China's Middle East Diplomatic Strategy Construction

Carefully review the following essay prompt. First, draft an
outline showing your intended thesis statement and supports.
Put your outline on the first page of the essay. Next, write the
essay. Your essay needs to be at least a page long. It must
include: a title, an introduction, a clear thesis statement, and
well-supported paragraphs. Make sure to include specific
textual support in your answer. Direct quotations are not
necessary, but if you quote, paraphrase, or summarize make sure
to provide proper attribution.
Essay prompt. Define and explain epic poetry, giving a detailed
explanation of common themes and form. Compare/contrast the
epic traditions of all of the following texts: The Epic of
Gilgamesh, The Iliad, The Ramayana, and Sunjata.
Research on China's Middle East Diplomatic Strategy
Construction
I. The Importance of the Middle East Diplomatic Strategy to
China
The President of China Xi Jinping's first trip to the Middle East
in early 2016 opened a new chapter in China-Middle East
relations. Based on the analysis of current situation changes and
trends in the Middle East, combining with the development
strategy of big country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics,
this paper puts forward the necessity and feasibility of
constructing China's Middle East diplomatic strategy, and
considers its connotation, goals, key points and practical paths.
This paper believes that the core concept of China's Middle East
diplomatic strategy should be: to inherit the friendship and
consensus, strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation, achieve
common development, uphold fairness and justice, and promote
stable peace. The main objectives are: to enhance all-round

cooperation with the Middle East countries and expand China's
presence and national interests in the Middle East, enhance
China’s strategic presence in the Middle East, make China’s
politically more influential, economically more competitive.
The basic idea is: motivate, move forward, and steadily
advance, make full use of its own advantages, actively shape the
regional environment conducive to the development of all
countries and the new relationship between China and the
Middle East countries, seek development opportunities in
constructive participation, and strengthen economic
cooperation, accumulate political consensus and promote the
right to speak and influence in the process of actively
maintaining regional stability and promoting regional peace.
From a regional perspective, the Middle East countries are
gradually entering a period of comprehensive transformation.
Although the various forces to start the game and even the
conflict is still the main feature of some Middle Eastern
countries at this stage, stability and development will
eventually become the main theme of political and social
transformation in the Middle East. After the turmoil in the first
few years of the upheaval in the Middle East, the current
Middle East countries are determined by the people's minds and
need to absorb the "positive energy" of the world to help them
achieve a smooth transition. China has accumulated reforms,
developments and stability during the years of transformation.
The geographical position of the Middle East is important, the
strategic resources are abundant, the ethnic and religious
contradictions are prominent, and the geopolitical relationship
is complex. It is one of the most important sectors in the
international strategic structure and an important stage for
China to carry out great-nation diplomacy. The Middle East is
an important region for China to expand its political, economic
and security interests and expand its political and cultural
influence in the future. It is also a key area for China to
promote the construction of the “Belt and Road”. In recent

years, the situation in the Middle East has undergone
tremendous changes. Regional countries have gradually entered
a period of sustained and in-depth political and social
transformation. The regional geopolitical pattern has also been
differentiated and reorganized due to the Middle East changes
and adjustment of the America’s Middle East strategy. These
changes pose challenges to China's interests in the Middle East
and China's relations with the Middle East, as well as new
opportunities. Under the premise of China's clear diplomatic
strategy, it is imperative that China participate more in Middle
East affairs, develop relations with the Middle East countries
more closely, and protect China's interests in the Middle East
more effectively. Under the new situation, it is necessary to
build a diplomatic strategy in the Middle East in a timely
manner.
II. Status Quo in the Middle East
Since the end of 2010, the situation in the Middle East has
undergone profound changes. These changes are mainly caused
by two major factors: first, the drastic changes in the Middle
East and the second is the strategic adjustment in the Middle
East of US. The former promoted the political transformation of
the countries in the Middle East, but it also triggered the
continued turmoil in the regional situation and the resurgence of
extremism; the latter broke the balance of the original
geopolitical pattern of the region and intensified the
contradictions among the regional countries. Both have their
own development trajectories, but also interact with and
influence each other.
A. Several characteristics of the current situation in the Middle
East
The current complex and volatile situation in the Middle East is
still largely influenced by the development trend of the above

