LEADER 04395nam 2200625Ia 450 001 9910781845603321 005 20200520144314.0 010 $a0-8014-6342-4 010 $a0-8014-6341-6 024 7 $a10.7591/9780801463419 035 $a(CKB)2550000000063118 035 $a(OCoLC)763161314 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebrary10508784 035 $a(SSID)ssj0000537103 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)11387656 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000537103 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10553837 035 $a(PQKB)10304601 035 $a(StDuBDS)EDZ0001499242 035 $a(OCoLC)827774894 035 $a(MdBmJHUP)muse28975 035 $a(DE-B1597)478601 035 $a(OCoLC)979575650 035 $a(DE-B1597)9780801463419 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL3138258 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebr10508784 035 $a(CaONFJC)MIL681849 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC3138258 035 $a(EXLCZ)992550000000063118 100 $a20110624d2012 uy 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aur||||||||||| 181 $ctxt 182 $cc 183 $acr 200 10$aGilgamesh among us$b[electronic resource] $emodern encounters with the ancient epic /$fTheodore Ziolkowski 210 $aIthaca $cCornell University Press$d2012 215 $a1 online resource (242 p.) 300 $aBibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph 311 $a1-322-50567-5 311 $a0-8014-5035-7 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references and index. 327 $tFrontmatter -- $tContents -- $tPreface -- $tAcknowledgments -- $tIntroduction -- $t1. The Initial Reception (1884-1935) -- $t2. Representative Beginnings (1941-1958) -- $t3. The Popularization of Gilgamesh (1959-1978) -- $t4. The Contemporization of Gilgamesh (1979-1999) -- $t5. Gilgamesh in the Twenty-First Century (2000-2009) -- $tConclusion -- $tChronology -- $tNotes -- $tIndex 330 $aThe world's oldest work of literature, the Epic of Gilgamesh recounts the adventures of the semimythical Sumerian king of Uruk and his ultimately futile quest for immortality after the death of his friend and companion, Enkidu, a wildman sent by the gods. Gilgamesh was deified by the Sumerians around 2500 BCE, and his tale as we know it today was codified in cuneiform tablets around 1750 BCE and continued to influence ancient cultures-whether in specific incidents like a world-consuming flood or in its quest structure-into Roman times. The epic was, however, largely forgotten, until the cuneiform tablets were rediscovered in 1872 in the British Museum's collection of recently unearthed Mesopotamian artifacts. In the decades that followed its translation into modern languages, the Epic of Gilgamesh has become a point of reference throughout Western culture.In Gilgamesh among Us, Theodore Ziolkowski explores the surprising legacy of the poem and its hero, as well as the epic's continuing influence in modern letters and arts. This influence extends from Carl Gustav Jung and Rainer Maria Rilke's early embrace of the epic's significance-"Gilgamesh is tremendous!" Rilke wrote to his publisher's wife after reading it-to its appropriation since World War II in contexts as disparate as operas and paintings, the poetry of Charles Olson and Louis Zukofsky, novels by John Gardner and Philip Roth, and episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Xena: Warrior Princess.Ziolkowski sees fascination with Gilgamesh as a reflection of eternal spiritual values-love, friendship, courage, and the fear and acceptance of death. Noted writers, musicians, and artists from Sweden to Spain, from the United States to Australia, have adapted the story in ways that meet the social and artistic trends of the times. The spirit of this capacious hero has absorbed the losses felt in the immediate postwar period and been infused with the excitement and optimism of movements for gay rights, feminism, and environmental consciousness. Gilgamesh is at once a seismograph of shifts in Western history and culture and a testament to the verities and values of the ancient epic. 606 $aAssyro-Babylonian literature 615 0$aAssyro-Babylonian literature. 676 $a892.1 700 $aZiolkowski$b Theodore$0175033 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910781845603321 996 $aGilgamesh among us$93679120 997 $aUNINA