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Sargon of Agade in literature (1)

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11 Language, communication, libraries and education




04 Religious and philosophical literature and poetry


Keywords
dreams
foundlings
messengers
omens
Period
Greek Archaic Age
Old Assyrian and Old Babylonian Empires
Channel
Akkadian poetry
Greek poets
Old Testament
Sumerian poetry


Text
Legends about Sargon of Agade, which were written in Sumerian and Akkadian cuneiform at least from the early second millennium, include themes which occur in several of the early books of the Bible. The episode of dreams which Joseph interpreted for Pharaoh in Genesis 37 bears a notable resemblance to Sargon’s interpretation of the dreams of the king of Kish in the Sumerian Legend of Sargon, the same legend contains the motif of the messenger who carries a letter which orders his own death, comparable to the story of Uriah in 2 Samuel 11 (and of Bellerophon in Iliad 6). The episode in the Akkadian Legend of Sargon’s Birth, in which Sargon as an infant was concealed and abandoned in a boat, resembles the story of the baby Moses in Exodus 2. The Sumerian story was popular in the early second millennium, and the Akkadian legend may originally have introduced it. Cuneiform scribes were trained with such works for many centuries. They enjoyed new popularity in the late eighth century when Sargon II of Assyria sought to associate himself with his famous namesake.


Bibliography

Afanas'eva 1987, 237-246Afanas'eva, V. K. “Das sumerische Sargon-Epos. Versuch einer Interpretation.” Altorientalische Forschungen 14 (1987) 237-246.
Alster 1987, 169-173Alster, Bendt. “A Note on the Uriah Letter in the Sumerian Sargon Legend.” Zeitschrift für Assyriologie 77 (1987) 169-173.
Cooper 1985, 33-40Cooper, Jerrold S. “Sargon and Joseph. Dreams come True.” In: A. Kort and S. Morschauser (eds.). Biblical and Related Studies Presented to Samuel Iwri. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns 1985, 33-40.
Dalley 1998, 68Dalley, Stephanie. “The Influence of Mesopotamia upon Israel and the Bible.” In: S. Dalley (ed.). The Legacy of Mesopotamia. Oxford: Oxford University Press 1998, 57-83.

Links (external links will open in a new browser window)
Exodus 2
Genesis 37
Homer, Iliad 6
2 Samuel 11
Sargon Legend (Sumerian)

Stephanie Dalley


URL for this entry: http://www.aakkl.helsinki.fi/melammu/database/gen_html/a0000616.php


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