two factors, but it also presents some new features.
First, the radical "revolution" presented in the early stages of
the dramatic changes in the Middle East has a tendency to ebb,
and the demands of the people tend to be rational. Good
governance and good governance have become the basic
yardstick for judging the legitimacy of the government and
testing the ability of those in power to rule the country. Since
the upheaval in the Middle East, most of the transition countries
have fallen into the double dilemma of political and economic
reconstruction to varying degrees, and some countries are still
in social turmoil. The reason is that on the one hand, these
countries continue to pay for the chaos caused by the radical
"revolutionary" movement in the early stage; on the other hand,
they also reflect the prevailing governance difficulties in the
Middle East. In some countries, the new government is
incapable of coping with various political games and sectarian
and tribal disputes. From a deeper perspective, the “governance
crisis” prevailing in the Middle East makes it easier for some
Muslims to be confused by the extreme religious ideas
advocated by extremist organizations such as the “Islamic
State”. The threat of renewed turmoil in the country due to poor
governance has become a new real problem in many countries.
At present, stabilizing the society and improving people's
livelihood have become the basic demands of the people of most
countries in the Middle East for the government.
Second, the regional traditional hotspot issues have new
development momentum. For a long time, Israel has been
accustomed to adopting the unchanging stance and policies on
the Palestinian-Israeli issue to deal with various pressures and
challenges by virtue of its strong alliance with the United
States. Today, the relationship between the United States and
Israel is changing quietly. With the shift of the US strategic
focus, Israel’s position in the geopolitical landscape of the
Middle East and its importance in the US Middle East strategy

have declined. At the same time, the fact that Sweden, Britain,
France and other Western countries have recently approved the
parliamentary vote of Palestine through the parliamentary vote,
which also shows that "the Palestinian state is the only way to
solve the Palestinian-Israeli problem" has become an
international consensus. This trend of gradual strengthening has
put tremendous pressure on Israel. In addition, the historic
agreement on the Iranian nuclear issue and the easing of
relations between the United States and Iran will undoubtedly
have an important impact on the changes in the geopolitical
landscape in the Middle East.
Third, extreme ideas and terrorist threats have surpassed
traditional military conflicts and become the biggest hidden
danger affecting the security of the current Middle East. The
resurgence of extremism and terrorism are the products of the
chaos in the Middle East in recent years and are also closely
related to the intensified game of religious ideology in the
region. In fact, the struggles and games between different sects
and various ideological trends within the religion have existed
for a long time, but the extreme of such struggles and games are
mostly related to the deterioration of the regional situation. The
long-term instability of the Iraqi political situation and the long
delay in the Syrian civil war have led directly to the rise of
extremist organizations such as the "Islamic State". And the
international and regional countries have been slowed to form a
synergy in the fight against the extremist organization "Islamic
State". At present, although the international community has a
consensus on the harm of extremist organizations such as the
"Islamic State", it has not been able to achieve concerted action
in counter-terrorism operations. In addition to the means of air
raids, the United States lacks long-term strategic planning in
response to the current extreme trends of thought and terrorism
in the Middle East. It has not prepared for a protracted war and
is unwilling to invest more resources. This has led the United
States to mainly promote regional and international anti-

terrorism alliances, a strategy to jointly address the threat of
extremist organizations in the “Islamic State”. While regional
countries are wary of the dangers of the “Islamic State”
organization, geopolitical and sectarian factors remain the main
obstacles for the Sunni countries to fight the extremist
organization. Many people in the Sunni country believe that the
"Islamic State" organization represents "the Sunni resistance in
the fight against the Shiites, which is fighting against the
Shiites." In addition, there are still major differences between
the United States and other Western and major countries and
Iran in resolving the Syrian crisis and stabilizing the chaos in
Iraq. It is difficult for all parties to stabilize the regional
situation and eliminate the survival space of extremist
organizations such as the "Islamic State". Make a difference.
Fourth, the US Middle East strategic adjustment has disrupted
the original geopolitical pattern in the Middle East, and
relations between regional powers have become tenser. The
adjustment of the US strategy and policy level has two major
objectives: first, to ensure that the security situation in the
Middle East is generally in a relatively controllable situation.
On this policy goal, the biggest challenge facing the United
States is the rise of the extremist organization "Islamic State".
Second, to build a new regional security architecture that
includes all important countries in the region. To this end, the
relationship between the United States and traditional Middle
Eastern ally such as Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt has
undergone subtle changes, while relations with Iran have eased.
The positive relationship between the United States and Iran is
"not only to fight against common enemies such as the "Islamic
State", but also to promote real regional security."
However, in view of the huge trust deficit between the United
States and Iran, there are forces of mutual hostility within the
two countries, and the US Middle East allies are also resolutely
opposed to the US-Iran approach, making it difficult for the US-
Iranian relationship to develop rapidly in the short term. In the

