Speaker 1: Hi, Hello, this is let's talk about myths baby. I
Speaker 1: am live, and I am here with a special episode.
Speaker 1: An interruption in the plans I made at the end
Speaker 1: of twenty nineteen. I shouldn't have to be here. I
Speaker 1: shouldn't have had to be inspired by the absolute insane
Speaker 1: levels of fucked up that's going on right now. But
Speaker 1: I am, and I honestly just couldn't let this pass
Speaker 1: by without me using this platform in a way that
Speaker 1: makes me proud. So we're not starting on the in
Speaker 1: need quite yet. Instead, we're going to cover one of
Speaker 1: the many examples of how one civilization was far more evolved,
Speaker 1: far more impressive, and far earlier than the Greeks or
Speaker 1: the Romans ever were. Quick warning, this is a no
Speaker 1: holds barred episode, as if that weren't already clear. If
Speaker 1: you don't want to hear me ship talk the bullshit
Speaker 1: going on in the country a little southeast of me
Speaker 1: right now, then you don't need to listen. I think
Speaker 1: you should because it's important, but you don't need to.
Speaker 1: So with that out of the way, today's episode is
Speaker 1: about the historical significance of the countries that white warmongers
Speaker 1: refused to stop fucking with seeing the news over the
Speaker 1: past couple of weeks and going on Twitter, how could
Speaker 1: anyone not think, holy fucking ship, what is happening? Like, honestly,
Speaker 1: what is happening? I lived through the two thousand's, sure
Speaker 1: it was in high school, and didn't fully register everything
Speaker 1: because thank god I lived in Canada. But our people
Speaker 1: went over there too, because my country was convinced, like
Speaker 1: so many were, by the spewing of utter bullshit that
Speaker 1: was the Bush administration. We don't fetishize military service in
Speaker 1: the same way in Canada. We don't somehow believe ourselves
Speaker 1: to be the best of the best of the best.
Speaker 1: We would never consider ourselves to be the leaders of
Speaker 1: the free world, which, by the way, is an insane
Speaker 1: thing to assign yourself and guess what, you're definitely not anymore,
Speaker 1: to say the utter least. It's called amility. And as
Speaker 1: much as I'm not proud of my country and my
Speaker 1: Prime Minister in so many ways lately, I am forever
Speaker 1: thankful that we aren't ruled by a warmongering, racist cabal
Speaker 1: of lunatics. Seriously, I wanted more listeners, but here I
Speaker 1: am because I also just can't have this platform and
Speaker 1: not use it right now, But I fucking digress. We're
Speaker 1: here today to cover the epic of Gilgamesh, an incredible
Speaker 1: piece of literature written long long before Homer's Iliad and
Speaker 1: Odyssey from Mesopotamia. The people who invented writing long before
Speaker 1: the Greeks, who invented the wheel, who were an incredibly
Speaker 1: evolved society long before the Greeks ever were And where
Speaker 1: were these people that were so much more evolved than
Speaker 1: the so called founders of the Western world, These people
Speaker 1: who came about before well most evidence of any white
Speaker 1: people anywhere, well, they were in Iraq, parts of Iran,
Speaker 1: in parts of Syria too. They're just a civilization we
Speaker 1: don't talk about very much because they weren't white and
Speaker 1: their region is full of oil. This is episode sixty nine.
Speaker 1: Mesopotamia did it first? The epoch of fucking Gilgamesh. The
Speaker 1: term Mesopotamia is surprise surprise Greek, it means the two rivers.
Speaker 1: This is because the civilizations that made up Mesopotamia were
Speaker 1: based around the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers. It wasn't
Speaker 1: one society that were multiple that shared certain aspects, similar
Speaker 1: to the ancient Greek city states where the term Greece
Speaker 1: and Greek was completely non existent. In Mesopotamia, there were
Speaker 1: the Sumerians and the Acadians, and in those groups were
Speaker 1: the Babylonians and the Assyrians. These groups didn't share everything.
