Before reading this book
Preface to the Revised Edition
Preface to the first edition
About translation and text format
map

Part 1.
The Man Who Saw the Abyss: The Babylonian Standard Edition of the Epic of Gilgamesh

Tablet I.
Enkidu's appearance
Tablet II.
The Taming of Enkidu
Tablet III.
Preparing for an expedition to the cedar forest
Tablet IV.
Expedition to the Cedar Forest
Tablet V.
The fight with Humbaba
Tablet VI.
Ishtar and the Celestial Bull
Tablet VII.
The Death of Enkidu
Tablet VIII.
Enkidu's funeral
Tablet IX.
Gilgamesh's Wanderings
Tablet X.
At the edge of the world
Tablet XI.
Eternal life denied
Tablet XII.
supplement

Part 2.
Sumerian Gilgamesh poems

Gilgamesh and Akka: The Akka Envoys
Gilgamesh and Huwawa: 'The King Who Goes to the Mountain of the Living' and 'Long Live!'
Gilgamesh and the Bull of Heaven: 'War Heroes'
Gilgamesh and the Underworld: 'In the Day of That Time, In the Day of That Time'
The Death of Gilgamesh: 'The Great Wild Bull Lies'

Part 3.
Fragments of an older version of the Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh

prolog
The Creation of Enkidu
Enkidu becomes human
Gilgamesh Dreams of Enkidu: Enkidu Arrives in Uruk
Enkidu Becomes Gilgamesh's Brother: Preparing for the Expedition to the Cedar Forest
The first and second dreams I had on the way to the cedar forest
The third and fourth dreams I had on the way to the cedar forest
Another dream I had on my way to the cedar forest
Cut down the cedar forest guard
Fallen trees in a cedar forest
Enkidu curses the hunter and the prostitute
Gilgamesh, at the end of the world

Part 4.
Various Babylonian fragments

Ugarit Tablets
Hatusa fragments
Emar fragments
Megiddo Tablet
Sealand Tablet

Release | Andrew George
Chronology
Image source and commentary
Explanation of Proper Nouns
References
For further research

From Tyrant to Wise: Gilgamesh's Abyss Experience

The Epic of Gilgamesh is, in a word, the story of how Gilgamesh, who was nothing more than a scoundrel and a tyrant, grew through various stages to become a wise man and rise to the ranks of gods.
Gilgamesh, who was not afraid of anything, encounters Enkidu, an opponent who is his equal for the first time in his life, and they fight to the death.
In the end, Gilgamesh wins, but Enkidu's presence opens up a new path in life for him.
A challenging goal has emerged in a life that was so boring.
He sets out on a long journey with Enkidu to defeat the monster Humbaba, which he would never have dared to defeat alone.
And because he incurred the wrath of the gods for killing Humbaba, he lost his soulmate Enkidu, and thus opened his eyes to the path to eternal life.


The Epic of Gilgamesh is a rare work of Babylonian literature that can be read and enjoyed without any special knowledge of its origins.
Although the characters' names are unfamiliar and the locations are strange, the epic's themes include ordinary life experiences, making it easy to empathize with the protagonist's aspirations, sorrows, and despair.
What was the abyss that completely changed Gilgamesh's life? Let's examine the emotional transformation he experienced as he ascended from a mere rascal to the ranks of the gods, and discover the path to wisdom contained in humanity's first epic.


Although dressed in the clothes of a myth,
A story about human independence and growth

While the fear of death is a fundamental theme that runs throughout the work, the epic goes beyond that.
Exploring the human yearning for eternal life, the poem weaves into a grand epic the heroic struggle of one man against death, the despair of man in the face of colossal failure, and the path to enlightenment that leaves behind a legacy of achievement and eternal fame.
The epic shows the process of struggling so desperately toward eternal life, only to have it taken away in vain, and makes us realize the truth about the human condition.


Although the plot is simple, the turbulent journey that Gilgamesh experienced is very similar to the theme of the Book of Ecclesiastes in the Hebrew Bible, which is a compilation of the wise king Solomon's words after his life's experiences.
Gilgamesh, who had been wandering aimlessly in life, experiences a new world through his soul mate and is transformed. The exciting adventures he encounters there, Gilgamesh develops a new desire beyond human limitations, and his adventures in the other world (the afterlife) continue in a thrilling manner.
In addition, the story of the great flood that the gods caused in the early days of human history to destroy humanity and the description of the gloomy world of the dead are artistically woven together.


Thorkild Jakobson, a scholar of ancient Mesopotamia, described the epic as “a story about learning to face reality, a story about growing up.”
Gilgamesh begins as an immature and foolish youth, but eventually comes to terms with the power and reality of death and attains maturity.
In recording the hero's footsteps, the poet deeply reflects on youth and old age, victory and despair, humanity and god, life and death.
It focuses not only on Gilgamesh's glorious deeds, but also on the pain and suffering that keep him on his hopeless quest.


The most perfect form
A translation of the Epic of Gilgamesh

The Epic of Gilgamesh, which had been asleep for over 4,000 years, has only been revealed to the world for about 150 years.
As the path to deciphering cuneiform script opens, hundreds of scholars are studying individual clay tablets scattered across ancient Mesopotamia (near present-day Iraq), revealing new facts line by line.
The field of ancient languages ​​is not one of genius, but rather one of sincerity and expertise among numerous scholars, who complement each other, cross-check, and fill in any gaps.


The Epic of Gilgamesh is still actively being excavated today in the form of clay tablets in three or four different languages ​​from three or four different periods.
This book distinguishes between various original texts and, divided into four parts, sufficiently introduces the diversity of epic poetry while also reflecting the latest academic research findings.


The original text of Part 1 is in Akkadian, the standard language of Babylonia and Assyria in the 10th century BC, with some gaps (damaged areas of the clay tablets) filled in by reference to older sources.
This book takes this text as the standard version.
The standard edition is organized into a total of 73 extant manuscripts.

Part 2 consists of five Sumerian poems, and in this book, Andrew George has translated all five Sumerian epics into English and published them in one place for the first time in the world.
Unlike Part 1, it consists of individual stories without a common theme.
It is known to be a manuscript created by Babylonian scribe apprentices in the 18th century BC.

Part 3 is in Akkadian and is a translation of older material than Part 1.

Part IV contains Akkadian fragments from the 20th century BC that are not in Part III, as well as several fragments of poetry from the ancient western regions (the Levant and Anatolia).

Even 70 years ago, the text had to be reconstructed from fewer than 40 manuscripts, leaving large holes in the story.
But now the number of recovered manuscripts has increased to 73, and the number of holes has been greatly reduced.
As time goes by, the number of useful sources steadily increases.
As more of the text becomes known, one day the epic will be complete again, as it once was in the distant past.


Author Andrew George, who has taught Akkadian and Sumerian at the University of London since 1983 and was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 2006, has translated the latest manuscripts collected up to 2019 into English based on literal translations of the original Sumerian and Akkadian texts, and provided detailed commentary.
The Korean translator also respected the original text's intent in verse and followed the original's word order as much as possible in the Korean translation.
As new manuscripts are discovered, this translation will be replaced by a new one.
Until then, this translation, which was based on direct research of almost all sources, both published and unpublished, is the most complete form of the Epic of Gilgamesh.


Even if you read a text from 30 years ago, there are more than a few awkward and embarrassing parts, but the Epic of Gilgamesh was delivered to us over a whopping 4,000 years of time and space.
But even if I read it now, it doesn't feel awkward at all.
This work, which offers children adventure and fun, young adults the meaning and challenge of life, and the elderly a broad understanding of eternity and the transience of life, will continue to be loved and moved a thousand years from now.