Myths from Mesopotamia Creation, The Flood, Gilgamesh, and Others (Oxford World's Classics) Paperback – 11 Dec. 2008

Having read the negative comments about Zechariah Sitchin I wanted to read the original stories on their own with a good translation. This book is brilliant although not the easiest to read as it doesn't smooth over gaps. I prefer this as it let's me make up my own mind how to fill them. The idea of extra terrestrials having visited the earth can be easily deducted from these texts, one only needs to read the first story "Atrahasis" to get the idea "When Anu had gone up to the sky, [And the gods of] the Apsu had gone below, The Anunnaki of the sky Made the Igigi bear the workload."These gods are not portrayed in a way we like to think of gods as kind of heavenly beings but remind us of greek gods, real people but from a different place, another planet. These gods are as human as we are, they are sleeping in houses, grumble over hard work, complain and start rebellions. And like us humans, who want to ease the work-burden and use workers/slaves, so did they, they created mankind to do the work for them.They " ... clear channels, the lifelines of the land, ... They were counting the years of loads, For 3,600 years they bore the excess, Hard work, night and day. They groaned and blamed each other, Grumbled over the masses of excavated soil"The stories are all very human, have even a modern feel to it sometimes. They really make you think and wonder, who are these Anunnaki, are they really gods in a sense of how we understand gods, supernatural beings, or are they simply a kind of human from a different planet who created workers in their own image but a shorter life span. Even the process of creation as described in these stories do remind one of modern genetic engineering. After reading these stories, I believe that Sitchin might really have a point, there really might have been people from another planet who visited this planet and created us.Of course there are always other interpretations possible, but considering the style these stories are written in and how there are so many other cultures with similar stories and artefacts that still puzzle science and historians today, I think we should keep an open mind. This book is a good start to get a more 'un-biased' view about ancient cultures like the Sumerian. Let the stories speak for themselves.

Whether you see him as an expert on ancient history or a type of science-fiction writer he has posed some uncomfortable questions. And whether you see him as a crackpot or not, it is still compelling reading. I don't necessarily believe everything had Freud said either, but in both "theorists" I see a grain of truth. And with both, the writing is engaging and has made me think about the nature of the human narrative. Besides, both write in the Socratic tradition of questioning. It is this kind of questioning that is in itself mesmerising. Both have angered the mainstream, and I think both have made a contribution to the Big Narrative. Besides, we cannot dismiss those we disagree with, what we can do is consider some of their ideas and then make up our own minds. I've seen some very irate experts in the field and that always makes me remember that line from Hamlet: methinks the lady doth protest too much. You don't have to buy into the theory, but you cannot but help to doubt the mainstream's sanctimonious dismissal of alternative thinkers

Arrived quick, perfect condition, very happy with this

I am doing some research for an author who wishes to relate the story to actual historical events/timeline and in a seemless manner, and have been looking into the various myths, legends, fairytales of ancient times and the historical significance of these when I decided on aquiering this book.I have read some of these stories before such as the epic of Gilgamesh and the descent of Ishtar, and have to say that this translation is a great starting point for anyone interested in the ancient tradition of storytelling and oratory history of old. Though a lot is lost in translation it gives you enough to see the beautiful allegorical usage and also gives you a pleasurable reading experience.It is a must read for anyone interested in the ancient times and gives you a great selection for further reading if the stories speak to you (be it for their language, content or historical refrences) or you'r just plain curious of the origins of modern civilization.I would also recomend that one reads the complete stories of 1001 nights and those wonderful stories of the ancient Egyptian mythologies for comparison.