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While Shuruppak's fatherly wisdom is one of the most ancient examples of written literature, history's oldest known fictional story is probably the “Epic of Gilgamesh,” a mythic poem that first appeared as early as the third millennium B.C. The adventure-filled tale centers on a Sumerian king named Gilgamesh who is ...
Mesopotamian origins. Scholars generally agree that the earliest form of writing appeared almost 5,500 years ago in Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq).
The earliest known writing was invented there around 3400 B.C. in an area called Sumer near the Persian Gulf. The development of a Sumerian script was influenced by local materials: clay for tablets and reeds for styluses (writing tools).
Sumerian mythology (5000 BCE)
Originating in ancient Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) around 5000 BCE, Sumerian mythology is one of the oldest recorded mythologies in the world. It centers around a pantheon of gods and goddesses who controlled the forces of nature and governed the lives of mortals.
But not the oldest. That honor would belong to the Silver Scrolls, found at Ketef Hinnom in Israel, which contain texts from the Hebrew Bible that date to about 700-650 BCE. So the oldest Biblical text we found is about 2700 years old.
The oldest surviving literary work is The Epic of Gilgamesh. It was composed nearly 4,000 years ago in ancient Mesopotamia (roughly equivalent to where Iraq and eastern Syria are now).
A Buddhist holy text, the Diamond Sūtra is considered to be the oldest surviving dated printed book in the world. Found in a walled up cave in China along with other printed materials, the book is made up of Chinese characters printed on a scroll of grey printed paper, wrapped along a wooden pole.
What is the first language? Sumerian can be considered the first language in the world, according to Mondly. The oldest proof of written Sumerian was found on the Kish tablet in today's Iraq, dating back to approximately 3500 BC.
Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history covers all continents inhabited by humans in the period 3000 BC – AD 500.
"Beowulf" is the oldest surviving epic poem in the English language and the earliest piece of vernacular European literature. Perhaps the most common question readers have is what language "Beowulf" was written in originally.
Some of the earliest evidence of stories comes from the cave drawings in Lascaux and Chavaux, France. The drawings, which date as far back as 30,000 years ago, depict animals, humans, and other objects. Some of them appear to represent visual stories.
What we get in The Epic of Gilgamesh is a story older than the Iliad or Odyssey and older still than the earliest surviving texts for the Old Testament. The Epic of Gilgamesh, not Homer nor the Hebrew bible, is the starting-point of 'great' recorded literature.
Gilgamesh himself was recorded as the fifth king of Uruk (probably the Biblical Erech) and ruled approximately 2,600 BC. The father of Gilgamesh was also a king, and his mother was supposedly a goddess, and hence he himself was partly a god.
Beowulf dates to somewhere between 975 to 1025 AD. The Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh, however, dates to 2150 to 1400 BC.
Sometimes called the official religion of ancient Persia, Zoroastrianism is one of the world's oldest surviving religions, with teachings older than Buddhism, older than Judaism, and far older than Christianity or Islam. Zoroastrianism is thought to have arisen “in the late second millennium B.C.E.
He was born to Joseph and Mary sometime between 6 bce and shortly before the death of Herod the Great (Matthew 2; Luke 1:5) in 4 bce.
Inanna is among the oldest deities whose names are recorded in ancient Sumer. She is listed among the earliest seven divine powers: Anu, Enlil, Enki, Ninhursag, Nanna, Utu, and Inanna. These seven would form the basis for many of the characteristics of the gods who followed.
According to more mainstream religious texts, Chaos was the first god to be born. After Chaos came Gaia, Tartarus, and Eros. Many Orphic believers associated Eros with their own Phanes, the bringer of life to the universe.
Who is older, Zeus or Odin? Since Odin is credited with having a hand in creating the world itself, it is safe to say that he is older than Zeus. However, the first written accounts of Zeus are much earlier than the first ones we have of Odin.
So are there 3, 7, 9, 20, or 36 basic story archetypes? Trick question — they're all wrong. The correct number of basic plot types is 6, and we know that thanks to a simple sentiment analysis tool.