ARCH 0412
FROM GILGAMESH TO HEKTOR:
HEROES OF THE BRONZE AGE
Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World
Brown University, Spring 2016
Instructor:
Telephone:
Müge Durusu-Tanrıöver
401-863-6411
Class Meeting:
Office Hours:
Course Website:
E-mail: [email protected]
Office: RI Hall 102
MWF 12:00-12:50, RI Hall 108
Wednesdays, 2:00-4:00 pm (and by appointment)
https://canvas.brown.edu/courses/1023508
Course Description
Swift-footed Achilles, god-like Hektor, and Gilgamesh the tall, magnificent and terrible!
They are heroes of the Bronze Age, which produced the world’s first cities, empires and
texts. This class explores the concept of “hero” by placing it within its eastern
Mediterranean Bronze Age context, using archaeological evidence alongside contemporary
and later textual evidence.
The course will start with a regional outlook, surveying the concept of the hero in
Mesopotamia, Egypt, Anatolia and Greece and the Aegean. During the second half of the
course, we will move to thematic perspectives, and focus on a different theme each week.
Such themes will involve hero as state-builder, king, architect and usurper, among others.
We will finish off the course by spending two weeks on the later echoes of the Bronze Age
heroes, and explore the lingering memory of Bronze Age heroes in antiquity, as well as their
place in modern imagination. Throughout the semester, we will use: a) texts (in translation),
b) material culture, i.e. portable objects produced and/or consumed within the realm of
these heroes, c) secondary, scholarly sources.
Each week will consist of a combination of lectures and class discussions. No prerequisites
or background in archaeology needed.
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Learning Goals
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
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•
•
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Explore different understandings of the concept of “hero” across the Bronze Age eastern
Mediterranean,
Synthesize information from different sources (textual, object-based, and scholarly) to
discuss multiple characteristics of Bronze Age societies,
Understand a formative stage of world history through the lens of ancient heroes.
Explore the continuities between the ancient past and the modern present as reflected in
ancient epics, mythology and our current understandings of societies.
Course Materials
The following texts will be available at the Brown Bookstore:
George, Andrew. 2003. The Epic of Gilgamesh. London: Penguin Books.
Hoffner, Harry A. 1998. Hittite Myths. Edited by Gary M. Beckman, Society of Biblical Literature
Writings from the Ancient World Series. Atlanta: Scholars Press.
Fagles, Robert (tr.) 1998. The Iliad. London: Penguin Books.
Fagles, Robert (tr.) 1997. The Odyssey. London: Penguin Books.
All of the other readings will be available as .pdf files or links to online publications on the course
Canvas site.
Requirements and Assessment
Class participation:
Assignment #1:
Assignment #2:
Midterm Exam:
Final Paper:
10%
15%
15%
20%
40%
Breakdown for the 40% Allotted to Final Paper:
Title and short abstract (due Week 9): 5%
Outline and one page bibliography (due Week 11): 10%
Draft of complete paper (due Reading Period): 10%
Final submission (due Final Period): 15%
Class Participation: I expect all of you to attend class regularly and to participate during the
discussions.
Assignment #1: In groups of 3-5, prepare a digital exhibit narrating a part of the Gilgamesh epic
of your choosing using archaeological and modern materials. You can start your research from
online collections of the Metropolitan Museum, the British Museum and the Louvre Museum,
as well as the local museums in the Providence area and modern items (detailed information
about this assignment can be found on the course Canvas site).
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Assignment #2: Choose an event depicted in the Iliad, such as the duel between Hektor and
Achilleus. Then fill out the provided pdf form for the assignment, where you will be required to
identify and change or modify two objects and/or buildings mentioned in the text. Finally, describe
how you imagine this change to alter the outcome of the event in both the short and the long term
(detailed information about this assignment can be found on the course Canvas site).
Midterm Exam: The Midterm exam will be held on March 7, 2016. For this exam, you are
responsible for all of the material covered by the end of Week 6. The exam will have three sections:
a) image identification, b) map questions, c) short questions, d) essay questions. A guide for studying
for the midterm can be found on the course Canvas site. The class before the exam will be a review
session.
Final Paper: Your final project is a written paper that should be between 10-13 double-spaced pages
in Times New Roman 12 point font with regular margins on each side. Illustrations, bibliography
and appendix should be added to the end of the paper, and are not counted within the 10-13 page
limit.
You are expected to work in this project starting from Week 8. This project consists of four steps to
be submitted throughout this period, all contributing to the overall assessment of this project:
1. Title and short abstract: Submit the preliminary title for your project (which can be altered
slightly later) along with a 150-200 word abstract explaining: What is your research
question? What forms and sources of data will you use to answer it? How will you approach
this body of data for your specific research question?
Due March 23, 2016 (Week 9) before class, 5% of your overall grade
2. Paper outline and one page bibliography: Draft an outline of your paper with headings for
the multiple different sections you will be writing (headings can be preliminary or completely
descriptive, and can change later). For each section, write one sentence explaining what that
section will be about. Submit together with a one-page single-spaced bibliography listing the
sources you are/will be using.
Due April 15, 2016 (Week 11) before class, 10% of your overall grade
3. Draft of complete paper: The draft of your paper should clearly demonstrate the main
arguments and all of the sections. I am not expecting to see a fully finished and polished
product. This is a working draft that I will use to give you feedback for your project. The
more you submit, the more I will be able to help you.
Due May 2, 2016 (Reading period) by midnight, 10% of your overall grade
4. Final paper: Submit the final, complete, polished version of your paper!
Due May 12, 2016 (Final period) by midnight, 15% of your overall grade
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Expectations: I trust you to be responsible individuals who will maintain good attendance,
academic honesty and mutual respect. This class has many built-in deadlines that are designed to
help you read, think and write about the readings before class, or work on your final project in small
steps. It is essential that you meet these deadlines to get the most out of this class. In the rare cases
that you cannot make a deadline because of health problems or family emergencies, contact me
immediately.
Academic Support: Brown University offers academic support through its Writing Center, Student
and Employee Accessibility Services, and many other venues that you should explore if need be (See
http://www.brown.edu/academics/college/support/ for an overview). I am also happy to provide
guidance on the steps you might think about taking for these issues during my office hours or any
appointments you request.
COURSE AT A GLANCE
See the detailed schedule below for readings and key questions for each week.
FP= Final Project
Introductory
Regional
Perspectives
Thematic
Perspectives
Heroes and
Imagination
Week
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
Week 12
Week 13
Reading Period
Final Period
Topic
Who is a hero?
How do we know what we know?
Hero in Mesopotamia
Hero in Anatolia
Hero in Greece and Aegean
Hero in Egypt
The Usurper and the Anti-Hero
Heroes and Divine Intervention
Mortal Hero and Death
Warrior Heroes
Heroes and Mystical Enemies
Heroes in Past Imagination
Heroes in Modern Imagination
No class meetings
No class meetings
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Assignment due
Assignment #1
Assignment #2
Midterm
FP Title & Abstract
FP Outline & Biblio.
FP Draft
FP Project Final
WEEK-BY-WEEK SCHEDULE and REQUIRED READINGS
Week 1 (Jan 27-29, 2016)
INTRODUCTION
January 27, Wednesday
Introduction to the course, learning goals and expectations.
January 29, Friday
Key Questions: Who is a hero? What are common characteristics? How do we define a hero today? What can
studying heroes tell us about people and cultures of the past?
Nicholson, Sarah. 2011. “The Problem of Woman as Hero in the Work of Joseph Campbell.”
Feminist Theology 19 (2): 182-193.
http://www.relevantmagazine.com/culture/tv/rise-anti-hero
Week 2 (Feb 1-5, 2016)
HOW DO WE KNOW WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT ANCIENT HEROES?
