-
Gilgamesh: The New Translation
- Narrated by: John Hanks
- Length: 3 hrs and 57 mins
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Ancient, Classical & Medieval Literature
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy for $14.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Epic of Gilgamesh
- By: Sebastian Lockwood - adaptation
- Narrated by: Sebastian Lockwood
- Length: 1 hr and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A new version of The Epic of Gilgamesh by Sebastian Lockwood. This is the story of Gilgamesh, King of Kings, who brought back knowledge from before the flood - who loved and lost his companion Enkidu and had to find out why we die. The Epic of Gilgamesh was written on clay tablets over 4,000 years ago, in what is today Baghdad Iraq - the Biblical Garden of Eden between the Tigris and the Euphrates. Lockwood gives a passionate reading from a text that faithfully follows the original.
-
-
cannot do it
- By Amazon Customer on 12-06-18
-
Beowulf: The New Translation
- By: Gerald J. Davis
- Narrated by: John Hanks
- Length: 3 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The origins, history and authorship of Beowulf are shrouded in uncertainty. This heroic epic probably began, as most do, with a wandering troubadour strumming a stringed instrument, sitting before a hearth-fire, and singing the verses to a spellbound audience arrayed before him. Beowulf is a rousing adventure story, filled with intrepid heroes, monsters and fire-breathing dragons, which can be listened to for the sheer enjoyment of the tale.
-
-
Hard to follow as audio
- By CSterle on 10-14-14
By: Gerald J. Davis
-
Gilgamesh
- A New English Version
- By: Stephen Mitchell - translator
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 4 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This brilliant new treatment of the world's oldest epic is a literary event on par with Seamus Heaney's wildly popular Beowulf translation. Esteemed translator and best-selling author Stephen Mitchell energizes a heroic tale so old it predates Homer's Iliad by more than a millennium.
-
-
A defense of this "translation"
- By George on 07-16-08
-
Enuma Elish
- By: L.W. King
- Narrated by: Teagan McKenzie
- Length: 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Enuma Elish is the Mesopotamian epic of creation, translated by Leonard William King. The Enuma Elish is the earliest written creation myth, in which the god Marduk battles the goddess of chaos and her evil minions.
-
-
This was AWFUL!
- By D. Beliveau on 04-30-19
By: L.W. King
-
Mesopotamia: A Captivating Guide to Ancient Mesopotamian History and Civilizations, Including the Sumerians and Sumerian Mythology, Gilgamesh, Ur, Assyrians, Babylon, Hammurabi and the Persian Empire
- By: Captivating History
- Narrated by: Richard Savage, Desmond Manny, Duke Holm, and others
- Length: 21 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Taken together, the civilizations of Sumer, Assyria, and Persia have helped form the modern makeup of Mesopotamia, western Asia, and the world. However, to really understand why things are the way they are, it’s important to break up this historical timeline and spend some time learning about each society. Only by doing this will you be able to fully appreciate the powerful impact these ancient peoples had on our modern world.
-
-
Great material, terrible performance
- By D. G. Florida on 03-05-19
-
Ancient Mesopotamia
- Life in the Cradle of Civilization
- By: The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Professor Amanda H. Podany PhD
- Length: 11 hrs and 16 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mesopotamia is the ancient name for the region that is now Iraq, a remarkably advanced civilization that flourished for two-thirds of the time that civilization has existed on Earth. Mesopotamians mastered irrigation agriculture; built the first complex urban societies; developed writing, literature, and law; and united vast regions through warfare and diplomacy. While civilizations like Greece and Rome have an unbroken tradition of written histories, the rich history of Mesopotamia has only been recently rediscovered, thanks to the decipherment of Mesopotamia's cuneiform writing less than 200 years ago.
-
-
Time with a great scholar & fantastic lecturer
- By John G. Sharp on 07-14-18
-
The Epic of Gilgamesh
- By: Sebastian Lockwood - adaptation
- Narrated by: Sebastian Lockwood
- Length: 1 hr and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A new version of The Epic of Gilgamesh by Sebastian Lockwood. This is the story of Gilgamesh, King of Kings, who brought back knowledge from before the flood - who loved and lost his companion Enkidu and had to find out why we die. The Epic of Gilgamesh was written on clay tablets over 4,000 years ago, in what is today Baghdad Iraq - the Biblical Garden of Eden between the Tigris and the Euphrates. Lockwood gives a passionate reading from a text that faithfully follows the original.
