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Cultural Studies I Test one Material

Importance of the Hand in the old age:

Ever since ancient times man observed that all the creatures around him were
equipped with features to ensure their survival like sharp teeth to poison to claws
etc. So he realizes that his tool for survival was the HAND. We see that primarily
the great importance of the hand and the fact that it was very sacred and holy as
it was included in all their paintings. Man realized that with his hands he can make
tools like spears and arrows to ensure his survival and to aid him in looking for
food. Along with his MIND man in the Stone Age was able to ensure his survival.

Art:

Art in the past was not only drawings and sculpture it was literature that reflects
the culture itself and what was vital to it .Also sculptures that embodied people
and animals. For instance the statues of the women that showed us and that
reflected the vital role of women in the Stone Age as a place for fertility .So we
learn so much from a civilization by looking at the arts they left behind as it really
reflects the vitals of society. We can clearly see for the art they drew example the
obelisk that they use to kill the animals and use all their parts and also it reflect
the various social classes of society. That is the scribes where at the top, those
were the educated and the elite that were able to write then came the soldiers
that would go and fight in war they last came the peasants and the women. This
us that the role of women shifted in importance from sacred fertility to a lower
class.

Mesopotamia:

Land between the two rivers there was the earliest signs of civilization. Man
before used to live in caves then they moved down between the two rivers where
water is abundant so they started to build houses.

Houses:
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Since they moved by the river side mud, water and silt were abundant. The used
those to build their homes. They used to build them out of mud and leave it to dry
until it solidifies and then they realized that after the river floods a white thing is
left behind called silt. Such material keeps the soil under it cold. So they used to
cover the inside of their houses by silt so it keeps those houses cold from the
inside.

Gods:

Since by nature man always tends to look for explanations, people started
wandering who was behind all those drastic changes in weather so they decide to
make up things to explain them, Polytheism, which believes in many gods. So for
each natural phenomenon that occurred they created a god to explain it .For
instance god of sun, silt, river etc. Their main concern was to keep them pleased
and happy. Happy gods means happy everybody. They used to build temples and
kill and sacrifice to the them happy and satisfied.

Barter and exchange of goods and services:

Since every person has a remarkable trait or characteristic that differentiates him
from other people started using those traits for thing like fishing gathering fruits
and seeds thus came the concept of HUNTERS AND GATHERERS. So every
person ate what he could fetch. Then later people got bored of eating the same
thing every day and barter was created. Barter is the exchange of goods and
services for other goods and services without the usage of money. So each one in
society became specialized in a certain thing and they started to exchange goods
and services. Late the creation of money came to life just to make thing simple.
Money was first created of precious metals worth something for more
convenience. They also needed to keep track of things they traded over a large
scale for instance across the rivers, so the messenger that takes the things across
must keep track of the goods with him that he has to deliver. So as receipts they
invented a method as follows:
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1-At first they use to bake little token representing the thing they sent with the
messenger. For instance they would mold and bake small fish to represent fish as
a good. They will mold a large ball of clay and put they tokens in it and bake it and
seal it with the ring on the finger so it has the senders seal. Since this method was
not very practical when it came to large scale exchange they had to invent
something else.

2-So then came the cuneiform writing. The first form of writing meaning wedged
form that kept track for all goods exchanged. This was done as follows. On a wet
piece of clay the used to tab using a sharp tool some non-curved writing to
express what they need to write. Then such tablet was baked and given to the
receiver for such goods to check if they are complete.

The City States plan and city structures:

So now we move from the caves to the mud houses on the banks of the two rivers
then they moved to more organized way of living called city states .Those
structures has the following characteristics:

1-They are all centered on the main area called collecting areas where all the food
was collected there and all the worshipping temples where placed there. Also it is
good to mention that the new civilizations wouldnt destroy the temples that
were before them they only change the name from church to mosque to etc.
(Jerusalem)

2-All those city states where fortified with fences which reflected the importance
of safety and comfort.

3-They were governed by priest kings and the government buildings where placed
in the center of the city. This is where the earliest forms of civilizations and
government rose.

**Now people have gave they basic skills of survival and were looking for
COMFORT.

Mythology, Importance and creation tales

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So in order to explain the unknown people started to make up gods and myths.
From those created we see the vitals of each society and what is importance to it
and although they cover the same concept of creation they differ in the means of
expression. We have three functions of myths:

1-Grounded one in senses bring forth what exactly are feelings are towards things

2-Morality and religious beliefs as well as ethical standards

3- Different places have very similar myths that involve water and silt and fire etc.

Mythology is untruthful fairy tales however they explain the unexplainable.

Indian Creation Tale: Man was created out of desire and impulse and strength
primarily sexual impulse and that reflect the importance of sex. Also heat is very
dominant as it is a hot country and also that sex is also for pleasure not only for
reproduction.

