Transcript Introduction To Mesopotamian Mythology

Introduction To
Mesopotamian
Mythology
Mythology
Mr. Henderson
What is Mesopotamia?
• Mesopotamia is geographic area in the Middle
East that was home to a number of early
civilizations
• Mesopotamia (Greek for “between the rivers”)
is located between the Tigris and Euphrates
Rivers in what is the modern-day country of
Iraq.
• Mesopotamia makes up part of archaeologists
call the Fertile Crescent.
The Fertile Crescent
The fertile crescent was home to some of the earliest
civilizations, ancient people who invented agriculture,
writing, and architecture.
Brief History of Mesopotamia
• Before 9000 BC- evidence of hunter-gathering
Neolithic society in the region. These hunters
used flint and obsidian tools and weapons.
• c. 9000 BC- earliest farming settlement
discovered. Around this time the earliest
permanent settlement is made at Jericho.
• c. 8000 BC- large scale faming develops in
Sumer, with wheat as the chief crop.
Brief History of Mesopotamia.
• c. 3300 BC- cuneiform writing system
developed, writing preserved on clay tablets.
• c. 3000 BC- the first Ziggurat at Sialk is built in
what is today central Iran.
• 1250 BC- Chogha Zanbil, the best preserved of
the Ziggurats is built. It’s name means “basket
hill”.
Ziggurats
• Stepped pyramids built by Sumerian,
Akkadian, and Assyrian cultures starting in the
fourth century BC.
• The last was complete around 450 BC.
• Served a religious purpose. They originally had
a shrine on top, but none of these structures
survive.
• Raised shrines defended against flood and
helped to keep religious rites secret.
Ziggurat of Ur
Cuneiform Tablets
• Cuneiform was a pictographic writing system
developed by the Sumerians in the second
half of the 4th century BC.
• The word “cuneiform” meaning “wedgeshaped” comes from the Latin (cuneus
“wedge” + forma “shape”).
• It was gradually replaced by the Phoenician
alphabet (which was phonetic) and became
extinct by the 2nd century AD.
Cuneiform Tablets
Cuneiform was written with sharpened reeds into wet clay, which was
then baked. The Sumerians were the first to use cuneiform, but the
writing was later adapted to other Mesopotamian cultures.
Early Mesopotamian Cultures
• The Sumerians were the earliest large agrarian
culture to dominate the area.
• The Sumerians spoke a language that is
unconnected to any other known language, this
is called a language-isolate.
• The Sumerians were followed by the Akkadians
(who may have been their conquerors). The
Akkadians had their own language, but they
borrowed heavily from Sumerian and continued
to use it as a language for religious purposes.
Early Mesopotamian Culture
• The Akkadians spoke a Semitic language, the
earliest know one, meaning it is related to
Hebrew and Arabic.
• The Akkadians formed a vast empire with their
capital, being a city called Akkad.
• The Akkadians built an extensive road system,
that would not be equaled until the Roman
Empire.
• The Akkadian Empire collapsed following several
devastating years of drought.
• The exact location of the city of Akkad has never
been discovered.
Early Mesopotamian Culture
• The Assyrians began as a part of the northern
Akkadian culture, but eventually became
independent.
• They were located in parts of what is now
modern Syria and northern Iraq.
• They also spoke a Semitic language and were
skilled architects and artists.
• The Assyrians eventually came into conflict
with, and were conquered by, the
Babylonians.
Early Mesopotamian Culture
• Like the Assyrians, the Babylonians began as a part
of the Akkadian culture, but eventually became
independent.
• They were located in what is now central Iraq.
• Because their territory lacked stone, they
Babylonian baked clay into brick to build
monumental structures.
• The Babylonians developed advanced mathematics
and made advances in astronomy and medicine that
would not be equaled until Greek civilization.
Later Mesopotamian Cultures
• After the fall of the old Babylonian Empire, a new
power in the north, called the Neo-Assyrians or
Aramaic civilization emerged.
• This culture spoke Aramaic, a Semitic language
closely related to Phoenician.
• They used a variation of the Phoenician alphabet,
which is the ancestor of modern Hebrew and
Arabic script.
• This culture was eventually supplanted by the NeoBabylonians, who are mentioned frequently in the
Biblical Old Testament.
The Gate of Ishtar
The Gate of ishtar was the gateway to the inner city of Babylon, built by
Nebuchadnezzar II in 575 BC. It was built of glazed bricks with alternating
rows of Mesopotamian dragons (mushussu) and aurochs (an extinct species
of bull).
Mesopotamian Religion
• Polytheistic system with a pantheon of gods and
goddess, each of whom represented a force of
nature or natural law. Major dieties are:
• Anu- sky god and chief of the gods
• Anshar- father of Anu, another sky-god
• Kishar- goddess of the earth, mother of Anu
• Enlil- god of the air
• Enki- god of the water
• Ishtar- goddess of love
• Ereshkigal- goddess of the underworld