Myth Study Guide free essay sample

They are considered the first human civilization and influenced the Akkadians. * Akkadians: The Akkadians were a culture in Mesopotamia. They overtook the Sumerians and adopted their spoken language. * Babylonians: The Babylonians were a culture in Mesopotamia. They created the myth the Enuma Elish and spoke a dialect of the Akkadian language. * Enuma Elish: A Babylonian Myth was written about 2000 BCE. This myth is a creation myth and succession myth that involves a great battle between the storm god Marduk and Tiamat, the god of the seas. * Marduk: The storm god in the Babylonian Enuma Elish. He is the son of Ea and Damkina, is crowned king of the gods and defeats Tiamat, creating the heavens and the earth. * cuneiform: Cuneiform is a type of script writing on tablets commonly used by ancient cultures such as the Babylonians. The myth the Enuma Elish was written by the Babylonians in cuneiform. * Apsu: Apsu is the binatural, Babyloninan god of freshwater who is the husband of Tiamat. Apsu is killed in the Enuma Elish by Ea. * Tiamat: Tiamat, the wife of Apsu, is the binatural, Babylonian god of the seas. In the Enuma Elish, Tiamat battles the storm god Marduk and loses. Lahmu: Lahmu is the son of the gods Tiamat and Apsu. In the Babylonian Enuma Elish, Lahmu is described as being formed from the mingling waters of Apsu and Tiamat. * Lahamu: Lahamu is the daughter of the gods Apsu and Tiamat. In the Babylonian Enuma Elish, Lahmu is described as being formed from the mingling waters of Apsu and Tiamat. * Anshar: Anshar is the Babylonian sky god. In the Enuma Elish, he is the son of Lahmu and Lahamu. * Kishar: Kishar is the Babylonian earth goddess. In the Enuma Elish, she is the daughter of Lahmu and Lahmu. * Anu: Anu is the son of both Anshar and Kishar. In the Babylonian Enuma Elish, Anu gives Marduk the four winds to defeat Tiamat. * Ea/Enki/Nuddimud: Ea is the Babylonian trickster god who is the father of Marduk. In the Enuma Elish, Ea discovers Apsus plot to wage war against the gods and Ea kills him. * Mummu: Mummu is a vizier in the Babylonian Enuma Elish. In this myth, Mummu gives Apsu the go ahead to kill the gods and is captured by Ea once he discovers Mummus plot. * Damkina: In the Babylonian Enuma Elish, Damkina is the mother of Marduk. She is the consort of Ea. * Qingu/Kingu: Qingu is the leader of Tiamats army of eleven monsters in the Babylonian Enuma Elish. Tiamat also gives Qingu the Tablet of Destinies. * Tablet of Destinies: The Tablet of Destinies is given to Qingu in the Babylonian Enuma Elish. Marduk kills Tiamat and her army and reclaims the Tablet of Destinies. * Semitic: Semitic is a Mesopotamian culture that speaks a language similar to the language Hebrew. The Akkadians spoke this language. * Amorites: Amorites are a people that overthrew the Sumerians in Mesopotamia in 1900 BCE. They spoke a dialect of Akkadian. * Babylon: Babylon is the established capital city of Mesopotamia when controlled by the Amorites. People that lived in the capital city of Babylon were known as Babylonians and they are attributed for adopting the Enuma Elish. * ziggurat: Ziggurat is the temple in which gods were worshiped in Mesopotamia. Each city-state had its own patron god, and that god was worshipped in a ziggurat. * Akitu: Akitu is also known as the Babylonian New Year Festival. This festival honored Marduk as the King of the gods in the city of Babylon. * Baal Cycle: The Baal Cycle is a group of poems that surround the Canaanite god Baal. These myths involve Baals battle with Yam, Baals battle with Mot, and the dilemma surrounding his palace. Ugarit: Ugarit was a coastal trading city which was prosperous around 1400 BCE. This city is where thousands of clay tablets were found, including the Canaanite Baal Cycle * Canaan: Canaan is the region in which Ugarit was located. In this region, the Baal Cycle was adopted. * Canaanite: Canaanites are the people who lived in the region of Canaan. They were one of the first cultures to use an alphabetic writing system instead of a cuneiform system. * El: El is the father of the gods in Canaanite mythology. In the Baal Cycle, El agrees to give up Baals hiding place to Yam so they could battle. Baal: Baal is the storm god mentioned in the Canaanite Baal Cycle. He uses two clubs to defeat Yam and become known as Baal the Conqueror. * Hadad: Hadad is another name for the storm god Baal. In Caananite culture, Hadad means thunderer. * Dagon: Dagon is the father of Baal in the Baal Cycle. He is the god