Sumerian and Hebrew Literature Quiz

Study Notes

Epic of Gilgamesh (circa 2000 BCE)
Friendship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu, Gilgamesh's quest for immortality
Gilgamesh, largely a god, ruled Uruk; Gods sent Enkidu, their friendship formed.
They killed the cruel demon Humbaba.
Goddess Ishtar's love for Gilgamesh, turned to anger upon rejection, leading to Enkidu's curse of death.
Gilgamesh sought the secret of immortality (a plant that revives him, but a serpent takes it).
Gilgamesh's final discussion with Enkidu's soul, describing the grim afterlife.
The epic is written across 12 tablets, only one surviving.
Unknown author is identified.
Main theme: achieving a lasting name rather than attaining eternal life.

Bible (sacred book for Jews and Christians), covering Israelite history.
Comprising 46 books, most extensively focusing on the history of the Israelite people.
Torah (the first five books of the Bible): oldest part of the Bible.
Includes narrative and poetic books.
Prophetic books:
Biblical stories of creation, Adam and Eve, Noah, Moses, David, Goliath.

Ramayana (epic of Prince Rama and his wife Sita)
Mahabharata (epic concerning a battle for the throne and includes myths and religious teachings from the Indian mythology).
Kama Sutra (a guide for improving sexual relations, especially written for the higher classes).

Homer's Iliad
Describes 51 days of 10-year Trojan War.
Involves the abduction of Helen who precipitated the war.
Central to the conflict was the Judgment of Paris, regarding which goddess he favoured.
War and heroes (Greek Achilles and Trojan Hector) are the core subjects of the epic.
Hector's burial marks the end.
Homer's Odyssey
Depicts Odysseus' 10-year journey home after the Trojan War.
Many trials and tribulations including Poseidon's anger, interactions with monsters, and the Siren's.
Odysseus' return is long and perilous; eventually returning home, reunites with his wife Penelope.
Sophocles' Oedipus Rex
Oedipus kills his father and marries his mother.
Fulfills prophecies of Greek myth.
Represents themes about conflict between human fate and human choice.
Euripides' Medea
Medea kills her children out of vengeance concerning Jason's infidelity.
A play depicting the themes of revenge, love, and loss.
Aristophanes
Comedic playwright of ancient Greece.
Famous for satire that addressed political, social, and cultural issues of the time.

Plautus' plays; including 'Pot of Gold' with themes of avarice.
Cicero's writings; notable orator.
Caesar's 'Commentaries on the Gallic War'; a historical account of his military exploits.
Virgil's Aeneid; a story of the Trojan prince Aeneas establishing Rome, continuing the Trojan narrative through a new lens.
Horace's satires, exposing human flaws, and Odes, celebrating beauty and nature.
Ovid's Metamorphoses, a collection of Greek and Roman myths, notable for its influence on Renaissance literature.

Podcast