The Literature of Ancient Sumer [Paperback]

Jeremy Black (Editor), Graham Cunningham (Editor), Eleanor Robson (Editor), Gabor Zolyomi (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0199296332 | ISBN-13: 978-0199296330 | Publication Date: June 22, 2006

This anthology of Sumerian literature constitutes the most comprehensive collection ever published, and includes examples of most of the different types of composition written in the language, from narrative myths and lyrical hymns to proverbs and love poetry. The translations have benefited both from the work of many scholars and from our ever-increasing understanding of Sumerian. In addition to reflecting the advances made by modern scholarship, the translations are written in clear, accessible English. An extensive introduction discusses the literary qualities of the works, the people who created and copied them in ancient Iraq, and how the study of Sumerian literature has evolved over the last 150 years.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This excellent little book thoroughly deserves to find the wide readership it courts, and also to endure as a standard tool for university teaching and research. It is required reading for all who are interested in ancient intellectual cultures, in the study of the oldest literary forms, and in the field of comparative literature."--Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society

"This long-awaited collection of 70 ancient Sumerian works in new English translations is the most comprehensive collection available.... Written in clear, readable prose, the new translations profit from the work of many scholars and are accompanied by introductions, notes on alternative versions, and suggestions for further reading.... Essential."--Choice

About the Author

Jeremy Black was University Lecturer in Akkadian and Fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford. Graham Cunningham is Researcher at the Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford. Eleanor Robson is University Lecturer in History of Science and Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford. G�bor Z�lyomi is Head of the Department of Assyriology and Hebrew Studies, E�tv�s Lor�nd University, Budapest.

Product Details

• Paperback: 440 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (June 22, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0199296332
• ISBN-13: 978-0199296330
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #740,752 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative and fascinating, May 1, 2007

By 

Victor A. Vyssotsky "mandvav" (Orleans, MA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Literature of Ancient Sumer (Paperback)

It seems like every bookstore has at least one book that contains the "Epic of Gilgamesh" or a book that describes and discusses it. On superficial reading most of these books seem to say or imply that the Gilgamesh epic is the world's oldest literary work, and that its text comes from ancient Sumer. Of course, although the text of the Gilgamesh epic is most often found written in Sumerian, the epic in its entirety is Akkadian, transcribed by student scribes whose education included as a requisite the ability to read and copy texts in Sumerian. From the 11 books of the epic, we have only five relatively brief segments preserved from the time of the Sumerian culture itself, and they are noticeably altered in the texts transcribed by Akkkadian scribes. When I read the Sumerian versions of these five, their style and poetic effect struck me as superior to what the Akkadians transcribed, so I wanted to know what else, if anything, has survived intact from Sumerian literature.

This book gives the perfect answer to my wish. I doubt that it will ever be a best-seller, but for anyone who, like me, is interested in how writing came to be used for literature as well as for accounting and for royal edicts and boasts, this is a wonderful book. It provides about 20% of all the Sumerian literature that has been recovered so far, in English translations that preserve the spirit, although not the prosody, of the Sumerian originals. And it gives pointers to where to find alternate versions, additional literature, the Sumerian originals, and scholarly discussion of them. The sheer diversity of what's presented here greatly increases my respect for the Sumerians who composed as written poetry material which had previously existed (if at all) as oral poems or folk tales. The range of subjects and of styles surprises me; it shouldn't, because the Sumerians were of course as much distinctive individuals as we are, and wrote just as distinctively from one another.

I commend this book not only to readers who are interested in Sumer, but also to readers who care about the origins of literary works and literary style, whether romantic or heroic.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Review of Oxford's Literature of Ancient Sumer, April 22, 2010

By 

Ryan S. Mease "scott.godwin" (Chicago, IL, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Literature of Ancient Sumer (Paperback)

NOTE: Although it isn't clearly labeled, this is an Oxford publication similar to the typical Oxford's Classics collection, for those interested.

This is a great collection of Sumerian writing. The collection contains all of the most important short pieces in the surviving corpus. Each and every piece has a great introduction outlining and providing historical background. The collaboration of editors/translators did not disable the piece; effort and terminology was consistent throughout. The introduction is great.

What I did not like about this book was the use of semi-end notes (at the end of each piece), and the fact that the poetry was rendered without meter. The editors/translators made it clear that they had no intention to recall the inspiration of the original poetry. For more poetic verses, check out Jacobsen's 'The Harps That Once...'

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars and excellent collection of Sumerian myth stories, May 2, 2010

By 

Howard Schulman (Providence, RI) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Literature of Ancient Sumer (Paperback)

In my class on Mesopotamian religion, I always looked forward to reading selections from this book. The stories are the oldest of the old, Sumerian, but the translations were excellent. There is also an excellent 40-page introduction to Sumerian literature. Unfortunately, these stories come from clay tablets that lay buried in the ground for 3000 to 4000 years so that not infrequently there are indecipherable sections or breaks, sometimes as much as 30-50 lines. But if you are interested in the material, you've just got to get used to it. This shortcoming just makes the fully intact sections all the more amazing to be able to read.

The short introductions to each story were also excellent, as was the glossary at the end of the book. Most of the stories are 3-8 pages long so that there are perhaps 40-50 stories in this edition. The Sumerians regarded their gods as more human like so it is more fun to read the Sumerian myths as opposed to the Akkadian myths which tend to have a more religious tone to them, getting more so that way as time passes.

I'm not sure why they had to charge $45 for this book, perhaps because it is probably mostly used as required reading in universities. For this reason, I will not give it a five star rating (...though it really is)