A propulsive and lyrical version of ancient Mesopotamia's greatest adventure–tale, by the bestselling translator of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

Originating nearly four thousand years ago, Gilgamesh tells the story of a tyrannical king and his wild counterpart, Enkidu, whom the gods spawn to rein in the king's cruel tendencies. Their unlikely friendship leads to adventure, tragedy, and a quest for immortality. This archetypal tale is one of the most compelling and memorable in all of world literature.

It's a testament to the story's inherent power that Gilgamesh continues to enthrall readers despite a long line of English translations that have privileged punctiliousness over narrative energy and readability. Now, in the hands of Simon Armitage, poet laureate of the United Kingdom, this profound ancient epic swells and flows in contemporary English with a vitality and immediacy that only a truly poetic rendering can achieve. Grounded in the latest scholarship, (Jacob L. Dahl of Oxford University, an expert in Assyriology, advised Armitage throughout), this version brings the ancient text to new life, offering readers a thrilling portal into the very dawn of storytelling.