History of Culture and Mentalities in Antiquity

Objectives

a) Learn to relate the different spatial and temporal dimensions inherent to Antiquity and understand them both in a synchronic and diachronic perspective;
b) Know the main and most current historiographical interpretations relating the studied themes;
c) Know the major historical documents and be able to analyze and interpret them, understanding them in their historical context;
d) Know the political, social, economic, cultural and religious context relating to Antiquity;
e) Develop oral and written skills, integrating vocabulary and a conceptual discourse appropriate to the discipline;
f) Know the most important problematic and cultural expressions that characterizes man in Antiquity;
g) Acquire knowledge and skills that enable a deeper study of cultural issues relating to Antiquity

General characterization

Code

711051116

Credits

6.0

Responsible teacher

Available soon

Hours

Weekly - Available soon

Total - 168

Teaching language

Portuguese

Prerequisites

N/A

Bibliography

- BOTTÉRO, Jean, Mésopotamie- L’écriture, la raison et les dieux, Paris, Éditions Gallimard, 1987
- FOSTER, Benjamin, From Distant Days – Myths, tales and poetry of Ancient Mesopotamia, Bethesda, CDL Press, 1995.
- LÓPEZ, Jesus, SANMARTÍN, Joaquín, Mitologia y Religión del Oriente Antiguo I Egipto- Mesopotamia, Sabadell, Editorial Ausa, 1993.
- ODISHO, Anobel Youhana, The Akitu Festival in Mesopotamia- the expression of royal ideology through Religion, Ritual and Architecture, [texto policopiado], Berkeley, 2004.
- The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature, Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford, 2003-2006, http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/
- WALLS, Neal (ed.), Cult image and divine representation in the Ancient Near East, Boston, American School of Oriental Research, 2005.

Teaching method

- Exposition of the syllabus in theorical and practical lessons using powerpoints.
- Didactic support in summaries (syntheses), powerpoints, documents, etc.
- Comment on iconographic and textual sources in practical lessons. Debates in the sequence of films or workshops.
In class teaching

Evaluation method

one essay(50%), one test(50%)

Subject matter

1. Historical and cultural context
1.1 Geographical and chronological caracterization of Mesopotamia
1.2 The Sumerian heritage
1.3 The Semitic identity
1.4 The cultural syncretism in Mesopotamia
2 Mesopotamia Literature
2.1 The different categories of the texts
2.2 The oral tradition and its relation with the written compositions
2.3 The scribes and their roles as editors
2.4 Enheduanna, a poet and a scribe serving her dynasty
3 The love songs
3.1 Dumuzi-Inanna cycle
3.2 Enki and Enlil´s relations with their lovers
3.3 The mesopotamian woman as a lover and a wife
4 Mesopotamian Iconography
4.1 From the «Warka Vase» to the assyrian reliefs
4.2 The glyptic art
4.3 The main themes and symbols on the iconografic narratives
5 Performative actions on rituals
5.1 Cultic rama, dance and music
5.2 The different roles of priests and priestesses
5.3 The meanings on divine and human gender on ritual practices

Programs

Programs where the course is taught: