Achilles beside Gilgamesh
Achilles beside Gilgamesh
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Summary
A radically new reading of ancient epic poetry which first explores the Epic of Gilgamesh, the great poem of love and despair from ancient Mesopotamia, and shows how this work underlies the Iliad of Homer - especially through the hero's response to the death of his best friend.
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Achilles beside Gilgamesh by Michael Clarke
It is widely recognised that the epics of Homer are closely related to the earlier mythology and literature of the Ancient Near East, above all the Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh. But how should this influence our response to the meaning and message of either poem? This book responds to this question through an experiment in intertextual reading. It begins by exploring Gilgamesh as a work of literature in its own right, and uses this interpretation as the springboard for a new reading of the Homeric epic, emphasising the movement within the poem - beginning from a world of heroic action and external violence, but shifting inwards to the thoughts and feelings of Achilles as he responds to the certainty that his own death will follow that of his best friend. The book will be of interest both to specialists and to those coming to ancient literature for the first time.
'Engaging, up-to-date, and deeply informed across disciplinary lines, this is an important resource for those interested in classics, mythology, and world literature' P. E. Ojennus, Choice
Michael Clarke is Established Professor of Classics at the National University of Ireland, Galway. His interests lie in the comparative study of classical and medieval literatures, especially ancient Greek and medieval Irish, and especially in the emergence of the Homeric epic out of the Ancient Near East. He is the author of Flesh and Spirit in the Songs of Homer: A Study of Words and Myths (2000).
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781108481786 |
| ISBN 10 | 1108481787 |
| Title | Achilles beside Gilgamesh |
| Author | Michael Clarke |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| Year published | 2019-11-28 |
| Number of pages | 920 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |