The Literature of
Ancient
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia - “The land
between the rivers”
• Mesopotamia is the name given by the Greeks to an
ancient area of the Middle East now known as
modern-day Iraq, Iran, Turkey, and Syria.
• This region is also known as the Fertile Crescent, an
agriculturally rich land watered by the Tigris and
Euphrates Rivers.
The Sumerians were the
first people to dominate
this region, settling here
sometime between 5000
and 4000 BC.
The Sumerians :
• Grew crops and raised cattle for a living
• Were successful merchants and traders
• Were known for their stonework, metalwork, and
sculpture
The Sumerians lived in
city-states, much like the
Greeks:
• City-states were walled for protection against
invaders
• Pyramid-like temples, called Ziggurats, were the
center of the cities
• The priests of the ziggurats were considered the
earthly representatives of the gods
Sumerian society was
based upon a strict
Class system
• Upper Class =
priests, government officials
• Middle Class
=
merchants, artisans, doctors
• Lower Class
=
peasants, farmers, slaves
The Sumerians achieved
a high level of culture
and learning
• Knowledge of architecture
• Developments in science, math, astrology
• Created one of the world’s first systems of writing,
known as cuneiform, consisting of a wedge-shaped
marking made with a stick on clay tablets
The largest city-states, such as
Ur, Uruk, and Lagash, had
populations in tens of
thousands.
• Many city-states were in sight of each other
• But the Sumerians never organized a strong central
government
• They often competed against each other for land and
resources
• This made it easy for stronger enemies to capture and
control them later
Because the Sumerians failed to
form a unified government,
they were vulnerable to the
attacks of different nations:
• Akkadians
(~2500 BC)
• Babylonians
(~2000 BC)
• Hittites
(~1600 BC)
• Assyrians
(~900 BC)
• Chaldeans
(~612 BC)
• Persians
(~539 BC)
It was during the reign of the
Babylonians that the story of a
great king called “Gilgamesh” became
translated and preserved
• The story was written ~ 4000 years ago
• It takes the form of an epic poem
• Tells of a king who actually reigned over the
city-state of Uruk sometime between 2700
and 2500 BC
• The story was originally found on broken
Sumerian tablets and restored / translated
by the Babylonians
The epic tells of the
superhuman adventures of
the legendary king
• Legend has it that Gilgamesh is two parts god and one
part human, thus possessing both supernatural powers
and human weaknesses
• Though he was a great leader of a mighty city, he
suffered from excessive pride (hubris).
• His anger at the gods over the death of a friend leads him
to seek eternal life
• Though he confronts obstacles along the way, he must
ultimately accept his human limitations
The selections of Gilgamesh we
will read are based upon 12 clay
tablets of cuneiform script.
• These tablets were among 25,000 discovered in
modern Iraq at Ninevah in the buried ruins of the
library of King Assurbanipal of Assyria
• The original tablets were damaged in a fire during a
Persian raid around 612 BC, but recent discoveries of
older versions of the epic helped to reclaim the parts
of the story that were missing.
The epic was so widely known
that scholars believe it served
as an archetype, or model, for
hero myths around the world
• Greece, India, and Persia would later model characters and
adventures after those portrayed in Gilgamesh
• The epic reveals a great deal about the ancient
Mesopotamians’ sometimes pessimistic (negative) views of
existence
• But it also shows us the sensitivity and humanity of these
ancient peoples, who are not unlike us in their joys,
sorrows, and strivings
Background of the Sumerian
Beliefs reflected in the Epic of
Gilgamesh
• Though they were advanced for their time, the Sumerian and
Babylonian civilizations were powerless against ever-present threats
of floods, droughts, and invaders.
• They worshipped a pantheon, or “family,” of unpredictable gods
and goddesses who could bring misfortune as well as favor.
• Regardless of social status or level of goodness, there was no joyful
afterlife to look forward to.
• No wonder these people had a negative outlook on life!
These pessimistic (negative)
beliefs are evident in the Epic of
Gilgamesh
• Gilgamesh, in spite of his great powers, suffers a lifechanging loss. When the person who means the most
to him dies, the proud Gilgamesh must come to terms
with the reality that he himself will not live forever.
• Because, in the Sumerian view, death offers only
emptiness, Gilgamesh rebels against it, and sets off on
a quest to attain immortality (eternal life).
Gilgamesh is the earliest
known of the Epic Heroes
• All epic heroes are human beings
• All have supernatural strength and spiritual powers
• All are mighty leaders of their people
• Most of them are of mixed divine and human birth
• Most of them possess human weakness, which forces them to
accept human limitations in spite of their power
Why are Epic Heroes so
important to us?
• We admire them for their divine,
supernatural powers, and often wish to be
like them
• We sympathize with them because their
human weaknesses and difficulties remind us
of our own