Introduction... To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to always remain a child. ~ Cicero, Roman Statesman and Orator, 1st century B.C. What does this mean? What is Cicero attempting to teach us about history?
What is Western Civilization? Civilization vs. Culture: two separate yet related concepts What does western mean? What are humanities?
What is Western Civilization? Civilization is the way people live in a complex political, economic, and social structure, usually in an urban setting, usually after making certain technological and artistic advances and sharing a refinement of though, manners, and tastes. A physical community; a social matrix. Comes from the Latin for city.
What is Western Civilization? Culture is the artistic and intellectual expressions of a people; methods of survival, political, social, economic institutions; values and beliefs; and the arts. Culture is the expression of various achievements of a civilization rather than the structure of a civilization itself.
What is Western Civilization? The West: Europe and beyond! The story of Western Civilization actually begins in the Near East, in Mesopotamia and Egypt (see map on page 6 or 7 of textbook) Humanities: the study of people! Art, literature, history, religion, music, philosophy: the cultural products of human society show us what it means to be a person living in society!
Major Eras of Western Civilization Antiquity The ancient world. Typically, Greece and Rome. AKA Greco-Roman Antiquity or Classical Antiquity. Medieval Period After the fall of the western Roman empire in 476 AD and the end of Classical Antiquity. Modern Era 15th century onward.
Antiquity (to 476 AD) Ancient western civilizations - Greece & Rome Pagan, polytheistic, fate-based beliefs Traditional religious and cultural views vs. new ways of viewing humanity and nature Humanism, a human-centric view of the world that puts faith in human wisdom (philosophy) 5th c. BC Athens and the Classical Ideal - Classicism and Humanism are ancient contributions to the Western Tradition Participatory and responsive government - Athenian democracy and the Roman Republic
Medieval Era (476-15th c.) Monotheistic - Christian East - Byzantine Empire continues the Roman imperial tradition West - Western Europe develops something different Monarchy, aristocracy, church Feudalism - Society and economy Middle class sets the stage for the future
Modernity (15th c. -) New ideas Individualism and individual value Secularism - freeing truth from traditional religious politics Fundamental rights to be protected by government (classical liberalism) Human rationality and right to make individual choices Equality/egalitarianism Old ideas from antiquity make a comeback Humanism & philosophy Classical ideas - aesthetics and beyond Responsive and participatory styles of government
Ancient Mesopotamia 3rd Millenium B.C. Mesopotamian kingdoms: Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian cultures Highly-developed & industrious Lasting impact on developing civilizations nearby, including GREEK ones - Greece is traditionally known as the cradle of western civilization
More in common... Bronze Age Greeks and Mesopotamian peoples had polytheistic religions Other traditions contributed by ancient Mesopotamians to the West: legal traditions! The Code of Hammurabi in 1700 BC (see inscription at right) - Hammurabi a Babylonian king The Code: An ancient social contract; divine rulership/regency on behalf of the divine
Life in Civilization Community evolves because life is easier and better when lived together - civilization! Social contract: People agree to live together under a government/authority in order to achieve the safety and stability (the original purpose of government) that life in civilized society provides. It involves trade-offs (Thomas Hobbes, later in the semester): You give up some freedoms to get better quality of life. The pre-modern social contract is usually initiated and typified by the last warlord(s) standing - kings and oligarchs take control by force or threat (of varying degrees). Citizens are reluctant to put themselves in danger and tend to accept rulership that promises safety and stability. The modern social contract is ideally the creation of civil authority - a real contract between government and citizens that is representative of actual choice by and benefit to the governed (negotiation and ratification of the U.S. Constitution by representatives of state populations, for example)
Code of Hammurabi Religion and divinity = powerful traditional authority Divine right of rule a common way of putting a prettier face on last warlord standing -type governments ( The gods choose this king! ) Hammurabi s memorial stones presented the code and this inscription: The great gods have called me, I am the salvation-bearing shepherd, whose staff is straight, the good shadow that is spread over my city; on my breast I cherish the inhabitants of the land of Sumer and Akkad; in my shelter I have let them repose in peace; in my deep wisdom have I enclosed them. That the strong might not injure the weak, in order to protect the widows and orphans, I have in Babylon in order to declare justice in the land, to settle all disputes, and heal all injuries, set up these my precious words, written upon my memorial stone, before the image of me, as king of righteousness.
Code of Hammurabi Grand rhetoric, but a practical purpose: Bureaucrats pulled together centuries of existing Mesopotamian law in order to unify a diverse set of Mesopotamian people and provide peaceful and effective administration of a kingdom. The code creates the backbone of a successful civilization - laws that promote peace and cooperation.
Code of Hammurabi Some examples that may resonate with modern people, even if in a small way: If any one bring an accusation of any crime before the elders, and does not prove what he has charged, he shall, if it be a capital offense charged, be put to death. - Even today, if someone files a frivolous lawsuit, for example, or makes false criminal accusations, they run the risk of punishment via tort reform penalties (the frivolous lawsuit) or criminal charges. If a man knock out the teeth of his equal, his teeth shall be knocked out. - How does this sound familiar?
