Yet another Hacker News

Gilgamesh by Simon Armitage review – an ancient epic is brilliantly translated

39 points benbreen 2 days ago 12 comments

teruakohatu 1 hour ago | parent

I have been wanting to read it. Is this the translation/interpretation I should start with?

EwanToo 1 hour ago | parent

The Sophus Helle version is very good, I don't know if this new one will be better or just different.

https://sophushelle.com/gilgamesh/?amp=1

metalman 1 hour ago | parent

no mention of this bieng an actual translation from the original sumerian in any of the reviews, and the truely epic and laudable journey that is bieng replaced by the sleezy term 'verse translation', ie : hollywood sceen play ready, as that is what could be the most that can be expected from a former probation officer turned the official british royal panegrist.

edit: the songs of innana and other older actual translations of gilgamesh are there for some little peeks into the sumerian world that continues to define ours in so many subtle ways.

bengillies 50 minutes ago | parent

> no mention of this bieng an actual translation from the original sumerian in any of the reviews

He states very clearly in his introduction what the scope is, how it's being translated and the problems with both translating ancient text from unfamiliar cultures and translating a work that's only partially complete and how he's approached both issues

TFNA 48 minutes ago | parent

Loads of "translators" not competent in the original language have written Introductions where they state such things. That doesn't mean their defense of their enterprise holds water.

StreamingPanda 43 minutes ago | parent

Armitage is pretty good at this. I've read his Green Knight and King Arthur stuff. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt until after I've read it.

busssard 7 minutes ago | parent

There is a free Translation by another Author from 1924:

https://www.globalgreyebooks.com/epic-of-gilgamesh-ebook.htm...

TFNA 4 minutes ago | parent

One isn't well served by something that old. Our knowledge of Akkadian (and the Sumerian predeccesor) has improved since the early twentieth century, as your very link notes.

thaumasiotes 7 minutes ago | parent

> Armitage wisely avoids rhyme, unlike some recent versions – there is no evidence of rhyme in the original text

No rhyme in the original doesn't mean there should be no rhyme in the English. Akkadian and English are different languages. English verse rhymes.

TFNA 2 minutes ago | parent

A significant of the English canon of verse doesn't rhyme, from most of Shakespeare to Milton (the latter who called rhyme "the invention of a barbarous age"), and from the Anglo-Saxon era all the way to the twentieth century.

Sharlin 4 minutes ago | parent

A very funny and informative book review of Gilgamesh (based on Andrew George’s translation) by a guest author was recently published at Astral Codex Ten: https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/your-book-review-the-epic-o...