Transcript PPT on Literature of the Ancient World

Literature of the Ancient World
3000 B.C. – A. D. 500
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Spiritual Beginnings: Mesopotamian,
Egyptian, Hebrew Literature
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Writings from the oldest known civilization
Epic of Gilgamesh
Egyptian Book of the Dead
Hebrew Bible
These writings reveal the spiritual beliefs of
these ancient cultures
Literature of the Ancient World
3000 B.C. – A. D. 500
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Sacred and Practical Teachings:
Literature of Ancient India
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Includes important Hindu scriptures:
Aryan hymns from the Rig Veda and
Mahabharata and Ramayana epics which
present religious ideals
Secular stories from the Panchatantra, a
collection of folk tales arranged as a
practical guide for living
Making Connections
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In what way might writing make a dead
man, or a dead civilization, “alive in the
mouths of any who read?”
Mesopotamian, Egyptian, and
Hebrew Literature
(Refer to map on pp. 16-17)
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Why might the Jordan River have been
less important to the Hebrews than the
Nile to the Egyptians or the Tigris and
Euphrates to the Mesopotamians?
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Answer:
Mesopotamian, Egyptian, and
Hebrew Literature
(Refer to map on pp. 16-17)
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How far apart did the Mesopotamian
cities of Ur and Uruk lie?
How many miles did the first Hebrew
cover in their migration from Ur to
Haran and then from Haran to Canaan?
Mesopotamian, Egyptian, and
Hebrew Literature
(Refer to map on pp. 16-17)
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Is the Egyptian city of Memphis closer
to Thebes or to Jerusalem?
This unit includes literature from three
cultures of the ancient Middle East that
occupied a region called the Fertile
Crescent. The Mesopotamian and the
Egyptian are the oldest civilizations
known. The Hebrew produced a body
of literature that has been instrumental
in shaping Western civilization.
Mesopotamian, Egyptian, and
Hebrew Literature
(Refer to How Cultures Survived, p.17)
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Each culture’s way of existing in the region
was radically different from that of the other
two. The Egyptians were a single ethnic
group in a single geographic area, the
Mesopotamians different ethnic groups in a
single area, and the Hebrews one ethnic
group in a number of areas. As you read the
rest of this intro, look for causes for these
differences and ways the differences affected
the cultures.
Mesopotamia: History, Arts,
and Culture
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Study the painting on p. 19 and identify
the following items mentioned under
Architecture and Technology: a
decorated building, a garden, a
ziggurat, a city wall, a city gate, a
thoroughfare, a hanging garden, a
fountain, a sail, and cuneiform writing.
How are the symbols formed?
Mesopotamia: History, Arts,
and Culture
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Who can be thought of as the world’s
first author because her writings are the
earliest ones known to be connected
with a particular person?
Egypt: History, Arts, and
Culture
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Explain the meaning of kingdom as it is
used on pp. 20-21.
How is the history of Egypt connected
to the history of Mesopotamia as
described on p. 18?
Egypt: History, Arts, and
Culture
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Who were the rulers of the:
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Old Kingdom
Middle Kingdom
New Kingdom
Who were the female rulers of these
kingdoms? Who was the first female to rule
as a pharaoh?
The Ancient Hebrews: History,
Arts, and Culture
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Identify the connections between the
history of the ancient Hebrews and that
of the Mesopotamians and Egyptians.
The Ancient Hebrews: History,
Arts, and Culture
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The Temple: After Cyrus freed the Jews from the
Babylonian captivity, his successor, Darius I, allowed them
to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple. Darius also
returned sacred objects stolen from the Temple by the
Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar, but the Ark of the
Covenant and the tablets of Moses were lost forever. The
second Temple still existed during the time of Jesus at the
beginning of the first century A.D., many incidents from his
“New Testament” narratives take place there; the 2nd
Temple was destroyed by the Roman general Titus in A.D.
70. Part of the original Temple wall remains today and is
one of the holiest sites of Judaism. At dusk on Friday, Jews
gather at the site, known as the Wailing Wall, to welcome
the Sabbath with song and prayer.
Searching for the Past
(pp. 24-25)
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For each short essay listed below, describe the problem
presented and how it was solved:
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How Writing Was Invented
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Breaking the Code
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Most pyramids had been looted, so their contents could not be studied.
The Dead Sea Scrolls
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The Epic of Gilgamesh was lost.
King Tut’s Tomb
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No one could read Egyptian hieroglyphics.
A Library in the Sand
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No one understood the purpose of the clay tokens or why tablets were
rounded.
Bible texts from the time of Jesus did not exist; the scrolls were not widely
available for study.
The Search Continues
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Only broken tablets had been found.
Literary Terms to Know
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Myth
Heroic literature
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Sacred verse
Wisdom literature
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Legends, epics
Proverbs, parables
Folk tales
Archetype
Foundations of Early Literature
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What kinds of literature probably existed in
early societies?
What purposes would these kinds of literature
serve?
What similar literary forms exist in our own
culture?
What examples of literary forms in use today
exist primarily in written form? In other forms
(oral, etc.)