Reference
- Akkadian languageAkkadian refers to the East Semitic language spoken and written in Mesopotamia from about 2400 bce to the Christian era (Huehnergard and Woods 2004. The modern name is derived from Akkadu. Old Akkadian covers a small corpus of evidence prior to 2000 (Hilgert 2002; Hasselbach 2005. Thereafter, Akkadian (reference grammar von Soden 1969; textbook Huehnergard 2005; linguistic description Reiner 1966 is divided into Assyrian and Babylonian dialects. Assyrian, centered on the city of Assur in upper Mesopotamia, is divided into Old (2000–1750), Middle (1500–1000), and Neo-Assyrian (1000–600). Babylonian is divided into Old (1900–1500), Middle (1500–1000), Neo- (1000–600), and Late (600 bce–first century ce). There were two literary dialects, both Babylonian in origin, the Hymnic-Epic dialect (1900–1500), and Standard Babylonian, from the mid-second millennium on. During the second half of the second millennium, Akkadian diffused throughout western Asia as a formal written language...
- Epicong, exalted narrative poem, usually on a serious subject, centered on a heroic figure. The earliest epics, known as primary, or original, epics, were shaped from the legends of an age when a nation was conquering and expanding; such is the foundation of the Babylonian epic of Gilgamesh, of the Iliad and the Odyssey of the Greek Homer, and of the Anglo-Saxon Beowulf. Literary, or secondary, epics, written in conscious imitation of earlier forms, are most notably represented by Vergil's Aeneid and Milton's Paradise Lost...
- Epic of GilgameshGilgamesh (meaning “the old man is now a young man”) is perhaps the greatest hero in ancient Near Eastern literature. The story of this hero is based on a legendary king of the same name who ruled the Mesopotamian city of Uruk sometime between 2700 and 2600 BCE The name of Gilgamesh appears on the famous Sumerian King List, which dates to the late third millennium BCE. Later kings viewed Gilgamesh with great respect; some considered him as their personal god. As of yet, no inscriptions have been found that can be attributed to him...
- GilgameshHero of the ancient Akkadian-language Epic of Gilgamesh. The great literary work of ancient Mesopotamia, the epic is known from 12 incomplete tablets discovered at Nineveh in the library of Ashurbanipal. Gaps in the narrative have been filled in with fragments found elsewhere. The character Gilgamesh is probably based on the Gilgamesh who ruled Uruk in the 3rd millennium bc. The epic presents Gilgamesh as a great warrior and builder, who rejects the marriage proposal of the goddess Ishtar. With the aid of his friend and companion Enkidu, he kills the divine bull that Ishtar sends to destroy him. Enkidu’s death prompts Gilgamesh to seek Utnapishtim, survivor of the legendary flood, to learn how to escape death. He obtains a youth-renewing plant only to have it stolen. The epic ends with the return of the spirit of Enkidu, who gives a dismal report on the underworld...
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The World’s Oldest Myth: Gilgamesh
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Start these riveting lectures at the only appropriate point: the oldest story in the world. In looking at the epic of Gilgamesh, you’ll learn how this foundational Babylonian myth reflects real historical tensions between ancient Eastern city-states; tensions mirrored in the myth’s concerns with civilized—and untamed—human nature.
Online Resources
- Epic of Gilgamesh: BritannicaEpic of Gilgamesh, ancient Mesopotamian odyssey recorded in the Akkadian language about Gilgamesh, the king of the Mesopotamian city-state Uruk (Erech).
The fullest extant text of the Gilgamesh epic is on 12 incomplete Akkadian-language tablets found in the mid-19th century by the Turkish Assyriologist Hormuzd Rassam at Nineveh in the library of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal (reigned 668–627 BCE)... - Tablet (Epic of Gilgamesh): British MuseumThis object is the single most famous cuneiform text and caused a sensation when its content was first read in the 19th century because of its similarity to the Flood story in the Book of Genesis. Baked clay tablet inscribed with the Babylonian account of the Flood...
Perspectives
The Epic of Gilgamesh
Since the discovery over one hundred years ago of a body of Mesopotamian poetry preserved on clay tablets, what has come to be known as the Epic of Gilgamesh has been considered a masterpiece of ancient literature. It recounts the deeds of a hero-king of ancient Mesopotamia, following him through adventures and encounters with men and gods alike. Yet the central concerns of the Epic lie deeper than the lively and exotic storyline: they revolve around a man's eternal struggle with the limitations of human nature, and encompass the basic human feelings of loneliness, friendship, love, loss, revenge, and the fear of the oblivion of death. These themes are developed in a distinctly Mesopotamian idiom, to be sure, but with a sensitivity and intensity that touch the modern reader across the chasm of three thousand years. This translation presents the Epic to the general reader in a clear narrative.
The Buried Book
Adventurers, explorers, kings, gods, and goddesses come to life in this riveting story of the first great epic--lost to the world for 2,000 years, and rediscovered in the nineteenth century Composed by a poet and priest in Middle Babylonia around 1200 bce, The Epic of Gilgamesh foreshadowed later stories that would become as fundamental as any in human history, The Odyssey and the Bible. But in 600 bce, the clay tablets that bore the story were lost--buried beneath ashes and ruins when the library of the wild king Ashurbanipal was sacked in a raid. "The Buried Book" begins with the rediscovery of the epic and its deciphering in 1872 by George Smith, a brilliant self-taught linguist who created a sensation when he discovered Gilgamesh among the thousands of tablets in the British Museum's collection. From there the story goes backward in time, all the way to Gilgamesh himself. Damrosch reveals the story as a literary bridge between East and West: a document lost in Babylonia, discovered by an Iraqi, decoded by an Englishman, and appropriated in novels by both Philip Roth and Saddam Hussein. This is an illuminating, fast-paced tale of history as it was written, stolen, lost, and--after 2,000 years, countless battles, fevered digs, conspiracies, and revelations--finally found.
The Evolution of the Gilgamesh Epic
Special Features- Aims to show how The Gilgamesh Epic developed from its earliest to its latest form- Systematic, step-by-step tracking of the stylistic, thematic, structural, and theological changes in The Gilgamesh Epic- Relation of changes to factors (geographical, political, religious, literary) that may have prompted them- Attempts to identify the sources (biographical, historical, literary, folkloric) of the epic's themes, and to suggest what may have been intended by use of these themes- Extensive bibliography- Indices
Ashurbanipal's Library and Gilgamesh
- Kanopy This link opens in a new windowHere, discover the intellectual King Ashurbanipal whose library is one of the first in recorded history. In it, find clay tablets recording omens from the gods, as well as the world's oldest epic poem, The Epic of Gilgamesh.