The Epic of Gilgamesh

Miraculously preserved on clay tablets which were deciphered in the last century, The Epic of Gilgamesh is at least 1,500 years older than Homer. This volume contains a straightforward English version of the adventures of the great King of Uruk in his fruitless search for immortality and of his friendship with Enkidu, the wild man from the hills. Also included in the epic is another legend of the Flood which agrees in many details with the Biblical story of Noah. The work of synthesis has been accomplished, and with a remarkable degree of tact and imagination - The Times Literary Supplement The cover shows a detail from the Seal of Gilgamesh, Vorderasiatisches Museum, Berlin.