Speaker 1: They had different laws and customs between the Sumerians and
Speaker 1: the Acadians, and two languages from which we get the
Speaker 1: names for their societies in general. But what they did
Speaker 1: sa air is fascinating. For one, there's a period where
Speaker 1: bilingualism was common in the region. Like the ancient people
Speaker 1: would speak Sumerian and Acadian, and they shared a pantheon
Speaker 1: of gods. It was incredibly important for them to be literate,
Speaker 1: which was rare in ancient cultures. They shared a system
Speaker 1: of writing. They both wrote in Cuneic form, some of
Speaker 1: the first evidence of writing that we have like ever.
Speaker 1: And just to really throw a wrench in the idea
Speaker 1: that anything about the Greeks was superior to other more
Speaker 1: ancient civilizations, women had rights in Mesopotamia. I'll say that again.
Speaker 1: In Mesopotamia, women had rights rights basically equal to the
Speaker 1: men on fucking heard of in ancient Greece. Let me
Speaker 1: tell you these women, though they farmed, they owned their
Speaker 1: own land, what a concept rights, freedoms? And what else
Speaker 1: did Mesopotamians do first? You ask, Let me tell you.
Speaker 1: They were the first to develop agric culture and farming,
Speaker 1: including irrigation, and of course with that came inventing tools
Speaker 1: of all kinds. They were the first to domesticate animals.
Speaker 1: They were the first to develop sophisticated weaponry and the
Speaker 1: warfare that went along with it. Of course, I mentioned
Speaker 1: they invented the wheel, and by doing so, they also
Speaker 1: invented the chariot. They were the first to come up
Speaker 1: with the concept of time in hours, minutes, seconds, and finally,
Speaker 1: and most importantly, they invented beer and wine. We owe
Speaker 1: these people everything. One day I'll find the sources and
Speaker 1: time to do a more thorough episode on Mesopotamia. They
Speaker 1: were incredible and are so often overshadowed by the Greeks
Speaker 1: and others when we discussed the founding of humanity as
Speaker 1: we know it. The Western world likes to ignore founders
Speaker 1: of civilization that weren't white. And add to that that
Speaker 1: the region is now where they want to get all
Speaker 1: their oil from. It's a whole ship show of pretending
Speaker 1: like these people didn't give us everything we have today.
Speaker 1: Mesopotamia is primarily what we now call modern Iraq, and
Speaker 1: they lasted until they were overtaken by the Persian Empire
Speaker 1: of what is now it Ran. But like I said,
Speaker 1: one day, I'll just really go off about the history
Speaker 1: mythology of Mesopotamia. But today's episode was last minute because
Speaker 1: we're two weeks into and the world is on fire,
Speaker 1: both literally and figuratively. And why because oil and money,
Speaker 1: and corruption and capitalism and a lunatic in chief. The
Speaker 1: Epic of Gilgamash is one of the oldest pieces of
Speaker 1: literature ever discovered. It was written in cunetic form script
Speaker 1: on clay tablets. The most complete version we have dates
Speaker 1: to between the twelfth and tenth centuries b c e.
Speaker 1: That's a few hundred years before Homer allegedly wrote the
Speaker 1: Iliot and the Odyssey, and that's the most complete version,
Speaker 1: not the oldest version, because this was a story told
Speaker 1: many times in many places. It's evolved from its original form,
Speaker 1: which was a series of Sumerian legends from a thousand
Speaker 1: or two thousand years before the most complete written version,
Speaker 1: so thousands of years before the Greeks. The oldest form
Speaker 1: of Greek writing we have, which is still later than
Speaker 1: any of this. Just noted the contents of storage units
Speaker 1: and who traded what olive oil with whom? You know.
Speaker 1: I love the Greek, but I want to emphasize just
Speaker 1: how revolutionary and evolved the Mesopotamians were by comparison. There's
Speaker 1: a reason it's called the cradle of civilization. But Gilgamesh
Speaker 1: on to Gilgamesh, this oldest piece of literature. Gilgamesh is
Speaker 1: a king of Uruk, a godly king, part god and
Speaker 1: part human. It's believed that the story is indeed based
Speaker 1: on a real king. That I suppose we have to
Speaker 1: assume that king was all human. You never know, though
Speaker 1: the Mesopotamians were far more advanced. Perhaps they did have
Speaker 1: a god king too. Gilgamesh, king of Uruk, is said
Speaker 1: to be blessed. He's in this dial of Heracles. He's strong, wise, beautiful,
Speaker 1: He's everything you want a king to be and more.
