The epic of Gilgamesh: the Babylonian epic poem and other texts in Akkadian and Sumerian; translated and with an introduction by Andrew George Book

"I will reveal to you a mystery, I will tell you a secret of the gods."
There is something very humbling about reading stories written more than 4,000 years ago. One of the most fascinating things about The Epic of Gilgamesh is how you can easily see the influence it has had on Homer and Judeo-Christian-Islamic mythology. And I get chills just thinking about how this narrative reaches across the millennia and takes us inside the minds of people who lived so long ago.

This is one of those cases where I really wish I could read and understand the original text. The translation is a little wooden, and the rather dramatic series of events reads almost like a textbook. I should point out that, though a little dry, it's not difficult to read at all - at least not in the English translation that I read - and can be read in a single sitting if you have a couple of hours to spare.

My favourite part is, not surprisingly, the relationship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu. I definitely find myself leaning towards agreeing with the homoerotic interpretations of their relationship, and they almost certainly served as an inspiration for pairings such as Achilles and Patroclus, and Jonathan and David.

Whether they were lovers or not - and no one really knows how the Ancient Sumerians would have felt about a gay couple - the intensity of Gilgamesh's love for Enkidu, whom he loves "as a woman", is the driving force of the epic. This love leads him on a long and strange journey in the hope that he can find a way to defy death. An intriguing tale.

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