NELC 049 - Myths of Ancient Mesopotamia

Institution:

University of Pennsylvania

Subject:

Description:

Tinney. Sometimes offered as a Freshman Seminar. Iraq's ancient civilizations, Sumer, Babylon and Assyria, have emerged spectacularly from their ruin mounds over the last century and a half. In this class we will read the core myths of these cultures in translation and situate them in their literary, historical, religious and cultural contexts. The case of characters includes, among other, Enki, trickster and god of wisdom; Inana, goddess of sex and war; and Marduk, warrior son, slayer of the sea, king of the gods and founder of Babylon. Themes range from creation to flood, from combat to the dangers of humans acting in the worlds of the divine, to the heroic peregrinations of Gilgamesh as he wrestles with monsters, fate and the pain of mortality.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.upenn.edu

Phone Number:

(215) 898-5000

Regional Accreditation:

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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