This collection of articles is the result of the second meeting of the Mesopotamian Literature Group (Groningen), held in Groningen from 12 till 14 July 1993. The topics treated by these scholars from six countries range from theoretical issues to specific analyses, from broad structures to linguistic textures, including metaphorical language as well as phonic features; also, various poetical techniques and strategies are studied. The interest is more in the questions that are raised than in the answers given, and the matter of legitimization of our theoretical bases runs throughout most contributions, this being the aim of the Group.

This book is one of the first collections of studies on a defined problem in Mesopotamian Literature. The broad topic of a possible oral or aural character of Akkadian and Sumerian epic poetry and its implications is treated in a number of ways, including a confrontation with traditional Oral-Formulaic Theory, an overview of Sumerian literary types which contrasts putative oral literature with historical literacy, a detailed analysis of the phonic features, and concentrations on specific structural features of Sumerian compositions in order to detect possible markers of either oral origins or aural performance and transmissions.

This anthology translates and discusses texts authored by women of ancient Mesopotamia.

A group of scholars from Britain, Holland, Germany, and Israel met at the WarburgInstitute and the School of Oriental and African Studies in November 1983, to discuss theuse of figurative language in Sumerian, Akkadian, Ugaritic, and biblical Hebrewliterature. The papers were presented in memory of Henri Frankfort, and consequentlyalso took into account figurative expression in ancient art and architecture. The originalimpetus for the colloquium came from Thorkild Jacobsen's extended visit to London asguest of the British Academy, and all of the participants came to honour both Frankfort'smemo.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This book proposes a new approach to the study of ancient Greek and Mesopotamian literature. Ranging from Homer and Gilgamesh to Herodotus and the Babylonian-Greek author Berossos, it paints a picture of two literary cultures that, over the course of time, became profoundly entwined. Along the way, the book addresses many questions that are of interest to the student of the ancient world: how did the literature of Greece relate to that of its eastern neighbours? What did ancient readers from different cultures think it meant to be human? Who invented the writing of universal history as we know it? How did the Greeks come to divide the world into Greeks and 'barbarians', and what happened when they came to live alongside those 'barbarians' after the conquests of Alexander the Great? In addressing these questions, the book draws on cutting-edge research in comparative literature, postcolonial studies and archive theory.

First Published in 2004. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.