A NEW TRANSLATION ALONGSIDE THE ORIGINAL AKKADIAN

The Enūma Eliš, the Babylonian epic of creation, is a literary masterpiece. The fact that it is among the oldest surviving creation myths, a foundational text from a foundational civilization, should not obscure its other qualities. Its drama is timeless and yet still shocking. It has patricide, monsters and battles, moments of extreme cruelty and kindness. Add to this the fact that, to its audience, it explained in a very real way the creation of earth and mankind (everything really), and it certainly lives up to the promise of an “epic.”

Pairing this millennia old text with centuries old craft has long been a dream for us. As the first edition we pondered, whose realization we have been working toward for years, it is in a way our raison d'être.

The epic is printed in the original Akkadian using the cuneiform script. So far as we can tell, this is the first fine press edition to significantly use cuneiform. Alongside the original, the edition features a new poetic translation by No Reply's own Griffin Gonzales, whose academic background is in religious texts of the Ancient Near East. Such texts can be dense to the point of incomprehensibility for the casual reader; this translation keeps the reader in mind, preserving as best it can the entertainment and lyricism which its original audience would have treasured.

The edition is designed to showcase the printed word, both in English and Akkadian. The simplicity of type and binding is our homage to Alberto Tallone Editore, which we esteem to be the world's finest private press. We are offering the edition in three states — in a simple but elegant stiff wrapper (with an optional slipcase and chemise), in quarter gold-tooled vellum with letterpress boards, and in quarter gold-tooled vellum with hand-marbled boards.

Why the Enūma Eliš, after four thousand years?

The beauty of its poetry is captivating enough to render even its remarkable drama an afterthought. Take, for example, its first line rendered phonetically – enū-ma eliš lā nabū šamamu. Repeat it aloud. Now, a further two lines – šapliš ammatum šuma lā zakrat / apsū-ma reštū zārū-šun mummu tiāmat. At first, the ancient language will come off the tongue clumsily. Repeat it enough, however, and it begins to roll. It may even do more. Few ever expect to have Akkadian poetry stuck in their heads, but we contend that these lines are as catchy as any modern poem or song. We should not consider literature, at a certain age, to pass from entertainment to artifact. If we believe it possible that people four thousand years from now could find enjoyment and meaning in our art, we must pay ancient people the same respect.

The language of the Enūma Eliš is Akkadian, as recorded in cuneiform, history's earliest written script. Translations into English have long suffered from the lack of a popular audience. Scholars, naturally, prefer to have translations that value strict textual accuracy. For readers, this can leave the text stale, cold, and confusing. But to Babylonians, the Enūma Eliš would have been thrilling, heated, and indeed, would have given answers to nature's great questions. Their literature was as vibrant as ours, as moving, and certainly as powerful. Therefore, this edition renders the Enūma Eliš into a new poetic translation, in the hopes of capturing the epic not as a text for study, but as literature to be appreciated and enjoyed.

The original text is circuitous and, to readers without a background in ancient texts, can be confusing. Much of the text contains verbatim repetition of what has already happened — for example, the second tablet (or part) begins with a near complete repetition of the first tablet. The text has therefore been abridged to highlight its plot content and allow the reader to enjoy it not just as an ancient religious text, but as a damn good story.

With the translation come an introduction and explanatory footnotes. If you need any assurance about the poem's magnificence, take the footnotes from a single page: 1. A wolf-headed storm demon. 2. Essentially a legal document, conferring supremacy over the universe. 3. Marduk, who breathes fire.