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Running head: EGYPTIAN AND SUMERIAN CULTURE
1
The world’s first civilizations arose some five thousand years ago in the river valleys of
Mesopotamia (later Iraq) and Egypt. In these Near Eastern lands people built cities, organized
states with definite boundaries, invented writing, engaged in large-scale trade, practiced
specialization of labor, and erected huge monuments: all activities that historians associate with
civilization. Scholars emphasize the fact that civilizations emerged in the river valleys-the Tigris
and Euphrates in Mesopotamia and the Nile in Egypt. When they overflowed their banks, these
rivers deposited fertile soil, which could provide a food surplus required to sustain life in cities.
The early inhabitants of these valleys drained swamps and built irrigation works, enabling them
to harness the rivers for human advantage. In the process they also strengthened the bonds of
cooperation, a necessary ingredient of civilization. Religion and myth were the central forces in
these early civilizations. They pervaded all phases oflife, providing people with satisfying
explanations for the operations of nature andthe mystery of death and justifying traditional rules
of morality. Natural objects-the sun, the river, the mountain-were seen as either gods or as the
abodes of gods. The political life of the Near East was theocratic: that is, people regarded their
rulers either as divine or as representatives of the gods and believed that law originated with the
gods. Near Eastern art and literature were dominated by religious themes. . The Sumerians,
founders of urban life in Mesopotamia, developed twelve city-states in the region of the lower
Euphrates near the Persian Gulf: Each city-state included a city and the farmland around it; each
had its own government and was independent of the other city-states. In time the Sumerians were
conquered, and their cities were incorporated into kingdoms and empires. However, as
Akkadians, Elamites, Babylonians, and other peoples of the region adopted and built upon
Sumerian religion, art, and literary forms, the Sumerian achievement became the basis ,of a
coherent Mesopotamian civilization that lasted some three thousand years. Earlyin its history
Egypt became a centralized state under the rule of a pharaoh, who was viewed as both a man and
a god. The pharaoh’s authority was all-embracing, and all Egyptians were subservient to him.
Early in their history, the Egyptians developed cultural patterns that were to endure for three
thousand years; the ancient Egyptians looked to the past, seeking to maintain the ways of their
ancestors. Although the cultural patterns of both civilizations were similar-in both, religion and
theocratic kingship played a dominant role-there were significant differences between the two.
Whereas in Egypt the pharaoh was considered divine, rulers in Mesopotamia were regarded as
exceptional human beings whom the gods had selected to act as their agents. Second, the natural
environment of the Egyptians fostered a sense of security and an optimistic outlook toward life.
Natural bar 2 Chapter 1 The Near East 3 riers–deserts, the Mediterranean Sea, and cataracts in
the Nileprotected Egypt from invasion, and the overflowing of the Nile was regular and
predictable, ensuring a good harvest. In contrast, Mesopotamia, without natural barriers, suffered
from frequent invasions, and the Tigris and Euphrates rivers were unpredictable. Sometimes
there was insufficient overflow, and the land was afflicted with drought; at other times,
rampaging floods devastated the fields. These conditions promoted a pessimistic outlook, which
pervaded Mesopotamian civilization. After 1500 B.C., the Near East entered a period of empire
building. , In the late sixth century B.C., the Persians, the greatest of the empire l .i builders,
conquered all the lands from the Nile River to the Indus River in India. Persia united Egypt,
Mesopotamia, and other Near Eastern lands into a world-state and brought together the region’s
various cultural traditions. In the first half of the fifth century B.C., the Persians tried to add the
city-states of Greece to their empire; the ensuing conflict was of critical importance for the
history of Western civilization. Egyptians, Mesopotamians, and other Near Eastern peoples
developed a rich urban culture and made important contributions to later civilizations. They
EGYPTIAN AND SUMERIAN CULTURE
2
established bureaucracies, demonstrated creativity in art and literature, fashioned effective
systems of mathematics, and advanced the knowledge of architecture, metallurgy, and
engineering. The wheel, the plow, the phonetic alphabet, and the calendar derive from the Near
East. Both the Hebrews and the Greeks, the principal sources of Western civilization, had contact
with these older civilizations and adopted many of their cultural forms. But, as we shall see, even
more important for the shaping of Western civilization was how the Hebrews and the Greeks
broke with the essential style ofNear Eastern society and conceived new outlooks, new points
ofdeparture for the human mind. Mesopotamian Protest Against Death – The Epic of Gilgamesh,
the greatest work of Mesopotamian literature, was written about 2000 B.C. It utilized legends
