Enheduanna: The World's First Author

Enheduanna: The World's First Author

It's hard to imagine a time when we didn't write things down- on stone, papyrus or parchment. Who was the first to actually put 'pen to paper' and write. Well, her name was Enheduanna. She was an Akkadian poet, writer and high priestess, remembered as the first named author in recorded history. She lived in the 3rd millennium BCE in the city-state of Ur, and was a figure of immense significance in the Mesopotamian world. As the high priestess of the moon god Nanna, she would help to cement ties between the newly merged Sumerian and Akkadian civilisations. She would also pen the first authored literary works, and her poems on womanhood and faith hold great meaning through to this day. Dan speaks to Sidney Babcock, the Jeannette and Jonathan Rosen Curator at the Morgan Library and Museum, to find out how we know so much about her, and what her significance is today.


Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.


If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!


Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.

Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Avsnitt(1491)

Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer

On a summer morning in 1945, a device known simply as 'Gadget' was detonated. An enormous explosion tore a crater into the New Mexico desert, melting sand into radioactive green glass and sending a mu...

19 Juli 202333min

Black Boxes: Recording Airplanes' Final Moments

Black Boxes: Recording Airplanes' Final Moments

They can survive in lava for half an hour and accelerations of 3,400 Gs. Their beacons can be detected 20,000 feet beneath the waves. Most shocking of all - they aren't actually black! (They're bright...

18 Juli 202332min

Prigozhin: The Fate of Russian ‘Favourites’

Prigozhin: The Fate of Russian ‘Favourites’

Russian history is defined by the rise and fall of favourites. Peter the Great had Menshikov, and Nicholas II had Rasputin. It's part of the architecture of Russian regimes that those close to the rul...

17 Juli 202326min

Napoleon

Napoleon

Did Napoleon really come from nothing and conquer everything? The release of the trailer for Ridley Scott's new epic biopic film has created hot debate among fans of the famous Frenchman everywhere. I...

16 Juli 202338min

The Picts: Scourge of Rome

The Picts: Scourge of Rome

Emerging around the 3rd century CE and later designated official adversaries of the Roman Empire, the Picts wreaked havoc across the northern fringes of Roman Britain. But due to their limited presenc...

12 Juli 202342min

Russia & USA: The 100-Year Cold War

Russia & USA: The 100-Year Cold War

The Cold War was defined by the antagonism between two world superpowers: the United States and the Soviet Union. They relied on proxy wars, espionage, disinformation, assassinations and sabotage to u...

11 Juli 202325min

The North Pole Scandal

The North Pole Scandal

In the autumn of 1909, the American explorer Frederick Cook arrived in Copenhagen, claiming to have become the first person to reach the North Pole. His dramatic return had been eagerly anticipated, b...

10 Juli 202324min

Operation Mincemeat

Operation Mincemeat

The most audacious deception operation of WWII. On the 30th of April, 1943, the corpse of a 'Major Martin' washed up near the Spanish city of Huelva. On his body, Spanish officials found secret docume...

9 Juli 202338min

Populärt inom Historia

motiv
massmordarpodden
historiska-brott
p3-historia
historiepodden-se
olosta-mord
rss-brottsligt
rss-massmordarpodden
rss-seriemordarpodden
historianu-med-urban-lindstedt
konspirationsteorier
nu-blir-det-historia
palmemordet
militarhistoriepodden
krigshistoriepodden
vetenskapsradion-historia
rss-historien-om
rss-borgvattnets-hemligheter
bedragare
rss-folkets-historia