Epic of Gilgamesh

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Epic of Gilgamesh

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ancient Sumerian epic poem, one of the earliest extant works of literature. It was found on 12 cuneiform clay tablets recovered in the city of Nineveh in 1853. The tablets, written in Akkadian, themselves date to the 700 BC time frame, but it is likely the tale is much older than that -- Gilgamesh is set in the ancient city of Uruk, circa 2750 BC. The 11th tablet, not translated until 1872, created a sensation because of its uncanny similarity to the story of Noah's Ark in Genesis.

David Damrosch. The Buried Book: The Loss and Rediscovery of the Great Epic of Gilgamesh. Macmillan. 2007. 315pp.

Jeffrey H. Tigay. The Evolution of the Gilgamesh Epic. University of Pennsylvania Press. 1982. 384pp.

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