TEST 1 KEY TERMS Introduction to Myth God A superhuman being that is who is worshipped as having power over nature or human fortunes Hero Someone who is paid special interest to by the gods Odysseus is an example of a hero trickster Gods that don t operate by the same moral code as everyone else Ea is an example of a trickster god Succession Myth How one god succeeds to the kingship of gods usually by deposing others Combat Myth How a god often the storm god OR hero battles defeats a monstrous enemy Divine Council Myth How two or more gods meet to discuss the fate of one or more humans Apocalyptic Myth How gods level destruction on humans because one or more humans have offended the gods Flood Myth How one god angry at humans sends a flood to destroy all life on earth Heroic Quest Myth How a hero makes a journey to gain experiences and achieve fame especially through battle Katabasis myth How a hero makes a journey to gain experience and achieve fame Trickster Myth How tricksters transform either themselves or the world around them often through trickery polytheism The belief in more than one god Babylonian Roman and Greek cultures all believed in polytheism anthropomorphism The attribution of human characteristics or behavior to a god animal or object Binaturalism When a god is both a physical space and an abstract idea or concept Ea and Tiamat are both examples of binatural gods Syncretism The merging together of two cultures The Roman and Greek myths are a good example of syncretism sphere of influence The area in which a god has control over For example Marduk s sphere of influence is the winds primordial waters The waters that existed before anything else Many creation myths stem from the primordial waters Ancient Near East The area that is modern day middle east In ancient cultures the Ancient Near East refers to Mesopotamia Enuma Mesopotamia Translates into the land between two rivers The Babylonians were founded in Mesopotamia Elish Tigris Eastern river in Mesopotamia One of Tiamat s eyes make up the Tigris Euphrates Western River in Mesopotamia Other eye of Tiamat made up of this Sumerians The earliest human civilization and they were from Mesopotamia They were the first civilization to have cities writing and law Akkadians They were heavily influence by the Sumerians Also from Mesopotamia Assyrians They were descendents from the Akkadians Babylonians They were also descendents from the Akkadians This is where the Enuma Elish comes from Enuma Elish Translates into English as When on high It is a creation myth that tells of the rise of power of the storm god Marduk Akitu New Year Festival where the Enuma Elish is recited performed Marduk The storm god of the Babylonian culture Cuneiform Latin for wedge shaped Many ancient works were written on cuneiform tablets Apsu The male god of fresh water He produces offspring with Tiamat Tiamat The female goddess of sea water Lahmu The first of two gods that Apsu and Tiamat create Lahmu is the male Lahamu The other of the two gods that Apsu and Tiamat create Lahamu is the female Anshar The male god that Lahmu and Lahamu create Anshar produces Anu with Kishar Kishar The female goddess that Lahmu and Lahamu create Kishar produces Anu with Anshar Anu He is the offspring of Anshar and Kishar He is the sky the uppermost part of the sky He is the father of Ea Ea Enki Nuddimud The son of Anu He is the trickster god and the god of wisdom He kills Apsu after he finds out his plan and holds Mummu captive Mummu The vizier of Apsu He is Apsu s right hand man and gives him advice Damkina She gets with Ea and they produce Marduk Damkina is the mother of Marduk Qingu Kingu He is the leader of the army He is given the Tablet of Destinies After he is killed Marduk uses his blood to create humans Kakka Gaga The vizier of Anshar Repeats the plans of Tiamat to the gods Tablet of Destinies Highly valuable possession It is what controls the gods powers and gives them their spheres of influence Background Reading 1 Semitic Peoples that spoke a Semitic language related to ancient Hebrew The Akkadians are an example of a Semitic people Amorites Another group of Semitic people that overthrew the Akkadians They established Babylon as their capital city and are often referred to as the Babylonians Babylon An important city in the area known as Mesopotamia Hammurapi The 6th King of Babylon Known for this set of laws Hammurabis code Ziggurat Temples in which the official state worship revolved around Priests who held religious and political power usually administered the ziggurat They were considered the home of a god goddess and was not a place of worship by the typical person Akitu The Babylonian New Year Festival It was a festival in honor of Marduk the king of all the gods Baal Cycle Baal Cycle A group of poems about the storm god Baal They were possibly acted out in Autumn Ugarit Port city in northern Syria Canaan Semitic speaking region in Ancient Near East ANE Canaanite Biblical people in present day Israel El The creator god and father of all the gods Baal The Canaanite storm god He is the one who defeats Yam in the Baal Cycle Hadad Another name for Baal which means thunderer Dagon He is the father of Baal He is the Canaanite god of grain Zaphon The sacred mountain of Baal Asherah The wife of El Considered to be the mother of the gods Anat The sister of Baal The goddess of war and hunting bloodthirsty She helps Baal defeat Yam Kothar wa Hasis The Canaanite craftsmen god He makes the clubs for Baal to defeat Yam Shapash The Canaanite sun goddess She is linked to both life and death She advises Baal to try and trick Mot Attanu Purlianni Possibly composed the Baal Cycle It is unclear whether he wrote it or if Ilimilku wrote it Ilimilku He is the scribe who wrote the Baal Cycle He wrote the poems but he didn t necessarily compose them Niqmaddu II The king of Ugarit when the Baal Cycle was written Yam The Canaanite god of the sea who fought and was defeated by Baal He is a binatural god Mot The Canaanite god of death He tries to kill Baal but falls for Baal s trick and is ultimately defeated Cycle Kumarbi Myths and Background Reading 2 Ras Shamra Translate to Cape Fennel The modern day site of where the ancient civilization of Ugarit was Illuyanka Hittites An indo European group of people from about 3000 BCE They lived in what is now Eastern Europe and migrated as far east as India Hattians Indigenous pre Hittite people that were absorbed by the Hittites
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