Key Questions: What are the contemporary and later sources on Bronze Age heroes? What are the biases and
gaps in these data? What different aspects can we get it with different sources of data?
February 1, Monday – Written sources
Ziolkowski, Theodore. 2011. Gilgamesh among Us : Modern Encounters with the Ancient Epic. Ithaca:
Cornell University Press. (Read “Introduction”, pp. 1-19).
Martin, Richard P. 2011. “Introduction to Richmond Lattimore’s Iliad.” In The Iliad of Homer.
Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
February 3, Wednesday – Art historical sources
Kemp, Wolfgang. 2003. "Narrative." In Critical Terms for Art History, ed. by Robert S. Nelson and
Richard Shiff, 62-74. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Markoe, Glenn E. 1989. "The ‘Lion Attack’ in Archaic Greek Art: Heroic Triumph." Classical
Antiquity 8 (1): 86-115.
February 5, Friday – Archaeological sources
Gosden, Chris. 1999. Archaeology and Anthropology: A Changing Relationship. London:
Routledge. (Read ‘Colonial Origins’, pp.
Antonaccio, Carla Maria. 1995. An Archaeology of Ancestors: Tomb Cult and Hero Cult in Early Greece.
Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield. (Read ‘Introduction’, pp. 1-10)
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Week 3 (Feb 8-12, 2016)
HERO in MESOPOTAMIA
Key Questions: What were the main components of the city of Uruk? What are the main themes in the epic of
Gilgamesh? How does knowing about the archaeology of Uruk change our understanding of the Epic of
Gilgamesh? What are some common themes in Mesopotamian myths? Within this corpus, does the Epic of
Gilgamesh represent the norm or the exception?
February 8, Monday – Uruk: The city of heroes
Gates, Charles. 2011. Ancient Cities: The Archaeology of Urban Life in the Ancient Near East and
Egypt, Greece, and Rome. New York: Routledge. (Read “Early Sumerian Cities”, pp. 29-51)
George, Andrew. 2003. The Epic of Gilgamesh. London: Penguin Books. (Read Tablets I, II and III in
“The Standard Version”, pp.1-29)
February 10, Wednesday – Gilgamesh: The first epic
George, Andrew. 2003. The Epic of Gilgamesh. London: Penguin Books. (Read Tablets IV-XI in “The
Standard Version”, pp.30-100)
February 12, Friday – Myth and reality in Mesopotamia (Assignment #1 due)
Optional:
Schneider, Tammi. An Introduction to Ancient Mesopotamian Religion. Michigan, Cambridge:
Eerdmans. (Read “Myths”, pp. 34-51).
Jonker, Gerdien. 1995. The Topography of Remembrance: The Dead, Tradition and Collective Memory in
Mesopotamia. Leiden: Brill. (Read “The Building Blocks of Memory: Communication with
the Gods in the Third Millennium” (Chapter 2), pp. 71-90)
Week 4 (Feb 15-19, 2016)
HERO in ANATOLIA
Key Questions: Many Anatolian heroes were gods – why do you think this was the case? What landscape
features were mostly associated with heroes? Do you think the landscape of Anatolia had a distinct impact on the
associations with the heroic?
February 15, Monday –Heroes (and the lack thereof) in Anatolia
Gilan, Amir. 2010. "Epic and History in Hittite Anatolia: In Search of a Local Hero." In Epic and
History, edited by David Konstan and Kurt A. Raaflaub, 51-65. Malden: Blackwell.
Gilan, Amir. 2013. "Once Upon a Time in Kisskilusa - The Dragon Slayer Myth in Central
Anatolia." In Creation and Chaos: A Reconsideration of Hermann Gunkel's Chaos Kampf Hypothesis,
edited by Richard Beal and Joann A. Scurlock, 98-111. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns.
