Director of Narrative
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There are heaps of translations of this epic poem. Can anyone suggest some of the best translations/editions? From what I've gathered, some of the various editions deal with the missing parts a bit loosely. I'd like to find the best one. Thanks in advance y'all.
I'd read the original, but my Babylonian and Sumerian is kinda rusty.
There are heaps of translations of this epic poem. Can anyone suggest some of the best translations/editions? From what I've gathered, some of the various editions deal with the missing parts a bit loosely. I'd like to find the best one. Thanks in advance y'all.
I'd read the original, but my Babylonian and Sumerian is kinda rusty.
Stephen Mitchell's Gilgamesh: A New English Version is a very approachable and is a colorful introduction to the epic. An audiobook version is available on iTunes and ain't bad. If you're looking for something a bit more in depht, the Penguin Classics edition is through, if a bit dry and graceless, but is probably better acedemically. The Oxford Classics version is great, since it's set amongst other epics and help contextualize the story.
All depends on what you want, really.
yep; what firbolg said, I have a few favorites, but unless your a bit of a classical scholar they are not really for you; some parts of the epic are so ingrained in humanity that I get shivers remembering them, the poem explores everything; death, love, friendship, loss, glory, really a piece of work you can sink your teeth into.
There are heaps of translations of this epic poem. Can anyone suggest some of the best translations/editions? From what I've gathered, some of the various editions deal with the missing parts a bit loosely. I'd like to find the best one. Thanks in advance y'all.
I'd read the original, but my Babylonian and Sumerian is kinda rusty.
I recommend the Norton Critical Edition by B. Foster if you are looking for something comprehensive that places the various traditions in their own contexts.
For something more entertaining, I recommend S. Dalley's Myths from Mesopotamia. Her translation is now slightly out of date but the language is more enjoyable. Furthermore, the volume contains many other myths and the notes show correspondences between them.
The copy I have was published in English by Penguin Classics. It's from 1960 but there's probably a few copies still around you can get your hands on. I really thought it was a good translation, given that I'd only heard the story before.