It is difficult to find a consistent definition of epic in the scholarly works on Mesopotamian literature (see Chapter 1, by Martin). Some scholars define Mesopotamian epics rather broadly (Hecker 1974), often including texts that others might label ‘‘legends’’ or ‘‘myths’’ (Kirk 1970; Hallo and Younger 1997). Others define epic less broadly, but include the boastful first-person royal narratives known as naru-inscriptions or ‘‘pseudoautobiographies’’ (Westenholz 1983, 1997). Still others prefer even narrower definitions based on methodological considerations derived from anthropology (Jason 1969) or the study of world folklore (Alster 1974, 1976, 1995; Berlin 1983), themselves fields with differing, indeed changing, definitions of the term (Bowra 1952, cf. Lord 1960).
Reasons for this inconsistency are not hard to find. Mesopotamian languages, after all, do not possess any words that we might readily translate as ‘‘epic.’’ Though the Mesopotamian bards produced many diverse literary texts, they typically labeled them according to the names of musical instruments to which their recitations were set (Michalowski 1995), or sometimes titled them according to the first line of the composition (Bottero 1995).
Mesopotamian poems also are not composed in meters, as one finds in later Greek epics, nor do they contain rhymes, but depend instead upon other rhythmic patterns, especially syntactic parallelism. They tend to make wide stylistic use of repetition and variation, stereotyped word pairs and idioms, formulaic epithets, chiasm, elevated diction, similes, metaphors, paronomasia, polysemy, and subtle developments in plot. Their vocabulary is often highly erudite, deriving from a long tradition of compiling complex lexical lists.
The length of poems also does not prove useful for classifying Mesopotamian epics since, unlike Greek epics, Mesopotamian poems, especially the earlier ones, are typically short. The Sumerian poems that are often called epics, for example, range from about one hundred to a little more than six hundred lines in length, a fact that has led some scholars to question the validity of the term when discussing them (Moran 1995).
In this essay, I adopt a definition for epic based upon content, one that I believe will facilitate comparisons with other essays in this volume. Specifically I treat as epic all poetic narratives that praise the accomplishments of a heroic figure of history or tradition. I do not include poetic narratives about gods, which I leave to the category of ‘‘myth’’ nor do I include the so-called pseudo-autobiographical texts, building inscriptions, or hymns, though reference to them has been necessary at times.
I have divided the Mesopotamian epics into two sections on the basis of the language in which the texts are composed, Sumerian or Akkadian, and have grouped related epics together under single rubrics (see Chapter 14, by Sasson). For each of the epics I have provided a brief description of its plot, its relationship to other Mesopotamian epics, and, if known, the text’s historical context. The two sections on Sumerian and Akkadian epics are followed by two brief discussions. The first comments on the changes that take place in Akkadian epics of later periods. The second looks at the various ways that Mesopotamian epics have been interpreted.
World History
