27: The Jemdet Nasr period in the land of Akkad, 3200-3000 BCE (Lugalbanda, part 2)
Guest: Kelten First, we continue the story of Lugalbanda as he leaves his mountain cave. After he submits to the country of oppression, Zangara, the god of dreams, asks him for a space knife and goats...
16 Kesä 20221h 4min
26: Uruk III Unug, 3200-3000 BCE (Lugalbanda, part 1)
Guest: Kelten First, the fragile peace has collapsed, and the virtuous king Enmerkar leads the army of fair Unug in an invasion of the faraway mountain kingdom of Aratta. However, en route to otherwis...
12 Kesä 20221h 2min
25: The invention of writing in Uruk IVA Unug, ca 3300-3200 BCE (Babel, Hymn to Nisaba)
Guest: Kelten First, a familiar story that just happens to involve monumental construction projects, clay bricks, and universal language. Behold! Then, we take a look at Unug around the 3200s BCE, whe...
24 Touko 20221h 13min
24: The Late Uruk industrial revolution in Unug, 3500-3200 BCE (Hoe vs Plow)
Guest: Liyan First, another debate poem! Hoe, child of the poor, bereft even of a loincloth, starts a quarrel with the Plow. A surprising amount of Sumerian literature boils down to the logistical com...
9 Touko 202247min
23: Unug (Uruk) and Late Uruk Sumer, 3500-3200 BCE (Hymns to Inanna)
Guest: Kirra First, we sing the praises of Inanna, patron goddess of the city of Unug, whose home temple complex was the epicenter of the Uruk-period world system. Which god compares with her? Then, w...
4 Touko 202255min
22: The Uruk period in Susiana, 3900-3200 BCE (Enmerkar vs Ensuhkeshdanna)
Guests: Kirra, Jojo First, Ensuhkeshdanna, the haughty lord of faraway Aratta, demands the submission of our hero Enmerkar, the wise king of noble Unug. When Enmerkar refuses to so debase himself, the...
30 Huhti 20221h 5min
21: The Late Uruk expansion in the north, 3500-3200 BCE (Enmerkar & the lord of Aratta, part 2)
Guest: Kelten First: the lord of Aratta devises a series of challenges to demonstrate his superiority over our hero Enmerkar, the august king of Unug, who casually invents written language two-thirds ...
21 Huhti 202243min
20: The Middle Uruk expansion in the north, 4000-3500 BCE (Enmerkar & the lord of Aratta, part 1)
Guest: Kelten First: Our hero Enmerkar, grandson of the sun-god Utu, demands tribute (in the form of labor and precious minerals) from the anonymous lord of faraway Aratta, with the blessing of his lo...
19 Huhti 202256min
