Gilgamesh the Hero

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Introduction to An Ancient Story
Review: This is a beautifully written version (with illustrations that really capture the ancient ambience of the story) of the oldest written story in the world. It deals with the themes common to all great literature (friendship, mortality, aspirations, love) in a way that makes sense to young people. The struggles and achievements of Gilgamesh, an ancient Sumerian king, illustrate the enduring concerns of mankind over time and lend perspective to man's search for meaning today.

This is also a wonderful read-aloud book that would make a great introduction to a unit on philosophy, comparative religion or humanities for the home-schooling parent. My children (11 and 12) loved this book as much as I did.

Rating:
Summary: A beautiful retelling of the Epic of Gilgamesh for students
Review: We believe Gilgamesh was a historical king of Uruk in Babylonia, on the River Eurphrates in what is now Iraq, who lives around 2700 B.C.E. "The Epic of Gilgamesh" is the oldest recorded story in the world, having been originally carved on twelve stone tablets, which have broken apart in the past four thousand years. These twelve tablets, written in the Akkadian language by an author named Shin-eqi-unninni, were found in the ruins of the library of Ashurbanipal, king of Assyria (668-627 B.C.E.) at Nineveh (the library was destroyed by the Persians).

In "Gilgamesh the Hero," Geraldine McCaughrean creates a free adaptation from a variety of translations of those tablets. Each chapter reflects what is found on one of the twelve tablets (the order of which is still open to interpretation). Young readers will learn over how Gilgaemsh, the hero who saw all, became friends with Enkidu the wild man, slays the Bull of Heaven, survived the Great Flood, and seeks the secret of immortality. The chief narrative thread is the friendship of Gilgamesh and Enkidu, and how the latter's death teaches Gilgamesh to be a kinder, better ruler who "walked through darkness and so glimpsed the light."

McCaughrean is able to have it both ways with her retelling of these ancient myths. She maintains the classic nature of the epic while telling the story in a way that makes the ancient story accessible to young readers in today's world. The illustrations by David Parkins are in this same mode, complementing the stories nicely. In retelling the story, McCaughrean makes the friendship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu the backbone of the story, as it should be,

While the classical mythology of the Greeks and Romans continues to attract the most attention, "Gilgamesh the Hero" makes the necessary argument for remembering these ancient stories as well. Asking young students to compare and contrast the epic of Gilgamesh with the Twelve Labors of Hercules or Jason and the Quest for the Golden Fleece would certainly be a worthwhile classroom activity for a unit on myth. Comparative mythology is becoming the approach taken in classrooms more often today, and "Gilgaemsh the Hero" reminds us that we can look backwards from Greek mythology as well as forward to find stories from other cultures to learn about.