
How to Read “Gilgamesh” - akkartik
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/10/14/how-to-read-gilgamesh
======
AdmiralAsshat
The Epic of Gilgamesh, in its tablet form, is both fragmentary and rather
wooden in translation. It is very difficult to derive meaning from it when
read in isolation: you practically have to be an Ancient Near Eastern scholar
to fully grasp the context in which it was written and appreciate it.

Since most people don't have sufficient time on their hands to do that, I
think the epic would greatly benefit from a rewrite into modern prose, not
unlike the fantastic work that Neil Gaiman did not too long ago with his
excellent _Norse Mythology_ novel.[0]

[0][https://www.amazon.com/Norse-
Mythology/dp/B01M1DYSHD/](https://www.amazon.com/Norse-
Mythology/dp/B01M1DYSHD/)

~~~
blotter_paper
A mushy remixed translation already exists, by Stephen Mitchell. That being
said, I was surprised by how many timeless themes are clearly present in the
fragmentary scholarly translations available.

SPOILERS FOR THE OLDEST EXISTING LITERATURE: It's a story about a man trying
to conquer monsters for the sake of timeless fame and glory, witnessing the
death of his friend as a result of this quest, reflecting in his own
mortality, trying to overcome death... and failing. There are other things
going on with the story, the humor is repetitious and hard to embrace, and
there are plenty of passages everyone is unsure about the meaning of, but this
man-trying-to-overcome-mortality-and-failing theme is such a obviously human
trope and it's clearly present in Gilgamesh. Compare and contrast to Ridley
Scott's Prometheus.

~~~
Torwald
> the humor is repetitious and hard to embrace

the world's oldest joke - a Sumerian rib-tickler dating back to 1,900 BC which
goes: "Something which has never occurred since time immemorial; a young woman
did not fart in her husband's lap."

[https://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/08/01/oldest_joke/](https://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/08/01/oldest_joke/)

Explain ancient humor to me. I am all for embracing it.

~~~
mcguire
The Greeks had some rather sarcastic humor in various plays. The Egyptians had
no sense of humor, neither did the Romans. But the Sumerians are _funny_.

[http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section5/tr551.htm](http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section5/tr551.htm)

~~~
riffraff
talking of greeks, it seems worth mentioning laconic humor. The "if"[0] thing
is still funny after centuries, imo.

[0]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laconic_phrase#Uses](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laconic_phrase#Uses)

~~~
mcguire
"Nuts."

------
undershirt
I first read about the Epic of Gilgamesh at the start of a history textbook,
where it was told as the ultimate origin myth of our civilization, raging
against the beast of nature itself to conquer it. Though, that seems less
accurate from reading this account and the one on wikipedia.

But, Daniel Quinn’s reading of the Fall of Man in Genesis[1] is an
antithetical account of the same story. Man did not seek to overcome nature,
rather Man was banished from the garden (nature) by his own temptation to seek
the knowledge to take care of himself—thus becoming captured and tortured by
this original sin, accumulating into agrarian-fueled violence and expansion.
All now rationalized[2] by our proclaimed knowledge of Good and Evil.

My favorite part of this interpretation is that this story was not told by our
ancestors, because if it was, they would’ve sanctified this knowledge-seeking
as the Ascent of Man, not the Fall. So it’s hypothesized that the story was
told by the herders and hunter-gatherers trying to formulate a story to
explain the violent and toilsome lifestyle of the agrarians.

Neat that there is also a mythic tree that Gilgamesh finds in the cave after
hours of darkness. That he had returned to the garden somehow, and that he
either wanted nothing to do with it or could find no answers there for him
anymore.

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishmael_(novel)#Reinterpretati...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishmael_\(novel\)#Reinterpretation_of_Biblical_myths)

[2] “The Creator? My mines run dry, my city withers, it must be fed. And what
has he done? He cursed us to struggle by the sweat of our brow to survive.
Damned if I don’t do everything it takes to do just that. Damned if I don’t
take what I want.” —Tubal-Cain in Aronofsky’s Noah (2014)

------
lordleft
'Gilgamesh, where are you hurrying to? You will never find the life for which
you are looking. When the gods created man they alloted to him death, but life
they retained in their own keeping. As for you, Gilgamesh, fill your belly
with good things; day and night, night and day, dance and be merry, feast and
rejoice. Let your clothes be fresh, bathe yourself in water, cherish the
little child that holds your hand, and make your wife happy in your embrace;
for this too is the lot of man.'

~~~
riffraff
as good an advice now as it was thousands of years ago.

------
mdorazio
I have the same thoughts on Gilgamesh as I do on Shakespeare's works: don't
read them, experience them.

With Shakespeare's works, they are _plays_. They are meant to be experienced
in a playhouse, not read by high school students stumbling over the language.
The beauty is in witnessing the interactions of the characters on stage, the
patterns of their speech, the tone of the jokes, etc. that just don't really
come across when you read the words on a page. Reading Shakespeare is kind of
a disservice to the material.

