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Birthplace of Civilization Oldest Writing on Earth Civilization Authorities do not all agree about the definition of civilization. Most accept the view that "a civilization is a culture which has attained a degree of complexity usually characterized by urban life." In other words, a civilization is a culture capable of sustaining a substantial number of specialists to cope with the economic, social, political, and religious needs of a populous society. Other characteristics usually present in a civilization include a system of writing to keep records, monumental architecture in place of simple buildings, and an art that is no longer merely decorative, like that on Neolithic pottery, but representative of people and their activities. All these characteristics of civilization first appeared in Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia Sumer was the southernmost region of Mesopotamia (modernday Iraq and Kuwait). By 3600 BCE they had invented the wheel, writing, the sail boat, irrigation, and the concept of the city. Great Firsts Government practices Astronomy Calendar and Leap Year Agricultural practices Irrigation and the Plow Raised sheep and cows Potter’s Wheel and Jewelry Mathematics Units of 60 (we still use this for time!) Metal-working Architecture Extensive Trade Wheel and Sail Boats Social Structures Upper, Middle, and Lower classes The First Writing They invented writing, first in pictographs and then developing into cuneiform. and used it to keep track of trade and to create the world's first known literature. The world's oldest book is The Epic of Gilgamesh, a collection of stories about a Sumerian hero. Importance of Writing Writing allows you to record and pass down knowledge. It is far more reliable than wordof-mouth. Ever played Telephone? Writing systems allow a community to ACCUMULATE KNOWLEDGE. Even today, it is how you access and record knowledge, whether it is digital or physical. Your Turn Research the Sumerians. Find THREE fascinating facts. Copy them into your notes. Cite your source! Author. Title. Website. We are going to share these next week on our next Myth of the Week. Whoever finds the most surprising information, wins! The Basics The Sumerians organized a complex mythology based on the relationships among the various local gods of the temple towns. In Sumerian religion, the most important gods were seen as human forms of natural forces--sky, sun, earth, water, and storm. These gods, each originally associated with a particular city, were worshiped not only in the great temples but also in small shrines in family homes. Basics The Sumerians thought that a great domed roof contained the sky, the stars, the moon, and the sun which lighted the cities beneath it; they also believed that below the earth swirled the dim netherworld, a fearsome abode of demons and the kingdom of the dead. Enlil and Enki are credited with creating the cattle, sheep, plants, the yoke and the plow to provide sustenance for themselves and less important deities, but these minor gods lacked the resolution to make use of this bounty. So man was fashioned from clay and given breath so he might tend the sheep and cultivate the fields for the gods. The gods of Sumer, much like mortal men, suffered the vicissitudes of fate and many legends tell of their often ineffective exploits. Beliefs Watch: http://www.bigmyth.com/full version/password033/myths/e nglish/2_sumerian_full.htm Read: “Sumerian Creation Myth” Summarize: In your composition notebook Creation The Flood The gods were angry at mankind so they sent a flood to destroy him. The god Ea, warned Utnapishtim and instructed him to build an enormous boat to save himself, his family, and "the seed of all living things.“ He does so, and the gods brought rain which caused the water to rise for many days. When the rains subsided, the boat landed on a mountain, and Utnapishtim set loose first a dove, then a swallow, and finally a raven, which found land. The god Ishtar, created the rainbow and placed it in the sky, as a reminder to the gods and a pledge to mankind that there would be no more floods. Legends of a flood can be found in the folklore of such diverse places as the Middle East, India, China, Australia, southern Asia, the islands of the Pacific, Europe, and the Americas. But the bestknown flood legend--that on which the story of Noah is based--had its origins among the peoples of ancient Mesopotamia in the Tigris-Euphrates river valley. The Oldest Book in the World Epic Poem Epic Poem Epic of Gilgamesh (2000 BC) The Illiad and The Odyssey (800 BCGreece) The Mahabharata (350 BC- India) The Aenid (19 BCRome) Metamorphoses (8 AD) The Shahnameh (11th century Persia) Beowulf (8th-11th century- Norse) The Divine Comedy (1300s) Paradise Lost (1600s England) The Rape of the Lock (1700s England) Characteristics of an Epic Epic poetry–or heroic poetry, as some of the medieval poets have called it–follows a certain time-tested formula to portray such grand representations of heroes and their followers. Here are a few recurring patterns to keep in mind when considering these texts: The invocation of a muse. These poets plea to the gods at the very beginning to grant them the power to tell these stories with a certain forcefulness, though some admittedly pretend to do so to claim they are divinely empowered. Many of these begin in medias res, in the middle of the story, and may digress into the past later on in the poem. There are many journeys into the underworld. There are grand battle-scenes punctuated by extended similes, ambitious analogies that stretch the imagination but strive for literary glory. Many will feature the might of armies in long digressions featuring weaponry and war games. Gilgamesh He was King of Uruk, who was two-thirds god and one-third man. He built magnificent ziggurats, or temple towers, surrounded his city with high walls, and laid out its orchards and fields. He was physically beautiful, immensely strong, and very wise. A Cruel King Although Gilgamesh was godlike in body and mind, he began his kingship as a cruel despot. He lorded over his subjects, raping any woman who struck his fancy, whether she was the wife of one of his warriors or the daughter of a nobleman. He accomplished his building projects with forced labor, and his exhausted subjects groaned under his oppression. The gods heard his subjects’ pleas and decided to keep Gilgamesh in check by creating a wild man named Enkidu, who was as magnificent as Gilgamesh. Enkidu became Gilgamesh’s great friend and they go on many adventures together, killing monsters. Gilgamesh’s heart was shattered when Enkidu died of an illness inflicted by the gods. Gilgamesh then traveled to the edge of the world and learned about the days before the deluge and other secrets of the gods, and he recorded them on stone tablets. The Gods Step In Hunting for Answers Gilgamesh can’t stop grieving for Enkidu, and he can’t stop brooding about the prospect of his own death. Exchanging his kingly garments for animal skins as a way of mourning Enkidu, he sets off into the wilderness, determined to find Utnapishtim, the Mesopotamian Noah. After the flood, the gods had granted Utnapishtim eternal life, and Gilgamesh hopes that Utnapishtim can tell him how he might avoid death too. Utnapishtim Tests the King When Gilgamesh insists that he be allowed to live forever, Utnapishtim gives him a test. If you think you can stay alive for eternity, he says, surely you can stay awake for a week. Gilgamesh tries and immediately fails. So Utnapishtim orders him to clean himself up, put on his royal garments again, and return to Uruk where he belongs. A Parting Gift Just as Gilgamesh is departing, however, Utnapishtim’s wife convinces him to tell Gilgamesh about a miraculous plant that restores youth. Gilgamesh finds the plant and takes it with him, planning to share it with the elders of Uruk. But a snake steals the plant one night while they are camping. As the serpent slithers away, it sheds its skin and becomes young again. The Hero Returns Home When Gilgamesh returns to Uruk, he is empty-handed but reconciled at last to his mortality. He knows that he can’t live forever but that humankind will. Now he sees that the city he had repudiated (rejected) in his grief and terror is a magnificent, enduring achievement—the closest thing to immortality to which a mortal can aspire. Analysis What is one of the themes of The Epic of Gilgamesh? Write a well-developed paragraph explaining what this myth taught ancient people and why this is an important message to remember. Works Cited “The Sumerians.” historywiz.com. History Whiz, 2008. Web. 9 August 2015. http://www.historywiz.com/exhibits/sumerians.htm l “The Epic of Gilgamesh: Plot Overview”. SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC, n.d. Web. Giusepi, Robert A. “Ancient Sumer.” historyworld.org. World International, n.d. Web. http://history-world.org/sumeria.htm