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The Norton Anthology of Western Literature Martin Puchner, General Editor Suzanne Akbari Wiebke Denecke Barbara Fuchs Caroline Levine Pericles Lewis Emily Wilson Ninth Edition Volume One Creation and the Cosmos
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cosmogony ex nihilo theomachy hierarchical structure General Concepts Copyright © 2014, W.W. Norton & Company 2
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el-Amarna monism Hapy dat etiological myths Great Hymn to the Aten Copyright © 2014, W.W. Norton & Company 3
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“when on high” Akkadians Tiamat (mother ocean)/Apsu (father, fresh water) Marduk/Ea Esharra and Babylon Qingu’s blood, human creation as “artful” Anunna (higher) and Igigi (lesser) gods Enuma Elish Copyright © 2014, W.W. Norton & Company 4
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Marduk, a Mesopotamian god and patron god of Babylon, is also known as the “solar calf.” He acquired the attributes of former patron deities in the area, including his father, Ea. The Enuma Elish explains Marduk’s ascent over other supreme gods to become chief god of the area, and establishes the creation of humans for the benefit of the gods. Marduk Copyright © 2014, W.W. Norton & Company 5
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In Enuma Elish, the higher gods build a ziggurat in Babylon, which will house the gods when they visit Marduk. The gods endeavor in physical labor, using hoes and bricks over two years to create a dwelling for Marduk as a tripartite godhead (Anu-Enlil-Ea). Mesopotamians built ziggurats as terraced pyramid complexes meant to house gods and (at the shrine) allow priests to serve and placate the gods. Students might compare this ziggurat to the one described in the Tower of Babel (see Genesis in the Hebrew Bible). Ziggurat Copyright © 2014, W.W. Norton & Company 6
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“[T]he ‘first one’ should reveal (them), The wise and knowledgeable should ponder (them) together, The master should repeat, and make the pupil understand. The ‘shepherd,’ and ‘herdsman’ should pay attention” (Tablet VII) Sanctity of the Text Copyright © 2014, W.W. Norton & Company 7
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Theogony, “birth of the gods” Gaia and Uranus (mother earth and father sky) Titans Hesiod as a shepherd “tending sheep at the foothills of god-haunted Helikon” invocation to the Muses Hesiod Copyright © 2014, W.W. Norton & Company 8
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Kleio Euterpe Thaleia Melpomene Terpsichore Erato Polymnia Ourania Kalliope Nine Muses Copyright © 2014, W.W. Norton & Company 9
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Aphrodite is born of the foam produced from Ouranos’s genitals, which are cut off and tossed into the sea by his son, Kronos, at the bequest of Gaia. Aphrodite becomes goddess of “sweet love and its joyful pleasures,” while Ouranos names his children the Titans (Overreachers) for having castrated him. Aphrodite and the Titans Copyright © 2014, W.W. Norton & Company 10
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Prometheus (the word means “forethought”) commits hubris (wrongdoing against the gods) by stealing fire and giving it to mankind, and (according to some accounts) for teaching mankind the arts of civilization, including history, writing, and medicine. Zeus vows punishment for both Prometheus and mankind: Pandora is fashioned by Hephaistos and sent “to charm the hearts of all men as they hug their own doom” (Hesiod, Works and Days). For his act of hubris, Prometheus is punished by being chained to a rock in Caucasus for eternity, where his liver is gorged on daily by an eagle and regenerates each night. Some scholars have noted that the fashioning of humans from clay in Hesiod’s account bears resemblance to the fashioning of humans from clay in Enuma Elish, and to the formation of man from earth in the Hebrew Bible’s account of Genesis. Prometheus and Hubris Copyright © 2014, W.W. Norton & Company 11
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Pandora is fashioned by Hephaistos, instructed in weaving and wisdom by Athena, made beautiful by Aphrodite, and corrupted morally by Hermes before being sent to mankind in the form of a shy maiden. Pandora carries a jar from which she releases all evils—sickness, pain, suffering—upon mankind; only hope remains within the jar. Think about hope—is it an evil or good concept, according to the ancient Greeks? Remember that according to the ancient Greeks, “fate” (moira) and the gods’ intents determined a man’s life, so would harboring hope complement or contradict a belief in fate? Pandora Copyright © 2014, W.W. Norton & Company 12
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The first race is the golden race, marking a carefree period for mankind, without pain, misery, old age, evil, or the need for work; they become the guardian spirits for future mortals. The second race, of silver, enjoys a nurturing childhood, but in adolescence it commits violence against others and fails to perform sacrifices honoring the gods. The third race, bronze, is formed from ash trees and made for “harsh deeds of war and violence”; they fashion everything from bronze and engage in destructive acts. The fourth, heroic race of demigods is destroyed in war and battle during the Trojan War for abuse of the gods’ property and animals. The fifth race, of iron, is characterized by work, pain, worry, and lack of reciprocity among communities. The Races of Mankind Copyright © 2014, W.W. Norton & Company 13
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Thales of Miletus, water as prima materia Heraclitus, theory of transformation Empedocles, conjunction of the elements, laws of attraction and repulsion Anaxagoras, intelligence and process Philosophers Copyright © 2014, W.W. Norton & Company 14
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Epicureanism “But if I knew nothing of atoms, of what they were, Still from the very ways of the heavens, from many Other things I could name, I’d dare to assert And prove that not for us and not by gods Was this world made.” (Book V) “Surely the heavens and earth must also have A time of origin and time of death.” (Book V) Lucretius Copyright © 2014, W.W. Norton & Company 15
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What do these creation myths tell us about original societies, their cultures, and their understanding of the universe? Discussion Question Copyright © 2014, W.W. Norton & Company 16
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This concludes the Lecture PowerPoint presentation for Volume One: Creation and the Cosmos Visit the StudySpace for the Norton Anthology of Western Literature, 9e wwnorton.com/nawest
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