Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh by Simon Armitageby Simon Armitage
Ranked 2 of 8 poetry books by recommenders
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.
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.
15 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 11
- criticize it
- 4
- approval share
- 73%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 11 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 2.8 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Fast, entertaining, enjoyable read
“Gilgamesh, though, is well-written, fast-paced and highly entertaining”
Comment from 16 Nov 2025 in “Where Educational Technology Fails: A seventh-grader's perspective” “Gilgamesh is a lot of fun.”
Comment from 30 Oct 2026 in “Gilgamesh by Simon Armitage review – an ancient epic is brilliantly translated” Revealing, good translations of Gilgamesh
“I found reading translations of Gilgamesh and Atra-Hasis to be revelatory”
Comment from 26 Aug 2026 in “11,000-year-old sculpture of man riding a leopard found in Turkey” “The Sophus Helle version is very good”
Comment from 30 Oct 2026 in “Gilgamesh by Simon Armitage review – an ancient epic is brilliantly translated”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Strays from the original; not faithful
“Still, one has to give a pseudotranslator credit for admitting their method”
Comment from 30 Oct 2026 in “Gilgamesh by Simon Armitage review – an ancient epic is brilliantly translated” “this 'translation/rewrite' of Gilgamesh will not age well even in the tiny demographic it is aimed at”
Comment from 30 Oct 2026 in “Gilgamesh by Simon Armitage review – an ancient epic is brilliantly translated” “It looks like he has not studied any Akkadian.”
Comment from 30 Oct 2026 in “Gilgamesh by Simon Armitage review – an ancient epic is brilliantly translated” Hard to read, dated material
“Even translated, some short books from a very different culture far in the past can be challenging.”
Comment from 18 Nov 2025 in “Short Little Difficult Books” “One isn't well served by something that old.”
Comment from 30 Oct 2026 in “Gilgamesh by Simon Armitage review – an ancient epic is brilliantly translated”
Other poetry books people recommend
The four most recommended other poetry books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Odysseyby Emily Wilson | 21 | 3 | 88% | 3 | — | — |
| Gilgameshby Simon ArmitageThis page | 11 | 4 | 73% | 3 | — | — |
| The Iliadby Homer | 9 | 1 | 90% | 7 | — | — |
| The Claudysseyby Claude Fable 5 | 8 | 5 | 62% | 1 | — | — |
| Beowulf: A New Translationby Maria Dahvana Headley | 5 | 2 | 71% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
All 16 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Gilgamesh is a lot of fun.”
“I liked Emily Wilson's Sumerian trilogy that reimagines the stories including Gilgamesh in fantasy setting.”
“It looks like he has not studied any Akkadian.”
“Even better, hear it read in a Public Domain audiobook on LibriVox”
“So I'm very excited for this.”
“One isn't well served by something that old.”
“A very funny and informative book review of Gilgamesh”
“No rhyme in the original doesn't mean there should be no rhyme in the English.”
“Still, one has to give a pseudotranslator credit for admitting their method”
“The Sophus Helle version is very good”
“this 'translation/rewrite' of Gilgamesh will not age well even in the tiny demographic it is aimed at”
“I found reading translations of Gilgamesh and Atra-Hasis to be revelatory”
“The very moral in Gilgamesh deserves that.”
“the refinement of the poetry is already obvious”
“Even translated, some short books from a very different culture far in the past can be challenging.”
“Gilgamesh, though, is well-written, fast-paced and highly entertaining”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.