-
-
cannot do it
- By Amazon Customer on 12-06-18
-
Beowulf: The New Translation
- By: Gerald J. Davis
- Narrated by: John Hanks
- Length: 3 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The origins, history and authorship of Beowulf are shrouded in uncertainty. This heroic epic probably began, as most do, with a wandering troubadour strumming a stringed instrument, sitting before a hearth-fire, and singing the verses to a spellbound audience arrayed before him. Beowulf is a rousing adventure story, filled with intrepid heroes, monsters and fire-breathing dragons, which can be listened to for the sheer enjoyment of the tale.
-
-
Hard to follow as audio
- By CSterle on 10-14-14
By: Gerald J. Davis
-
Gilgamesh
- A New English Version
- By: Stephen Mitchell - translator
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 4 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This brilliant new treatment of the world's oldest epic is a literary event on par with Seamus Heaney's wildly popular Beowulf translation. Esteemed translator and best-selling author Stephen Mitchell energizes a heroic tale so old it predates Homer's Iliad by more than a millennium.
-
-
A defense of this "translation"
- By George on 07-16-08
-
Enuma Elish
- By: L.W. King
- Narrated by: Teagan McKenzie
- Length: 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Enuma Elish is the Mesopotamian epic of creation, translated by Leonard William King. The Enuma Elish is the earliest written creation myth, in which the god Marduk battles the goddess of chaos and her evil minions.
-
-
This was AWFUL!
- By D. Beliveau on 04-30-19
By: L.W. King
-
Mesopotamia: A Captivating Guide to Ancient Mesopotamian History and Civilizations, Including the Sumerians and Sumerian Mythology, Gilgamesh, Ur, Assyrians, Babylon, Hammurabi and the Persian Empire
- By: Captivating History
- Narrated by: Richard Savage, Desmond Manny, Duke Holm, and others
- Length: 21 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Taken together, the civilizations of Sumer, Assyria, and Persia have helped form the modern makeup of Mesopotamia, western Asia, and the world. However, to really understand why things are the way they are, it’s important to break up this historical timeline and spend some time learning about each society. Only by doing this will you be able to fully appreciate the powerful impact these ancient peoples had on our modern world.
-
-
Great material, terrible performance
- By D. G. Florida on 03-05-19
-
Ancient Mesopotamia
- Life in the Cradle of Civilization
- By: The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Professor Amanda H. Podany PhD
- Length: 11 hrs and 16 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mesopotamia is the ancient name for the region that is now Iraq, a remarkably advanced civilization that flourished for two-thirds of the time that civilization has existed on Earth. Mesopotamians mastered irrigation agriculture; built the first complex urban societies; developed writing, literature, and law; and united vast regions through warfare and diplomacy. While civilizations like Greece and Rome have an unbroken tradition of written histories, the rich history of Mesopotamia has only been recently rediscovered, thanks to the decipherment of Mesopotamia's cuneiform writing less than 200 years ago.
-
-
Time with a great scholar & fantastic lecturer
- By John G. Sharp on 07-14-18
-
The Aeneid
- By: Virgil
- Narrated by: Simon Callow
- Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The publication of a new translation by Fagles is a literary event. His translations of both the Iliad and Odyssey have sold hundreds of thousands of copies and have become the standard translations of our era. Now, with this stunning modern verse translation, Fagles has reintroduced Virgil's Aeneid to a whole new generation, and completed the classical triptych at the heart of Western civilization.
-
-
Good but the chapters aren't IN ORDER
- By Maggie on 10-18-17
By: Virgil
-
The Lost Book of Enki
- Memoirs and Prophecies of an Extraterrestrial God
- By: Zecharia Sitchin
- Narrated by: Micah Hanks
- Length: 8 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Zecharia Sitchin’s best-selling series The Earth Chronicles provided humanity’s side of the story concerning our origins at the hands of the Anunnaki, “those who from heaven to earth came.” In The Lost Book of Enki we now view this saga from the perspective of Lord Enki, an Anunnaki leader revered in antiquity as a god, who tells the story of these extraterrestrials’ arrival on Earth from the planet Nibiru.
-
-
Micah, problems with reading voice.
- By Sir_RUSH on 12-08-19
By: Zecharia Sitchin
-
When Time Began
- Earth Chronicles, Book 5
- By: Zecharia Sitchin
- Narrated by: Stephen Bel Davies
- Length: 11 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this extraordinarily documented, meticulously researched work, Zecharia Sitchin draws remarkable correlations between the events that shape our civilization in millennia past - pinpointing with astonishing accuracy the tumultuous beginning of time as we know it...and revealing to us the indisputable signature of extraterrestrial god indelibly written in stone.
-
-
Good stuff!
- By Starfyre +1 on 03-26-20
By: Zecharia Sitchin
-
Oedipus the King
- By: Sophocles
- Narrated by: full cast
- Length: 1 hr and 46 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Sophocles' tragedy, Oedipus discovers that he has been caught in his terrible destiny, unknowingly murdering his father and marrying his mother.