about Gilgamesh, probably a historical figure who ruled the city of Uruk about 2600 B.C. The
story deals with a profound theme-the human protest against death. In the end, Gilgamesh learns
to accept reality: there is no escape from death. While the Epic of Gilgamesh is an expression of
the pessimism that pervaded Mesopotamian life, it also reveals the Mesopotamians’ struggle to
come to terms with reality. I 4 Part One The Ancient World EPIC OF GILGAMESHI The Epic
of Gilgamesh involves the gods in human activities. Because King Gil gamesh, son of a human
father and the goddess Ninsun, drives his subjects too hard, they appeal to the gods for help. The
gods decide that a man of Gilgamesh’s immense vigor and strength requires a rival with similar
attributes with whom he can contend. The creation goddess, Aruru, is instructed to create a man
worthy of Gilgamesh. From clay she fashions Enkidu in the image of Anu, the god of the
heavens and father of all the gods. Enkidu is a powerful man who roams with the animals and
destroys traps set by hunters, one of whom appeals to King Gil gamesh. The two of them,
accompanied by a harlot, find Enkidu at a watering place frequented by animals. The harlot
removes her clothes and seduces Enkidu, who spends a week with her, oblivious to everything
else. After this encounter, the bond between Enkidu and the animals is broken. He now enters
civilization and is befriended by Gilgamesh, with whom he slays the terrible monster Humbaba.
Returning to Uruk after the encounter with Humbaba, Gilgamesh washes away the grime of
battle and dons his royal clothes; thus arrayed he attracts the goddess of love, Ishtar, patroness of
Uruk, who proposes marriage, but because of Ishtar’s previous marriages and infidelities,
Gilgamesh refuses. Ishtar falls into a bitter rage and appeals to her father, the god Anu, to
unleash the fearful Bull of Heaven on Gilgamesh. However, Gilgamesh and Enkidu together slay
the beast. To avenge the deaths ofHumbaba and the Bull of Heaven, the gods decide that Enkidu
shall die. In the following passage, Enkidu dreams of his impending death and the House of
Darkness, from which no one returns. : , “1 When the daylight came Enkidu got up and cedar, I
who levelled the forest, I who slew cried to Gilgamesh, “0 my brother, such a Humbaba and now
see what has become of me. dream I had last night. Anu, Enlil, Ea and heav Listen, my friend,
this is the dream I dreamed enly Shamash took counsel together, and Anu last night. The heavens
roared, and earth rumsaid to Enlil, ‘Because they have killed the Bull bled back an answer;
between them stood I of Heaven, and because they have killed Hum before an awful being, the
sombre-faced manbaba who guarded the Cedar Mountain one of bird; he had directed on me his
purpose. His the two must die.’.. .” was a vampire face, his foot was a lion’s foot, So Enkidu lay
stretched out before Gil his hand was an eagle’s talon. He fell on me and gamesh: his tears ran
down in streams and he said his claws were in my hair, he held me fast and to Gilgamesh, “0 my
brother, so dear as you are I smothered; then he transformed me so that my to me, brother, yet
they will take me from you.” arms became wings covered with feathers . He Again he said, “I
must sit down on the threshold turned his stare towards me, and he led me away of the dead and
never again will I see my dear to the palace of Irkalla, the Queen of Darkness, brother with my
EGYPTIAN AND SUMERIAN CULTURE
3
eyes.” to the house from which none who enters ever … In bitterness of spirit he poured out his
returns, down the road from which there is no heart to his friend. “It was I who cut down the
coming back. “There is the house whose people sit in darkness; dust is their food and clay their
meat. They are clothed like birds with wings for cov ‘Throughout the text, titles original to the
source appear in italics. Titles added by the editors are not italicized. ering, they see no light,
they sit in darkness. I Chapter 1 The Near East 5 entered the house of dust and I saw the kings of
the earth, their crowns put away for ever; rulers and princes, all those who once wore kingly
crowns and ruled the world in the days of old. They who had stood in the place of the gods like
Anu and Enlil, stood now like servants ro fetch baked meats in the house of dust, ro carry cooked
meat and cold water from the waterskin. In the house of dust which I entered were high priests
and acolytes, priests of the incantation and of ecstasy; there were servers of the temple, and there
was Etana, that king of Kish whom the eagle carried to heaven in the days of old. I saw also
Samuqan, god of cattle, and there was Ereshkigal the Queen of the Underworld; and Belir-Sheri
squatted in front of her, she who is recorder ofthe gods and keeps the book of death. She held a
tablet from which she read. She raised her head, she saw me and spoke: ‘Who has brought this
one here?’ Then I awoke like a man drained of blood who wanders alone in a waste of rushes;
like one whom the bailiff has seized and his heart pounds with terror.” Gilgamesh had peeled off
his clothes, he listened to his words and wept quick tears, Gilgamesh listened and his tears
flowed…. This day on which Enkidu dreamed came to an end and he lay stricken with sickness.
One whole day he lay on his bed and his suffering increased. He said to Gilgamesh, the friend on
whose account he had left the wilderness, “Once I ran for you, for the water oflife, and I now
have nothing.” A second day he lay on his bed and Gilgamesh watched over him but the sickness
increased. A third day he lay on his bed, he called out to Gilgamesh, rousing him up. Now he
was weak and his eyes were blind with weeping. Ten days he lay and his suffering increased,
eleven and twelve days he lay on his bed of pain. Then he called to Gilgamesh, “My friend, the
great goddess cursed me and I must die in shame. I shall not die like a man fallen in battle; I
feared to fall, but happy is the man who falls in the battle, for I must die in shame.” And
Gilgamesh wept over Enkidu. With the first light of dawn he raised his voice and said to the
counsellors of Uruk: “Hear me, great ones ofUruk, I weep for Enkidu, my friend, Bitterly
moaning like a woman mourning I weep for my brother. o Enkidu, my brother, You were the axe
at my side, My hand’s strength, the sword in my belt, The shield before me, A glorious robe, my
fairest ornament; An evil Fate has robbed me. All the people of Eridu Weep for you Enkidu.
What is this sleep which holds you now? You are lost in the dark and cannot hear me.” He
touched his heart but it did not beat, nor did he lift his eyes again. When Gilgamesh touched his
heart it did not bear. So Gilgamesh laid a veil, as one veils the bride, over his friend . He began
to rage like a lion, like a lioness robbed of her whelps. This way and that he paced round the bed,
he tore out his hair and strewed it around. He dragged off his splendid robes and flung them
down as though they were abominations. In the first light of dawn Gilgamesh cried out, “I made
you rest on a royal bed, you reclined on a couch at my left hand, the princes of the earth kissed
your feer. I will cause all the people of Uruk to weep over you and raise the dirge of the dead.
The joyful people will stoop with sorrow; and when you have gone to the earth I will let my hair
grow long for your sake, I will wander through the wilderness in the skin of a lion.” The next day
also, in the first light, Gilgamesh lamented; seven days and seven nights he wept for Enkidu,
until the worm fastened on him. Only then he gave him up to the earth, for the Anunnaki, the
judges [of the dead},’ had seized him. … ‘Throughour rhe text, words in brackers have been
added as glosses by rhe edirors. Brackers around glosses from rhe original sources have been
EGYPTIAN AND SUMERIAN CULTURE
4
changed ro parenrheses ro disringuish rhem. 6 Part One The Ancient World In his despair,
Gilgamesh is confronted with the reality of his own death. Yearning for eternal life, he seeks
Utnapishtim, legendary king of the city of Shurrupak, a man to whom the gods had granted
everlasting life. Bitterly Gilgamesh wept for his friend Enkidu; he wandered over the wilderness
as a hunter, he roamed over the plains; in his bitterness he cried, “How can I rest, how can I be at
peace? Despair is in my heart. What my brother is now, that shall I be when I am dead . Because
I am afraid of death I will go as best I can to find Urnapishtim whom they call the Faraway, for
he has entered the assembly of the gods. ” So Gilgamesh travelled over the wilderness, he
wandered over the grasslands, a long journey, in search ofUtnapishtim, whom the gods rook after
the deluge; and they set him ro live in the land of Dilmun, in the garden of the sun; and ro him
alone of men they gave everlasting life. . . . In the garden of the gods, Gilgamesh speaks with
Siduri, the divine winemaker, who tells him that his search for eternal life is hopeless. My friend
who was very dear to me and who endured dangers beside me, Enkidu my brother, whom I
loved , the end of mortality has overtaken him. I wept for him seven days and nights till the
worm fastened on him. Because of my brother I am afraid of death, because of my brother I stray
through the wilderness and cannot rest. But now, young woman, maker of wine, since I have
seen your face do not let me see the face of death which I dread so much.” She answered,
“Gilgarnesh, where are you hurrying to? You will never find that life for which you are looking.