Speaker 1: He's also a dick, another standard king trait. I would
Speaker 1: argue Gilgamash is becoming tyrannical, and his people are attempting
Speaker 1: to rise up against him in whatever way they can.
Speaker 1: Gilgamesh is oppressive. He's forcing the men to take part
Speaker 1: in games of strength of forced labor. It's not entirely
Speaker 1: clear which, but they're being oppressed and forced into something,
Speaker 1: and the women well as per mythology, Gilgamash is forcing
Speaker 1: all the women to have sex with him, usually on
Speaker 1: their wedding nights, before they have sex with their new husband,
Speaker 1: but after they're married. He's an incredibly classy man, and
Speaker 1: I would say that the Greeks likely found some inspiration
Speaker 1: in Old Gilgamesh when they were developing their own mythologies.
Speaker 1: There's some similarities there. In answer to these actions by Gilgamesh,
Speaker 1: the people of Uruk call upon their gods to help
Speaker 1: them against this tyrannical king. They called to the goddess Aruru,
Speaker 1: the goddess who created humankind to begin with. They ask
Speaker 1: her to create something that could stand up to Gilgamesh.
Speaker 1: As he is two thirds God, the people themselves don't
Speaker 1: stand a chance against him, and so Aruru creates a man,
Speaker 1: a wild man named in Kid. Much like the creation
Speaker 1: story of the Greeks. Aruru creates this new man from
Speaker 1: a lump of clay, and Kid rivals Gilgamesh in size
Speaker 1: and strength, but he begins his life living wildly amongst
Speaker 1: the animals and not among the other humans of Aruk,
Speaker 1: and kid is discovered by a young man, a trapper.
Speaker 1: He doesn't live in the city of Aruk, but in
Speaker 1: the countryside. His livelihood is trapping and hunting animals, but
Speaker 1: in Katu is preventing him from doing this, and Kadu
Speaker 1: releases the trapped animals and keeps them safe from hunters.
Speaker 1: But the trapper can see from Afar that in Kidu
Speaker 1: is no match for him. He's enormous and so strong
Speaker 1: the man doesn't dare approach him himself. The trapper tells
Speaker 1: all of this to his father, who suggests he go
Speaker 1: find Gilgamesh and Urug. Gilgamesh himself is enormous and strong,
Speaker 1: and so if anyone can stop this wild man from
Speaker 1: freeing all the animals and causing all this trouble, it's Gilgamesh.
Speaker 1: So the trapper visits Gilgamesh and Uruk, and the king
Speaker 1: has a plan. The plan may also have originated with
Speaker 1: the trappers of father, but it worked. That's thousands of
Speaker 1: years old and also translated from a very ancient language
Speaker 1: and was originally written in verse on clay tablets. Means
Speaker 1: following along is sometimes left to the imagination. So Gilgamesh
Speaker 1: has a plan to lure and kid this mysterious wild
Speaker 1: man from the forest where he's been causing real trouble
Speaker 1: for this trapper man, take sham Hat with you, he
Speaker 1: tells the trapper. She'll be able to lure this man
Speaker 1: from the forests. You see, sham Hat is what we
Speaker 1: would now politely were for it too, as a sex worker.
Speaker 1: But as we all know, it's the oldest profession in
Speaker 1: the world. Get yours, ladies, So sham Hat is the
Speaker 1: real savior here. Sham Hat goes with the trapper back
Speaker 1: to where he's been seeing in key Do, and she
Speaker 1: approaches this enormous, super strong wild man to entice in
Speaker 1: key Do, and on the instruction of the trapper, sham
Speaker 1: Hat legit just strips down to nothing and walks up
Speaker 1: to him like, Hi, I'm a naked woman, and that's
Speaker 1: really all you need to know, and it is. She
Speaker 1: walks up to him naked, and and key Do is
Speaker 1: basically just like, yep, let's do this, and so they
Speaker 1: have a lot of sex. It's said that sham Hat
Speaker 1: here does the work of a man. I think that
Speaker 1: basically just means she takes control of the sex they're having,
Speaker 1: which really is just refreshing. Would you look at this
Speaker 1: a myth where a woman is all, let's have some wild,
Speaker 1: consensual sex in the forest, you harry, unwashed wild man.
