Gilgamesh

by Stephen Mitchell

Gilgamesh is considered one of the masterpieces of world literature, and although previously there have been competent scholarly translations of it, until now there has not been a version that is a superlative literary text in its own right. Acclaimed translator Stephen Mitchell's lithe, muscular rendering allows us to enter an ancient masterpiece as if for the first time, to see how startlingly beautiful, intelligent, and alive it is. His insightful introduction provides a historical, spiritual, and cultural context for this ancient epic, showing that Gilgamesh is more potent and fascinating than ever.

Gilgamesh dates from as early as 1700 BCE -- a thousand years before the Iliad. Lost for almost two millennia, the eleven clay tablets on which the epic was inscribed were discovered in 1853 in the ruins of Nineveh, and the text was not deciphered and fully translated until the end of the century. When the great poet Rainer Maria Rilke first read Gilgamesh in 1916, he was awestruck. "Gilgamesh is stupendous," he wrote. "I consider it to be among the greatest things that can happen to a person."

The epic is the story of literature's first hero -- the king of Uruk in what is present-day Iraq -- and his journey of self-discovery. Along the way, Gilgamesh discovers that friendship can bring peace to a whole city, that a preemptive attack on a monster can have dire consequences, and that wisdom can be found only when the quest for it is abandoned.

Genres: Classics, Read For School, Fiction

Hardcover

Published September 1, 1994

About the author

Stephen Mitchell was educated at Amherst College, the Sorbonne, and Yale University, and de-educated through intensive Zen practice. He is widely known for his ability to make old classics thrillingly new, to step in where many have tried before and to create versions that are definitive for our time. His many books include The Gospel According to Jesus, The Second Book of the Tao, two books of fiction, and a book of poetry.

Mitchell’s Selected Poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke has been called “the most beautiful group of poetic translations [the twentieth] century has produced.” William Arrowsmith said that his Sonnets to Orpheus “instantly makes every other rendering obsolete.” His Book of Job has been called “magnificent.” His bestselling Tao Te Ching, Bhagavad Gita, and Gilgamesh—which are not translations from the original text, but rather poetic interpretations that use existing translations into Western languages as their starting point—have also been highly praised by critics, scholars, and common readers. Gilgamesh was Editor’s Choice of The New York Times Book Review, was selected as the Book Sense 2004 Highlight for Poetry, was a finalist for the first annual Quill Award in poetry. His translation of the Iliad was chosen as one of the New Yorker’s favorite books of 2011. He is a two-time winner of the Harold Morton Landon Translation Award from the Academy of American Poets.

His books for young readers include The Wishing Bone, winner of the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award as the best book of poetry for children published in the United States in 2003, and Jesus: What He Really Said and Did, which was chosen by the American Library Association’s Booklist as one of the top ten religious books for children in 2002.

He is also coauthor of two of his wife Byron Katie’s bestselling books: Loving What Is and A Thousand Names for Joy. www.thework.com

You can read extensive excerpts from all his books on his website, www.stephenmitchellbooks.com.

Reviews

[maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this because my roommate's drone-building lizard man situationship from Arizona stole her copy directly off her bookshelf, so I had to know what the hype was about. Needless to say, The Epic of Gilgamesh is about as wild as that backstory.

It oscillates between being hilariously absurd (i.e. protagonist having sex for 7 days straight at the top of the poem) to incredibly beautiful and deeply moving. It was also a lot more homoerotic than I anticipated, which always helps. Stephen Mitchell's translation was very accessible and easy to read, and his introduction (which I would recommend reading after the poem itself) was both humorous and insightful. Humanity really did peak with literature on the first try.

[Ellen Booth · Rating 3 out of 5]

it’s hard to rate a book that was written centuries ago in ancient mesopotamia. there’s nothing to make you feel more pretentious than judging things written on clay tablets !

it feels like an injustice to judge by the standards of the big 25.

the message was mind swirling, but i’m left wondering if something was lost in translation

[Ke’ · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s honestly wild realizing this is the oldest story we have—and somehow it still feels familiar. What’s even crazier is that it was lost for centuries, yet so many stories clearly trace back to it. You can see its influence everywhere once you read it.

The themes of friendship, loss, mortality, and the search for meaning feel timeless. Gilgamesh’s grief after Enkidu’s death and his desperate attempt to escape death itself are things we still write about today. The flood story alone made me pause and think about how many later myths and religions echo this exact narrative.

Reading Gilgamesh feels like finding the root of storytelling. It’s not just ancient—it’s foundational. A reminder that humans have been asking the same questions since the very beginning.

[David Hobson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the only translation of Gilgamesh I’ve ever read, so can’t compare it to other translations.

But honestly, I really loved this story. It’s not told in as grand or poetic a style as The Odyssey or modern stories, but it really packs a punch in terms of the depth and humanness of its message. This story really drove home for me that the people in ancient civilizations were far from being dumb, barbaric idiots as I feel we have a tendency to believe in today’s society. People were ultimately wrestling with the same themes and questions as us back then, and that really comes through in this story.

The age and influence of this story is also kinda mind-boggling to think about, considering it is literally the oldest known epic, and predates (by a long ways) all of Greek mythology, the Hebrew Bible, and any other text most people are familiar with. The parallels with the Hebrew Bible are also so interesting and striking.

I also love a story with good character development, and Gilgamesh definitely encompassed that. Especially when compared to other “Hero’s Journey” characters, he grows to show a lot of depth, but also, importantly, vulnerability, which can be so absent in these types of stories.

[Maris · Rating 3 out of 5]

In my epics era. I love that humans have been writing for so long, I love that we can read stories from people who lived so long ago, I love that we can figure out that myths were based on real people. Humans are cool.

[Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This blows my mind: 5000 years ago - before the Iliad and the Bible - human beings huddled around the fire and while a bard told them the epic of Gilgamesh. The same one I just listened to on audiobook.

In it, King Gilgamesh, the human son of 2 gods, grows up, and through relationship with another, becomes a better king.

Being 2/3 divine - a mortal with Gods as parents - Gilgamesh has gotten arrogant and tyrannical toward the people of Urek. When they cry out asking the Gods to temper the unruly brat, the Gods create Enkidu, a "friend/rival" for Gilgamesh to "balance", himself against; a "wild man" for him to fight, befriend, love, and lose - that good old struggle with mortality.

I was not at all familiar with this story - which, again, was one of the first stories human beings passed from person to person - but I was trying to read Emily Wilson's "Inanna" and realized I didn't have enough background to fully appreciate her characters. Now that I get the story, I'm excited to go back to Inanna and try again.

The author's extended essay on Gilgamesh (after his translation of the work itself) is super interesting. The overt sexuality in these Greek myths is so interesting. I was delighted with Shamat being told to have sex with Enkidu - and happily doing so - FOR SEVEN DAYS in order to "civilize" him.

Again, if you choose to consume this early human story, do get the audiobook and listen to it the way it was meant to be received.

[Kiersten Collier · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this my sophomore year of high school and now again my freshman year of college. Both times I didn’t really enjoy it. This is most likely due to the fact that I read it for school rather than my own personal pleasure, however it could also be because it’s not up my alley of things I usually read, or it could be a mix of both. What I’m trying to get here is my personal rating is 1 ⭐️ but take this with a grain of salt.

[Bintang · Rating 4 out of 5]

not until i read elif shafak’s there are rivers in the sky, i knew about gilgamesh. a bit if embarrassment since it is the oldest story ever written, but better late than never.

listened to the audio book and i like both the story and the essay. the brilliance of our predecessors thousand years ago never ceases to amaze me.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audio. Since this is the only version I've experienced this far, I'm not sure how the translation conveys the original text, but the story, the characters, the depth, wow. I will look for other versions. I appreciated the history and connect provided in the intro and translator's notes.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

In my ratings,3= average. I’d give this 3.5. The book presents an easy and very clear version of the ancient story and an analysis of it. I enjoyed both, but if you’re going to read it, I recommend you start with the story and read the analysis after (opposite to the book).

[Taylor M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gilgamesh is SMUT I love it

This translation was pretty cool, essay afterword was also good had some salient points, didn’t glorify bad behavior, and was much more progressive an analysis I expected from something written in 2004

[Dirk Stansbury · Rating 5 out of 5]

This translation is accessible and the story is obviously great.

[Michael C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vivid and accessible translation of the classic.

[Blas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Introduction was very captivating and I loved learning all the historical background and context. The poem itself wasn’t as exciting but still good!

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful, dramatic version that fills in the gaps with care, making the epic flow smoothly and more enjoyable to read. This is artistic license done correctly.

[Ashley Hotter · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite version.

[Rusty Shackleford · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Iraq War comparisons were dumb but that's only like 1 dumb paragraph in an otherwise fine translation/commentary.

[Jamya Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book!

[Christopher J · Rating 5 out of 5]

really splendid and astonishingly fresh for something composed nearly 5000 years ago. Excellent version with a good accompanying essay. I have the audiobook version.

[Elayile · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second time reading this book.

The first was though a translation by Andrew George.

Stephen Mitchell took a lot more liberty in making this readable for the modern audience.

I liked it a lot.

The quest for glory, fame, and eternity. The bromance between two figures, one part God, and another part beast, was incredible. The joint adventures and conquests were exaggerated but fitting for the story. Gilgamesh's heartbreak when Enkidu passed away and his quest for immortality was riveting. Although a snake took his immortality away in a split second, ironically his story lives on forever as one of the earliest stories of mankind.

[Baljit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very pleased to have started 2026 with reading this version of Gilgamesh, one of world’s ancient texts and a masterpiece of world literature. Stephen Mitchell makes this so easy and enjoyable with a detailed introduction and easy format of the text.

Gilgamesh was a work written in cuneiform on clay tablets and buried under ancient cities, and only discovered in 1850 in the ruins of Nineveh.
The character, Gilgamesh is gigantic young man who rules his city Uruk, with courage and great energy but he has become a tyrant and people live in fear. The gods create a double of Gilgamesh, a man named Enkidu, as a companion to Gilgamesh with the intention that these two will balance each other. However, Enkidu has more animal like qualities while Gilgamesh has divine qualities. Together they embark on some adventures, but when Enkidu who is a mortal dies, Gilgamesh is beside himself. He fears death and seeks the secret of everlasting life.

In his quest he is then told by Shiduri:

“Gilgamesh, where are you roaming?
You will never find the eternal life
that you seek. When the gods created mankind,
they also created death, and they held back
eternal life for themselves alone.
Humans are born, they live, then they die,
this is the order that the gods have decreed.
But until the end comes, enjoy your life,
spend it in happiness, not despair.
Savor your food, make each of your days,
a delight, bathe an anoint yourself
wear bright clothes that are sparking clean,
let music and dancing fill your house,
love the child who holds you by the hand,
and give your wife pleasure in your embrace.
That is the best way for a man to live.”

[Iwi · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's so interesting to actually finally read this. You can see how a lot of myths have been built off of this story. Parts were funny, parts were so repetitive! But some parts were really beautiful too. Just the historical nature of it tickles my brain.

Love arts will stick in my brain 💀