When the gods created man they allotted to him death, but life they retained in their own
keeping. As for you, Gilgamesh, fill your belly with good things; day and night, night and day,
dance and be merry, feast and rejoice . Let your clothes be fresh, bathe yourself in water, cherish
the little child that holds your hand, and make your wife happy in your embrace; for this too is
the lot of man.” But Gilgamesh said to Siduri, the young woman, “How can I be silent, how can I
rest, when Enkidu whom I love is dust, and I too shall die and be laid in the earth. You live by
the seashore and look into the heart of it; young woman, tell me now, which is the way to
Urnapishtim, the son of Ubara-Tutu? What directions are there for the passage; give me, oh, give
me directions, I will cross the Ocean if it is possible; if it is not I will wander still farther in the
wilderness.”… Siduri instructs Gilgamesh how to reach Utnapishtim. Ferried across the “waters
of death” by a boatman, Gilgamesh meets Utnapishtim. But he, too, cannot give GiIgamesh the
eternal life for which he yearns. . . . “Oh father Urnapishtim, you who have entered the assembly
of the gods, I wish to question you concerning the living and the dead, how shall I find the life
for which I am searching?” U rnapishtim said, “There is no permanence. Do we build a house to
stand for ever, do we seal a contract to hold for all time? Do brothers divide an inheritance to
keep for ever, does the flood-time of rivers endure? It is only the nymph of the dragon-fly who
sheds her larva and sees the sun in his glory. From the days of old there is no permanence. The
sleeping and the dead, how alike they are, they are like a painted death. What is there between
the master and the servant when both have fulfilled their doom? When the Anunnaki, the judges,
come together, and Mammetun the mother of destinies, together they decree the fates of men.
Life and death they allot but the day of death they do not disclose.” The tale concludes with one
of several Near Eastern flood stories that preceded the account of Noah in Genesis. Chapter 1
The Near East 7 REVIEW QUESTIONS 1. Describe the condition of the dead as envisioned in
Enkidu’s dream. 2. Describe the stages of Gilgamesh’s reaction to Enkidu’s death. Do these seem
plausible psychologically? Explain. 3. What philosophic consolation did the goddess Siduri and
Utnapishtim offer Gilgamesh? . 4. Historians often comment on the pessimism or sense of the
tragic that is reflected in Mesopotamian literature. To what extent is this true in the story of
Gilgamesh? 2 . Mesopotamian Concepts of Justice A significant source of information about the
EGYPTIAN AND SUMERIAN CULTURE
5
life of the ancient peoples of Mesopotamia is a code of laws issued aboui:1750 B.C. by the
Babylonian king Hammurabi (1792-1750 B.C.). Dis~overed by archaeologists in 1901, the code
was inscribed on a stone that shows the king accepting the laws from the sun god, Shamash, who
was also the Babylonian god of justice. ‘ These-laws offer striking insights into the moral values,
class structure, gender relationships, and roles of kingship and religion in Babylonian society,
The 282 laws cover a range of public and private matters: marriage and family;relations,
negligence, fraud, commercial contracts, duties of public officials, property and inheritance,
crimes and punishments, and techniques of legal procedure. The prologue to ,the code reveals the
Mesopotamian concept of the priesr-king-s-a ruler’chosen by a god to administer his will on
earth. In it, Hammurabi asserted that he had a divine duty to uphold justice in the land, to punish
the ‘wicked , and to further the welfare of the people. CODE OF HAMMURABI Two distinct
approaches to choice of punishment for crime are found in Hammurabi’s code with its numerous
laws. In some instances, the guilty party is required to pay a monetary compensation to the
victim, a tradition traceable to the earliest known Sumerian laws. Another approach, also found
inthe later Hebrew codes of law, is the principle of exact retaliation: “an eye for an eye, a tooth
for a tooth.” Another feature of Hammurabi’s code is that the penalties vary according to the
social status of the victim. Three classes are represented: free men and women (called patricians
in the reading here); commoners (or plebeians), not wholly free, but dependents of the state or
perhaps serfs on landed estates; and slaves. The patricians are protected by the law ofretaliation.
People of the lower classes receive only monetary compensation if they are victims of a crime. 8
Part One The Ancient World 196. Ifa man has knocked out the eye of a patrician, his eye shall be
knocked out. 197. If he has broken the limb of a patrician, his limb shall be broken. 198 . If he
has knocked out the eye of a plebeian or has broken the limb of a plebeian, he shall pay one
mina’ of silver. 199. If he has knocked out the eye of a patrician’s servant, or broken the limb of a
patrician’s servant, he shall pay half his value. 200. If a patrician has knocked out the tooth of a
man tha …
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