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Mesopotamian/ancient History


Falloutdude

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Hey, guys, I was wondering if there are any history buffs here who can recommend good historical evaluations/analysis of Mesopotamian society and/or mythology. More specifically, their culture, which I find very fascinating, the greeks and romans pantheon and religion paling in comparison, at least in my opinion. Perhaps it's the how they have been relatively forgotten by most of the modern world, which sparks the intrigue of sparsely dispersed knowledge.

 

I touched on mesopotamian history in my "Western Civ 1" class in college, including reading the epic poem The Epic of Gilgamesh (well, what little is left of it) and was fascinated by their belief system. Not to mention how every serious historian places the epic as preceding, and indeed even being the originator, of the flood myth. In fact, this class, along with Cultural Anthro the same quarter, are what started my agnosticism, and later, complete abandonment of Christianity. What reignited my interest is that their belief systems are heavily drawn upon in the anime video game Catherine, and very accurately so. Along with a meshing of other ancient mythology, including an intriguing integration of Christian mythology with that of the Sumerians (Although, not apparent unless played). The whole plot mirrors the Sumerian story of Ishtar's descent into the underworld, or at least I believe that's what it's called.

 

The rich lore and belief systems purported by the Babylonians and Sumerians are fascinating to me.

 

Does anyone know of any reputable authors on the subject? That is, reputable historians, as opposed to fundy pseudo-historians. (There are plenty of those on the subject, for obvious reasons). Also, any translations of actual Sumerian myths from cuneiform would be appreciated as well.

 

PS Any books that could help as an introduction to eastern civilization, would be appreciated as well, as I haven't the opportunity to take such a class at my current college. Preferably not too dense of reading, as I will be starting school again on the 3rd, just enough to grasp basic historical events in the east, from their ancient emergence into history from prehistory.

 

Thanks!

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I don't know of any great authors yet, but I do know that Amazon has tons of books on the subject. Just try searching "Mesopotamia" under Books. I filtered it down to entries that were four stars and up. There's one in particular I saw that focuses on creation and the flood.

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this book inst specificaly about meso american culture but it will explain why certain cultures like the meso americans did so much better than every one else and what factors lead to their sucess a must read for any one wanting to truely understand history.

 

jared diamond "guns, germs and steel"

 

its a very good read and it really explains how much of a effect the enviorment had to cause these empires to even exist at all. good read definatly one of my favroites.

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