Speaker 1: They do this for six days and seven nights. Yeah,
Speaker 1: six days and seven nights, and not on and off. No, because,
Speaker 1: as it's translated here, and Kidu is erect for six
Speaker 1: days and seven nights. And after all that, sham Hat
Speaker 1: very easily convinces and Ketu to return to Uruk with her.
Speaker 1: She tells him about the gods of the city, Anu
Speaker 1: and Ishtar, and of Gilgamesh, the big strong king. And
Speaker 1: Ketu is keen. He's gotten the taste of living amongst
Speaker 1: humans and he's down for more of it. I will
Speaker 1: absolutely come along with you, he tells sham Hat. And
Speaker 1: I will roll up to the city of Uruk and
Speaker 1: make very clear that I am stronger and mightier than Gilgamesh,
Speaker 1: and I'll just mix things up in the city, keep
Speaker 1: it fresh. Sham Hat tries to tone down and Ketu's
Speaker 1: plants here. Nah, Gilgamesh is pretty impressive. She tells him.
Speaker 1: He's blessed why the gods and you really shouldn't funk
Speaker 1: with him. Sham Hat wants Himkidu to come back to
Speaker 1: Uruk with her, but she doesn't want him to die
Speaker 1: at the moment he gets there. Meanwhile, in Uruk, Gilgamesh
Speaker 1: has a dream. He speaks to his mother about it,
Speaker 1: and she tells him that he will soon find a
Speaker 1: friend and equal who he can really confide in. Sham
Speaker 1: Had brings him kid into town, where he's greeted and
Speaker 1: welcomed by the people. They give him bread and ale,
Speaker 1: but he doesn't know what to do with those things.
Speaker 1: So sham Had shows him just how good the bread
Speaker 1: is to eat, and how wonderfully yummy and nice ale is,
Speaker 1: and oh does he appreciate the ale. Before long, he's
Speaker 1: a little drunk, and he's singing and dancing in his
Speaker 1: new life with the people of Uruk. A local barber
Speaker 1: cleans him up, makes him look more like a person,
Speaker 1: less like an ancient sask Watch. And before long and
Speaker 1: Keto is living amongst the people, making friends. In time,
Speaker 1: and Keto and sham Had attend a wedding. This is
Speaker 1: whereing keyto learns of the practices of the king Gilgamesh,
Speaker 1: and Katy was told quite bluntly how Gilgamesh will have
Speaker 1: sex with the bride after the ceremony, as is the custom,
Speaker 1: and the groom while he gets to have sex with
Speaker 1: her after a lovely practice definitely won the woman appreciates.
Speaker 1: I'm sure let alone the groom anyway, and Keyto sees
Speaker 1: the issue with this. Even though he's new to the
Speaker 1: customs of humankind, he thinks, not great, that's weird, he
Speaker 1: tells the man who's explaining this to him. It sounds wrong.
Speaker 1: So when Keyto makes a plan. When Gilgamesh comes to
Speaker 1: have sex with the woman who's just been married, and
Speaker 1: Keto is there to stop him, he quite literally places
Speaker 1: his leg in front of the doorway so Gilgamesh can't enter.
Speaker 1: It's kind of a funny image, really, but Gilgamesh isn't laughing.
Speaker 1: The two men end up fighting. They're pretty evenly matched,
Speaker 1: but in the end it's Gilgamesh who decides to spare
Speaker 1: and kid. He must be this friend Gilgamesh saw in
Speaker 1: his dreams this equal, So only moments after they've begun
Speaker 1: their fight, the two men stop and make up their friends.
Speaker 1: Now Gilgamesh and Keto become fast friends. That it started
Speaker 1: in quite the odd manner before long. Gilgamesh is introducing
Speaker 1: in Kidu to his mother, the goddess nin Son, referred
Speaker 1: to as a wild cow nin Son. She sounds cool.
