Sumerian literature

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Sumerian inscription on a ceramic stone plaque.

Sumerian literature is the literature written in the Sumerian language during the Middle Bronze Age. Most Sumerian literature is preserved indirectly, via Assyrian or Babylonian copies.

The Sumerians invented the first writing system, developing Sumerian cuneiform writing out of earlier proto-writing systems by about the 30th century BCE. The earliest literary texts appear from about the 27th century BCE.

The Sumerian language remained in official and literary use in the Akkadian and Babylonian empires, even after the spoken language disappeared from the population; literacy was widespread, and the Sumerian texts that students copied heavily influenced later Babylonian literature.

Sumerian literature has not been handed down to us directly, rather it has been rediscovered through archaeology. Nevertheless, the Akkadians and Babylonians borrowed much from the Sumerian literary heritage, and spread these traditions throughout the Middle East, influencing much of the literature that followed in this region.

Literary works

Important works include:

• A Creation and Flood Myth (translation)
• Three epic cycles:

• Two Enmerkar legends:

• Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta (translation)
• Enmerkar and En-suhgir-ana (translation)

• Two tales of Lugalbanda during Enmerkar's campaign against Aratta:

• Lugalbanda in the Mountain Cave (translation)
• Lugalbanda and the Anzud Bird (translation)

• Five stories in the Gilgamesh epic cycle:

• Gilgamesh and Huwawa (version A, version B)
• Gilgamesh and the Bull of Heaven (translation)
• Gilgamesh and Aga (translation)
• Gilgamesh, Enkidu and the Netherworld (translation)
• The Death of Gilgamesh (translation)

• The Lament for Ur (translation)

See also

• Ancient Egyptian literature
• Cuneiform law
• Sumerian creation myth

External links

• The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature
• Catalogue of literary works at the Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature