Introduction to world literature[1]

INTRO TO
WORLD
LITERATURE

ignatius joseph n estroga

 MESOPOTAMIAN
LITERATURE

 EGYPTIAN
LITERATURE

 HEBREW LITERATURE

• THE ANCIENT LITERATURE AND
HISTORICAL RECORDS HELP US
UNDERSTAND THE CULTURE AND
WISDOM OF THESE PEOPLE


One Land…Two Rivers
• Mesopotamia means =
“land between the rivers”
– Tigris River and
Euphrates River
• Both rivers flooded once
a year and left thick bed
of silt.
– Silt: rich, new soil
farmers could plant
and harvest enormous
quantities of wheat
and barley

THE SUMERIANS WERE THE
FIRST TO SETTLE IN THE
MESOPOTAMIA

SUMERIANS LIVED IN
CITY-STATES BUILT
AROUND ZIGGURATS

ziggurat


Hodges Library, Utah


CULTURE

SUMERIAN’S
CREATED…

BEATUIFUL STONE AND METAL WORK
SCULPTURES
THE TWELVE MONTH CALENDAR
THE FIRST WRITING SYSTEM: CUNIFORM

Politics
Power of the Priests
• Sumer’s earliest
governments were
controlled by temple priests
– Farmers believed they
needed blessings for
success of their crops
– Priests were the middle
man for the Gods
– Priests demanded
portion of farmer crops
as tax

Political
• Later followed
Hereditary rulers:
when the power is
passed down to
family members


Economy
• Metal tools and weapons
(bronze, iron)
• Increasing agricultural
surplus (better tools, plows,
irrigation)
• Increasing trade along
rivers – traded with Egypt
• Development of the world’s
first cities
• Specialization of labor

Religion
• Polytheistic: Belief in
Many Gods (3,000!!!)
• Gods could be angered at
any moment and to keep
them happy Sumerians:
– Built impressive
ziggurats or temples to
sacrifice food, wine and
animals
– Souls of the dead
wandered in the land of
no return ignatius joseph n estroga

Society

Kings and Priests

Wealthy merchants

Ordinary Sumerian people

Slaves

Women
• Could hold property
• Join lower ranks of
priesthood
• There were few women
scribes
– Scholars think that girls
were not allowed to
attend schools


Literature
Epic of Gilgamesh
• Myths and
legends recorded
in this long poem
• One of the
earliest works of
literature in the
world

“Gilgamesh,
whither are you
wandering?
Life, which you
look for, you will
never find.
For when the gods
created man,
they let
Death be his
share, and
withheld life ignatius joseph n estroga

Achievements
Science and
Technology
• Invented the wheel,
the sail, the plow
• First to use bronze.
• Developed system of
writing
• Built irrigation
systems, buildings,
surveyed flooded
fields.

THE RISE, REBIRTH AND FALL
OF BABYLON
 IN 200O BC BABYLONIANS CAME
AND OVERPOWERED THE SUMERIANS

 THEIR RULER WAS HAMMURABI
AND HE IS FAMOUS FOR THE CODE
OF HAMMURABI

 THE MOST COMMON MESSAGE WAS
“AN EYE FOR EYE AND A TOOTH FOR
A TOOTH”

 BABYLOIANS OVERTHREW THE
ASSYRIANS AND HAD A NEW RULER
NAME NEBUCHADNEZZER WHO IS
FAMOUS FOR THE HANGING GARDENS

 BABYLON FELL TO CYRUS THE GREAT
OF PERSIA IN 539 BUT BABYLON
STILL REMAIN THE CENTER OF
TRADE AND CULTURE


Hanging
Gardens
of
Babylon,
Iraq


Egyptian LitEraturE


Ancient Egypt is one of the most powerful civilizations the
world has ever known
 Egypt was called the “gift of the Nile”

 The Nile provided water and fertile soil for growing crops

 Papyrus is what made Egypt a stable civilization.
Papyrus is an early form of paper.. Also created by the
Nile River

 Egyptian was prosperous for more than twenty-seven
centuries. The greatest years were divided into three
eras


