This year marks the 150th anniversary of the modern rediscovery of the Babylonian epic Gilgamesh, which after centuries of near-total oblivion was brought back to life by the Assyriologist George Smith in 1872. Since then, Gilgamesh has enjoyed a worldwide fame unparalleled by any other work of ancient Near Eastern literature, reaching readers all over the globe as it was translated, retold, and reimagined in countless languages and media. On the eve of its modern sesquicentennial, the epic continues to hold a unique place in the world literary canon. The workshop will celebrate the epic’s success by inviting Assyriologists and other scholars interested in Gilgamesh to present their latest findings about the epic, its long history (both ancient and modern), its literary structure, and its philological complexities. By offering a selection of papers on the epic, the workshop will survey the state of the art of Gilgamesh-related research, presenting the latest findings and probing the questions that remain unanswered.

Organized by Gösta Gabriel (Freie Universität Berlin), Sophus Helle (Freie Universität Berlin), and Louise Pryke (University of Sydney), in a cooperation between the DFG Emmy Noether-group Mythische Literaturwerke der altbabylonischen Zeit als wissenspraktische Artefakte and the Einstein Center Chronoi.