10 days left
Invest in History Education
By supporting our charity World History Foundation, you're investing in the future of history education. Your donation helps us empower the next generation with the knowledge and skills they need to understand the world around them. Help us start the new year ready to publish more reliable historical information, free for everyone.
$3081 / $10000
Collection
The literature of Mesopotamia dates from c. 2600 BCE when scribes began composing original works in the region of Sumer. The Sumerians invented writing c. 3500 BCE, but it was then mostly used for record-keeping. The literature of ancient Mesopotamia influenced the works of other civilizations including Egypt, Greece, and Rome.
The pieces in this collection represent only a very small fraction of the body of Mesopotamian literature which included hymns, wisdom literature, historical fiction, history, poetry, mythology, legends, incantations, prayers, proverbs, didactic literature, and the epic tale, which was first established in the world through The Epic of Gilgamesh. The literature of ancient Mesopotamia is also distinguished by the first author in the world known by name, the Akkadian poet Enheduanna (l. 2285-2250 BCE), daughter of Sargon of Akkad.
Questions & Answers
How old is Mesopotamian literature?
- Mesopotamian literature dates to c. 2600 BCE.
What is the oldest piece of Mesopotamian literature?
- The Kesh Temple Hymn is the oldest piece of Mesopotamian literature.
Who wrote Mesopotamian literature?
- Scribes wrote Mesopotamian literature. Some are known by name. The most famous is the first author in the world known by name, Enheduanna (l. 2285-2250 BCE), daughter of Sargon of Akkad.
What is the most famous work from Mesopotamian literature?
- The most famous work from Mesopotamian literature is The Epic of Gilgamesh.
Subscribe to this author
About the Author
![Joshua J. Mark]()
Joshua J. Mark is World History Encyclopedia's co-founder and Content Director. He was previously a professor at Marist College (NY) where he taught history, philosophy, literature, and writing. He has traveled extensively and lived in Greece and Germany.
Free for the World, Supported by You
World History Encyclopedia is a non-profit organization. For only $5 per month you can become a member and support our mission to engage people with cultural heritage and to improve history education worldwide.
World History Encyclopedia is a non-profit organization. Please support free history education for millions of learners worldwide for only $5 per month by becoming a member. Thank you!
Become a Member
Donate
License & Copyright
Uploaded by Joshua J. Mark, published on 16 February 2024. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.