-
-
Superb
- By Mark on 11-24-09
By: Sophocles
-
The Iliad
- A New Translation by Caroline Alexander
- By: Homer, Caroline Alexander - translator
- Narrated by: Dominic Keating
- Length: 19 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Carved close to the original Greek, acclaimed classicist Caroline Alexander's new translation is swift and lean, with the driving cadence of its source - a translation epic in scale yet devastating in its precision and power.
-
-
Forceful
- By Tad Davis on 04-22-16
By: Homer, and others
-
The Iliad
- By: Homer, Richmond Lattimore - translator
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 22 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Iliad is one of the most enduring creations of Western Civilization and was originally written to be recited or chanted to the accompaniment of various instruments. Properly performed, this work today is just as meaningful, just as powerful, and just as entertaining as it was in the ninth century BC, and it casts its spell upon modern listeners with the same raw intensity as it did upon the people of ancient times.
-
-
This is the audio version you want
- By Rachel on 04-11-12
By: Homer, and others
-
Homer Box Set: Iliad & Odyssey
- By: Homer, W. H. D. Rouse - translator
- Narrated by: Anthony Heald
- Length: 25 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey are unquestionably two of the greatest epic masterpieces in Western literature. Though more than 2,700 years old, their stories of brave heroics, capricious gods, and towering human emotions are vividly timeless. The Iliad can justly be called the world’s greatest war epic. The terrible and long-drawn-out siege of Troy remains one of the classic campaigns. The Odyssey chronicles the many trials and adventures Odysseus must pass through on his long journey home from the Trojan wars to his beloved wife.
-
-
Oddball Translation
- By Joel Jenkins on 05-11-17
By: Homer, and others
-
The 12th Planet
- Earth Chronicles Series, Book 1
- By: Zecharia Sitchin
- Narrated by: Stephen Bel Davies
- Length: 13 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The product of 30 years of intensive research, The 12th Planet is the first book in Zecharia Sitchin's prophetic Earth Chronicles series - a revolutionary body of work that offers indisputable documentary proof of humanity's extraterrestrial forefathers. Travelers from the stars, they arrived eons ago, and planted the genetic seed that would ultimately blossom into a remarkable species...called Man.
-
-
Tough listen to start with
- By D. Dooley on 01-22-18
By: Zecharia Sitchin
-
Babylon
- Mesopotamia and the Birth of Civilization
- By: Paul Kriwaczek
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Civilization was born 8,000 years ago, between the floodplains of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, when migrants from the surrounding mountains and deserts began to create increasingly sophisticated urban societies. In the cities that they built, half of human history took place. In Babylon, Paul Kriwaczek tells the story of Mesopotamia from the earliest settlements seven thousand years ago to the eclipse of Babylon in the sixth century BCE. Bringing the people of this land to life in vibrant detail, the author chronicles the rise and fall of power during this period.
-
-
Pretentious
- By Bob H on 02-09-20
By: Paul Kriwaczek
-
Technology of the Gods
- The Incredible Sciences of the Ancients
- By: David Hatcher Childress
- Narrated by: Paul Woodson
- Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Popular Lost Cities author David Hatcher Childress takes us into the amazing world of ancient technology, from computers in antiquity to the flying machines of the gods. Childress looks at the technology that was allegedly used in Atlantis and the theory that the Great Pyramid of Egypt was originally a gigantic power station. He examines tales of ancient flight and the technology that it involved; how the ancients used electricity; megalithic building techniques; the use of crystal lenses and the fire from the gods; and more.
-
-
Very insightful
- By Hagood on 03-20-18
-
The Divine Comedy
- By: Dante Alighieri, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - translator
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 17 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dante's Divine Comedy is considered to be not only the most important epic poem in Italian literature, but also one of the greatest poems ever written. It consists of 100 cantos, and (after an introductory canto) they are divided into three sections. Each section is 33 cantos in length, and they describe how Dante and a guide travel through Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso.
-
-
Divine Comedy
- By Tbaley on 05-27-15
By: Dante Alighieri, and others
-
The Iliad
- The Fitzgerald Translation
- By: Homer, Robert Fitzgerald - translator
- Narrated by: Dan Stevens
- Length: 13 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Since it was first published more than 25 years ago, Robert Fitzgerald's prizewinning translation of Homer's battle epic has become a classic in its own right: a standard against which all other versions of The Iliad are compared. Fitzgerald's work is accessible, ironic, faithful, written in a swift vernacular blank verse that "makes Homer live as never before" ( Library Journal).
