We shall read together in class, and I will provide a running commentary, and facilitate discussion, on the two great Babylonian epic poems of "Gilgamesh" and "Ishtar's descent to the Underworld". We will also look at the Mesopotamian world flood story in relation to the Noah myth, which is believed to be derived from it. Ishtar's desperate search for her lost lover will be considered in relation to other, very similar quests of goddesses for lost loved ones: Isis' for her husband Osiris (from Egypt) and Demeter's for her abducted daughter Persephone (from Greece.) You must have a copy of "Myths from Mesopotamia" by Stephanie Dalley, and "The Homeric Hymns" by Apostolos Athanassakis. We will explore other Babylonian myths from Dalley's anthology and consider the character of Babylonian mythology, so less well-known than the Greek.