Speaker 1: They speak of inn kid where he's from, how he
Speaker 1: has no family, and Gilgamesh decides he'll be in Kido's
Speaker 1: family his brother. Together, he says they'll go into the
Speaker 1: forest of Cedar. Gilgamesh decides this it's a place that's
Speaker 1: guarded by the monstrous Humbaba, a beast put there by
Speaker 1: the god in Lil to protect the forest. This decision
Speaker 1: seems to come out of nowhere in the text, but
Speaker 1: there are lots of pieces missing. What's hard to say.
Speaker 1: One interpretation i've been reading notes that this comes years
Speaker 1: later after their friendship. That makes more sense, but I
Speaker 1: also can't find that anywhere in the translation, So take
Speaker 1: from it what you will. Gilgamesh proposes to and ky
Speaker 1: Do that they travel to the forest of Cedars, where
Speaker 1: they can defeat the monstrous Humbaba. Gilgamesh explains to and
Speaker 1: Kydo that he wishes to sneak up on Humbaba and
Speaker 1: scare him from his lair. Why, I don't know. And
Speaker 1: kid though, realizes this is a very bad plan. He
Speaker 1: tells Gilgamesh that he knows of Humbaba. He'd had dealings
Speaker 1: with and around him, and heard even more when he
Speaker 1: was living out in the forest amongst the animals. If
Speaker 1: anyone can understand the threat posed by the monster Humbaba,
Speaker 1: it's in kid. He tries his best to explain this
Speaker 1: all to Gilgamesh, but Gilgamesh isn't having it. He wants
Speaker 1: to go after Humbaba, and he wants to do it
Speaker 1: with and Ki do. The more of the men discuss Humbaba,
Speaker 1: the more terrifying he becomes. Quote his voice is the deluge,
Speaker 1: his speech is fire, his breath is death. Gilgamesh is keen, though,
Speaker 1: and he begins espousing all the reasons he wishes to
Speaker 1: do this. He wants to prove the power of Uruk,
Speaker 1: how wide reaching the city's dominances. He wants the cedar
Speaker 1: trees of the Forest of Cedars, a forest sacred to
Speaker 1: the god and Lil. He wants the fame that would
Speaker 1: come with the defeat of Humbaba. But and Kido just
Speaker 1: wants to convince Gilgamesh what a horrible idea this is.
Speaker 1: In the end, though, Gilgamesh chooses not to listen to
Speaker 1: the warnings of en ki Do and those of his advisers.
Speaker 1: They've all told him not to go to the Forest
Speaker 1: of Cedars, not to try to defeat Humbaba, whose voice
Speaker 1: is the deluge, whose speech is five, or whose breath
Speaker 1: is death. They go, both men being advised to stick together,
Speaker 1: to trust their friend to protect each other. Before they leave,
Speaker 1: the men visit Gilgamesh's mother, the goddess nin Son, who
Speaker 1: gives them both advice. First, she tries to convince them
Speaker 1: once more not to go through with this plan. Of course,
Speaker 1: and Kid doesn't need to be convinced. He's tried to
Speaker 1: do the same and is now just going along with
Speaker 1: his stubborn friend out of pure love and devotion. When
Speaker 1: Nin Sun finally accepts the Gilgamesh cannot be convinced to
Speaker 1: give up his quest entirely. She turns to another god
Speaker 1: to ask for his protection. Nin Son calls upon the
Speaker 1: sun god Shamash to protect her son, to turn the
Speaker 1: winds of the world against him, Baba to provide whatever
Speaker 1: he can to Gilgamesh and in Kid in their perilous
Speaker 1: quest into the Forest of Cedars. Gilgamesh and then Kid
Speaker 1: journey to the Forest of Cedars every three days, they
Speaker 1: pause their trip in order to complete a ritual calling
Speaker 1: upon dreams as good omens for their quest to defeat Humbaba.