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February 17, Wednesday – Myths of the Hittite Gods
Beckman, Gary M. 2013. "Intrinsic and Constructed Sacred Space in Hittite Anatolia." In Heaven on
Earth. Temples, Rituals, and Cosmic Symbolism in the Ancient World. Papers from the Oriental
Institute Seminar 'Heaven on Earth' Held at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago 2-3
March 2012, edited by Deena Ragavan. Chicago: The University of Chicago, pp. 153-174.
Hoffner, Harry A. 1998. Hittite Myths. Edited by Gary M. Beckman, Society of Biblical Literature
Writings from the Ancient World Series. Atlanta: Scholars Press. (Read myths 1, 3, 11, 14, 18a,
19, 20, 21)
February 19, Friday – Hittite Myths in the Later Traditions
Morris, Sarah P. 2001. “Potnia Aswiya: Anatolian Contributions to Greek Religion,” in Potnia:
Deities and Religion in the Aegean Bronze Age. Aegaeum 23: 423-434.
Morris, Sarah P. 2011. “The Prehistoric Background of Artemis Ephesia: A Solution to the Enigma
of her ‘Breasts’?.” In Der Kosmos der Artemis von Ephesos, edited by Ulrike Muss, 135-151.
Week 5 (Feb 22-26, 2016)
HERO in GREECE and the AEGEAN
Key Questions: Can the Cycladic figurines be interpreted as images of heroes? How is the character of the Late
Bronze Age hero in Greece and Aegean different than Mesopotamia and Anatolia?
February 22, Monday – Long Weekend, no class
Use this day to start early on your Iliad readings, you have a lot assigned for
Wednesday!
February 24, Wednesday – Heroes of the Trojan War
Fagles, Robert (tr.) 1998. The Iliad. London: Penguin Books (Read Book 1, 2, 3, 16, 22, 23, 24)
February 26, Friday – The Bronze Age Context of Trojan Heroes (Assignment #2 due)
Jablonka, Peter. 2011. "Troy in Regional and Interregional Context." In The Oxford Handbook of
Ancient Anatolia, 10,000-323 B.C.E, edited by Sharon R. Steadman and J. Gregory McMahon,
849-861. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press.
Bryce, Trevor. 2012. "The Trojan War." In The Oxford Handbook of the Bronze Age Aegean, edited by
Eric H. Cline, 475-482. New York: Oxford University Press.
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Week 6 (Feb 29-Mar 4, 2016)
HERO in EGYPT
Key Questions: How is the evidence from Egypt different from the other regions we have been dealing with so far
in the course? How does this change the way in which we think about Egyptian heroes?
February 29, Monday – Mortal and Immortal Heroes of Egypt
López-Ruiz, Carolina. 2014. “Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor.” In Gods, Heroes, and Monsters: A
Sourcebook of Greek, Roman, and Near Eastern Myths in Translation, pp. 131-135.
Dotson, Courtney. 2010. “A Portrait of Ancient Egyptian Common Life: The Cycle of Order and
Chaos in the Tale of Sinuhe.” Studia Antiqua 8 (1): 47-53.
Leeming, David A. 1998. Mythology: The Voyage of the Hero. New York: Oxford University Press.
(Read ‘Osiris and Isis’, pp. 161-164).
March 2, Wednesday – Pharaohs as Heroes
Moreno García, Juan C. 2013, “Building the Pharaonic State. Territority, Elite, and Power in
Ancient Egypt in the 3rd Millennium BCE.” In Experiencing Power, Generating Authority:
Cosmos, Politics, and the Ideology of Kingship in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, edited by Jane A.
Hill, Philip Jones and Antonio J. Morales, 185-217. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania
Museum.
March 4, Friday – Review for midterm
Review the material for the midterm and come to class with questions!
Week 7 (Mar 7-11, 2016)
March 7, Monday – Midterm Exam
THE USURPER and the ANTI-HERO
Key Questions: When does an usurper become a hero? What are the common characteristics of the antagonists
and the anti-heroes in the stories of the heroes we have been working on so far?
