Book report: Gilgamesh
This is a very short, but amazing, book. If I understood the numbers correctly, it was written around 1700 BC, in cuneiform writing on clay tablets in Mesopotamia. It was lost for centuries, then rediscovered in the 1800s when the area was excavated. It appears to be the first recorded story, predating the Iliad and the Bible.
The language is simple but powerful. In fact, the language reminds me of the giant statues of the ancient world: immense, serene, strong.
The story is about Gilgamesh, the larger-than-life king of the city of Uruk. His immense personality is a problem for the people of the city, because he does what he wants and takes what he wants, without regard to consequences. The people pray for help to their gods, who create Enkidu, a wild man who lives with the animals of the forest. Enkidu is like Gilgamesh in terms of physical strength, but his opposite in other ways.
Enkidu and Gilgamesh battle, but then become best friends and go off to have adventures together. However, in the midst of their greatest triumph, Enkidu gets sick and dies. Gilgamesh is devastated. He misses his lost friend terribly, and also feels terrified by the prospect of his own death.
Gilgamesh travels the world to try and learn how to escape death. In the process, he changes and becomes a different kind of person. He's more mature and, by the end, you feel that he can actually become a great, and not just a feared, ruler.
I was amazed at how complex a story this is. I've read a lot of Greek and Roman mythology (some in the original languages), but this is so different from the usual ancient hero stories, where the good guy basically conquers all, and nobody changes. Gilgamesh starts out as a real asshole, but his friendship with Enkidu changes his life. It's not a contrived change, but very real, very pure.
There are some interesting other aspects of this story. The author assumes that you know all about the culture of Gilgamesh, so there is no explanation whatsoever. You have to figure out things as you go along. I got the feeling, as I have with other stories about very foreign places and times, that this is almost like another planet in strangeness of setting. There's something about the fact that these are people like us, and that the human experience is therefore a lot bigger than we usually can imagine, that is awe-inspiring.
The story refers matter-of-factly to a worldwide flood, out of which a few people and animals were saved on a giant boat. This was startling to read. So was the description of part of Gilgamesh's journey. The sun, of course, moves over the flat earth from east to west every day, disappears during the night, then rises in the east again. Therefore, there must be an immense tunnel through the earth, along which the sun passes each night to rise again. Gilgamesh traverses this tunnel.
Anyone who likes adventure, or out-of-this-culture stories, would enjoy Gilgamesh. The language is simple enough that kids would enjoy it, but there is some pretty graphic sex in it. I feel that reading this has deepened my appreciation of the possibilities of hero stories. I also wonder what other amazing stories are still buried in the desert somewhere.
This is a very short, but amazing, book. If I understood the numbers correctly, it was written around 1700 BC, in cuneiform writing on clay tablets in Mesopotamia. It was lost for centuries, then rediscovered in the 1800s when the area was excavated. It appears to be the first recorded story, predating the Iliad and the Bible.
The language is simple but powerful. In fact, the language reminds me of the giant statues of the ancient world: immense, serene, strong.
The story is about Gilgamesh, the larger-than-life king of the city of Uruk. His immense personality is a problem for the people of the city, because he does what he wants and takes what he wants, without regard to consequences. The people pray for help to their gods, who create Enkidu, a wild man who lives with the animals of the forest. Enkidu is like Gilgamesh in terms of physical strength, but his opposite in other ways.
Enkidu and Gilgamesh battle, but then become best friends and go off to have adventures together. However, in the midst of their greatest triumph, Enkidu gets sick and dies. Gilgamesh is devastated. He misses his lost friend terribly, and also feels terrified by the prospect of his own death.
Gilgamesh travels the world to try and learn how to escape death. In the process, he changes and becomes a different kind of person. He's more mature and, by the end, you feel that he can actually become a great, and not just a feared, ruler.
I was amazed at how complex a story this is. I've read a lot of Greek and Roman mythology (some in the original languages), but this is so different from the usual ancient hero stories, where the good guy basically conquers all, and nobody changes. Gilgamesh starts out as a real asshole, but his friendship with Enkidu changes his life. It's not a contrived change, but very real, very pure.
There are some interesting other aspects of this story. The author assumes that you know all about the culture of Gilgamesh, so there is no explanation whatsoever. You have to figure out things as you go along. I got the feeling, as I have with other stories about very foreign places and times, that this is almost like another planet in strangeness of setting. There's something about the fact that these are people like us, and that the human experience is therefore a lot bigger than we usually can imagine, that is awe-inspiring.
The story refers matter-of-factly to a worldwide flood, out of which a few people and animals were saved on a giant boat. This was startling to read. So was the description of part of Gilgamesh's journey. The sun, of course, moves over the flat earth from east to west every day, disappears during the night, then rises in the east again. Therefore, there must be an immense tunnel through the earth, along which the sun passes each night to rise again. Gilgamesh traverses this tunnel.
Anyone who likes adventure, or out-of-this-culture stories, would enjoy Gilgamesh. The language is simple enough that kids would enjoy it, but there is some pretty graphic sex in it. I feel that reading this has deepened my appreciation of the possibilities of hero stories. I also wonder what other amazing stories are still buried in the desert somewhere.
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