Poem of Gilgamesh
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ScribdTranslationsPoem of Gilgamesh
Before starting, it is necessary to locate the poem of Gilgamesh in its time, let us remember that it constitutes
a poem by an anonymous author, what is possessed of it are archaeological records, where it is not indicated
a specific author, however, there is coherence in the themes discussed there, therefore, we cannot
talk about its author, with a specific name but we can indeed place the author in their context, necessary
Always for better study, one cannot disregard the reality of the time.
Written in the Sumerian language, an agglutinative type of language, which soon was preserved only as a language
writing, as it ceased to be spoken as a living language at the end of the 3rd millennium B.C." Gilgamesh is a poem
Akkadian, whose first version dates back to the Paleo-Babylonian period, in the first third of the second millennium.
a. C., after reworkings and revisions that continued until the epic was recorded in this
stage. After the invention of the first writing and the first accounting system was realized, in the
second half of the fourth millennium. If greater specificity is sought, it was found in the second half of
19th century, among the ruins of the famous library of Ashurbanipal I, in Nineveh, capital of the last great
Mesopotamian empire, Assyria, during the last millennium before Christ, when Mesopotamia became
was under the power of the Amorite dynasties, known for the 'Code of Hammurabi.'
The Epic of Gilgamesh corresponds to a Sumerian myth developed around the figure of a character,
Gilgamesh of Uruk, turned into legend, but whose historicity is a matter of debate. His name
He appears in the real Sumerian list as the king of the city of Uruk (ca. 2700), in an episode of rivalry.
between Uruk and Kish, in the context of the conflicts between cities that characterize the period
protodynastic.
The original Sumerian text is known from a series of tablets found in Nippur and other cities of the
Lower Mesopotamia. Over time, the epic cycle around the character became more complicated, adding others
episodes that were not in the original. Also among the Assyrians, the poem was copied and completed.
until the time of Ashurbanipal. The result was a story in which the character lives different
episodes, some of them very late: Gilgamesh and Agga of Kish, Gilgamesh and the Land of Life, The
death of Humbaba (guardian of the Cedar Forest), Enkidu and the underworld. The episode of
the meeting of Gilgamesh with the hero of the flood is a later addition from a different myth in
origin.
"Forget death and seek life!" are the encouraging words with which Gilgamesh, the star of the
epic of 4000 years old, the first heroic slogan in history is marked.
At the same time, this young king encapsulates the reflections on mortality and humanity that reside in
the heart of the oldest epic poem in the world. Although many things have changed since
then, the themes of this epic remain veryrelevant to modern readers.
Depending on how you want to understand it, the story of Gilgamesh can be considered as a
biography based on the myth of a legendary king, a love story, a comedy, a tragedy, a
exciting adventure or even an anthology of stories about the origin of civilization.
All these elements are present in the narration and the textual diversity is only surpassed
for its literary refinement. Considering the antiquity of the work, it is surprising to see how this
epic poem masterfully blends complex existential doubts, vivid images and
dynamic characters.
The story begins with Gilgamesh reigning in the city of Uruk as a tyrant. To keep him
busy, the Mesopotamian gods create a companion for him: Enkidu, a wild and hairy man.
The hero disguises himself with the skin of a lion and travels until he finds Utanapishtim, an old man who
survived the great flood (he is often compared to the character of Noah from the Bible).
After undertaking a dangerous journey through the waters of death, Gilgamesh finally finds
Utanapishtim asks him for the secret of immortality.
In one of the first anti-climaxes in the history of literature, Utanapishtim tells him that he doesn't have it.
The story ends with Gilgamesh returning home to the city of Uruk.
The story of Gilgamesh and his adventures can only be described in superlative terms: during his
legendary journeys, the hero facesdeities and monstersfind (and lose) the secret of the
eternal youth and travel to the ends of the earth.
Despite the fantastic elements of the story and its protagonist, Gilgamesh remains a
very human character who experiences the same heartbreaks, limitations, and small pleasures that
they confirm the universal characteristics of the human condition.
Gilgamesh explores the nature and meaning of being human and questions many things that remain.
being a topic of debate nowadays: What isthe meaning of life and love?What is it really
life and whether I am living it correctly? How can we embrace brevity and uncertainty?
about life and how we can face losses?
The text provides many answers, allowing the reader to reflect on them along with
the hero. One of the best pieces of advice comes from Siduri, the goddess of beer (yes, a goddess of
the beer), which suggests to Gilgamesh that he should focus less on prolonging his life and advises him to
enjoy the little pleasures of life, such as the company of loved ones, the
good food and clean clothes. What I might really be doing is giving advice about a
type of Mesopotamian mindfulness.
The epic poem also offers the reader a very useful practical lesson on what not to do if you...
you find yourself in the exceptional circumstance of having to reign in the ancient city of Uruk. In the
In ancient Mesopotamia, the king had to behave correctly if he wanted to maintain peace.
earth and in the sky.
Despite the importance of his royal duties, Gilgamesh seems to do everything wrong: he kills
Humbaba, the environmental guardian protected by the gods, plunders his valuable cedar forest.
He also insults Ishtar, the beautiful goddess of love and ends with the powerful Bull of Heaven.
Findthe key to eternal youth,but she loses it shortly after due to a snake that
I was passing by there (taking the opportunity to explain how the snake 'is reborn' after shedding its skin). A
despite these setbacks, Gilgamesh seeks fame and immortality, but what he finds is the
love of his companion, Enkidu, as well as a deep understanding of the limits of beings
humans and the importance of the feeling of community.
Reception and recovery
The Epic of Gilgamesh was extremely famous in antiquity, and its impact can be seen in
many later literary narratives such as in the Homeric poems and inthe Hebrew Bible.Sin
Embargo, in our days even the most erudite readers of ancient literature would have problems.
to summarize its content or even to name its protagonists.