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Earliest Writings & Literatures. Professor Stephanie Maher Palenque. Where was writing developed?. Writing was first developed in the region of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, specifically in the towns of Babylon and Nineveh. Ancient Egypt & Hieroglyphics. Began as pictographic writing
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Earliest Writings & Literatures Professor Stephanie Maher Palenque
Where was writing developed? Writing was first developed in the region of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, specifically in the towns of Babylon and Nineveh.
Ancient Egypt & Hieroglyphics • Began as pictographic writing • Hieroglyphics were not interpreted until 1799, when the Rosetta Stone was discovered. • The earliest Egyptian poems we have were written in the pyramids created during the Old Kingdom period (2575-2130 B.C.)
The Rosetta Stone & the Leiden Hymns The Leiden Hymns cycle of poems is from a papyrus dated to 1238 B.C. (Ramesses II)
Fertile Crescent & Cuneiform Writing * The civilizations of the Fertile Crescent— Sumeria, Assyria, Babylon, and others— developed cuneiform writing * Cities began in the Fertile Crescent as centers for the administration of agriculture. * Gilgamesh is the “oldest heroic epic,” written down about 2000 B.C.
The Hebrews * The kingdom of Israel flourished from 1005-925 B.C. * The legacy of the Hebrews was not political or imperial; instead, theirs was a history of struggle against oppression and imperialism, and a history of forging a monotheistic religion. * The Hebrews’ religious attitude was markedly different from their polytheistic neighbors. * The canon of the Pentateuch had been established by 539 B.C.
The Uses of Literature • What we now think of as “literature” is much narrower than earlier conceptions • Notice that much of what we read from the ancient world is what we might consider theology or philosophy • One of the earliest uses that literature is put to is that of cultural formation
Literature & Cultural Formation • What is a myth? • What is a worldview? • What are some important “worldview” questions that a culture needs to answer? • Where did we (I, the world) come from? • Why am I (are we) here? • What is the world really like (what is the basic nature of the world)? • Does humankind have a problem? • If so, where did it come from? • What do we do about it? • What is good? • What is evil? • Are humans basically good, or are they basically evil? • Where am I (are we) going? • How do we get there? • What methods should I use to achieve my goals? • What actions are right and what actions are wrong?