African Creation Tale: Man was here created from fire and shows us the
importance of fire and cattle and laws and presence of a chief.

The Native American Creation Tale: Man was created out of nothingness and this
is the closet to the presence of one god, also the importance of red clay and we
see there is discrimination present.

The Babylonian Creation Tale: Due to the very harsh climate of Babylon this
creation tale was a little more violent and aggressive and involved fighting.

So now speaking of Babylon we might as well mention the code of Hammurabi

(who was the third king of Babylon)

The Code of Hammurabi and his Laws:

So Hammurabi worked on uniting all the separate city states together under the
first combined law and the first objective one. He didnt invent it but he collected
the laws from different city states and places them in a code. Those laws were
written on the stele of Hammurabi with him portrayed at the top as a messenger
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receiving those laws from the gods to pass them to the people. We can see few
important things in those set of laws:

1-Hierarchy and social division as we had free man, plebeians as well as slaves
though there is a very obvious discrimination between them they all got their
rights as human beings.

2-We also see gender division. Women have become second class in contrary to
them being cherished before for their fertility. We can also see that power is
always placed in the hands of men.

The Epic of Gilgamesh Important Themes as well as Symbolism:

1. Love as A Motivating Force: There are two types of love: Platonic (a

friendly love) and Erotic (sexual love). Those 2 types of love caused a
change in Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh when he found his match, he changed
from a tyrant and bully that de-virgin-ises women to be wed, to a noble
man. The platonic love happened through Enkidu where they became
friends, and as a result caused Gilgamesh to be a different person and who
cherished their friendship. And the erotic love that helped change Enkidu
into a civilized man. Enkidu was previously a son of a beast that had plans
to discipline Gilgamesh. However, when Gilgamesh heard of Enkidu, he sent
him a harlot to sleep with him. As a result, Enkidu became civilized.
2. Female Love:
a. Motherly Love: Gilgameshs mother loved him so he respected her
greatly and she saw that he would die. His mother was also the one
that prayed for the Gods to create a match for Gilgamesh.
b. Harlot Love: Her love domesticated our lovely friend Enkidu, says
Haifa. It was her calmness that transformed Enkidus beastly
characteristics. Harlots love was true to Enkidu, unlike Ishtars love.
c. Ishtar Love: Ishtar is the goddess of love. She tried to seduce
Gilgamesh into sleeping with her, however he refused. This resulted
in Ishtar being a total bitch (turned love into hate) and tried to
avenge for herself by sending him the BULLS OF HEAVEN which later
on killed Enkidu.
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3. The Inevitability of Death: Death fear began during Bubonic plague, so it is

very weird to find that our friend Gilgamesh was scared of death and was
searching as a result for immortality. At first, he was searching for fame, so
he went on an adventure to the Cedars to kill Humbaba and get famous. In
his opinion, fame was also a way of immortality. However, when he
witnessed Enkidus death and suffered from it. He realized that death is not
a nice thing, and therefore he started searching for physical immortality. So
he went to Utnapishtum. Utnapishtum challenged him to stay awake for 3
days; however Gilgamesh slept due to the rivers music. The main idea
behind this was to never seek something beyond what you naturally are.
Immortality is unachieved.
4. Symbolism:

1-Baptism:We see from the way Gilgamesh mourned his friend Enkido
which was he didnt wash his face and left his beard grow that cleanliness
means life to them as well as a brand new start. Also Gilgameshs mom
Ninsun washes herself before meeting with the god of Sun to ensure a safe
return for Gilgamesh and his friend Enkido from their journey to the forest
of the Cedars. Also during their adventurous journey of fame to the Forest
of the Cedars they wash themselves after they had overcome the Bull of
Heaven.
2-Religious symbols: The great walls of Urak the city of Gilgamesh that
were so tall and strong symbolize the great power of man and what they
are capable of. Also the Bull of Heaven symbolizes all types of aggression
and fury and the fact that Gilgamesh was able to fight and defeat this Bull
shows us that he is very mighty king.
3-Doorways: We see that all through Gilgamesh there was constant
mentioning of gateways and doors. For example, when Enkido stood in the
way of Gilgamesh to stop him from sleeping with the girls. Also when they
both stood dazzled before the gate of the Cedar Forest. The presence of
doors represents a new chapter of the story one in which one of the
characters will undergo change of some sort.
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Transitions:

Villages Small City States Large Empires

(3500 BC) (Sumars 2350BC) (Akkad and Sarigon around 2000BC)

Greece:

The highlights of Greece occurred between 500-BC and 500-AD. Greece

represented the very first form of civilized society they had all the food and
necessary means for their survival and they could now be able to develop their
minds. The weather of Greece helped in this development as it was much less
harsh than that of Mesopotamia.

Classical Period (500 BC- 500 AD):

Such was known as the classical period for those three reasons:

1-A characteristic phase of a period it was a period that influenced other periods
that came after it.

