Unit One: Origins and Traditions

1. Unit One: Origins and Traditions 3000 B.C.- A.D. 1400

2. Mesopotamia“the land between two rivers” • Region between Tigris and Euphrates • Modern day Iraq • Sumerians influenced Babylonians and Assyrians • Earliest system of writing (cuneiform); first wheel devices; earliest city-states

3. The Babylonians • Sargon- Great King (reigned c. 2334-2279 B.C.) • Akkadian- Semitic language related to modern day Hebrew and Arabic Hammurabi (c. 1792-1750 B.C.) • Legal code • Engraved on stone slab • 282 laws covering all aspects of daily life

4. Ancient Egypt “the gift of the Nile” • Along banks of Nile River in northeastern Africa • Upper Egypt (south)/Lower Egypt (north)- joined in 2900 B.C. • Unlike Mesopotamian kings, pharaohs looked upon as gods. • New system of writing: hieroglyphics • Polytheism- multiple gods (e.g.-Osiris- god of the Nile River) Egyptian Periods • Early Dynastic Period (c. 2925- c. 2575 B.C.) • Old Kingdom (c. 2575- c. 2130 B.C.) • Middle Kingdom (c. 1938- c. 1600 B.C.) • New Kingdom (c. 1540- 1075 B.C.) Social Pyramid • nobles/ priests • artisans, merchants, physicians • peasants, slaves

5. The Hebrews: People of the Covenant • Migrated from Mesopotamia to Palestine/ Canaan (modern day Israel and Lebanon) • Jewish people usually use B.C.E., “Before the Common Era,” rather than B.C., “Before Christ” • Monotheism- Believed in only one God and covenant between God and Hebrew people • Famine forced Hebrews from Canaan to Egypt where they were enslaved by pharaohs. • Laws: 10 Commandments

6. Kingdom of Israel • Hebrews battled Philistines for hundreds of years • Hebrews conquered region in 1000 B.C. under leadership of King David • Temple erected by King Solomon (David’s son) became center of worship for entire kingdom • After Solomon’s death, quarrels led to division of kingdom: northern Kingdom of Israel and southern kingdom of Judah • 721 B.C.- Israel fell to Assyrians • 587-586 B.C.- Judah fell to Babylon; temple destroyed • Persians eventually conquered Babylon • Persian King Cyrus- returned Hebrews to homeland and allowed them to rebuild temple

7. Persian and Islamic Empires • Cyrus the Great- 6th Century B.C. • Empire stretched from border of India to Asia Minor and from the edge of Egypt to the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea • Fell 200 years later to Alexander the Great • Zoroastrianism- religion founded by Zoroaster (c. 628- c. 551 B.C.) ~two gods ~good and evil ~battle (good god to prevail) Islam • Muhammad- founder; born in Mecca A.D. 570 • Experienced vision at age of 40 of angel Gabriel who told Muhammad he was chosen to be God’s final prophet • Recognize Allah as only God (monotheistic) • Does not discount principles of Judaism and Christianity • By Muhammad’s death in 632, all of Arabia united in Islam

8. Ancient Literature by Region • Babylonian- The Epic of Gilgamesh • Egypt- formal sacred hymns for pharaoh worship • Hebrew- The Bible (moral behavior) • Persian- Fables and folk tales; The Thousand and One Nights ~Qur’an- submission ~Shah-nama ~The Rubaiyat ~ Poetry: Sa’di and Rumi (intoxication, bliss, love, spirituality) • African- oral tradition, folk tales ~Sundiata

9. Archetypes • Carl Jung (1875-1961)- Swiss psychiatrist • An archetype is a term used to describe universal symbols that evoke deep and sometimes unconscious responses in a reader • In literature, characters, images, and themes that symbolically embody universal meanings and basic human experiences, regardless of when or where they live, are considered archetypes. • Common literary archetypes include stories of quests, initiations, scapegoats, descents to the underworld, and ascents to heaven. Collective Unconscious • It contains archetypes, emotionally charged images and thought forms that have universal meaning. • Archetypes cause us to respond in certain ways to common human experiences. • Key archetype: Mandala (“magic circle”), an image symbolizing the unity of life.

10. Common Character Archetypes • The Hero: The courageous figure, the one who’s always running in and saving the day. • The Outcast: The outcast is just that. He or she has been cast out of a society or has left it on a voluntary basis. The outcast figure can oftentimes be considered as a Christ figure. • (i.e. Simon in The Lord of the Flies) • The Scapegoat: The scapegoat figure is one who gets blamed for everything, regardless of whether he/she is actually at fault. • (i.e. Snowball in Animal Farm) • The Star-Crossed Lovers: This is the young couple joined by love but unexpectedly parted by fate. • (i.e. Romeo and Juliet) • The Shrew: This is that nagging, bothersome wife always battering her husband with verbal abuse.

11. Situational Archetypes • The Task: A situation in which a character, or group of characters, is driven to complete some duty often of monstrous proportion. (i.e. Frodo’s task to keep the ring safe in The Lord of the Rings) • The Quest: Here, the character(s) are searching for something, whether consciously or unconsciously. Their actions, thoughts, and feelings center around the goal of completing the quest. (i.e. Shrek ) • The Loss of Innocence: This is, as the name implies, a loss of innocence through sexual experience, violence, or any other means. • The Initiation: This is the process by which a character is brought into another sphere of influence, usually (in literature) into adulthood.

12. Common Image/ Symbol Archetypes • Certain images that recur in myths and other genres of literature often have a common meaning or tend to elicit comparable psychological responses and to serve similar cultural functions. • Water • Sun • Colors • Shapes, Numbers, & Other objects

13. What is an Epic? A long narrative poem about a larger- than-life hero who is engaged in a dangerous journey, or quest, that is important to the history of a nation or people. ~Beowulf ~The Odyssey ~The Epic of Gilgamesh