A vast legacy of powerful creative writing was revealed when nineteenth-century scholars managed to decipher the mysterious wedge-shaped symbols of cuneiform script, inscribed on clay tablets over 5,000 years ago by the ancient Mesopotamians. Strikingly familiar themes emerged, forcing the Victorian world to review its belief in the Bible as the sole source of literal truth. Imagine the impact of the Epic of Gilgamesh -- the saga of a man in search of the secret of eternal life -- which includes scenes of a flood predating the story of Noah and the Ark. In contrast, an alternative version of human origins is described in the Mesopotamian Epic of Creation, while the tale of Etana foreshadows the Greek myth of Ganymede. These and other stories are here retold, based on the latest translations, and illustrated with the works of both contemporary and later artists inspired by the rediscovery of these ancient characters and themes. Not only are the myths a foundation of our Western literary tradition, they are also compelling stories in their own right.
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In the first half of the seventeenth century, an urbane and well-educated Italian nobleman called Pietro della Valle made a spectacular journey to the east, a journey which began in Venice and took him to Constantinople, Alexandria, over the Sinai desert, back to the pyramids, across Palestine by caravan, to Damascus, Aleppo and Baghdad. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
seal impression, cult centres, long stairway Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Epic of Gilgamesh, Epic of Creation, Bull of Heaven, Old Babylonian, Tablet of Destinies, Old Testament, British Museum, South Wind, Epic of Anzu, Epic of Erra, Old Persian, Pine Forest, Daily Telegraph, Let Enkidu, New Year's Festival, Uruk the Sheepfold New!
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
In the first half of the seventeenth century, an urbane and well-educated Italian nobleman called Pietro della Valle made a spectacular journey to the east, a journey which began in Venice and took him to Constantinople, Alexandria, over the Sinai desert, back to the pyramids, across Palestine by caravan, to Damascus, Aleppo and Baghdad. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
seal impression, cult centres, long stairway Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Epic of Gilgamesh, Epic of Creation, Bull of Heaven, Old Babylonian, Tablet of Destinies, Old Testament, British Museum, South Wind, Epic of Anzu, Epic of Erra, Old Persian, Pine Forest, Daily Telegraph, Let Enkidu, New Year's Festival, Uruk the Sheepfold New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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This book cites 16
books:
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17
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- The Museum: Behind the Scenes at the British Museum by Rupert Smith on page 13, page 14, and Back Matter
- The Origin Of Species: 150th Anniversary Edition by Charles Darwin on page 16
- Nimrud and Its Remains by M E L Mallowan in Back Matter
- Foundations in the Dust: Story of Mesopotamian Exploration by Seton Lloyd in Back Matter
- The Evolution of the Gilgamesh Epic by Jeffrey H. Tigay in Back Matter
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- Noah's Flood: The New Scientific Discoveries About The Event That Changed History by William Ryan on 4 pages
- Noah's Flood: The New Scientific Discoveries About the Event that Changed History by William Ryan on 4 pages
- Myth and Method (Studies in Religion and Culture) by Laurie L. Patton on page 321, page 322, and page 325
- Folklore, Myths, and Legends by Donna Rosenberg in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- The Gods Remain: Old European Religion As Found In Greece, The Germanic Countries & Elsewhere by Thomas Sefton on page 310, and Back Matter
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