Notes on Sumer, Egypt, and Hammurabi: Epic, Architecture, and Law

Sumer and the Epic of Gilgamesh

• Setting: viewed in the ancient Near East; city-states tied to gods and kings; rulers were seen as carrying out the plans of the gods within their earthly kingdoms.
• Writing and literature: writing would be used in art and literature; Sumer’s great contribution to literature was the epic of Gilgamesh.
• Origin and transmission: the epic began as an oral tradition and was later recorded in cuneiform; a tablet exists in the British Museum.
• Definition of an epic: an epic is a tale of adventure that reflects the ideas and values of the community where it originates.
• Hero: Gilgamesh —
  • mythic status: $\frac{2}{3}$ god and $\frac{1}{3}$ man; blessed with beauty and courage.
  • plot points: spurned the advances of Ishtar (a Sumerian goddess of fertility) and was punished; embarked on a long journey in search of everlasting life.
• Thematic significance: the epic grapples with death and asks what happens to existence after death; reflects a profound human desire for legacy and the survival of some aspect of the self after death; legacy as a recurring theme in the course and in human conversation today.
• Polytheism and governance: in ancient Mesopotamia, life was connected to the gods; Sumerians practiced polytheism, linking gods to nature and to kings.
• Political and religious architecture: ziggurats as enormous architectural structures; served as spiritual centers for city-states; multilevel stepped forms; meeting places between humans and gods; symbolized sacred mountains linking heaven and earth; visually demonstrated Sumerian power; future examples (slightly later than the Sumerians) still substantiate this concept.
• Ziggurat symbolism and reception: the completed structure would have been overwhelming on the horizon; the arrow indicates a human figure for scale.
• Material culture and offerings: ziggurats display wealth and power; original sites were lavishly decorated with paint and inlaid with precious stones and jewels; filled with treasures glorifying Sumerian gods.
• Funerary and ritual figures: figures discovered under the floor of a Sumerian ziggurat in 1934; objects vary in size: smallest $9 ext{ in}$ tall to largest $28 ext{ in}$ tall; some broken, others with paint and inlaid stone; all appear frontally facing with wide eyes and hands clasped; some hold cups.
• Function and meaning of sculptures: common in Mesopotamian temples; likely depict regular people in constant worship of the gods; some inscriptions on back or bottom include a personal name and prayer, offering insight into early art patronage and personal acts of faith.
• Early forms of faith and personal belief: these sculptures reflect individual devotion and communities’ religious expression.
• Transition to North Africa: beside Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt flourished along the Nile; the video references this as a major cultural parallel for context.

Egypt and the Old Kingdom: Geography, Religion, and Power

• Geography and resource access: Ancient Egypt’s rise to power is tied to proximity to the Nile; water enabled transportation, resource movement, and agricultural growth, enabling political consolidation.
• Religious-political power: Egyptian kings (pharaohs) were revered as gods in human form; political power was linked with spiritual power and superhuman might.
• Funerary focus: much surviving material from ancient Egypt is funerary, aimed at the afterlife; tombs and burials were originally not to be disturbed, though later looters altered history.
• Great Pyramids of Giza: iconic funerary complexes from the Old Kingdom; the pyramids housed the mummified bodies and tomb goods of kings Khufu, Khafre, and Menkore (Menkaure in most references); constructed from thousands of cut stone blocks; each block weighed roughly $2.5 ext{ tons}$.
• Workforce and construction: estimates suggest up to $50{,}000$ enslaved workers labored for about $30 ext{ years}$; construction likely involved ramps and pulleys; pyramid construction typically began when a king ascended to the throne.
• Alignment and celestial ties: pyramids oriented along compass points; their design and placement likely had celestial connections and symbolic links to the sun god; pyramids would have glittered in the sun when the limestone was intact.
• Surviving materials: today only a portion of the original limestone remains due to time and erosion.
• Afterlife belief system: understanding Egyptian art and architecture requires grasping their spirituality and view of the afterlife; the concept of the ka (the life force) persisted beyond death and required a body (mummy or sculpture) for the soul to inhabit.

