1	The Dawn of Culture Continued: Mesopotamia Lecture #3 From Gilgamesh to Hammurabi Light versus Darkness
2	Mesopotamia Even before Stonehenge, Neolithic villages began evolving into more complex societies in the ancient Near East From about 4,000 B.C., the Sumerians inhabited Mesopotamia Greek name meaning “land between the rivers,” i.e., the Tigris and Euphrates rivers Invented the wheel, writing called cuneiform
3	Cuneiform Each sign represents a single word Writing was done on soft clay tablets with a reed stylus Cuneiform was not deciphered until the 1850s
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5	Gilgamesh and Hammurabi Two most significant works from Mesopotamia are both written documents, The Epic of Gilgamesh and the Law Code of Hammurabi
6	The Epic of Gilgamesh Gilgamesh a historical and legendary figure who was probably king of the city of Uruk around 2600 B.C. Written in both Sumerian and Akkadian An epic poem
7	The Epic of Gilgamesh Epic a word coined by the Greeks to describe Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey The readings at the end of Chapter One are selections from this epic “He who has seen everything, I will make known to the lands. I will teach about him who experienced all things…”
8	The Law Code of Hammurabi Hammurabi the first ruler of the Babylonian empire Once thought to be the earliest human code of laws Earlier codes have since been found, but none as complete as Hammurabi’s
9	The Law Code of Hammurabi Laws reveal three social classes: 1. Free men and women 2. Commoners, partially free but dependent 3. Slaves Two kinds of punishments, fines and retribution
10	The Law Code of Hammurabi Decisions on guilt or innocence often left to the gods
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12	The Law Code of Hammurabi Some examples… 196. “If a man has destroyed the eye of a free man, his own eye shall be destroyed.” 197. “If he has broken the bone of a free man, his bone shall be broken.” 198. “If he has destroyed the eye of a commoner, or broken a bone of a free man, he shall pay one mina of silver.”
13	The Law Code of Hammurabi Two features stand out: Even though people divided into classes, within those classes different people are treated relatively equally The significance of publishing the laws, of publicly displaying them for all to see, is great
14	The Law Code of Hammurabi An effort to minimize arbitrariness, to establish “law and justice” “So that the strong should not harm the weak…” and “to further the well-being of mankind…”
15	Fall of Babylon Babylon conquered by Cyrus of Persia in 550 B.C. Power began shifting east, away from Mesopotamia
16	Polytheism Despite certain differences, Sumerian, Akkadian, and Babylonian religions shared certain basic attitudes and ideas Like most early religions, Mesopotamian religions were polytheistic- many gods rather than one
17	Polytheism Those gods were anthropomorphic- had human qualities, for good and bad Basically, the gods created human beings to serve them, the gods were in complete control, and mortals had no choice but to obey Not much belief in an afterlife Gods appeared capricious, random
18	Zoroaster Most significant feature of Persian culture was its dualistic religion Differed from the polytheistic religions of Mesopotamia in important respects Led by the prophet Zoroaster (often called Zarathustra) Lived about 600 B.C.
19	Dualism Dualism: belief in two basic forces in the universe, one good, one evil The world is an endless struggle between the forces of light and the forces of darkness Is Christianity dualistic (God versus Satan)? Why or why not?