Mesopotamian+Mythology

=Mesopotamian Mythology=

By boardingguitarist, SMUTHIE, and ANIMEFRK
Our Story is called "The Epic of Creation" and this is the link to the database: http://www.fofweb.com/NuHistory/default.asp?ItemID=WE49&NewItemID=True


 * Intro:**

Mesopotamia is polytheistic culture that believes that the Gods created the universe. The “Epic of Creation” myth explains to us how the Mesopotamians think the universe was created, reflects the culture, and relates to other mythologly.

**Summary: **

The “Epic of Creation” is a story that talks about how the Babylonians thought the world was created. The “Epic of Creation” says that the world was created by the god, Marduk who conquered the gods Apsu, Mummu, Tiamat, Anu, and Kingu. The myth tells that men are made from Kingu’s blood and by the god Ea who used Kingu’s blood to make man. Babylon was a very old civilization. The Babylonians were very interested in Astronomy and they were the first civilization to have a written record of laws. The laws they had, had a lot of emphasis on fairness and the idea of an eye for an eye. The Babylonians were also around during the age where civilizations needed to fight to expand and to stay alive. The Babylonians were also polytheistic, which means they believed in many gods. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Marduk_and_pet.jpg
 * Primary source:** http://www.hps.cam.ac.uk/readinglists/marduk.jpg
 * Source:** [|en:Image:Marduk and pet.jpg]


 * Story Analysis:**

"...a myth is a sacred story involving symbols that are usually capable of multiple meanings."(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myth) In the “Epic Of Creation” myth( //http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp//?** )the Mesopotamians explain to us how they think things such as the sky was made, who created the stars, and how man was made. They tell us that sky was made with the top half of Tiamat’s body and the stars were made by Marduk (the chief god of Babylon and Son of Ea). Most importantly it tells us that man was made from the blood of Kingu.(divine commander who served under Tiamat while he was still living) The role of man was to populate the Earth and please the Gods. Man would worship the many Gods by giving them gifts and If you disappointment or embarrassed the Gods there would be a punishment. http://samueljscott.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/universe.jpg


 * Culture Analysis:**

The “Epic of Creation” reflects the culture of the Babylonians, because it shows how the world was created according to them. Babylon was a civilized nation, but it could also be a fierce conquering nation. The version of the myth that was on the facts on file website, http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp says that the world was created by a battle between the gods Apsu, Mummu, Tiamat, Anu, Ea, Marduk, and Kingu, so this story shows that the culture of the Babylonians could revolve around the idea that conquering other nations can improve their life and make something new and great. “The Epic of Creation” had many gods fighting in a battle to create the world, showing that the Babylonians were polytheistic. The world history book said that the Babylonians also were the first civilization to have a written set of laws that were made by the ruler, Hammurabi. “The Epic of Creation” is a basis of these laws, because it talks about how Marduk conquered the other gods and punished them by making them part of the universe and the laws of Hammurabi’s code are all about fair treatment and the punishment for going against the laws. The Babylonians discovered Astronomy and this bit of their culture is explained in “The Epic of Creation,” because it says that Marduk created the stars and constellations. “The Epic of Creation” also says that Marduk created the moon phases, which is another reason why the myth explains why a big part of Babylonian culture is Astronomy.

Time:Mon Sep 29, 2008 6:47 pm **Title:**Senza_titolo-2.jpg **Website:http://morguefile.com/archive/?display=228166&

Culture Comparison:**

Mesopotamian mythology relates to Greek/Roman mythology in many ways. First, the creation myth has my similarities and differences. A similarity is that they both involve an "overthrowing" of a superior being (usually their father or their grandfather, or their great-grandfather as in the Mesopotamian epic of creation) and then taking over. Some differences are that the Mesopotamian myth of creation, called "Enuma elish" is much more graphic than the Greek/Roman version, including cutting a woman in half, the top half becoming the sky. Marduk is sort of like Zeus because their archetype is a conqueror, overthrowing their great-grandfather and great-grandmother (Mesopotamia) or their father (Greek/Roman) and becoming the ruler. Tiamat is also like Rhea, and their archetype is a protector because they both try to protect the things they hold dear. According to Stephen Bertman's "Epic of Creation (Babylonain)," Tiamat tried to protect their throne and, according to Bradley Skeen's "Religion and Cosmology in Ancient Greece" Rhea tried to protect her children from Cronos swallowing them, thus leading to her husbands downfall and their banishment to the Underworld. Babylonian and Greek/Roman mythology has very similar archetypes and a creation myth with some common themes. The King of all the Greek Gods: Zeus. [|**http://www.lambdapsiphi.com/daft/daft/images/zeus1.jpg******]


 * Conclusion:**

Mesopotamian mythology has an epic of creation, which explains their myths, a polytheistic religion, and gods that share some similar archetypes with those of Greek/Roman mythology. Their epic of creation tells how the earth, the stars, and man were created. They believe in many Gods, each representing one thing. The Mesopotamians many gods were like the Greek/Roman gods because they shared some similar archetypes and the Greek/Roman story of creation had some similarities. Ancient Mesopotamia was a polytheistic society in which there were many gods who created the earth.


 * Our Citations:**

"Babylonian Empire." Ancient and Medieval History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp? ItemID=WE49&iPin=AK41&SingleRecord=True (accessed September 24, 2008).

Bertman, Stephen. "Epic of Creation (Babylonian)." Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2003. Ancient and Medieval History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp? ItemID=WE49&iPin=MESP0686&SingleRecord=True (accessed September 24, 2008).

Skeen, Bradley. "religion and cosmology in ancient Greece." In Bogucki, Peter, ed. Encyclopedia of Society and Culture in the Ancient World. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Ancient and Medieval History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp? ItemID=WE49&iPin=ESCAW552&SingleRecord=True (accessed September 24, 2008).

Ellis, Esler, Beers, Elisabeth, Anthony, Burton. __Prentice Hall World History Connections To Today.__ 1st Upper Saddle River : Prentice Hall, 1999. http://samueljscott.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/universe.jpg

http://lambdapsiphi.com/daft/daft/images/zeus1.jpg

Primary source: http://www.hps.cam.ac.uk/readinglists/marduk.jpg** Source:

Time:Mon Sep 29, 2008 6:47 pm Title:Senza_titolo-2.jpg Website:http://morguefile.com/archive/?display=228166&****