Hieroglyphic Writing, the Book of the Dead, and Funerary Imagery in Egypt

• Hieroglyphic writing: Egyptians developed their own writing system to record beliefs about the afterlife.
• The Book of the Dead: a guide to the afterlife; includes both paintings and text to instruct and prepare the deceased for the journey ahead.
• Example scene: Hunivah (a scribe) shown on the far left in a white robe, next to Anubis (god who oversees passage to the afterlife).
  • Anubis holds Hunivah's feather of truth, order, and justice.
  • If the heart is heavier than the feather, Ammit (the crocodile-headed, lion-bodied, hippopotamus creature) consumes the heart; otherwise, the heart is weighed and the scribe is invited by Thoth to meet Osiris, god of the afterlife.
• Symbolic imagery and guidance: the Book of the Dead uses clear imagery to tell people what to expect in the afterlife and to prepare them for what to do.
• Soul and body: Egyptians believed the ka required a body to inhabit after death; mummies and sculptures served as vessels for the soul.
• Khafre statue (funerary context): a sculpture of the pharaoh Khafre, depicted in a serene, calm pose; Khafre wears traditional regalia (pleated kilt, linen headdress, false beard) and sits on a throne.
  • Horus sits on the back of Khafre’s throne with wings around the king’s neck as protection.
  • The throne legs resemble a lion’s legs, symbolizing strength and regal authority.
  • The sculpture is made from a Nubian stone called Nis. Nubia supplied material through trade or conquest; the material appears black in color, which would have looked blue when illuminated by sunlight.
• Meaning of material and form: the blue hue and carved block emphasize the divine nature and ka of the king; the piece makes a visual statement of divine kingship and protection.
• Other royal portraits: a separate sculpture of a scribe depicts the court official in cross-legged pose, facing forward; papyrus is held in the left hand and a reed brush in the right; the eyes have a glaze and the pupils are offset to give lifelike alertness; the sculpture would have supported the scribe’s ka in the afterlife.
• General note on funerary practice: many high-ranking officials’ portraits and offerings survive, indicating the importance of memorial objects for ongoing life after death.

Hammurabi, Babylon, and the Mesopotamian Legal Tradition

• Political unification: In 1792 BCE, Mesopotamian city-states were unified under Babylon, ruled by Hammurabi.
• The Stele of Hammurabi: a large stele with Hammurabi’s law code publicly displayed for Babylon’s citizens.
• Divine endorsement of law: at the top, Hammurabi stands before the enthroned Shamash, the sun god and god of justice; Shamash is depicted taller than Hammurabi, a technique called hierarchic scale that signals divine authority.
• The interaction: Hammurabi and Shamash are shown in a direct dialogue; Shamash hands down the law to Hammurabi, illustrating that kings act as intermediaries carrying out divine will.
• The code itself: the text inscribed on the stele outlines laws, rights, duties, and punishments for the people.
• Inequality in law: under Hammurabi’s code, equality did not exist; a person’s worth was defined by wealth, social status, and gender; women were considered intellectually and physically inferior and largely treated as property, though they were legally protected in certain roles (e.g., childbearing and housekeeping).
• Gender and social status: few women depicted in Mesopotamian art, with exceptions like goddess figures; a cylinder seal depicts a mother and child attended by women, illustrating some recognized roles of women in daily life.
• Interpreting law through art: similar to Egypt, Mesopotamian art and writing reflect political power and social hierarchy; rulers are framed as intermediaries who execute divine will and maintain public order.

Synthesis and Comparative Insights

• Roles of kings: both cultures tied rulers to the divine, but their functions differed in emphasis:
  • Egypt: pharaohs were revered as gods in human form, embodying divine kingship.
  • Mesopotamia: kings were intermediaries who carried out the gods’ plans in earthly kingdoms; divine authority is mediated through the king but not embodied as the god himself.
• Writing and cultural production: writing and art served to stabilise political power, record laws, preserve religious beliefs, and guide both everyday life and the afterlife.
• Death, memory, and legacy: both civilizations place a strong emphasis on legacy—epic literature, monumental architecture, and funerary art enable a form of continued presence beyond death.
• Material specificity and symbolic meaning: use of materials (e.g., Nubian Nis stone in Khafre; stone, lapis, and inlay in ziggurat figures) and visual devices (hierarchic scale, frontal statuary, celestial alignments) encode political and religious ideas for broad public reception.
• Ethical and practical implications: the texts reveal values about gender and social structure, divine authority, and the relationship between power, religion, and law; they also prompt reflection on the treatment of non-elites and the role of patronage in art.

Key terms and figures to remember

• Gilgamesh: $\frac{2}{3} ext{ god}, \frac{1}{3} ext{ man}$; quest for immortality; legacy and self after death.

• Ishtar: Sumerian goddess of fertility.

• Ziggurat: multilevel stepped temple towers; symbolic sacred mountain; display of wealth and power.

• Anubis, Thoth, Osiris: Egyptian gods associated with the afterlife and judgment.

• Hunivah/Huneefer/Ahmet: scribe figure, heart-and-feather judgment, Ammit.

• Book of the Dead: guide to the afterlife; imagery and writings for preparation.

• Khafre: pharaoh; statue in Nubian Nis stone; Horus on throne; symbol of divine protection.

• Nis: Nubian stone used in Khafre statue; color changes with light.

• Hammurabi: Babylonian king; Hammurabi’s Code publicly displayed on the Stele of Hammurabi.

• Shamash: sun god and god of justice; bestows law on Hammurabi; hierarchic scale signals divine authority.

• Cylinder seal with mother and child: example of daily life and the presence of motherhood in Mesopotamian art.

• Formulas and dates to remember:

  • Old Kingdom pyramids and dynasties: four main kings of the Fourth Dynasty mentioned (Khufu, Khafre, Menkore).
  • Construction metrics: pyramids built from blocks weighing ~$2.5 ext{ tons}$; workforce around $50{,}000$; duration about $30 ext{ years}$.
  • 17,92 BCE Babylonian unification date is given as 1792 BCE in the transcript; the Stele’s public display marks Hammurabi’s legal reforms.