LITERATURE OF THE ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA

The course on the Literatures of Ancient Mesopotamia [FM0660] is part of various study paths.

Archaeology Curriculum
Path "Western Asia and Eastern Mediterranean": a) Among the core disciplines, in combination with the History of Ancient Mesopotamia, forming the single 12 CFU exam called History and Literatures of the Ancient Near East [FM0670] b) Among the related disciplines or as elective credits for the student, as a 6 CFU exam
Path "Europe and Mediterranean": Among the elective credits for the student (as a 6 CFU exam)

Philology, Literature, and History of Antiquity Curriculum

Philological-Literary Path: Among the elective credits for the student (as a 6 CFU exam)
Historical Path: Among the related disciplines, as a 6 CFU exam; or among the elective credits for the student (as a 6 CFU exam)

The course contributes to developing the student's methodological and epistemological skills in the field of philology and the literatures of the ancient world with a focus on the Near East. Specifically, it aims to offer in-depth knowledge of the themes of the literatures of ancient Mesopotamia, particularly the cuneiform sources in Akkadian, promoting the student's ability to read them in the original, translate them, and use them critically and consciously (refining the cross-disciplinary problem-solving skill), acquiring a thorough theoretical mastery (philological and literary analysis) in their treatment, and the ability to appropriately apply the methodological and operational tools for their study and contextualization (analysis and interpretation of cuneiform texts, use of tools and methods, including digital ones).

At the end of the course the student will have an in-depht knowledge of the tools and methods for the philological, grammatical, and historical analyis of the cuneiform text and will be able to apply it to the production of an original piece of research.

No prerequisite is required to access the course

Title: "Ishtar's Descent to the Netherworld"
1) Introduction to ANE's Literature
2) Ishtar's Descent to the Netherworld
- introduction and framework
- the poem in the Library of Ashurbanipal
- manuscripts, tradition and materiality
- Reading

Students are required to prepare the cuneiform texts at home on a regular basis and prepare selected readings for the classes if they know Akkadian; students who do not have previous knowledge of Akkadian will be asked to develop small research papers on the main topics of the course.

Literature:
a) A. Lenzi, An Introduction to Akkadian Literature: Contexts and Content, Eisenbrauns 2019.

Edition:
Lapinkivi, P. 2010: The Neo-Assyrian Myth of Ištar's Descent and Resurrection (State Archives of Assyria Cuneiform Texts 6 / Helsinki: Neo Assyrian Text Corpus Project)

Other readings:
Foster, Benjamin R. Before the Muses : an Anthology of Akkadian Literature. 3rd ed. Bethesda, Md: CDL Press, 2005 [solo la sezione relativa al poema di Ishtar]
Dalley, S. 2000: 'The Descent of Ishtar to the Underworld', Myths from Mesopotamia, rev. ed. (Oxford University Press), 154-162



Further readings and sources discussed during the course.

Tools and grammars:
W. Von Soden, Grundriss der Akkadischen Grammatik, Roma 1995 (3rd ed)
J. Huehnergard, A Grammar of Akkadian, Winona Lake 2011 (3rd ed)
Fl. Malbran Labat, Manuel de langue akkadienne, Louvain-La Neuve 2001
The Chicago Assyrian Dictionary ( https://oi.uchicago.edu/research/publications/assyrian-dictionary-oriental-institute-university-chicago-cad )

The evaluation process will take into account:
- students' proficiency in doing their homework and class participation
- f2f exam on the main course topics

oral

28-30L: excellent command of the topics; excellent ability to prioritize information; appropriate use of the technical terminology of the subject. 26-27: good knowledge of the topics covered in class and in the textbooks; good ability to organize and present information; generally correct use of the technical terminology of the subject; 24-25: fair knowledge of the topics; fair ability to organize information; not always correct use of the technical terminology of the subject; 22-23: superficial and/or incomplete knowledge of the topics; presentation not always clear and/or lacking in the technical terminology of the subject; 18-21: incomplete knowledge of the topics, but still sufficient; unclear presentation and/or lacking and/or with little use of the technical terminology of the subject.

Classes will consist in seminars where the main topics and texts of the course will be discussed jointly by teacher and students.
Flipped classroom.