of grain. * Zaphon: Zaphon is the sacred mountain that belongs to Baal. In the Canaanite Baal Cycle, Baals palace is constructed here. * Asherah: In Canaanite mythology, Asherah is the wife of the god El. She is known as the Mother of the Gods. * Anat: In Canaanite myhtology, Anat is the sister of Baal. She is the bloodthirsty goddess of war and hunting who slaughters Yams warriors in the Baal Cycle. * Kothar-wa-Hasis: In Canaanite mythology, Kothar is a craftsman god. In the Baal Cycle, he creates the clubs Baal uses to defeat Yam and Baals house out of cedar. * Shapash: Shapash is the sun goddess in Canaanite mythology. In the Baal Cycle, she advises Baal to create a substitute that Mot will kill instead of Baal himself. * Attanu-Purlianni: Attanu-Purlianni is the name of the chief priest of the temple of Baal. The Ugaritic text the Baal Cycle was found in his library. Ilimiku: Ilimiku is the scribe who lived in Canaan. Ilimiku is the scribe who wrote down the Baal Cycle. * Niqmaddu II: Niqmaddu II was the king of Ugarit around 1375-1345 BCE. He was the king of Ugarit when the Baal Cycle was written. * Yam: Yam is the god of the seas in Canaanite culture. In the Canaanite Baal Cycle, Yam is defeated by the storm god Baal. * Mot: Mot is Death in  Canaanite mythology. He battles Baal in the Baal Cycle. * Ras Shamara: Ras Shamara is the modern name for the ancient city of Ugarit. Excavations of Ras Shamara gave light to Ugaritic culture, including the Baal Cycle. Hittites: The Hittites are an Indo-European people who ruled from 1700 to 1200BCE. Their mythology included over 600 gods and created the Kumarbi Cycle. * Hattians: The Hattians are a pre-Hittite people who resided in Anatolia. They were taken over by the Hittites and adopted a lot of their culture and syncretized some of their gods. * Hurrians: The Hurrians were a people who resided in northern, modern-day Syria who had an empire named Mittani. They were overtaken by the Hittites and syncretized some of their gods. * Hattusas: Hattusas is the capital of the Hitti te empire. This city is where the Illuyanka Myths were found written on cuneiform tablets. * Hattian Storm God: The Hattian Storm god has no name and was the chief god of the Hittites. In version 1 of the Illuyanka Myths, the storm god defeats Illyanka when she is drunk and tied up. * Illuyanka: Illuyanka is the serpentine dragon in the Hattian Iluyanka Myths. In the first version, Illuyanka is killed by the storm god himself, whereas in the second version, Illuyanka is killed by the storm god’s son. * Purulli Festival: The Purulli Festival is the festival celebrating the arrival of spring by the Hattians. The Illuyanka Myths are associated with the Purulli Festival. * Inara: Inara is the daughter of the storm god in Hattian mythology. In the first version of the Illuyanka myths, Inara creates a feast for Illuyanka, and tricks the serpent into getting slain. * Hupasiya: Hupasiya is a mortal man who agrees to help Inara in the first version of the Hattian Illuyanka myths. In the myth, he ties up Illuyanka when she is extremely drunk and as a reward gets to sleep with Inara. * Kumarbi Cycle: The Kumarbi Cycle is considered a Hurrian literary work but is written in Hittite. These poems describe the Hurrian god of the Underworld, Kumarbi. Kumarbi: Kumarbi is the Hurrian god of the underworld. In the Hurrian Song of Kumarbi, he overthrows Anu and swallows his genitals, becoming pregnant with gods. * Alalu: Alalu is the king of the gods in Hurrian mythology and is the father of Kumarbi. In the Song of Kumarbi, he is dethroned by Anu. * Tessub: Tessub is the sky god in Hurrian mythology. In the Song of Ullikummi, Tessub battles Ullikummi. * Song of Kumarbi: The Song of Kumarbi is a succession myth in Hurrian mythology. In this myth, Kumarbi is ultimately overthrown by Tessub. * Song of Ullikummi: The song of Ullikummi is a succession myth in Hurrian mythology. In this myth, Kumarbi attempts to overthrow Tessub by impregnating a three mile rock with a child named Ullikummi to storm the heavens. * Ullikummi: Ullikummi is the child of Kumarbi and a stone in the Hurrian Song of Ullikummi. In this myth, Ishtanu spots Ulikummi growing and tells Tessub of the plot; a battle ensues and Ullikummi is defeated by Tessub. * Istanu: Ishtanu is the sun god in Hurrian mythology. In the Song of Ullikummi, Ishtanu discovers Ullikummi growing and warns Tessub about the threat. * Ubelurri: Ubelurri is the supporter of the sky in Hurrian mythology, similar to Atlas’ role in Greek Mythology.