SOURCE: Kovacs, Maureen Gallery. Introduction to The Epic of Gilgamesh, translated by Maureen Gallery Kovacs, pp. xvii-xxxiv. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1989.

In the following excerpt, Kovacs discusses different versions of the Gilgamesh story and why it had relatively little influence on Mesopotamian culture.

The Epic of Gilgamesh recounts the deeds of a famous hero-king of ancient Mesopotamia and is rich with adventure and encounters with strange creatures, men and gods alike. But though these provide a lively and exotic story line, the central concerns of the Epic are really human relationships and feelings—loneliness, friendship, love, loss, revenge, regret, and the fear of the oblivion of death. These themes are developed in a distinctly Mesopotamian idiom, to be sure, but with a sensitivity and intensity that touch the modern reader across the chasm of three thousand years.

In spite of its direct appeal to modern sensibilities, the...