Similarly, Gilgamesh is part of an ancient oral tradition of storytelling and
was meant to be _told_ by actual storytellers, in language that would resonate
with the listeners. Trying to read it today is kind of a perversion of the
original intent. I'd love to listen to a modern translation actually told by a
good storyteller - basically the way it was meant to be experienced.

~~~
lonelappde
The way Shakespeare is taught in schools is cargo cult art and literature, all
the more shameful because the people inflicting it on the population are so
self righteous in their ignorant arrogance as they ruin great art.

------
kipchak
Maybe I'm over-projecting due to reading it in modern times, but the version
of "Gilgamesh" seems to be from after the end of Uruk and more bleak than
other ancient works.

It begins and ends (while Gilgamesh is talking to the boatman) extolling the
and power and seeming eternal of both Uruk and Gilgamesh,

 _" Climb Uruk's wall and walk back and forth! Survey its foundations, examine
the brickwork!...

"Who is there can rival his kingly standing, and say like Gilgamesh, 'It is I
am the king'?"_

But despite his and the city's stature death eventually comes to both.

 _" The darkest day of mortal man has caught up with you, the solitary place
of mortal man has caught up with you, the flood-wave that cannot be breasted
has caught up with you, the battle that cannot be fled has caught up with you,
the combat that cannot be matched has caught up with you, the fight that shows
no pity has caught up with you!"_

To me it reads like trivializing the power and majesty of both Gilgamesh and
Uruk and all mankind's achievements in the face of death.

~~~
BjoernKW
They might seem dark but there's also wisdom in these words and Gilgamesh's
ultimately futile, yet enlightening quest.

What's Gilgamesh's grandstanding attitude worth in the face of the
inevitability of death?

~~~
hgoel
That's a tad too nihilistic I think? Death is inevitable for even the most
powerful person in the world, yet everyone still does their best and some are
immortalized through their achievements. Gilgamesh's attitude is worth at
least that much.

~~~
BjoernKW
> That's a tad too nihilistic I think?

Not at all. At least not how I perceive it. I'd characterise it as
existentialist rather than nihilistic thinking.

Knowing that death is inevitable for everyone, even god kings such as
Gilgamesh, can serve is a constant reminder to try and create a legacy that
transcends yourself.

------
gimboland
Here [0] is a 45-minute radio show/podcast in which a presenter and three
academic experts discuss The Epic of Gilgamesh. It moves fast and covers a lot
of ground.

(I recommend this series, In Our Time, whenever I can. Many jewels in the back
catalogue.)

[0]
[https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b080wbrq](https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b080wbrq)
— but also on iTunes, etc.

~~~
mcguire
And here's a lecture by Andrew George, one of the translators mentioned:

[https://youtu.be/Rd7MrGy_tEg](https://youtu.be/Rd7MrGy_tEg)

------
ekianjo
So many blanket statements in this article it's hard to keep track. I love how
the author makes it sound like everyone was completely stupid centuries before
us:

> In 1859, Charles Darwin, in his “Origin of Species,” put forth a theory
> suggesting that human beings might be descended not from Adam and Eve but
> from lower animals, things with fur. Not surprisingly, such ideas
> encountered vigorous opposition. Many scientists and scholars redoubled
> their efforts to find evidence of the truth of the Bible.

Fundamentalists opposed Darwin but there was no position from the Church
(officially) until 1950 or so. On top of that other scientists largely
supported Darwin's central theme but debated the mechanisms of his theory.
Yeah, not really what the author describes at all.

------
equalunique
Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash[0] offers some intriguing pointers on how to read
Gilgamesh.

[0]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_Crash](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_Crash)

------
virtualritz
There are quite a few graphic novel adaptions of Gilgamesh.

I particularly suggest a very recent one from Jens Harder[1]. The aesthetic he
uses is that of bas-reliefs of the Mesopotamian area at the time when the
original epos was created.

It's unfortunately only available in German (original) and French for the time
being.

[1]
[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38741935-gilgamesh](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38741935-gilgamesh)

------
mcguire
Neglecting to mention that Gilgamesh didn't want to kill Humbaba, but Enkidu
talked him into it. (Enkidu is the patron of poor decision making.) And after
Dumuzi, I wouldn't marry Inanna either: [http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-
bin/etcsl.cgi?text=t.1.4.1#](http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-
bin/etcsl.cgi?text=t.1.4.1#)

Then there's the whole thing about Gilgamesh sending Enkidu into the
afterworld after his lost toy or game.

------
Cyder
I have a Masters in Hebrew. Psalms and Proverbs is much the same way. Much of
the meaning is implied and contextual for the the sake of the cadence in
Hebrew. Translations don't represent the complex structure and word-play of
the original even if the translations do make it sound like poetry.

------
YeGoblynQueenne
Beautiful read.

For my part I recommend to answer the title of the article with "while
listening to "Nindinugga Nimshimshargal Enlillara" by Equimanthorn:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5egyvsfNJxc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5egyvsfNJxc)

