The Deification of Šulgi (ca. 2000 BCE)
Shulgi was a King of Ur from 2094-2047 BCE. He was part of the short-lived dynasty of Ur III rulers. The son of Ur-Namma, Shulgi was perhaps the most influential of the Ur III kings. What set him apart from his father, and all the previous rulers of Ur? He declared himself a god “Sometime between his tenth and twenty first regnal years” (Chavalas p 54). It is important to note, however, that he was not the only Mesopotamian King to deify himself. Indeed there were several others across many generations and families who had claimed themselves to be divine. Shulgi’s deification can be explained if we look at the circumstances surrounding his reign:
Firstly, Ur was undergoing a renaissance-like revival
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Sumerian again became the language of the administration, and we see an outburst of literary texts and inscriptions coming from the period of his reign. In fact, Shulgi claimed to have “Mastered Writing” during his reign. That is to say, Sumerian as a language and culture was at the height of its existence during this time. One prolific example of Shulgi’s devotion to the occult and his attempts to renew the spiritual community in his kingdom was the construction of the “Eninnu” temple. Shulgi devoted this great project to the god of Lagash, Ningirsu. Inscribed on the foundation is written, “For Ningirsu . . . Shulgi (the mighty man, the king of Ur, the king of Sumer and Akkad) built the Eninnu, his [Ningirsu’s] beloved temple” (Chavalas p 54). Here we see his attempts to glorify his own name, while at the same time giving credit to the gods. He puts himself in an interesting position where Shulgi (the man) is a benefactor of his people and their faith while at the same time Shulgi (the god) presides over his people, interceding in a way with the …show more content…
This is evident by the number of texts we find from the period. One such text is called Shulgi B, in which he (Shulgi) attests to his own wisdom and greatness. A direct quote from the text:
“Let me boast of what I have done. The fame of my power is spread far and wide. My wisdom is full of subtlety. Do not my achievements surpass all qualifications?” Later in the text he even goes on to say “It is good to praise me” (Shulgi B). These truly sound like the words of a god, and not of a mortal man. We can imagine that this text would have been read by all members of his Kingdom. Perhaps in passing, they might have noticed the inscription. They certainly would not have recognized all of his accomplishments in their day-to-day lives, so this inscription would have served as a kind of ‘reminder’ to his people: a reminder that he is divine and that he alone
"Sumerian/Babylonian When on HIgh (Enuma Elish) "Creation and Marduk." [Dennis Bratcher, Tr. Http://www.cresourcei.org/enumaelish.html]." Ancient Mythology East and West. Comp. David Branscome. Print.
that he would not succumb to death from a man born of a woman. How he
George, A. R. The Epic of Gilgamesh: The Babylonian Epic Poem and Other Texts in Akkadian and Sumerian. London: Penguin, 2003. Print.
Gilgamesh existed as one of the oldest known Sumerian rulers of all time and is accredited to many accomplishments. Legend has it that he created the first Sumerian civilization, constructing a city with many elaborate temples and immense walls. However, he has also been characterized as one of the cruelest and most self-centered rulers of all. Throughout the course of Gilgamesh’s life he goes from being a womanizing, slave driving ruler to a negligent and stubborn king, who not even god-sent Enkidu could help transform into a better king.
Archaeologists and historians feel confident that Gilgamesh was originally written by the Sumerians and later adapted by the Babylonians who kept the identities of Sumer's original gods and goddesses. According to Mauree...
"Sumerian/Babylonian When on HIgh (Enuma Elish) "Creation and Marduk." [Dennis Bratcher, Tr. Http://www.cresourcei.org/enumaelish.html]." Ancient Mythology East and West. Comp. David Branscome. Print.
The ancient Mesopotamian writing, The Epic of Gilgamesh, gives readers insight into the traditions and customs of the people who wrote it. Like all epics, The Epic of Gilgamesh is the story of a heroic national figure: this epic gives the story of the life of Gilgamesh from his birth as two-thirds god, one-third man to his death. Throughout the epic the importance of loyalty is addressed. In The Epic of Gilgamesh readers see that loyalty is the most important aspect of a Mesopotamian relationship and that there are always consequences for violating trust.
