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Product Description
Review
"Fresh, authoritative English translations from the sources."--Classical World
"A careful, scholarly edition of a variety of important texts from ancient mesopotamia. Dalley's scrupulous care in showing lacunae makes this a harder narrative for classroom use but her annotations are thorough and her insights illuminating."--Nick Humez, Montclair State
University
"[Dalley] obviously controls the material as a scholar."--Comparative Civilizations Review
Product Description
The ancient civilization of Mesopotamia thrived between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates over 4,000 years ago. The myths collected here, originally written in cuneiform on clay tablets, include parallels with the biblical stories of the Creation and the Flood, and the famous Epic of Gilgamesh, the tale of a man of great strength, whose heroic quest for immortality is dashed through one moment of weakness. Recent developments in Akkadian grammar and lexicography mean that this new translation, complete with notes, a glossary of deities, place-names, and key terms, and illustrations of the mythical monsters featured in the text, will replace all other versions.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
71 of 74 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Mesopotamian mythology - where to begin? Well I've searched for a while and this one seems to be the most complete all round offering. The best thing about this book is that it focuses solely on the myths, leaving out any dry theoretical rabble as to what the origins and meanings might be. Here we are given the roots of eastern religion itself in its utmost original form.
Two different versions of the epic of Gilgamesh, Ishtar's descent to the underworld, the creation myth, the flood and numerous others are included. Also a glossary of gods, places and key terms I found a very useful inclusion.
All in all make for an epic read that kept me turning the pages long into the night. The dictation is quite intense and impressively visual for something that was written about 6000 years ago. If you're interested in ancient religion then this should sate you hunger for a direct untampered with translation. Of course there are occasionaly fragments missing in the stories from damage to the tablets but that shouldn't put you off.
I doubt there is any better book on the subject.
33 of 39 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This, though billed as an edition for the general reader, really isn't. The texts, instead of being worked up into a continuous narrative as in some other versions, are presented exactly as they appear in the original sources: disjointed, repetitive, incomplete. Sadly, the Epic of Gilgamesh is particularly affected by this. Thus whatever the merits of the translation, which I'm not qualified to judge, this is not something you can just sit and read as entertainment. Since it is avowedly not a scholarly edition either, it's hard to see who it's going to please.
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I am doing some research for an author who wishes to relate the story to actual historical events/timeline and in a seemless manner, and have been looking into the various myths, legends, fairytales of ancient times and the historical significance of these when I decided on aquiering this book.
I have read some of these stories before such as the epic of Gilgamesh and the descent of Ishtar, and have to say that this translation is a great starting point for anyone interested in the ancient tradition of storytelling and oratory history of old. Though a lot is lost in translation it gives you enough to see the beautiful allegorical usage and also gives you a pleasurable reading experience.
It is a must read for anyone interested in the ancient times and gives you a great selection for further reading if the stories speak to you (be it for their language, content or historical refrences) or you'r just plain curious of the origins of modern civilization.
I would also recomend that one reads the complete stories of 1001 nights and those wonderful stories of the ancient Egyptian mythologies for comparison.
I have read some of these stories before such as the epic of Gilgamesh and the descent of Ishtar, and have to say that this translation is a great starting point for anyone interested in the ancient tradition of storytelling and oratory history of old. Though a lot is lost in translation it gives you enough to see the beautiful allegorical usage and also gives you a pleasurable reading experience.
It is a must read for anyone interested in the ancient times and gives you a great selection for further reading if the stories speak to you (be it for their language, content or historical refrences) or you'r just plain curious of the origins of modern civilization.
I would also recomend that one reads the complete stories of 1001 nights and those wonderful stories of the ancient Egyptian mythologies for comparison.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Good new translation of wonderful ancients texts
This includes the Epic of Gilgamesh but also several other and lesser known stories, like the Epic of Creation. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Henry Yule
Sitchin might not be wrong after all
Having read the negative comments about Zechariah Sitchin I wanted to read the original stories on their own with a good translation. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Ben Vale
Early Myths, there is nothing new is there?
This was exactly as I expected . The prologues were the really interesting bits and it became very clear that most of the religious myths in modern religions are based upon beliefs... Read more
Published 21 months ago by B. Hudson
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