Morris Jastrow

The Epic of Gilgamesh: An Old Babylonian Version of the Gilgamesh Epic: On the Basis of Recently Discovered Texts. The Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem from ancient Mesopotamia that is often regarded as the earliest surviving great work of literature. The Gilgamesh Epic is the most notable literary product of Babylonia as yet discovered in the mounds of Mesopotamia. It recounts the exploits and adventures of a favorite hero, and in its final form covers twelve tablets, each tablet consisting of six columns (three on the obverse and three on the reverse) of about 50 lines for each column, or a total of about 3600 lines. Of this total, however, barely more than one-half has been found among the remains of the great collection of cuneiform tablets gathered by King Ashurbanapal (668-626 B. C.) in his palace at Nineveh, and discovered by Layard in 18541 in the course of his excavations of the mound Kouyunjik (opposite Mosul). The fragments of the epic painfully gathered-chiefly by George Smith-from the circa 30,000 tablets and bits of tablets brought to the British Museum were published in model form by Professor Paul Haupt;2 and that edition still remains the primary source for our study of the Epic.

Reproduction of the original: The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria by Morris Jastrow

Reproduction of the original: Babylonian-Assyrian Birth-Omens and their Cultural Significance by Morris Jastrow

Reproduction of the original: The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria by Morris Jastrow

Reproduction of the original: Babylonian-Assyrian Birth-Omens and their Cultural Significance by Morris Jastrow

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Illustrated VersionThe Epic of GilgameshAn Old Babylonian VersionBy Morris Jastrow and Albert T. ClayThe Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem from ancient Mesopotamia. Dating from the Third Dynasty of Ur (circa 2100 BC), it is often regarded as the first great work of literature. The literary history of Gilgamesh begins with five Sumerian poems about 'Bilgamesh' (Sumerian for 'Gilgamesh'), king of Uruk. These independent stories were later used as source material for a combined epic. The first surviving version of this combined epic, known as the "Old Babylonian" version, dates to the 18th century BC and is titled after its incipit, Shutur eli sharr