-
-
Beautiful
- By Tad Davis on 10-08-14
By: Homer, and others
Publisher's Summary
The Epic of Gilgamesh is the oldest story that has come down to us through the ages of history. It predates the Bible, The Iliad and The Odyssey. The Epic of Gilgamesh relates the tale of the fifth king of the first dynasty of Uruk (in what is modern-day Iraq), who reigned for 126 years, according to the ancient Sumerian list of kings. Gilgamesh was first inscribed in cuneiform writing on clay tablets by an unknown author during the Sumerian era and has been described as one of the greatest works of literature in the recounting of mankind's unending quest for immortality.
Critic Reviews
More from the same
What listeners say about Gilgamesh: The New Translation
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- K
- 07-12-15
Poetic translation of an epic story
Disclosure: I received this audiobook from the translator in return for an honest review
After reading Gerald Davis's translations of Don Quixote and Beowulf (on audiobook), I was excited to read his new translation: Gilgamesh. Like these other two books, Gilgamesh is an epic story beautifully translated. It's the story of Gilgamesh, King of Uruk (now Iraq), his battle and then friendship with Enkidu, and later his solo quest. Although I generally haven't read the classics since high school and college, translations by Gerald Davis make content lyrical and accessible.
I originally read the Kindle version of this book, and enjoyed it. The audiobook version is even better, with John Hanks' vivid narration. Recommended.
8 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Ahsan
- 09-02-20
Interesting!
I liked the story. And I recommend this to every listener. You will enjoy this, indeed!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Sandra
- 12-28-16
I liked it, a lot
This t translation is my first exposure to this type of literature. It was a wonderful listening experience. The narrative was entertaining, engrossing and worth a relisten.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Dmitri Bilgere
- 08-24-19
This is awesome
This is such an incredibly entertaining and deep story. The performance is perfect.
Let yourself experience the joy of humanity’s oldest story.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Discount12v
- 04-18-18
It was... OK. Still worth the listen though.
What did you love best about Gilgamesh: The New Translation?
I loved that this book was older than anything I have ever read by multiple millennia
Would you be willing to try another book from Gerald J. Davis? Why or why not?
Probably not. IDK. I read this book because I have heard the name of it so many times I figured I was doing myself a disservice not to listen.
Any additional comments?
I'm glad I listened to the book, although I wasn't all that intrigued. I'm not that surprised though, after many translations and four millennia, it's understandably different from what I expect a book to be. I do recommend it though. I'm glad I listened.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- GALEN M LANPHIER
- 07-21-19
Repetitive
The narrator did a fine job, however this rendition was so repetitive that it was hard to maintain focus.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Md
- 04-20-15
Magnificent!
Where does Gilgamesh: The New Translation rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
This is one of the best audiobooks I have ever listened to.
What did you like best about this story?
The inspiring and majestic story line.
What does John Hanks bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
His acting ability to breathe life into the words is extraordinary.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
The eternal words of Siduri, the Maker of Wine.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- FirefromHeaven
- 07-11-18
very redundant
you're best off just watching a 10 minute YouTube video. lots and lots of repetition
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Murad Novruzov
- 01-17-21
Good narration and translation of Gilgamesh.
Good audio book of the epic Gilgamesh. Good narration as well. Recommend to anyone who wants to read the Gilgamesh
-
Overall

- belkin
- 12-03-20
a great world classic. a must read
a great book about a great human quest for immortality. Inspiring and thought-provoking.
But the biggest impression of this book for me was actually in the preface. I found out that Gilgamesh was discovered and translated by two amateurs, not professional scholars. An inspiring discovery indeed.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Thomas Brown
- 04-01-20
Im glad this story has survived time
Before I begin my review on the story, the Narrator: John Hanks, deserves a mention first. His voice is captivating, inspiring and created a perfect match for the story of Gilgamesh. I listened to the book in its entirety in one sitting!
Now the story. Although this is the oldest recorded story we have found in human history, it holds up as a gripping tale. The themes and relationships you discover in modern books are nothing new when you compare them being explored in Gilgamesh, thousands of years before in fact. The level of detail and imagination is amazing. If you don't want to listen to our world's oldest story, you are missing out.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Ricci
- 08-29-15
Good to have butt ... Hmm!
Review of Gilgamesh:
I'm giving this 4 stars because it pseems to be a straight representation of the Gilgamesh writings without spin; & that's a fabulous thing to be offered. I won't give it 5 because I'm no scholar of ancient texts so I cannot be sure how faithful it is. If you want something interesting read this. If you want entertaining don't. It's soooo repetitive! & it's childishly ridiculous. But of course it wasn't written for my entertainment.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- P. Duffield
- 02-15-17
Entertaining
Listened to it on and off.
The verse repetition stuff seemed funny like it was meant for children except for some of the themes.