Speaker 1: But every time Gilgamesh wakes from a nightmare, in Kid,
Speaker 1: through his experience in the wilds of the forest, interprets
Speaker 1: Gilgamesh's nightmares as good omens, just as they've been looking for,
Speaker 1: even though the dreams themselves are far from enjoyable for Gilgamesh.
Speaker 1: This continues. Every three days, the men perform the ceremony
Speaker 1: the rights necessary in order to call upon the dreams,
Speaker 1: and every three days Gilgamesh wakes from the dream and
Speaker 1: relays it to ki Do. Gilgamesh dreams of mountains coming
Speaker 1: down upon him, of the earth shaking beneath them. He
Speaker 1: fears the dreams, but every time and Kido reassures him
Speaker 1: that the mountain and the dream or the earth rumbling
Speaker 1: in the dream are not Humbaba, and that they will
Speaker 1: defeat him Baba, just as they hope and plan. The
Speaker 1: two men continue on their journey, getting closer and closer
Speaker 1: to the Forest of Cedars. As they approach, Gilgamesh questions
Speaker 1: himself and his abilities, but they've gone too far now,
Speaker 1: and Kid, who knows they can't turn back, so he
Speaker 1: must keep Gilgamesh motivated, convince him that he is powerful
Speaker 1: enough to defeat Humbaba, and that they must stay brave
Speaker 1: and strong as they get closer to the monstrous giants lair,
Speaker 1: and finally they reach it. Much of these tablets are
Speaker 1: lost or fragmented, but from what is left we know
Speaker 1: that with the help of in Kid, gilgamesh Is fear
Speaker 1: is finally replaced with the bravery he had before they
Speaker 1: set out in the first place. The to fight Humbaba,
Speaker 1: sometimes described as an ogre or a demon something bad,
Speaker 1: but they need help against him, so finally the sun
Speaker 1: god Shamash helps the men, just as Gilgamesh's mother nin
Speaker 1: Son asked him to, Shamash sends all the winds of
Speaker 1: the world against Humbaba, weakening him greatly. This is when
Speaker 1: Humbaba knows he'll be defeated by Gilgamesh and then Kid
Speaker 1: and pleads for his life. He calls upon Gilgamesh's youth
Speaker 1: as a reason for his mercy. Humbaba tells Gilgamesh that
Speaker 1: if he spares his life, he will protect the forest
Speaker 1: of Cedars for Gilgamesh, that he'll protect everything in the
Speaker 1: forest in his name, that the trees protected by Humbaba
Speaker 1: can be the timber for the palace of Gilgamesh himself,
Speaker 1: and Kido steps in, though, telling Gilgamesh not to trust Humbaba,
Speaker 1: that they must kill him after traveling this far for
Speaker 1: this purpose. Himbaba then turns to plead within Kid, recognizing
Speaker 1: that it's he who holds the fate in his hands,
Speaker 1: and Kid has the ability to convince Gilgamesh either way,
Speaker 1: but in it won't be convinced by Himbaba. He continues,
Speaker 1: telling Gilgamesh that they must kill this monstrous being, that
Speaker 1: the gods will punish them if they realize what they're
Speaker 1: there to do, that they must do it quickly before
Speaker 1: the gods can see, and Kido pleads with Gilgamesh to
Speaker 1: do it, and to do it quickly. Humbaba realizes it's over,
Speaker 1: but before Gilgamesh can slay him on and Kido's urging,
Speaker 1: Humbaba curses the both of them for what they're about
Speaker 1: to do. He tells the pair of men that they
Speaker 1: will not grow old and that no one will bury
Speaker 1: and Kid except gail Gamesh himself. At this finally, Gilgamesh
Speaker 1: slays Humbaba stabbing the creature through the neck. Then apparently
Speaker 1: and Keto takes Himbaba's lungs, and they both take some
Speaker 1: tusks as trophies. So I guess this guy had tusks.
Speaker 1: Sounds pretty badass sucks they killed him to protect or
Speaker 1: of a forest. Well, friends, that is part one of
Speaker 1: the Epic of Gilgamesh. Part two will come next week,
Speaker 1: and then I promised will move on to the idead.
