When Heroes Love: The Ambiguity of Eros in the Stories of Gilgamesh and David (Book Review‪)‬

When Heroes Love: The Ambiguity of Eros in the Stories of Gilgamesh and David. By SUSAN ACKERMAN. New York: COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS, 2005. Pp. xvi + 353. $45. In this provocative study, Susan Ackerman examines the stories of Gilgamesh and Enkidu and David and Jonathan for what each ancient narrative tells of the heroes' relationships and how they can be understood using both ancient and modern concepts of friendship, eroticism, and sexuality. Ackerman is expert in religion and modern studies of gender and sexuality, including those focused on the ancient Near East, and has read widely in anthropology. Moreover, she can work with the original Akkadian and Hebrew texts. She is blessed with superior reflective capacity and has cultivated enviable expository skills. This is a serious, close reading of two quite different ancient compositions; this review will give attention only to the Mesopotamian half of the study.