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Enkidu
Enkidu ( ''EN.KI.DU10'') was a legendary figure in Mesopotamian mythology, ancient Mesopotamian mythology, wartime comrade and friend of Gilgamesh, king of Uruk. Their exploits were composed in Sumerian language, Sumerian poems and in the Akkadian language, Akkadian ''Epic of Gilgamesh'', written during the 2nd millennium BCE, 2nd millennium BC. He is the oldest literary representation of the wild man, a recurrent motif in artistic representations in Mesopotamia and in Ancient Near East literature. The apparition of Enkidu as a primitive man seems to be a potential parallel of the Kassites, Old Babylonian version (1300–1000 BC), in which he was depicted as a servant-warrior in the Sumerian poems. There have been suggestions that he may be the "bull-man" shown in Mesopotamian art, having the head, arms, and body of a man, and the horns, ears, tail and legs of a bull. Thereafter a series of interactions with humans and human ways bring him closer to civilization, culminating i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Epic Of Gilgamesh
The ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' () is an epic poetry, epic from ancient Mesopotamia. The literary history of Gilgamesh begins with five Sumerian language, Sumerian poems about Gilgamesh (formerly read as Sumerian "Bilgames"), king of Uruk, some of which may date back to the Third Dynasty of Ur (). These independent stories were later used as source material for a combined epic in Akkadian language, Akkadian. The first surviving version of this combined epic, known as the "Old Babylonian" version, dates back to the 18th century BCE and is titled after its incipit, ''Shūtur eli sharrī'' ("Surpassing All Other Kings"). Only a few clay tablet, tablets of it have survived. The later Standard Babylonian version compiled by Sîn-lēqi-unninni dates to somewhere between the 13th to the 10th centuries BCE and bears the incipit ''Sha naqba īmuru'' ("He who Saw the Deep(s)", ). Approximately two-thirds of this longer, twelve-tablet version have been recovered. Some of the best copies were d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Humbaba
Humbaba (Ḫumbaba; , ''Ḫumbāba'', with an optional determinative ), originally known as Ḫuwawa in Sumerian (, ''Ḫuwāwa''), was a figure in Mesopotamian mythology. The origin and meaning of his name are unknown. He was portrayed as an anthropomorphic figure comparable to an ogre or giant. He is best known from Sumerian and Akkadian narratives focused on the hero Gilgamesh, including short compositions belonging to the curriculum of scribal schools, various versions of the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'', and several Hurrian and Hittite adaptations. He is invariably portrayed as the inhabitant or guardian of the cedar forest, to which Gilgamesh ventures with his companion Enkidu. The subsequent encounter leads to the death of Humbaba, which provokes the anger of the gods. Humbaba is also attested in other works of Mesopotamian literature. Multiple depictions of him have also been identified, including combat scenes and apotropaic clay heads. It has been suggested that the icono ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh (, ; ; originally ) was a hero in ancient Mesopotamian mythology and the protagonist of the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'', an epic poem written in Akkadian during the late 2nd millennium BC. He was possibly a historical king of the Sumerian city-state of Uruk, who was posthumously deified. His rule probably would have taken place sometime in the beginning of the Early Dynastic Period, 2900–2350 BC, though he became a major figure in Sumerian legend during the Third Dynasty of Ur (). Tales of Gilgamesh's legendary exploits are narrated in five surviving Sumerian poems. The earliest of these is likely "Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld", in which Gilgamesh comes to the aid of the goddess Inanna and drives away the creatures infesting her ''huluppu'' tree. She gives him two unknown objects, a ''mikku'' and a ''pikku'', which he loses. After Enkidu's death, his shade tells Gilgamesh about the bleak conditions in the Underworld. The poem '' Gilgamesh and Aga'' de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bull Of Heaven
In ancient Mesopotamian mythology, the Bull of Heaven is a mythical beast fought by the King of Uruk Gilgamesh. The story of the Bull of Heaven is known from two different versions: one recorded in an earlier Sumerian poem and a later episode in the Standard Babylonian (a literary dialect of Akkadian) ''Epic of Gilgamesh''. In the Sumerian poem, the Bull is sent to attack Gilgamesh by the goddess Inanna for reasons that are unclear. The more complete Akkadian account comes from Tablet VI of the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'', in which Gilgamesh refuses the sexual advances of the goddess Ishtar, the East Semitic equivalent of Inanna, leading the enraged Ishtar to demand the Bull of Heaven from her father Anu, so that she may send it to attack Gilgamesh in Uruk. Anu gives her the Bull and she sends it to attack Gilgamesh and his companion, the hero Enkidu, who slay the Bull together. After defeating the Bull, Enkidu hurls the Bull's right thigh at Ishtar, taunting her. The slaying of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cedar Forest
The Cedar Forest ( ) is the glorious realm of the gods of Mesopotamian mythology. It is guarded by the Demigod, demigod Humbaba and was once entered by the hero Gilgamesh who dared cut down Cedrus libani, cedar trees from its Old-growth forest, virgin stands during his Epic of Gilgamesh, quest for fame. The Cedar Forest is described in Tablets 46 of the ''Epic of Gilgamesh''. Earlier descriptions come from the Ur III poem ''Gilgamesh and Huwawa''. The Sumerian literature, Sumerian poems of his deeds say that Gilgamesh traveled east, presumably, to the Zagros Mountains of Iran (ancient Elam) to the Cedrus libani, cedar forest, yet the later more extensive Babylonia, Babylonian examples place the cedar forests west in Lebanon.''Archaeology and the Homeric Epic'', Susan Sherratt, John Bennett. Oxbow Books, 2017. P127 In the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' Tablet 4 Tablet four tells the story of the journey to the Cedar Forest. On each day of the six-day journey, Gilgamesh prays to Shama ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mesopotamian Mythology
