Legend of Gilgamesh吉尔伽美什的传说

BACKGROUND： One of the greatest cities in ancient Sumer was the city ofUruk. Legend says that once upon a time， on the banks of the Euphrates， in thegreat city of Uruk， there lived a king named Gilgamesh. In truth， a king namedGilgamesh may actually have existed. His name is on the Sumerian King List， a listwritten in cuneiform1 on clay tablets2， discovered by archaeologists3.

背景院乌鲁克是古代苏美尔最伟大的城市之一。传说从前，在幼发拉底河畔的大城市乌鲁克，住着一位名叫吉尔伽美什的国王。事实上，一位名叫吉尔伽美什的国王可能真的存在过。他的名字出现在了考古学家发现的苏美尔王表上，都是一份用楔形文字写在泥板上的名单。

The Epic of Gilgamesh is a series of stories about King Gilgamesh， writtenthousands of years ago. The stories tell the many adventures that our hero，Gilgamesh， experienced in his search for everlasting4 life. These stories had anunnamed narrator5 who states， “I will proclaim6 to the world the deeds ofGilgamesh.”The narrator introduces himself before he introduces the hero， KingGilgamesh of Uruk， and by doing so， welcomes us into the story.

《吉尔伽美什史诗》是关于吉尔伽美什国王的一系列故事，写于数千年前。这些故事讲述了我们的主人公吉尔伽美什在寻找永生的过程中经历的许多冒险。这些故事有一位未透露姓名的叙述者，他说：“我将向世界宣扬吉尔伽美什的事迹。”叙述者在介绍主角乌鲁克国王吉尔伽美什之前介绍了自己，并这样带我们走进故事。

The narrator is quick to tell us that the king of Uruk， the great King Gilgamesh，was two-thirds god and one-third human. Because of this， Gilgamesh was far morebeautiful and far more courageous7 than a common person. He had some magicalpowers. The powers came up now and then throughout the stories because he waspart god. According to the narrator， Gilgamesh was not just a hero; he was asuperhero. Gilgamesh fought monsters， moved mountains and rivers， saved people inneed， and protected the people of Sumer. Yet， he was also part mortal8， which mightexplain why Gilgamesh decided to find the key to everlasting life—so he could liveforever like the rest of the gods.

叙述者很快告诉我们，乌鲁克国王，伟大的国王吉尔伽美什，三分之二是神，三分之一是人。正因为如此，吉尔伽美什比普通人美丽勇敢得多。他有一些神奇的力量。因为他是半神，这些力量在整个故事中不时地出现。根据叙述者的说法，吉尔伽美什不仅仅是一个英雄；他是个超级英雄。吉尔伽美什与怪物作战，移山倒海，救人于危难，并保护苏美尔的人民。然而，他也是半人，这也许可以解释为什么吉尔伽美什决心找到永生的关键———这样他就可以像其他神一样长生不老了。

Even though The Epic of Gilgamesh was written thousands of years ago， theseimaginative9 stories of great adventure are still fun to read today.尽管《吉尔伽美什史诗》写于数千年前，但这些富有想象力的伟大冒险故事至今读来仍然妙趣横生。

（英语原文选自：mesopotamia.mrdonn.org）