Mesopotamia

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Mesopotamia

-Tigris & Euphrates Rivers-Frequent, unpredictable flooding-The Fertile Crescent-Land Between the Rivers-Open to Invasions

Mesopotamia’sGeographical Setting

Ziggurat ReconstructedZiggurat: Temple to the gods

Persepolis, 518-460 BCE, was the capital built by Darius the Great. The architectural style combines Mesopotamian, Egyptian, and Greek traditions. The palace was destroyed, possibly accidentally, by Alexander the Great after his victory over Darius.

The Ishtar gate, from Babylon, comprised thousands of glazed mud bricks, with 2 massive towers flanking the central arch. Nebuchadnezzar would sit under the arch on ceremonial occasions.

Mesopotamians excelled in architecture and designed complex cities centered around the temple.

Cuneiform WritingFirst writing starts history

Wedge-shaped stylus pressed in clay

Sumerian Writing

Epic of Gilgamesh

• Oldest written story

• Portrays man’s quest for immortality

• Foreshadows stories of the Bible.

Code of Hammurabi

Code of Hammurabi

• Laws based on an “eye for an eye”, “a tooth for a tooth”

• Privileges for the upper classes.

Mesopotamian Art • Unlike the Egyptians, Mesopotamians

had few natural defenses; war and conquest were facts of life.

• Sumerian, Assyrian, Babylonian cultures seemed to center life around the temple, the ziggurat, which apparently symbolized the sacred mountain that links heaven & earth.

• Religion and government were one; priests ruled with divine sanction.

• Art is largely conceptual and therefore stylized, though with naturalistic elements.

Besides architecture, the main Mesopotamian art form was bas-relief sculpture This particular piece is the code of law created by Hammurabi, c 1792 BCE, dealing largely with commercial and property matters. Punishments are determined on the gender and social standing of the offender.

Stele of Hammurabi

Like Plato, the artists believed that pure forms exist in the real world, of which this is just a shadow. Forms are presented as they really are, not as they appear through the accidental qualities the eye sees.

Votive figure: rulers frequently commissioned such figures as signs that they had dedicated themselves to the sculpture, the temple, and the god or goddess of the temple.

-Number system based on 60-Astronomical observations-Wheeled, horse-drawn chariots

Additional Cultural accomplishments

and Historical contributions

EndMesopotamia