@inbook{3cf982ba98c640a4814d563ebccbec8a,
title = "Proverbs and Gnōmai in the Epic of Gilgamesh",
abstract = "This essay discusses proverbial expressions and wisdom sayings in the Gilgamesh tradition. It contends that certain critical strategies developed for ancient Greek poetry can be applied to Babylonian epic, particularly the analysis of poetic gnōmai and narrative irony. I begin by isolating the type of expression at issue, building on a flexibility in scholarly definitions of proverbs, gnōmai and sayings that goes back to antiquity (§ 2). The core of the paper (§§ 3‑5) charts and comments on wisdom sayings in the first-millennium Standard Babylonian (SB) Gilgamesh with reference to the earlier poetic tradition. After some concluding remarks (§ 6), I include an indication of potential comparative avenues involving Homeric epic (§ 7).",
keywords = "Gilgamesh. Proverbs. Wisdom. Narrative irony. Homer.",
author = "{Ballesteros Petrella}, Bernardo",
year = "2024",
doi = "10.30687/978-88-6969-776-0/013",
language = "English",
isbn = " 978-88-6969-777-7",
volume = "36",
series = "Antiquity Studies",
publisher = "Edizioni Ca' Foscari",
pages = "235–270",
editor = "Francesco Sironi and Maurizio Viano",
booktitle = "Wisdom Between East and West: Mesopotamia, Greece and Beyond",
edition = "Antichistica",
}