Religion and Humanity in Mesopotamian Myth and Epic

Religion and Humanity in Mesopotamian Myth and Epic
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date: 22 December 2022
described as inhabiting the position of the “vertex” of humanity—the point where the horizontal 
mortal world was connected to the vertical heavens.
44
Human kings, like heroes, also faced the 
reality and limitations of mortality.
Royal epics show a hybridity of genre which makes them difficult to categorize neatly. The 
blending of historical writing and fiction further blurs the already indistinct line between literary 
styles. Royal biographies of historical kings can include mythical elements, while the stories of 
legendary heroes such as Gilgamesh may have developed from famous historical figures, as 
suggested by Gilgamesh’s appearance on the Sumerian king list as the fifth ruler of Uruk, 
reigning around 2700 
BCE
.
45
Indeed, some royal epics contain motifs very close to those that 
appear in the epics of legendary heroes. The Akkadian epics of King Sargon (c. 
2334–2279
), such 
as 
Sargon in the Lands beyond the Cedar Forest
and 
Sargon and the Lord of Purushkhanda
(also 
known as the 
King of Battle
epic), hold several features in common with well-known episodes 
from 
Gilgamesh
.
46
 The composition known as the “Epic of Sargon” involves the king’s ability to 
avoid a trap set by Ur-Zababa of Kish by reading a cuneiform document, possibly alluding to the 
invention of cuneiform referenced in the Sumerian epic 
Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta
.
47
The blending of history and myth in legendary and royal epic gives the “genre” a mixed quality 
that is well suited to exploring themes of religion and humanity. The compositions, like their 
heroic protagonists, contain elements of human historical reality juxtaposed with supernatural 
features.
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