The Best Translation of The Epic of Gilgamesh
The Epic of Gilgamesh was written in Sumerian/Akkadian. 2 recommended editions, ranked — with Gröblé’s verdict on which to read first.
Andrew George
Penguin Classics · 2003
Andrew George basically wrote the modern scholarship on Gilgamesh, and his Penguin gives you a readable verse translation plus notes on the Akkadian. Enkidu's death and the flood still land at full force.
Every recommended edition, compared
Stephen Mitchell fills the broken tablets with his own poetry, which scholars hate and readers love. The most complete narrative experience in English, just understand it's Mitchell finishing the story where the clay gave out.
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Reading The Epic of Gilgamesh in translation
The Epic of Gilgamesh was written in Sumerian/Akkadian, so unless you read Sumerian/Akkadian, the translator decides the book you actually experience — its register, its pace, how it sounds read aloud. Two editions of the same work can feel like different books.
The ranking above is Gröblé’s: one reader’s verdict on which English gets you closest, not a publisher’s blurb. Start with the top pick; reach for the others when you want a different angle on the original.