Sharing Ideas Mesopotamians and Egyptians very close to what would become the Greek world: ancient Greece the cradle of Western Civilization They traded and interacted with Greek travelers: shared ideas! Shared story form: orallytransmitted epic poetry Epic of Gilgamesh influenced Homeric epics of the Greek world, including the Odyssey 7th C. B.C. depiction of Gilgamesh and the bull of heaven
B.C. ( Before Christ )or B.C.E. ( Before Common Era ) vs. A.D. ( Anno Domini / Year of the Lord ) or C.E. ( Common Era ) General Timeline
Epic of Gilgamesh Folklore first written down around 2000-1600 B.C.; the version left to us dates to cuneiform tablets from 7th c. B.C., in the Akkadian language. Oldest piece of western literature? Canon of folktales recorded by Shineqi-unninni. Real King Gilgamesh was a Sumerian ruler living around 2700 B.C., during the Mesopotamian Bronze Age Founder of the Ur Dynasty Real figure, legendary legacy: How much of the oral tradition was true?
Epic of Gilgamesh 2350 B.C.: Sumerians fell to neighboring Akkadians Sumerian cultural traditions melded with Akkadian traditions: Gilgamesh too! Running theme: conquerors as cultural heirs of the civilizations they vanquish (Rome and Greece, for example)
Gilgamesh as epic poetry... Gilgamesh influenced the Greek epic poems canonized ca. 800 B.C. by Homer Epic poems are basically long songs which include characteristics of the epic story form The epic genre crosses cultures and time periods (and it goes beyond poetry), but all varieties have several elements in common:
Elements of the Epic Superhuman protagonist/ epic hero: better than regular mortals Hero is a king of his people (like Gilgamesh and Odysseus) Hero is a paragon of manhood for the civilization in question (in at least some ways) Epitomizes the values and ideals of his society (in at least some ways) Usually descended from divinities (like Gilgamesh, who s 2/3 god) Involved in an important quest (killing Humbaba, finding immortality, going home - Odysseus, &c.) - Gilgamesh has several quests, but the most significant is the search for immortality Has flaws that impede his quest (hubris is a big example - extreme arrogance!). Tragic heroes, like Oedipus, have flaws/ frailty as well! Divinities and superhuman villains also hinder his quest
Gilgamesh as an Epic Hero (Some of these questions are similar to the study questions posted on the web site!) How does Gilgamesh fulfill the requirements of epic hero? What kind of king is he? What is his parentage? How is he viewed by his people? Who is Enkidu? How does he enter the picture, and why? What is he like? What is his initial purpose? How does Enkidu s purpose shift over the course of the story? Who or what is responsible for this shift? What are Gilgamesh s (and by extension, in many cases) and Enkidu s quest-goals in the story? Are they successful? Why do they succeed or fail in their quests?
Gilgamesh as an Epic Hero How do these two specifically represent Mesopotamian standards of heroism? What do they do right? What do they do wrong? How much control over human events do the gods seem to have? The role of dreams - do they foretell a set future? If so, do the gods all seem in on the plan? What are the lessons that the Epic of Gilgamesh appears to be teaching Mesopotamians? Ideally, how should the people view the gods? How should they approach life and death?
Premonition, Dreams, & Fate Some gods seem to have some knowledge of what will happen, and some power over how it goes down...but no one god alone has full and complete control! They all have different roles in ordering mortal life... Rimat-Ninsun s reading of Gilgamesh s dreams versus her worry and prayer to Shamash regarding her son s safety in the battle against Humbaba... "The [immobile meteorite and] axe that you saw is a man... you love him and embrace as a wife, but I have it compete with you. There will come to you a mighty man, a comrade who saves his friend - he is the mightiest in the land, he is strongest, he is as mighty as the meteorite of Anu!" Why did you give my son such an adventurous heart? Anu s creation of Enkidu as a punishment for Gilgamesh is transformed into a boon for Gilgamesh! What does this say about gods power? Does it say anything? Gilgamesh s dream about the gods council and Enkidu s demise - does Enkidu s passing seem to be set in stone, or is it up to debate? Shamash and Enlil fight over who is to blame, and who should be punished...
The Mesopotamian Pantheon Gods and demigods - what s the difference? Humbaba, the demon of the Cedar Forest, and Enkidu - demigods? Rimat-Ninsun - Gilgamesh s mother Anu, the sky god and a patron of the city of Uruk His daughter, Ishtar - poster child for vengeful gods, but also a goddess representing balance in the mortal world Aruru, goddess responsible for the design of mankind and Anu s assistant in the creation of Enkidu as a match for Gilgamesh Shamash, the sun god and patron god of Gilgamesh in the Cedar Forest adventure Enlil and Ea (co-creator of humanity) disagree over the fate of humankind in Utnapishtim s story of the flood
Lessons to Learn... Humans created to serve the gods; as Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh, mortals are destined to die because that is the will of the gods. Though as a group they are all-powerful, they are not necessarily omnipotent or omnipowerful as individuals. They may act alone, but these actions may be subject to alteration by the group (Shamash s blessing in the Humbaba caper, for example, does not save Enkidu). The gods have some very human vanities, conceits, and eccentricities. The afterlife is not really a good thing; as Enkidu discovers, it is the ultimate, complete fulfillment of mortal service to the gods. Siduri and Utnapishtim advise: live life to the fullest, but don t try to alter your fate - don t seek things that are not properly intended for you as a mortal.