Mesopotamian mythology refers to the myths, religious texts, and other literature that comes from the region of ancient Mesopotamia which is a historical region of Western Asia, situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system that occupies the area of present-day Iraq. In particular the societies of Sumer, Akkad, and Assyria, all of which existed shortly after 3000 BCE and were mostly gone by 400 CE. These works were primarily preserved on stone or clay tablets and were written in cuneiform by scribes. Several lengthy pieces have survived erosion and time, some of which are considered the oldest stories in the world, and have given historians insight into Mesopotamian ideology and cosmology. Creation myths There are many different accounts of the creation of the earth from the Mesopotamian region. This is because of the many different cultures in the area and the shifts in narratives that are common in ancient cultures due to their reliance on word of mouth to transmi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wild Man
The wild man, wild man of the woods, woodwose or wodewose is a mythical figure and motif that appears in the art and literature of medieval Europe, comparable to the satyr or faun type in classical mythology and to ''Silvanus (mythology), Silvanus'', the Roman god of the woodlands. The defining characteristic of the figure is its "wildness"; from the 12th century, it was consistently depicted as being covered with hair. Images of wild men appear in the carved and painted roof bosses where intersecting ogee Vault (architecture), vaults meet in Canterbury Cathedral, in positions where one is also likely to encounter the vegetal Green Man. The image of the wild man survived to appear as supporter for Heraldry, heraldic Coat of arms, coats-of-arms, especially in Germany, well into the 16th century. Renaissance engravers in Germany and Italy were particularly fond of wild men, wild women, and wild families, with examples from Martin Schongauer (died 1491) and Albrecht Dürer (1471–15 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sumer
Sumer () is the earliest known civilization, located in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (now south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age, early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. Like nearby Elam, it is one of the Cradle of civilization, cradles of civilization, along with ancient Egypt, Egypt, the Indus Valley Civilisation, Indus Valley, the Erligang culture of the Yellow River valley, Caral-Supe civilization, Caral-Supe, and Mesoamerica. Living along the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, Sumerian farmers grew an abundance of grain and other crops, a surplus of which enabled them to form urban settlements. The world's earliest known texts come from the Sumerian cities of Uruk and Jemdet Nasr, and date to between , following a period of proto-writing . Name The term "Sumer" () comes from the Akkadian Empire, Akkadian name for the "Sumerians", the ancient non-Semitic languages, Semitic-speaking inhabitan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sumerian Poems
Sumerian literature constitutes the earliest known corpus of recorded literature, including the religious writings and other traditional stories maintained by the Sumerian civilization and largely preserved by the later Akkadian and Babylonian empires. These records were written in the Sumerian language in the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC during the Middle Bronze Age. The Sumerians invented one of the first writing systems, developing Sumerian cuneiform writing out of earlier proto-writing systems by about the 30th century BC. The Sumerian language remained in official and literary use in the Akkadian and Babylonian empires, even after the spoken language disappeared from the population; literacy was widespread, and the Sumerian texts that students copied heavily influenced later Babylonian literature. The basic genres of Sumerian literature were literary catalogues, narrative/mythological compositions, historical compositions, letters and legal documents, disputation poems, prove ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aga Of Kish
Aga (Sumerian language, Sumerian: ''Aga'', ''Agga'', or ''Akkà''; ), commonly known as Aga of Kish, was king in the first dynasty of Kish (Sumer), Kish during the Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia)#Periodization, Early Dynastic I period. He is listed in the ''Sumerian King List'' as the 23rd king of Kish and is listed in many sources as the son of Enmebaragesi. The Kish civilization, Kishite king ruled the city at its peak, probably reaching beyond the territory of Kish (Sumer), Kish, including Umma and Zabala (Sumer), Zabala. The Sumerian language, Sumerian poem ''Siege of Uruk, Gilgamesh and Aga'' records the Kishite siege of Uruk after its EN (cuneiform), lord Gilgamesh refused to submit to Aga, ending in Aga's defeat and consequently the fall of Kish's hegemony. Name The name of Aga is Sumerian language, Sumerian and a relatively rarely attested personal name in Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia), Early Dynastic times, making his identification in royal texts spottable. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Enki
Enki ( ) is the Sumerian god of water, knowledge ('' gestú''), crafts (''gašam''), and creation (''nudimmud''), and one of the Anunnaki. He was later known as Ea () or Ae p. 324, note 27. in Akkadian (Assyrian-Babylonian) religion, and is identified by some scholars with Ia in Canaanite religion. The name was rendered Aos within Greek sources (e.g. Damascius). He was originally the patron god of the city of Eridu, but later the influence of his cult spread throughout Mesopotamia and to the Canaanites, Hittites and Hurrians. He was associated with the southern band of constellations called ''stars of Ea'', but also with the constellation AŠ-IKU, ''the Field'' ( Square of Pegasus). Beginning around the second millennium BCE, he was sometimes referred to in writing by the numeric ideogram for "40", occasionally referred to as his "sacred number". The planet Mercury, associated with Babylonian '' Nabu'' (the son of Marduk) was, in Sumerian times, identified with En ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
