The Epic of Gilgamesh (c.2100-1200BCE)

Sex, violence and death - the Epic of Gilgamesh, the oldest story in the world.

Our first meeting will start auspiciously with the standard Babylonian version of the epic, dating from roughly 1300-1000BCE, also known as 'He Who Saw the Deep.'
Multiple translations exist but I advise you read the Penguin edition translated by Andrew George as it includes summaries of each tablet that help make the story, with its many fragments, easier to follow. It's available in bookshops, the library and you can email me at jack.malone67@gmail.com if you need a digital copy. It's also free on https://sacred-texts.com/ane/eog/index.htm, but this translation is very archaic and not recommended for first-time readers.

The full text is less than 100 pages and summaries are readily available, so if you're interested in this event and worry you don't have time to read it all - don't worry, just dive in! This is not a formal, scholarly meeting - if you've been studying Akkadian for decades, great - if you know nothing at all about Gilgamesh other than a vague understanding that he was supposedly a cool guy, that's great too. We'll be meeting upstairs in the Shakespeare Hotel, and welcome drinkers and non-drinkers alike.

If this event is marked 'full', please just email me if you're interested in coming - Meetup limits the amount of attendees, but I'm sure we can fit you in!