SOURCE: Abusch, Tzvi. “The Development and Meaning of the Epic of Gilgamesh: An Interpretive Essay.” Journal of the American Oriental Society 121, no. 4 (October-December 2001): 614-22.

In the following essay, Abusch notes that the chief focus changes from one version of the Epic of Gilgamesh to another. This essay will be appearing in Abusch's upcoming book on Gilgamesh to be published by Eisenbrauns.

Introduction

The Epic of Gilgamesh¹ combines the power and tragedy of the Iliad with the wanderings and marvels of the Odyssey. It is a work of adventure, but it is no less a meditation on some fundamental issues of human existence. The Epic explores many issues; it surely provides a Mesopotamian formulation of human predicaments and options. Most of all, the work grapples with issues of an existential nature. It talks about the powerful human drive to achieve, the value of friendship, the experience of loss, the...