Speaker 1: Thank you all for listening. I felt it was incredibly
Speaker 1: important to take this opportunity not to continue talking about
Speaker 1: works in the Western canon, but instead to focus on
Speaker 1: works that influenced the Western cannon and are often forgotten entirely.
Speaker 1: I know this particular story is still famous as hell,
Speaker 1: but it's nowhere near as wide reaching as the Iliat
Speaker 1: or the Odyssey, even though it came long long before
Speaker 1: those two and influenced so many societies, including the Greeks.
Speaker 1: It's no coincidence the Greek myth resemble much of the
Speaker 1: details from the Epic of Gilgamesh. And just wait until
Speaker 1: next week. Part two has a fucking flood that yeah,
Speaker 1: influenced both the Flood story and Antia Greece, as well
Speaker 1: as the biblical story of the flood. Mesopotamia as a
Speaker 1: whole was wildly important to the evolution of the ancient
Speaker 1: Greeks and the ancient everybody in that region. They were
Speaker 1: trading partners for the Greeks and would have had a
Speaker 1: lot of contact with the Greeks when their civilization began
Speaker 1: and evolved. I hope to delve a little deeper into
Speaker 1: more of the historical significances of the Mesopotamians and their gods.
Speaker 1: So many of their gods influenced the development of the
Speaker 1: Greek gods, though it's hard to find concrete examples. My
Speaker 1: biggest issue when it comes to telling you more about
Speaker 1: these people in their history is that one one studies classics,
Speaker 1: so little of it touches upon this more ancient culture,
Speaker 1: simply because it doesn't get included in this genesis of
Speaker 1: the Western world, even though it's hugely important, if not
Speaker 1: completely vital, to the development of the Greeks. All my
Speaker 1: books are on Greece and Rome, and as are all
Speaker 1: the books I can find in bookstores. I don't have
Speaker 1: access to more academic texts anymore, so just getting these
Speaker 1: details is tricky enough. I've had to rely on a
Speaker 1: number of websites. Everything's listed in the episode description as well.
Speaker 1: I have this translation of the Epic of a Mesh
Speaker 1: that does provide some historical context. Anyway, that region of
Speaker 1: the world is where so many things started, so long
Speaker 1: before any of the cultures that get the credit for
Speaker 1: Western society, but they get forgotten or relegated to a
Speaker 1: less important status because of xenophobia and racism all influenced
Speaker 1: by the geopolitical climate of that region. But the geopolitical
Speaker 1: climate of that region is also influenced by racism, not
Speaker 1: to mention the Western world's obsession with oil and the
Speaker 1: money that comes from oil. Add to that an unhinged
Speaker 1: power hungry tyrant and control of a country like the US,
Speaker 1: and you've got disaster. Because Bush didn't do enough damage
Speaker 1: in Iraq and Afghanistan, Trump now wants to funk with
Speaker 1: the country that's in between the two. Anyway, I'm not
Speaker 1: a scholar. I don't have a background in politics or
Speaker 1: the Middle East, but I do have a grounding in
Speaker 1: the classics, and I have eyes and ears, and I
Speaker 1: just felt like I had to do this small thing
Speaker 1: to spread some knowledge about the history and significance of
Speaker 1: this region and Don't get me wrong, I am not
Speaker 1: defending modern Iran or what they're doing. But don't think
Speaker 1: for a second that Trump is trying to actually help
Speaker 1: the Iranians with what he's doing ing. My point is
Speaker 1: just to emphasize the historical significance in the history in
Speaker 1: general of this region that we just don't talk about enough.
Speaker 1: And hopefully, though this is it, hopefully by the time
Speaker 1: I finished the story of Gilgamesh, there won't be anymore
Speaker 1: from either side. I don't even know how to end
Speaker 1: this so much. Just thanks for listening. I hope you
Speaker 1: enjoyed this divergence from Greece and Rome. My American listeners,
Speaker 1: I know you're probably the good ones. Don't take any
Speaker 1: of this personally, but also don't get complacent or think
Speaker 1: that because you're the good ones that there aren't bad
Speaker 1: ones that you can help stop. Thanks anyway, I love
Speaker 1: you all, and I love this ship.