death of Gilgamesh is an earlier Sumerian poem, and does not appear in the Akkadian version of the Epic. It is presented in this book as Appendix 2.
Davis, Gerald J.. Gilgamesh: The New Translation.

David wrote: "The Davis Translation has 2 appendices containing Tablet XII and The Death of Gilgamesh respectively. The Note on the Translation reads:Many scholars of the ancient Middle East feel that Tablet XII..."

This is what Helle says about Tablet XII:

The eleven Tablets of the epic were accompanied by a twelfth, an appendix translated directly from an older Sumerian tale. Tablet XII tells a separate story about the same characters, throwing another light on the theme of death. Here, Enkidu is alive again, apparently a father and a widower.

Tablet XII is generally not included in Akkadian version of the epic for the reasons Gerald Davis cites above.