# Gilgamesh by Simon Armitage

11 Hacker News commenters recommended Gilgamesh by Simon Armitage and 4 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 3 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Readers find it fast-paced, well-written and entertaining, a revealing take on an ancient epic. Critics say it is more rewrite than translation and does not reflect the original Akkadian.

## Why people recommend it

- Fast, entertaining, enjoyable read (2 comments): "Gilgamesh, though, is well-written, fast-paced and highly entertaining" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45947312)) "Gilgamesh is a lot of fun." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50307668))
- Revealing, good translations of Gilgamesh (2 comments): "I found reading translations of Gilgamesh and Atra-Hasis to be revelatory" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49452827)) "The Sophus Helle version is very good" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50301511))

## What people warn about

- Strays from the original; not faithful (3 comments): "Still, one has to give a pseudotranslator credit for admitting their method" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50301629)) "this 'translation/rewrite' of Gilgamesh will not age well even in the tiny demographic it is aimed at" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50301456)) "It looks like he has not studied any Akkadian." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50304937))
- Hard to read, dated material (2 comments): "Even translated, some short books from a very different culture far in the past can be challenging." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45970044)) "One isn't well served by something that old." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50301990))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [The Odyssey by Emily Wilson](https://hackerapproved.com/p/odyssey-translated.md): 21 recommend
- [The Iliad by Homer](https://hackerapproved.com/p/iliad.md): 9 recommend
- [The Claudyssey by Claude Fable 5](https://hackerapproved.com/p/claudyssey.md): 8 recommend
- [Beowulf: A New Translation by Maria Dahvana Headley](https://hackerapproved.com/p/beowulf.md): 5 recommend
- [Paradise Lost by John Milton](https://hackerapproved.com/p/paradise-lost.md): 3 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Gilgamesh+by+Simon+Armitage&tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Gilgamesh by Simon Armitage", https://hackerapproved.com/p/gilgamesh/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).