Reading Order
GilgameshThe Epic of Gilgamesh Reading Order
The Epic of Gilgamesh (c. 2100–1200 BCE) is the oldest surviving epic in world literature — a Sumerian and Akkadian poem predating Homer by more than a thousand years, telling the story of Gilgamesh, the legendary king of Uruk, and his friendship with the wild man Enkidu. The poem exists in several versions; the most complete is the Standard Babylonian version compiled by the scribe Sin-liqe-unninni around 1200 BCE, discovered in the ruins of the library of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh and deciphered in 1872 by George Smith of the British Museum. The friendship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu is the poem's emotional core: Enkidu is sent by the gods to humble the arrogant Gilgamesh, but the two become inseparable friends and companions in heroic adventure. When Enkidu dies — punished by the gods for killing the Bull of Heaven — Gilgamesh is shattered and sets out on a quest for immortality. He finds Utnapishtim, the only mortal granted eternal life by the gods, who tells him of the Great Flood (a story with close parallels to the biblical Noah) and reveals where a plant of immortality grows. Gilgamesh finds the plant but loses it to a serpent. He returns to Uruk and recognizes that the city and the works of civilization are his true memorial. The poem is concerned with friendship, grief, the fear of death, the nature of civilization, and the limits of heroism — concerns that will preoccupy epic literature for the next three thousand years.
Where to start
The Epic of Gilgamesh (c. 2100–1200 BCE) — in a modern translation. Best Gilgamesh reading order: begin with Stephen Mitchell's 2004 prose translation (Free Press), the most accessible modern rendering; Andrew George's Penguin Classics translation is the most scholarly and complete, with all the surviving tablets. Follow with the myths of Inanna for the Sumerian world-context, then the Flood tablets for comparison with Genesis.
Complete Gilgamesh Book List
- 1Buy
Gilgamesh
Anonymous (trans. Stephen Mitchell)·2004·The most accessible modern translation — Mitchell's prose rendering makes the poem vivid and immediate; the best starting point for general readers approaching the oldest surviving epic - 2Buy
The Epic of Gilgamesh
Anonymous (trans. Andrew George)·1999·The most complete scholarly translation — George's Penguin Classics edition includes all the surviving tablets, textual notes, and the fragmentary material; the standard academic text - 3Buy
The Iliad
Homer·-750·The poem that Gilgamesh predates by centuries — Homer's treatment of friendship, grief (Achilles for Patroclus mirrors Gilgamesh for Enkidu), and the heroic code shares its deepest concerns with the Mesopotamian epic - 4Buy
Inanna: Queen of Heaven and Earth
Diane Wolkstein and Samuel Noah Kramer·1983·The myths of the Sumerian goddess who appears in Gilgamesh — Inanna's mythology is the essential context for the poem's world; Wolkstein and Kramer's anthology is the most accessible collection - 5Buy
The Odyssey
Homer·-720·The journey home that parallels Gilgamesh's quest — Odysseus's visit to the underworld and his brush with immortality (Calypso's offer) echo the poem's concerns; the Greek tradition is in dialogue with Mesopotamian epic at many points - 6Buy
Gilgamesh: A New English Version
Herbert Mason·1970·The verse retelling that introduced many English readers to the poem — Mason's lyric adaptation is shorter and freer than a strict translation but captures the poem's emotional power with great force
Gilgamesh — Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Epic of Gilgamesh about?
The Epic of Gilgamesh (c. 2100–1200 BCE) tells the story of Gilgamesh, the legendary king of Uruk in ancient Mesopotamia, and his friendship with the wild man Enkidu. When Enkidu dies, Gilgamesh is devastated and sets out on a quest for immortality. He travels to the ends of the earth, crosses the Waters of Death, and finds Utnapishtim, the only mortal granted eternal life by the gods. Utnapishtim tells him the story of the Great Flood (which closely parallels Noah's story) and reveals a plant of immortality, which Gilgamesh finds but loses to a serpent. He returns to Uruk understanding that the city and civilization are the only immortality available to humans. The poem is the oldest surviving epic in world literature, predating Homer by more than a thousand years.
How does the Epic of Gilgamesh relate to the Bible?
The most striking parallel is the Flood story: Utnapishtim's account of the Great Flood in Gilgamesh (Tablet XI) is closely parallel to Noah's story in Genesis — both involve a single man warned by a god to build a boat, save animals in pairs, endure forty days of flooding, send out birds to test for dry land, and receive divine blessing after the waters recede. The Gilgamesh Flood predates the biblical account and most scholars believe the biblical narrative drew on Mesopotamian flood traditions. Other parallels include the serpent that steals the plant of immortality (echoing the serpent in Eden), and the relationship between civilization and wildness (Enkidu) that parallels Genesis themes.
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