In our world today, we are lucky to know thousands and thousands of languages and their cultures. The first language ever recorded is Sumerian. This time period consists of 3300 to 3000 BC. During this time, records are purely logographic with not much dialectal content. Different cultures have many very different archetypes that clearly show what their their literature follows, and in Sumerian culture, the major archetype is the hero’s journey and its different stages. The Sumerians believed in their fair share of gods and supernatural forces and that reflects in their pieces of literature.In The Epic of Gilgamesh, which was translated by N.K. Sandars and based on Sumerian culture, the Sumerian hero Gilgamesh overcomes many stages of a hero’s journey when he begins his long quest to find immortality. Gilgamesh
...lf and of knowing who they were and to feel like a whole but then he ruined his very own kingdom also by not sticking to his own teachings and acclaiming himself a higher power then the deity’s that they worshipped.
noble birth and he had a lot of responsibility in his kingdom. He is looked up to by most for leadership and guidance.
The Victory Stele of Naram-Sin is a vertical stone marker, referred to as a stele, that depicts the military triumph of Naram-Sin and his army over the Lullubi people from the city-state of Sumer in eastern Mesopotamia. This stele, an artifact I find most intriguing due to its dynamic symbolism and compelling story-telling, elaborately details not only one of Naram-Sin 's greatest military victories but displays, what I believe to be, Naram-Sin as a divine-like being, suggesting a change in the religious ideas of the Ancient Near East era. As the text in Art and Culture: An Introduction to the Humanities explains, rulers of this time period we not viewed as gods, but as an “intermediary between the god and the people,” yet this artifact gives the impression of quite the opposite. The symbolism suggesting the alteration in religious ideas is profoundly depicted throughout every detail of this artifact, not only through its focal point, Naram-Sin, but among the minute details of the accompanying figures and the overall composition of this artwork.
The Epic of Gilgamesh is generally regarded as the greatest literature about tales of a great king. The Epic of Gilgamesh served to show us a lot of things. The time period of BCE is very blurry, and this story attempts to describe many different things in not only Sumerian beliefs, but also Sumerian's culture as a whole. Like many stories from BCE the truth itself is questionable, even though a lot of the information is fact. The factual information that Gilgamesh teaches us about Sumerian Civilization is that had had many craftsman and artistic skills, and also a strong belief in Gods.
People of the ancient world often had questions about their existence and how life and people came to be on earth. Most ancient people answered these questions through religion. The Sumerians were the first important group of people to inhabit Mesopotamia and they were known to practice a form of worship called polytheism, which is the worship of several gods. Mesopotamians associated different gods with natural events, emotions, and other occurrences. Their main deities included An (the god of the heavens), Enlil (Lord Storm), Enki (god of wisdom), and Nihursaga (the mother of all living things)(p.22). The Mesopotamians believed that the gods controlled all of the events and occurrences in life. An ancient text called “Creation of Man by the Mother Goddess” (p.34) helps us understand how the M...
The king of Uruk, who lived around 2600 B.C.E, Gilgamesh, was one-third man and two-thirds god (Gilgamesh, 61). Known as present day Iraq, Mesopotamia was where the ancient sto-ry “The Epic of Gilgamesh” was originated. The story talked about Gilgamesh’s relationship be-tween his close companions. Meeting the immortal flood survivor and giving him eternal life was Gilgamesh's long journey. The Epic of Gilgamesh teaches about the Sumarian society.
The famous literary works of Gilgamesh, Ramayana, and The Odyssey have been studied, written about, and heralded in the literary world many times over. Each of the literary pieces has been held in the highest esteem for varying different reasons. Some of them have been because of the literary influences that they have produced over the subsequent years and the religious influences they had. The purpose of this writing assignment is to compare and contrast the religious influences found in each of the literary works. The story of Gilgamesh is based on a historical king with the same name who lived in the ancient Sumerian city of Uruk in what is present-day southern Iraq around 2700 BCE.