Tablet with the Epic of Gilbamesh on It
In a previous post, we discussed an outstanding book called, “Myths from Mesopotamia” by Stephanie Dalley. At the time of the previous post, I had only read about one-third of the book. But now that I’ve read the whole thing, we have much to discuss.
First thing’s first: You’re not ready for this book. You need to accept that. If you wait until you’re “ready” to read books like this one…you never will. The knowledge contained in this book has been proofread and dissected by Oxford-level scholars. Stephanie Dalley herself is a highly-respected professor with a doctorate degree. You can’t get more societally-legitimate than that. So take a break from the YouTube videos for a few weeks, take a break from the grim’oires, and read the stuff which won’t get people looking at you like you have lobsters crawling out of your ears.
Myths from Mesopotamia covers such a diverse number of ancient stories that it is a must-read for anyone who is interested in ancient Sumerian tales and also Akkadian myths. The included stories include, Gilgamesh, the Enuma Elish (uber-ancient creation myth), the Decent of Ishtar (this one has links to some Viking tales) and many others.
The version of the book that I read was the Oxford University Press 2008 reissue. The glossary alone has enough key terms which will make you feel like you’re a mythological name-connection pro.
One of my favorite aspects of the book is how similar versions of myths are back to back with each other. So you can see how different cultures in Mesopotamia have unique perspectives on ancient tales which are colored by their cultural traditions and geographic circumstances.
Also, you get to learn about how iconic characters in mythology like Gilgamesh have many other names and are also affiliated with other entities. For example, you’ll find out that Gilgamesh, Nergal and Erra are linked.
Although video games and computer games are extremely entertaining and they are great ways to venture through history…nothing is more efficient than reading a book. Myths from Mesopotamia is so dense in knowledge that you’ll literally find yourself just sitting and relaxing after hitting a colophon in a tablet. Before moving on to another tablet in a myth, you’ll take a second to absorb all the mind-blowing stuff that happened so far in the story. Science-fiction writers today couldn’t even come up with stranger and more action-packed stories if they tried. And guess what? THIS is part of your cultural history!
There are extremely funny things that happen in the book. And I’m not sure if Stephanie Dalley does it on purpose, but she even has some jokes in the end-notes. You even find out that Ashur-baniPal was concerned with what we would consider copyrights back even in his time period. That’s what I call a progressive-thinking leader. It’s almost as if he copyrighted the concept of using a copyright. (You’ll understand this after you finish the story of Erra and Ishum)
One of the great things about reading ancient stories like the ones in Myths from Mesopotamia, is that you’ll be resistant to manipulation if you actually take time to understand what you’re reading. I find that people all the time try and tell me what to think, and since I’ve read books like this one…they just seem like scrubs.
-Tyler