Gilgamesh the Hero

In "Gilgamesh the Hero," Geraldine McCaughrean creates a free adaptation from a variety of translations of those tablets. Each chapter reflects what is found on one of the twelve tablets (the order of which is still open to interpretation). Young readers will learn over how Gilgaemsh, the hero who saw all, became friends with Enkidu the wild man, slays the Bull of Heaven, survived the Great Flood, and seeks the secret of immortality. The chief narrative thread is the friendship of Gilgamesh and Enkidu, and how the latter's death teaches Gilgamesh to be a kinder, better ruler who "walked through darkness and so glimpsed the light."

McCaughrean is able to have it both ways with her retelling of these ancient myths. She maintains the classic nature of the epic while telling the story in a way that makes the ancient story accessible to young readers in today's world. The illustrations by David Parkins are in this same mode, complementing the stories nicely. In retelling the story, McCaughrean makes the friendship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu the backbone of the story, as it should be,

While the classical mythology of the Greeks and Romans continues to attract the most attention, "Gilgamesh the Hero" makes the necessary argument for remembering these ancient stories as well. Asking young students to compare and contrast the epic of Gilgamesh with the Twelve Labors of Hercules or Jason and the Quest for the Golden Fleece would certainly be a worthwhile classroom activity for a unit on myth. Comparative mythology is becoming the approach taken in classrooms more often today, and "Gilgaemsh the Hero" reminds us that we can look backwards from Greek mythology as well as forward to find stories from other cultures to learn about.


Wonderful Introduction to An Ancient Story   October 24, 2003
10 out of 12 found this review helpful

This is a beautifully written version (with illustrations that really capture the ancient ambience of the story) of the oldest written story in the world. It deals with the themes common to all great literature (friendship, mortality, aspirations, love) in a way that makes sense to young people. The struggles and achievements of Gilgamesh, an ancient Sumerian king, illustrate the enduring concerns of mankind over time and lend perspective to man's search for meaning today.

This is also a wonderful read-aloud book that would make a great introduction to a unit on philosophy, comparative religion or humanities for the home-schooling parent. My children (11 and 12) loved this book as much as I did.


Gilgamesh shines through   January 21, 2006
Edward Hume (Princeton, NJ USA)
9 out of 9 found this review helpful

I am grateful to Ms. McCaughrean for her distillation of this story. I have been reading various translations and a couple of retellings of the Gilgamesh story for the past thirty years or so, always enjoying the story but always with a sense that I was missing something. Finally, with this retelling I "get it." The elements of the story finally fall into place. Excellent.


inspiring   April 28, 2007
Regina L. O'connor-waller
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

My class was studying Mesopotamia, 3rd grade by the way, and we needed a reading group book. This was the obvious choice. In the end we had at least five versions of Gilgamesh. None compared to this. We loved it. We had as many lessons on writing style as on the book's content. The writing is eloquent/poetic. It's not dumbed down at all. My students' parents said they liked this version better than the one you're forced to read in highschool. We had discussions on the book's themes: friendship, heroism, quality of life and immortality. We tried to decide if Gilgamesh was a tragic hero. These discussions just flowed. They weren't in my lesson plans. We discussed metaphors, similies, repetition and rhyme, all of which are used with such brilliant style, we cried and laughed and debated and we were late for lunch each day, reading this book. Students began to compare Gilgamesh to Hercules and even MACBETH (as last year we read the Shakespeare for kids series, during our Renasissance study.) They are still quoting this book, i.e. "Never to have met Gilgamesh, that would have been never to have lived at all." It was full of everything good writers do, superb foreshadowing and we even wrote character analysis and essays on friendship, etc. We loved it so much , we made a webpage. Check out [...] I put stickers over the singing lady's butt, but I can't recommend this book highly enough, especially for children aged 10-12. I purchased 25 copies!
Ms. Waller , Montclair, N.J./Edgemont Montessori School


One of the best!   May 23, 2008
Diane B. GOODPASTURE (Nashville, TN)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

This version concentrates very little on fighting monsters, instead the author focuses on Gilgamesh's quest for immortality and the importance of enjoying our short lives. Gilgamesh is believed to be the world's oldest epic and the original flood story. After nearly being destroyed by a flood Gilgamesh goes on an epic journey to find the elixir of immortality. The moral of the story ends up being about accepting the things we can't change and making the most of our lives.