Kingdoms

New Kingdom (1600-1100)
Old Kingdom (2700-2200) Middle Kingdom (2000-1800)
The pinnacle of political power
Famous Pyramids Expanding Economy
Known for lyric love poems
Highest Level of Sophistication Political Power


“Pyramid Power”
Religion was apart of daily life…
Pharaoh was both a political and spiritual leader

Pharaoh
Single; powerful ruler

Priest and Scribes

Merchants and Professionals

Workers, Peasants and Slaves
The largest class


Egyptian Literature
• Egyptians also had a form of
writing called hieroglyphs.
Hieroglyphs is a script in which
pictures represent ideas

• Because everything that
Egyptians did was based on
religious belief they constantly
thought of the afterlife

• Egyptians even wrote a book
that was called the “Book of the
Dead”. It was a guide to the
afterlife.

• Egyptians also began a love for
poetry. Especially pastoral
poetry-displays everyday life in
pleasant terms

• Hieroglyphs
are written in
rows or
columns and
can be read
from left to
right or from
right to left.


Hieroglyphic categories
1. Alphabetic signs represent a single sound.
Unfortunately the Egyptians took most
vowels for granted and did not represent
such as 'e' or 'v'. So we may never know
how the words were formed.
2. Syllabic signs represent a combination of
two or three consonants.
3. Word-signs are pictures of objects used as
the words for those objects.
4. A determinative is a picture of an object
which helps the ignatius joseph n estroga
reader.

Hebrew Literature


Hebrew Literature
The Hebrew people were wanderers who created a rich culture
based on their religious beliefs
 The Hebrew were
monotheists-
worshipping one God
(Yahweh)

 Their beliefs were
recorded in a the
Hebrew Bible (Old
Testament)

 The Hebrew Bible is
considered the GREAT
monument left by the
ancient Hebrews


The Early Hebrew Patriarchs

 Abraham was the
founding father and his
wife’s name was Sarah

 Hebrews lived in Canaan
for, four generations…
SON Isaac and his
GRANDSON Jacob

 Jacob’s name was
changed to Israel and
his people became the
Israelites

Hebrew Literature
“Hebrew Family Drama”
 Jacob’s (Abraham’s grandson) son Joseph was sold into
slavery by his brothers

 Joseph won favor with the Pharaoh and saved his family
from starvation

 The Israelites were enslaved by Pharaoh and then later set
free by Moses. The Israelites were so large they created
tribes

 Moses heard from Yahweh and created the Ten
Commandments which is the code of moral conduct

 Moses died in the desert and his follower Joshua led
Israelites to Canaan ignatius joseph n estroga

Hebrew Literature
The Promised Land, Peace and Stability

 The first King was Saul; under his
rule the Israelites became a
powerful group in Canaan

 After Saul was David and the
Israelites were very successful
and peaceful

 David captured the Jebusites
 The Israelites arrived to and made Jerusalem the capital
city
see that Canaan had
people living there ; they  David’s son Solomon built the
struggled to find out Temple of Jerusalem an
important symbol of spiritual
who they were unity


Hebrew Literature
Conflict… Division… Exile

 Once Solomon died there was confusion in the twelve tribes. The tribes
divided into two kingdoms but still thought of themselves as one
spiritual body

 The Assyrians came and conquered Israel; the tribes dispersed and are
now referred to as the “Ten Lost Tribes”

 King Nebuchadnezzar conquered Judah, destroyed the Temple of
Jerusalem and took the Hebrews into slavery. Creating the most bitter
periods in Hebrew history; “Babylonian Exile”

 Cyrus the Great came and freed the slaves, they returned to Jerusalem
and rebuilt everything that was destroyed. Their belief stayed strong


Hebrew Literature
The Hebrew Identity
• The Jews always saw God as their
source of unity. They believed that
God provided a special agreement
(covenant) with them

• The terms of the covenant were God
would always protect them. Even when
they lost their homeland; they found a
sense of belonging in their
relationship with Yahweh

• www.myjewishlearning.com/.../
Liter ature/Heb
• www.britannica.com/.../Hebr ew
-liter ature
• www.answers.com/topic/hebr e
w-liter ature
• www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org


Introduction to world literature[1]

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