“On a literary-critical level, Abusch has given us much to think about and has presented a plausible, if uncertain, reconstruction of the Epic’s long and complicated history. . . I can certainly affirm Abusch’s statement that the basic conflict here “is that between the extraordinary and the normal” (p. 131). However gifted a person might be, he or she must come to terms with the constraints inherent in the human condition. But I would hold that this lesson of the Epic applies not only to a semi-divine ruler, but to any person, which helps to account for the great popularity of the tale(s) of Gilgamesh—in the ancient Near East and in the present day.”—Gary Beckman American Oriental Society