March 9, Wednesday – The usurper
Heinz, Marlies. 2007. "Sargon of Akkad: Rebel and Usurper in Kish." Representations of Political
Power: Case Histories from Times of Change and Dissolving Order in the Ancient Near East, 67-86.
March 11, Friday – The anti-hero
Berndt, Katrin and Lena Steveker. 2011. ‘Introduction.’ In Heroism in the Harry Potter Series,
edited by Katrin Berndt and Lena Steveker, 1-6. Burlington: Ashgate.
Larabee, Ann. 2014. “Editorial: The New Television Anti-Hero.” The Journal of Popular Culture 46
(6): 1131-1132.
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Week 8 (Mar 14-18, 2016)
HEROES and DIVINE INTERVENTION
Key Questions:
March 14, Monday – Divine birth, body and strength
Ataç, Mehmet-Ali. 2010. The Mythology of Kingship in Neo-Assyrian Art. New York: Cambridge
University Press. (Read “King the Man, The King-Man”, pp. 167-171 and “Lord of the
Netherworld”, pp. 190-200).
March 16, Wednesday – Divine support
Lattimore, Richard. 1965. “Introduction.” In The Odyssey of Homer, 1-24. New York: Harper
Perennial.
Fagles, Robert (tr.) 1997. The Odyssey. London: Penguin Books. (Read Book 1, 13, 21, 24).
March 18, Friday – Divine obstacle
Fagles, Robert (tr.) 1997. The Odyssey. London: Penguin Books. (Read Book 9, 10, 11).
Week 9 (Mar 21-25, 2016)
MORTAL HERO and DEATH
Key Questions: How do the divine heroes and heroic gods blur the lines between the concept of the hero and that
of the immortal? In the myths and legends we have been reading so far, how does death impact the hero? What is
the impact of death and burial on our archaeological dataset for studying ancient heroes?
March 21, Monday – Death as hero’s trial
Schein, Seth L. 1984. The Mortal Hero: An Introduction to Homer’s Iliad. Berkeley: University of
California Press. (Read “Chapter 3: War, Death and Heroism”, pp. 67-88)
March 23, Wednesday – Hero’s burial
Garland, Robert. 1985. The Greek Way of Death. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. (Read “The
Funeral”, pp.21-37)
Reeves, Nicholas. 1993. "The Ashburnham Ring and the Burial of General Djehuty." The Journal of
Egyptian Archaeology 79: 259-261.
Title and short abstract of final projects should be submitted to Canvas by March 23, 2016, (midnight)
March 25, Friday – The Immortal Soul of the Mortal
Herrmann, Virginia and David Schloen (eds.) In Remembrance of Me: Feasting with the Dead in the
Ancient Middle East. Chicago: Oriental Institute Museum Publications. (Read “Death Binds:
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On Some Rites Surrounding Death in Ancient Anatolia”, “Dead that are Slow to Depart:
Evidence for Ancestor Rituals in Mesopotamia”, and “Feasts for the Dead and Ancestor
Veneration in Egyptian Tradition”, pp. 75-94).
Spring Recess: March 26-April 3, 2016 – No class
Week 10 (Apr 4-8, 2016):
WARRIOR HEROES
Key Questions: Why do you think there is such an intimate link between war/fighting and being a hero, across
cultures and time periods?
April 4, Monday – Heroic kings at war
Gabriel, Richard A. 2009. Thutmose III: The Military Biography of Egypt's Greatest Warrior King:
Potomac Books, Inc.
Cordani, Violetta. "What Kind of Hero? Aspects of Heroic Kingship in Hittite Literature." Kaskal
10:221-245.
April 6, Wednesday –The warrior hero – 1: Egypt and Near East
Breasted, James Henry. 1906. Ancient Records of Egypt: The Eighteenth Dynasty. Vol. 2: The University
of Chicago Press. (Read “Ahmose-Pen-Nekhbet’s Biography”, “Ahmose’s Campaigns”, and
“Ahmose’s Rewards”, pp. 17-25)
Westenholz, Joan Goodnick. 1983. "Heroes of Akkad." Journal of the American Oriental Society 103
(1): 327-336.
