Literature of the Ancient World

3000 B.C. – A. D. 500

Spiritual Beginnings: Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Hebrew Literature 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

Sacred and Practical Teachings: Literature of Ancient India 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

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)

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? Answer:

Mesopotamian, Egyptian, and Hebrew Literature(Refer to map on pp. 16-17)

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)

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)

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

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

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

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

Who were the rulers of the: 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

Identify the connections between the history of the ancient Hebrews and that of the Mesopotamians and Egyptians.

The Ancient Hebrews: History, Arts, and Culture

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)

For each short essay listed below, describe the problem presented and how it was solved:

How Writing Was Invented No one understood the purpose of the clay tokens or why tablets

were rounded. Breaking the Code

No one could read Egyptian hieroglyphics. A Library in the Sand

The Epic of Gilgamesh was lost. King Tut’s Tomb

Most pyramids had been looted, so their contents could not be studied.

The Dead Sea Scrolls Bible texts from the time of Jesus did not exist; the scrolls were not

widely available for study. The Search Continues

Only broken tablets had been found.

Literary Terms to Know Myth Heroic literature

Legends, epics Sacred verse Wisdom literature

Proverbs, parables Folk tales Archetype

Foundations of Early Literature

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.)