I found it interesting that the story of Noah could have been copied from other more ancient stories. It reminds me of the fiction series by Brian Godawa 'Chronicles of the Nephilim'. The first book is 'Noah Primeval' and weaves together Sumerian and other Mesopotamian mythology within the book. Ziusudra, Utnapishtim and Atrahasis are all there along with Noah. The author has done extensive research and the series is fascinating to read.
I'm glad that I stumbled across your newsletter today. It seems very interesting, innovative, and read-worthy. Looking forward to looking at more of your work!
I hadn't seen The New Yorker cartoon before. Powerful.
When I began my grad studies in mythology, one of the hardest things to let go of was the idea of the "original" myth. As a culture that has been suckled on "truth" coming from written texts, this is an idea that's difficult to overcome. I think most scholars would agree that the challenge began with the advent of writing, even before the invention of the printing press, for most of what was written was just copied. Whereas, oral stories even as they are iterative are prone to flourishes according to the listener and speaker. A bit like the telephone game. And the fluidity of the oral story allowed it to adapt to cultural changes as well. Whereas anything written became a stamped authority of sorts, a reference point for all iterations moving forward.
I hadn't thought of "Don't Look Up" as a flood story. And yes, your take on Noah's Ark is one of my favorites as well. :)
I remember the first time I heard the story of Enki helping the humans and was like, hmm 🤔😄
I found it interesting that the story of Noah could have been copied from other more ancient stories. It reminds me of the fiction series by Brian Godawa 'Chronicles of the Nephilim'. The first book is 'Noah Primeval' and weaves together Sumerian and other Mesopotamian mythology within the book. Ziusudra, Utnapishtim and Atrahasis are all there along with Noah. The author has done extensive research and the series is fascinating to read.
I'm glad that I stumbled across your newsletter today. It seems very interesting, innovative, and read-worthy. Looking forward to looking at more of your work!
I hadn't seen The New Yorker cartoon before. Powerful.
When I began my grad studies in mythology, one of the hardest things to let go of was the idea of the "original" myth. As a culture that has been suckled on "truth" coming from written texts, this is an idea that's difficult to overcome. I think most scholars would agree that the challenge began with the advent of writing, even before the invention of the printing press, for most of what was written was just copied. Whereas, oral stories even as they are iterative are prone to flourishes according to the listener and speaker. A bit like the telephone game. And the fluidity of the oral story allowed it to adapt to cultural changes as well. Whereas anything written became a stamped authority of sorts, a reference point for all iterations moving forward.
I hadn't thought of "Don't Look Up" as a flood story. And yes, your take on Noah's Ark is one of my favorites as well. :)