Adventure of Forests of Cedar (Part 1)

A brief introduction to the Epic: its origin and significance to our lives. *** Image is of the famed eleventh tablet of the Epic of Gilgamesh, in which the tale of the Flood is related. Now housed in the British Museum, it was found in the pillaged remains of the royal library o ...  Show more

Preamble to the adventures, introducing Gilgamesh, king of Uruk, and alluding to the goddess Ishtar whose presence is preeminent among all divinity in this tale, and in whose temple are kept the tablets which are to be read to tell this tale. *** Image is an Akkadian representati ...  Show more

Part two of the Mesopotamian epic, the first recorded work of literature, the Epic of Gilgamesh! CW/TW: far too many Greek myths involve assault. Given it's fiction, and typically involves gods and/or monsters, I'm not as deferential as I would be were I referencing the real thin ...  Show more

Unearthed from the ruins of ancient cities in modern-day Iraq, the reconstruction of the epic from fragments of clay tablets has been a labour of love for scholars of ancient Mesopotamia. This painstaking work has brought to life a sophisticated story of adventure, heroism and fr ...  Show more

"He who saw the Deep" are the first words of the standard version of The Epic of Gilgamesh, the subject of this discussion between Melvyn Bragg and his guests. Gilgamesh is often said to be the oldest surviving great work of literature, with origins in the third millennium BC, an ...  Show more

"He who saw the Deep" are the first words of the standard version of The Epic of Gilgamesh, the subject of this discussion between Melvyn Bragg and his guests. Gilgamesh is often said to be the oldest surviving great work of literature, with origins in the third millennium BC, an ...  Show more