3000 B.C.- A.D. 1400

UNIT ONE: ORIGINS AND TRADITIONS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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