Epic of Gilgamesh

By John Harris

Arts Literature

What's Epic of Gilgamesh about?

An Annotated Prose Rendition

Based upon the Original

Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian,

and Hittite Tablets

With Supplementary Sumerian

Texts and Selected Sumerian Proverbs

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Epic of Gilgamesh episodes:

07.21.2011
Introduction to the Text
A brief introduction to the Epic: its origin and significance to our lives. *** Image is of the famed eleventh tablet of the Epic of Gilgamesh, in which the tale of the Flood is related. Now housed in the British Museum,...
07.21.2011
Prologue
Preamble to the adventures, introducing Gilgamesh, king of Uruk, and alluding to the goddess Ishtar whose presence is preeminent among all divinity in this tale, and in whose temple are kept the tablets which are to be read to tell...
07.21.2011
Adventure of Enkidu
The Adventure of Enkidu continues tablet I of the Epic and finishes on tablet II. It is supplemented by Bablyonian material where the Akkadian text is damaged. Gilgamesh is a young king of Uruk, arrogant, and overbearing. He...
07.21.2011
Adventure of Forests of Cedar (Part 1)
The text of this episode is much damaged in both the Akkadian and the Babylonian series; rather than indicating the frequent gaps and ambiguities, the text is reconstructed from the best sources, including the more ancient Sumerian. Much is conjectural,...
07.21.2011
Adventure of Forests of Cedar (Part 2)
The conclusion of the adventure, the confron-tation with Humbaba. *** The image is a Sumerian clay model of the face of Humbaba, said to be the image of coiled intestines.  Music excerpt is  “Fantasia On A Theme By Thomas Tallis” from the album,...
07.21.2011
Adventure of the Halub Tree
This is the heavily damaged twelfth tablet in the Gilgamesh Epic found in the royal library of Ninevah. It’s content is disconcerting to scholars as the final chapter to the Epic, because so ranked it would seemingly resurrect Enkidu from...
07.21.2011
Adventure of Lugalbanda and the Anzud Bird
Lugalbanda, the ostensible father of Gilgamesh, whose statue stood in his bedroom, which he reverentially anointed with butter, and to which he addressed his private thoughts, appeared in important Sumerian legends that told how he had become King of Uruk...
07.21.2011
5,000 Year Old Proverbs
This is my favorite Sumerian artifact. A so-called “devotional statue,” it dates to 2600 B.C., representing what scholars believe is a married couple. This statue was found buried beneath the floor of a shrine at Nippur in Iraq and measures at...
07.21.2011
Adventure of the Bull of Heaven (Part 1)
The image is the “Queen of the Night,” a relief of Old Babylonian Empire (1800-1750 BC); it is now housed in the British Museum. This large plaque is made of baked straw-tempered clay, modeled in high relief. The figure of the...
07.21.2011
Adventure of the Bull of Heaven (Part 2)
A modern clay impression of a Neo-Assyrian cylinder seal, circa 7th century BCE. One of only five with this motif that have survived. Height: 3.9 cm. Diameter: 1.6 cm. Enkidu, on the left, wears a short kilt...
07.21.2011
The Wanderings of Gilgamesh (Part 1)
The last three tablets-----number nine, ten and eleven----from the Royal Library of Nineveh comprise the conclusion of the Epic, beginning with the wanderings of Gilgamesh, his passage through the mountain Mashu, through which the sun passes making day and night....
07.21.2011
The Wanderings of Gilgamesh (Part 2)
In this conclusion of the Epic Gilgamesh has wandered from his home, his wife, his children, his people, has given up his kingdom and power, all that was a comfort and a pleasure, all that meant life to him, because...
07.21.2011
Meaning of the Text
Summing up the meaning; reconsidering the traditional interpretation.

What's Epic of Gilgamesh about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Epic of Gilgamesh episodes:

Introduction to the Text

Prologue

Adventure of Enkidu

Adventure of Forests of Cedar (Part 1)

Adventure of Forests of Cedar (Part 2)

Adventure of the Halub Tree

Adventure of Lugalbanda and the Anzud Bird

5,000 Year Old Proverbs

Adventure of the Bull of Heaven (Part 1)

Adventure of the Bull of Heaven (Part 2)

The Wanderings of Gilgamesh (Part 1)

The Wanderings of Gilgamesh (Part 2)

Meaning of the Text