A few weeks ago, I read “Gilgamesh” and “Beowulf.”

I hadn’t read either before. But I knew the broad strokes of the stories. Gilgamesh is the tale of a Mesopotamian king and demigod who befriends a wild man; sees and grieves the wild man’s death and begins a quest for immortality. The surprise for a modern reader ( in Sophus Helle’s translation ) is that Gilgamesh is clearly a tyrant and sexual abuser, even by the standards of the third millennium B.C.

Like the best poetry, you can find different meanings in the verses. You have a powerful man reaching his limits. And a thug getting his comeuppance. But either way, Gilgamesh learns there are boundaries not even the most ruthless can cross.

I also knew the arc of Beowulf. Monster eats Danes; Superstrong Dane meets Monster; Monster lose

See Full Page