Gilgamesh!

[smittysmitty]

I was wondering if ATG would have come across the story of Gilgamesh whilst in the middle east. Unfortunately the sources make no account of such an occurence; As he liked to read Homer, I feel certain he would have much enjoyed reading The stories of Gilgamesh - many parallels to be found IMO, between Homer and the story of Gilgamesh. cheers!

[jona]

There is no evidence that the westerners ever knew something about Gilgamesh, except for one single reference to "Gilgamos" in Aelian 12.21, but goes on to summarize a part of the Adapa myth. Which is not an error, but an indication that the story was orally transmitted. It is possible that Alexander heard some story, but we can not know.Jona

[marcus]

I've never considered whether Alexander would have heard the Gilgamesh myth. However, I *have* always wondered whether the Greeks identified Gilgamesh with Herakles - there are many parallels, after all.Not that the Alexander authors would necessarily have picked it up and made a connection, unless there was a particular reason to mention what they would probably have called "the Babylonian Herakles".However, if Alexander was in Babylon for about a month, then I'd have thought it possible (not sure whether it's 'likely') that he would have heard something.Here's one more for Jona - do we know the approximate date of the most recent written version of the Gilgamesh myth, in the Babylon area? Despite it having been a fairly ubiquitous myth in Mesopotamia, it might have lost some of its prevalence after the collapse of the Assyrian empire - I'm not aware that it had any part in Persian literature.All the bestMarcus

[jona]

First, I have to correct a mistake I made. The Aelian version "confuses" Gilgamesh with Etana, not Adapa.The last written version of the epic: ca. 130 BCE, in the Parthian age. But many "late" cuneiform texts have not been published and are just crumbling to dust in the store rooms of the British Museum. We still have some 100,000 tablets to go, so I would not be surprised when more recent copies will turn up.Please notice that the written version is just an island in an ocean of orally transmitted stories. That the epic was still told and varied upon, can be deduced from several sources.(1) Berossus (third century BCE) betrays knowledge of the story of the great flood, quoting from a version that does not correspend to our written version.(2) The Book of Giants (one of the scrolls of the Dead Sea) mentions Gilgamesh, Humbaba and Ut-Napishtim.(3) There's the quote from Aelian (third century CE), which accepts elements from the Etana saga.(4) Theodore bar Koni (sixth century) tells that Abraham lived in 'Ur of the Chaldaeans' in the age of Gilgamesh.So, the story was still told and adapted. It is quite possible that Alexander heard the story in some way in Babylon.Jona

[marcus]

Hi Jona,Thanks. I didn't realise that there were texts of Gilgamesh of such late date. It sounds as if the good people of Babylon were still telling the story to their children.I remember reading a number of different versions of the myth while at university - and then finding it quite different when I got the Penguin Classics version! One lovely edition I read was only available in French, with the naughty bits in Latin (dating from some time in the early 1900s) - it certainly improved my French *and* my Latin ...All the bestMarcus

[amyntoros]

Do you still remember your Latin, Marcus? I'm desperately hoping to persuade someone to translate the Metz Epitome into English so that non-academics like myself can read it. Want to volunteer?

[smittysmitty]

I thought Gilgamesh's reaction to his trusted friend Enkidu's death was so Alexander!'You have turned dark and do not hear me. But his eyes (Enkidu's) do not move. He touched his heart, but it beat no longer. He covered his friend's face like a bride, swooping down over him like an eagle, and like a lioness deprived of her cubs he keeps pacing too and fro. He shears off his curls and heaps them onto the ground, ripping off his finery and casting away as an abomination. Just as day began to dawn, Gilgamesh issued a call to the land. "You blacksmith! You, lapidary! You, coppersmith! You, goldsmith! You jeweler! Create 'My Friend,' fashion a statue of him" I had the people of Uruk mourn and moan for you, I filled happy people with woe over you, and after you died I let a filthy mat of hair grow over my body and donned the skin of a lion and roamed the wilderness.I think Al could have identified with much of the Epic.

[jona]

If my information, which is a year old, is correct, the Oxford U.P., John Yardley, and Elizabeth Baynham have been discussing a two-volume edition of text, translation, and commentary on the Metz Epitome / Liber de Morte. I was told that the Liber de Morte was scheduled for late 2004 and the Metz Epitome for 2005.Jona

[marcus]

I don't remember at all enough to go translating texts - sorry.But I did, briefly, learn some of the lewder vocabulary used to describe Enkidu's 'encounter' with the courtesan ...All the bestMarcus

[amyntoros]

Thanks Jona for this information! I am strewing virtual roses in your path as we speak! :-)Linda Ann

[agesilaos]

As it happens I am translating both of these myself having tracked down the Teubner text; whilst I can't vouch 100% for the accuracy of my squeaky Latin Susan will be able to post it on her sources site. I too have seen that E Baynim is publishing but remember Yardley's translation of Justin which was five years late.

[amyntoros]

That's even better news! You were the one who told me on Jeanne's Livejournal that the Metz Epitome was only available in Latin. Until that point, I hadn't been able to find anyone who knew if it was even in print. All I had seen were some brief quotations in Heckel's Sources in Translation. I look forward to the translations. Thank you!