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Heroes of the Bronze Age

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Heroes of the Bronze Age ARCH 0412 From Gilgamesh to Hektor: Heroes of the Bronze Age February 19, 2016: Hittite Myths in Later Traditions Epics and Gods in Anatolia: Recap • Main ‘hero’: Storm-God (Teshub) • Different avatars of the Storm God served the purpose of heroes in Anatolia (to benefit the living, as the eponymous Greek heroes did for different city-states) • Repeating themes in Hittite epic: battle of chaos and order, regeneration of nature, fertility, forces of natures treated as deities The Hittite Empire and Its Aftermath The Hittite Empire and Its Aftermath Hittite Empire and Its Aftermath Syro-Hittite and Aramaic city-states Colonies, Trade and Geographies of Interaction Depiction of the Storm Depiction of Zeus as God Teshub from Storm God, Hatay Zincirli, 10th-7th century 3rd-1st century BCE BCE Means and Modes of Contact and Transmission • Wandering poet • International festival • Involuntary movement of cult personnel Hattusa and Yerkapi The amphitheater at Delphi A Greek Panhellenic sanctuary for large festivals Cosmogony: Any model explaining the origins of the universe (cosmos) Babylonian Cosmogony Hittite Cosmogony Greek Cosmogony (Enûma Eliš) (The Song of Kumarbi) (Theogony) At first, the waters of primeval Apsu and First there was Chaos Tiamat were mingled together. Through the union of Apsu and Tiamat, the In primeval years, Alalu was king in From Chaos, Gaia (Earth), Tartarus (depths gods were called into being, one by one. heaven. of the earth) and Eros (love). From them, And they reside in Tiamat’s body. the first generation of gods were created. These new gods were loud and restless. In the ninth year, Anu fought against Alalu Uranus (Sky) mated with Gaia (Earth) and Apsu was disturbed by them and decided and became the king of heaven. created twelve Titans. He was disgusted to kill them. with them and hid them in the earth. Tiamat warned Ea, the most powerful of In the ninth year of Anu’s kingship, Anu Gaia is angered by Uranus’s actions, and the gods, of Apsu’s intentions to protect her decides to wage war on his son Kumarbi. asks her children to punish their father. children. One of the children, Chronos, agrees. Ea kills Apsu and becomes the chief god. Kumarbi defeats Anu and bites Anu’s Chronos castrates Uranus and becomes the ‘manhood’. chief god. Ea’s son Marduk is even stronger than him. Anu’s manhood impregnates Kumarbi with Chronos marries Rhea, one of his sisters. To stop Ea and Marduk becoming too the Storm God. Kumarbi wants to swallow Since there is a prophecy that one of his strong, the other gods fetch a plan and Teshub (The Storm God) upon his birth to children will overthrow him, he starts convince Tiamat to avenge Apsu’s death. eliminate the threat swallowing his children. Ea gives Kumarbi a piece of basalt to Rhea gives Chronos a stone to swallow swallow instead of Teshub. instead of Zeus, and sends Zeus away. Marduk defeats Tiamat and the 11 Teshub defeats Kumarbi in battle and After he is strong enough, Zeus fights monsters she created, and becomes the became the chief god. against Chronos and the Titans, overthrows chief god. him and becomes the chief god. Team Trivia!! • Divide into groups of 3, and find a name for your group • There will be 10 questions, some multiple- choice, some you will need to write the answer in. • Answer the questions on the papers provided, and remember to write your group name on it. Question 1 What is the name of the district in Uruk that yielded many famous artifacts such as the Uruk (Warka) Vase? a) The White Temple b) The Ziggurat of Anu c) The Eanna Precinct d) The Ziggurat of Ur-Nammu Answer: Eanna Precinct Composite plan of the Eanna district (note, for instance, The mosaic court (top left), the mask of a woman that the Ur-Nammu ziggurat dates to 2100-2000 BCE) dating to c. 3200-3000 BCE (top right), the Uruk (Warka) vase dating to c. 3000 BCE (bottom) Question 2 Which option lists the correct name and date of this object? a) Sumerian King List – c. 3000 BCE b) Standard of Ur – c. 3000 BCE c) Sumerian King List – c. 2600 BCE d) Standard of Ur – c. 2600 BCE Answer: Standard of Ur, c. 2600 BCE The Sumerian King List (The Weld- The Standard of Ur, from the Royal Tombs of Ur Blundell Prism) c. 2600 BCE c. 2000-1800 BCE (Old Babylonian) Obverse side “Peace”, top; Reverse side “War”, bottom Ashmolean Museum, Ashm 1923-444 Question 3 Which of the following is NOT a monster/animal that Gilgamesh faces? a) Illuyanka b) Humbaba c) Bull of Heaven d) Stone Ones Question 4 Name three themes we discussed in relation with the Gilgamesh Epic. Question 5: Double Dare! What is the name of the Babylonian Creation Myth? (you lose all your points if you answer wrong, and double them if you answer right.) Question 6 Which of the following is the site of the royal burials from Early Bronze Age Anatolia? a) Alaca Höyük b) Hattusa c) Kültepe/Karum Kanes d) Demirci Höyük Answer: Alaca Höyük, the site of Early Bronze Age Royal Burials Question 7 Which one of the following Hittite myths does relate to the creation of the world? a) The Song of Release b) Appu and his Two Sons c) The Disappearance of the Storm God d) The Song of Kumarbi Question 8 Which one of the following is NOT a shared theme in the cosmogonies of Mesopotamia, Anatolia and Greece? a) The conception of Chaos as a monster b) The conflict between primordial gods and their offspring c) The supremacy of a younger generation of gods over the Primordial ones d) The protection younger gods receive from an elder, female goddess figure Question 9 Which one of the following was NOT a way by which Hittite myths were recorded and preserved in oral and collective memory? a) Travelling poets b) Copying of cuneiform tablets by Greeks c) Large festivals d) Movement of cult personnel Question 10: Double Dare! Name the two essential geographies for transmission of Hittite myths (you lose all your points if you answer wrong, and double them if you answer right.) .
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