1) The various versions of the Mesopotamian Epic can help us understand some of the history and the cultures which produced. Fist, it tells us that since there was not only one version, it shows that is wasn't sacred. My guess is that it was something like superman and batman. That tells us that they had heroic figures like we do today, and we probably get our heroic writings from the epic style of writing.
4)It is strange the way current writings differ from ancient ones. Stories such as the Epic of Gilgamesh were written not by one author, but by the nation in several different versions. This is the exact opposite of current writings which are written generally by one person, and anyone who copies another can be fined for copyright. Originality back then wasn't just coming up with something, but instead working off of another persons idea. I personally like this, for many of my ideas I get from talking with other people, theorizing, and working off of that.
It is also important that we understand these stories began in orality and functioned as entertainment. Additionally, we need to be aware that ancient literature of this kind was definitely rare. The extant examples of writing from the ancient near east are mostly lists, inventory, administrative transactions and ritualistic or religious.
ReplyDeleteDaran: you are missing two blog posts. Please post asap.
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