April 8, Friday – The warrior hero – 2: The heroes of Troy (Guest lecture by Kathryn C.
McBride)
Schein, Seth L. 1984. The Mortal Hero: An Introduction to Homer's Iliad: Univ of California Press.
(Read “Achilleus: 1” “Achilleus: 2”, “Hektor and Troy”, pp. 89-196)
Other readings TBD
Week 11 (Apr 11-15, 2016):
HEROES and MYSTICAL/EXTRA-HUMAN ENEMIES
Paper outline and one-page bibliography for final projects should be submitted to Canvas by April 15,
2016, (midnight)
Week 12 (Apr 18-22, 2016)
ANCIENT HEROES in PAST IMAGINATION
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Key Questions: How were heroes of the past remembered in the past? Were they eventually deified? Or were they
commemorated as mortals? What is the material culture that is linked to activities of commemorating past
heroes?
April 18, Monday – The lingering Mesopotamian and Anatolian heroes
Bachvarova, Mary R. 2005. "The Eastern Mediterranean Epic Tradition from Bilgames and Akka to
the Song of Release to Homer's Iliad." Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies 45:131-154.
Morris, Sarah P. 2013. "From Kizzuwatna to Troy? Puduhepa, Piyamardu, and Anatolian Ritual in
Homer." In Proceedings of the 24th Annual UCLA Indo-European Conference, edited by Stephanie
W. Jamison, H. Craig Melchert and Brent Vine, 151-167. Bremen: Hempen.
April 20, Wednesday - Iron Age hero cult in Greece 1: The return to Mycenaean citadels and
tombs
Garland, Robert. 1985. The Greek Way of Death. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. (Read “Visiting
the Tomb”, pp.104-120)
Gallou, Chrysanthi, and Mercourios Georgiadis. 2015. "The Mycenaean Cult of the Dead and
Athletic Contests in Honour of the Ancestors." Groniek 42: 383-393.
April 22, Friday – Iron Age hero cult in Greece 2: Lefkandi
Popham, Mervyn, Evi̲ Touloupa, and LH Sackett. 1982. "The Hero of Lefkandi." Antiquity 56
(218):169-174.
Whitley, James. 2004. "Cycles of Collapse in Greek Prehistory: The House of the Tiles at Lerna and
the ‘Heroon’ at Lefkandi." Explaining Social Change: Studies in Honour of Colin Renfrew. pp. 193201. Cambridge: McDonald Institute Monographs.
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Week 13 (Apr 25-29, 2016)
ANCIENT HEROES in MODERN IMAGINATION
Key Question: How do we remember heroes of the Bronze Age today? How are our patterns of commemorating
them different than patterns of commemoration in the past?
April 25, Monday – NO CLASS (Rescheduled to April 29 during the Reading Period)
April 27, Wednesday - Bronze Age heroes in video games (Guest Lecture by Emily Booker)
Ziolkowski, Theodore. 2011. Gilgamesh among Us : Modern Encounters with the Ancient Epic. Ithaca,
NY, USA: Cornell University Press. (Read “Conclusion”, pp. 189-198)
April 29, Friday – Bronze Age heroes in contemporary popular culture
Watch one of the following movies/mini-series: 300 (2006), Troy (2004), Tut (2015) and evaluate
the movie from the perspective of our discussions in class. What are the misconceptions represented
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in these works? What are the biases? How did this class change your perspective in viewing items of
popular culture? Be ready to discuss in class.
Reading Period – April 30 – May 10, 2016
Drafts of final projects should be submitted to Canvas by May 2, 2016 (midnight)
Final Period – May 11 – 20, 2016
Final projects should be submitted to Canvas by May 12, 2016 (midnight).
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