Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld and the Sumerian Gilgamesh Cycle

Providing a perspective on the Sumerian Gilgamesh stories, this book argues that a Sumerian Gilgamesh Cycle was developed as early as Ur III, and that Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld was the first, not the last story of this cycle.
Alhena Gadotti offers a much needed new edition of the Sumerian composition Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld, last published by Aaron Shaffer in his 1963 doctoral dissertation. Since then, several new manuscripts have come to light, prompting not only a new edition of the text, but also a re-examination of the composition. In this book, Gadotti argues that Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld was the first, not the last of the Sumerian stories about Gilgamesh. She also suggests that a Sumerian Gilgamesh Cycle, currently only attested in old Babylonian manuscripts (ca. 18th century BCE), was in fact developed during the Ur III period (ca. 2100-2000 BCE). Providing a new way to look at the Sumerian Gilgamesh stories, this book is relevant not only to scholars of the ancient Near East, but also to anyone interested in epic and epic cycle.