Gilgamesh in popular culture

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The Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh has inspired various works in modern popular culture.

Contents 1 Literature 2 Music 3 Theatre 4 Film 5 Television 6 Radio 7 Video games 8 Children's literature 9 References

[edit] Literature

• Gilgamesh the King and To the Land of the Living by Robert Silverberg. Silverberg also contributed works of short fiction concerning Gilgamesh to the Heroes in Hell shared world series of Bangsian fantasy.
• "Gilgamesh II", a satirical graphic novel by Jim Starlin in which an infant (the last of his doomed race) is rocketed to Earth Superman-fashion, but whose life follows the trajectory of the Gilgamesh legends. ASIN B00071S7T8
• The book How Like a God by Brenda W. Clough is based on the epic.
• Timewyrm: Genesys, by John Peel, is the first of the New Doctor Who Adventures published by Virgin. The book describes the Doctor meeting Gilgamesh, and relates the epic of Gilgamesh as a Doctor Who story.
• 1001 Nights of Bacchus, a graphic novel by Eddie Campbell, features a six-page collage story in which Gilgamesh is a Scottish-accented soccer hooligan near-incomprehensibly recounting the entire epic to a barmaid who he is chatting up and who then explains to him the mysteries of existence. The story also appeared, in color, on the back covers of issues 22-26 of Campbell's Bacchus magazine.
• Turn left at Gilgamesh, a play by New York playwright Rory Winston.
• In The Great American Novel, a novel by author Philip Roth, the Gilgamesh myth is reworked into the tale of a fictional baseball player, Gil Gamesh, whose immortal aspirations are achieved by disappearing after his final game.
• The Adventures of the Faithful Counselor novella-length poem by Anne Sheldon, published in its own volume by Aqueduct Press, 2005.
• Stephan Grundy retold the legend in his novel Gilgamesh.

[edit] Music

• The Epic of Gilgamesh, choral work by the Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů.
• Gilgamesh (1992), an opera by Italian composer Franco Battiato based on the Epic.
• Gilgamesh, an opera by Serbian composer Rudolf Brucci based on the Epic.
• Gilgamesh (1971-72) is an opera by Per Nørgård based on the epic.
• Golem II the Bionic Vapour Boy, a song by Mike Patton's band Mr. Bungle mentions Gilgamesh.
• Girugamesh, name of Japanese rock band is the transliteration of Gilgamesh, some of their song names allude to the epic.

[edit] Theatre

Perhaps from the time it was first told as an oral history or as the beginning of human storytelling, The Epic of Gilgamesh has been presented as theatre. As such, countless versions or adaptations of The Epic of Gilgamesh have been written and/or produced for the theatre. Western interest in the Culture of Iraq increased at the turn of the 21st Century, due in no small part to the Iraq War and U.S. Global War on Terror and ongoing/escalating Middle East conflict(s). With this interest, it appears, theatrical productions of The Epic of Gilgamesh flourished. In 2007 alone, over ten separate productions of the story have been/are being produced:

• 2007 (September/October). Gilgamesh in Uruk: GI in Iraq, adapted by Blake Bowden. Directed by Regina Pugh, with original music composed by Grammy-nominee, Steve Goers, and original puppetry by Aretta Baumgartner. Produced by The Performance Gallery in Cincinnati, OH.
• 2007 (July). Chronicles - the custom of lamenting, based on the adaptation and completed Polish translation of Gilgamesh by Robert Stiller. Directed by Grzegorz Brai with original music based on Albanian and Greek polyphonic laments. Produced by Song of the Goat Theatre in Poland.
• 2007 (April). Gilgamesh, adapted by Yusef Komunyakaa and Chad Gracia. Original music composed and performed by Billy Atwell. This project was a part of the New York Institute for the Humanities "War Music Festival." It will be produced by the Classical Theatre of Harlem.
• 2007 (March/April). Gilgamesh, adapted by Stephen Sachs. Directed by Sachs and Jessica Kubzansky. Produced by the The Theatre @ Boston Court on Pasadena, CA.
• 2009 (March). "Rag Fur Blood Bone: The Epic of Gilgamesh". Written by Michael Yates Crowley, Directed by Michael Rau. Produced at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center at BMCC in New York, NY.

Other theatrical productions/adaptations of The Epic of Gilgamesh include:

• Gilgamesh (1990) by Socìetas Raffaello Sanzio is based on the Epic of Gilgamesh.

[edit] Film

• "This Unnameable Little Broom" (1985) by the Quay Brothers is an animated short based on the Epic of Gilgamesh.
• Gilgamesh (1990) by Socìetas Raffaello Sanzio
• Gilgamesh, by the film director Roger Christian (Pre-production).

[edit] Television

• The Gilgamesh story is a key part of the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Darmok."
• Gilgamesh (anime), directed by Masahiko Murata.

[edit] Radio

• Gilgamesh, 1.5 hour adaptation as a radio play on BBC Radio 3, first broadcast 11 June 2006 [1]

[edit] Video games

• The predesigned game packaged with Electronic Arts' Adventure Construction Set, Rivers of Light, follows the Epic of Gilgamesh.
• In Type-Moon's visual novel Fate/stay night, which features spirits of past heroes summoned into a war for the Holy Grail, Gilgamesh is a primary antagonist hailed as the "King of Heroes".
• The Final Fantasy series of video games includes, in most of its installments, a boss enemy named Gilgamesh and his "faithful sidekick," Enkidu.
• In Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance, a Viraxo ship is named "Enkidu."

[edit] Children's literature

While far from being a child's story, The Epic of Gilgamesh and related Gilgamesh stories, have been adapted to children's literature:

• Gilgamesh. (1967). Written and illustrated by Bernarda Bryson. Henry Holt & Co. ISBN 0030556104. 1st edition is out of print.
• Gilgamesh: Man's First Story (2005). Written and illustrated by Bernarda Bryson Shahn. Whole Spirit Press ISBN 1-892857-01-4 2nd edition reissue.
• Gilgamesh the King (1991). Written and illustrated by Ludmila Zeman. Tundra Books. ISBN 978-0-88776-283-3 (0-88776-283-2).
• The Revenge of Ishtar (1993). Written and illustrated by Ludmila Zeman. Tundra Books. ISBN 978-0-88776-315-1 (0-88776-315-4).
• The Last Quest of Gilgamesh (1995). Written and illustrated by Ludmila Zeman. Tundra Books. ISBN 978-0-88776-328-1 (0-88776-328-6).
• Gilgamesh the Hero (2003). Retold by Geraldine McCaughrean, illustrated by David Parkins. Eerdmans Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0-80285-262-9.
• Lugalbanda: The Boy who got Caught up in a War (2006). by Kathy Henderson, illustrated by Jane Ray. Candlewick. ISBN 0763627828.

[edit] References