2-An age in which a culture flourished by itself and prospered.

3-Something that defines that period example classical pottery or classical

sculptures.

Before the Classical period:

We first have the Hellenas that came at around 1200BC to 750BC .The Greeks set
the first form of Democratic governmental systems. Also there was the
Mycenaeans and the Minoans that came in both 1400BC and 1600BC
respectively. The Minoans were very nice people that made no weapons and had
no fortification walls which were later overthrown by the Mycenaeans that were
strong and aggressive people with large fortified walls. The also had elaborate
burial techniques. Later came Dorians that destroyed the Mycenaeans.
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Gods, wars and beliefs:

They believed in Greek gods the original 5 gods that were the son of the Titans.
Then we have the Clash of the Titans, then we have the war between the
Athenians who were rich and educated and the Spartans who were aggressive
fighters and violent .That was after the defeated the Persians jointly hand in hand
in the Clash of the Titans.

The Olympic Games and Greek Drama:

Now that the Greeks have achieved both survival and comfort they were looking
for entertainment now. So they held once every four years the Olympic Games
that honors that gods where all the Greeks fighting or in peace joined to honor
the gods.

Also Greek plays occurred twice a year only in Athens where plays where written
by different people and performed life on stage, in the honor of the god of wine
and sex Dionysius .They had two types of plays:

1-Tradgedy

2-Comedy

Sophocles wrote the most popular plays and King Oedipus was one of them.

Oedipus the King:

The themes in Oedipus the King:

1-The battle between the light and the dark the fight between sights versus
blindness: We see that a clear vision in the play is very important .There is
references to insight and sight repeatedly. Although Oedipus had the gift of sight
that was he had eyes he wasnt able to see that he was the one who killed his
father the king, in contrary to Tiresias the blind man who was constantly insulted
by Oedipus was able to see the truth that Oedipus was the murderer. So at the
end when he learns of the truth Oedipus gouged his eyes out as torturing himself,
and as a punishment that also reflects the great importance of the eyes .
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2-The continuous and the many Oedipus: There was many twin references to
many thing that tells us that according to Sophocles the number two was sacred.
That is double characters were played:

1-Son/Father

2-Investigater /Criminal

3-King /Slaughterer

3-Predestination and prophecies: The fact that we have prophecies and previous
knowledge and that they all become true shows us that one cannot change his
destiny. Prophecy is a central part of Oedipus the King. The play begins with
Creons return from the oracle at Delphi, where he has learned that the plague
will be lifted if Thebes banishes the man who killed Laius. Tiresias prophesies the
capture of one who is both father and brother to his own children. Oedipus tells
Jocasta of a prophecy he heard as a youth, that he would kill his father and sleep
with his mother, and Jocasta tells Oedipus of a similar prophecy given to Laius,
that her son would grow up to kill his father. Oedipus and Jocasta debate the
extent to which prophecies should be trusted at all, and when all of the
prophecies come true, it appears that one of Sophocles aims is to justify the
powers of the gods and prophets, which had recently come under attack in fifth-
century BC Athens.

4- The Character of Oedipus the King: We see a clear shift in his character from
this hero who saves the city of Thebes from the first curse then this mighty king
blinded by his pride and tyranny who was unable to see the truth and wouldnt
listen to anyone. Then at the end we see this old helpless man who is very weak
and cannot save his girls and so he runs away.

The shift in thinking from basic reasoning to a better use of the mind:

The Greek minds started to shift to those three things:

Observe then Analyze the Pure Reason. So they now explained natural
phenomena not by myths and gods actions but now by the acts of Mother Nature.
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Then Philosophy was born:

1-The Pre-Socratic:

A-The Naturalist philosophers: Those were simply the scientists that wandered
what things were made up of.

*Thales: Who was the father of philosophy and said that everything is made
up of air and then they argued that it was water.

*Heraclitus: Who stated that everything is changing that nothing in the

universe is left constant.

*Lucius: Who said that everything was made up of invisible things called the
ATOM.

*Pythagoras: Who figured out ways to calculate non-materialistic things in

space.

*Hypocrites: Who studied the philosophy of the human body and developed
medicines.

So there were no more gods and all was left for sciences

2- The Humanists philosophers (The actual philosophers we know of today):

Those were also divided to two things the Sophists and the Socratics;

A-The Sophists: Where known as the debaters who only knew how to debate the
humans and also see how far can they go with them. They would open up
discussions where no one wins and no conclusion can be drawn.

B-Socrates: Now he was a stone mason that worked with stones and went down
to the youth interrogating them about what they thought of specific issues. He
allowed people to induce conclusions through deductive reasoning. He was then
sentenced to death and we know about all his philosophical thought through the
memoires that Plato his student wrote down after his death.
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The Allegory of the Cave: We only know from experience and also sense,
perception. Knowledge is very important and it is better than senses.