The Epic of Gilgamesh

Anticipating episodes from Homer and the Bible, the Epic of Gilgamesh contains many strange adventures and intriguing incidents.

Among the universal themes the poem treats are friendship, family and the duties of kings. Above all, it is the tale of one man’s struggle with the fear of death, as he desperately seeks immortality through glorious deeds and the delusive promise of eternal life.

The standard Babylonian version has been known for over a century, but linguists are still discovering and deciphering new fragments of long-buried clay tablets in Akkadian and Sumerian.

Andrew George’s gripping new translation brilliantly brings together all the variant traditions and transforms a damaged masterpiece’ into a fluent coherent narrative. It will long rank as the definitive English Gilgamesh.