midst of the increasingly serious anti-terrorism situation in the
Middle East, the United States has gone through nuclear
negotiations and Iran. Recently, there are also considerations
for exerting pressure on the Gulf Arab countries to promote
substantive action on regional anti-terrorism issues.
B. The development trend of the future situation in the Middle
East
In the coming period, the situation in the Middle East will
continue to adjust under the general trend of global and regional
development. On the one hand, a large number of changes in the
Middle East have accumulated savings, and it is the general
trend for countries to gradually enter a continuous and
comprehensive transformation. To a large extent, the
transformation is a long-term process of mutual competition and
integration between various political forces and social thoughts.
Contradictions and conflicts are inevitable. It is not ruled out
that there may be a new "revolution" in individual countries.
However, some countries have been in the process of political
transformation. The painful price paid in it has objectively
brought profound warnings to other countries in the region. At
present, transition countries such as Egypt are striving to
change from “changing chaos” to “governing after chaos”. In
the future, countries in this area will be cautious of radical
changes, “change without chaos” will become the goal pursued
by the countries that follow this trend. In addition, a series of
turbulences in the region triggered by the upheaval in the
Middle East have prompted regional countries to deeply reflect
on the modes and methods of political transformation. The
extremism represented by the “Islamic State” organization will
also bring disasters to the region. Inspiring the Islamic world to
rethink what is the true Islamic spirit and the significance of
religion to real politics is important and far-reaching for the
future development of the Middle East.

On the other hand, the US “Asia-Pacific rebalancing” strategy
will continue to develop in depth. In the case of limited
resources, the overall trend of US Middle East policy
adjustment is to gradually reduce investment in the Middle East,
but this does not mean that the United States will give up its
dominance and voice of Middle East affairs. The United States
is more likely to promote other international and regional forces
to share responsibility on high-risk Middle East issues. With the
gradual deepening of the US Middle East strategic adjustment,
the geopolitical landscape of the Middle East and the
relationship between those countries will also undergo adaptive
changes. The tension between Iran and the Gulf Arab countries
still dominates the traditional military balance in the region for
a long time, but with the conclusion of a comprehensive
agreement on the Iranian nuclear issue, Iran will play a more
important role in the new regional security. The future regional
political form will not undergo substantial changes, but it may
be that the regional political structure is adjusted under a multi-
balanced structure. At the same time, various non-state actors in
the region, such as Shi’ite and Sunni religious organizations and
groups, as well as groups and organizations of non-Arabs such
as Kurds and other minorities, will also be safe in the region.
The role played by each other in the construction has
undoubtedly increased the complexity of the security situation
in the Middle East. However, after a period of game and
integration, the Middle East will eventually form a new
geopolitical structure in which various forces are mutually
constrained and balanced. These changes will have a profound
impact on the relationship between the Gulf and other countries
in the Middle East and external forces.
III. The Status Quo of China-Middle East Relations
After the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of
China, China has clearly defined the strategic orientation of
"the diplomacy of a big country with Chinese characteristics."

Judging from the practice since the current government took
office, China's diplomatic layout has been characterized by
global, comprehensive and balanced nature, and the pattern of
all-round diplomacy has gradually taken shape. "From the
perspectives of geopolitics, economy, culture, energy and other
aspects, the Middle East region is an important and unique
sector."
China’s diplomacy needs to play the role of a big power by
taking on the responsibility of more major powers in
international affairs. Accumulating the experience of a big
country, strengthening the status of a big country, and
enhancing the international discourse power and influence that a
big country should have, the Middle East is undoubtedly an
important stage for China to carry out great-nation diplomacy,
and it is also a strategic fulcrum that China must rely on for its
great-nation diplomacy.
The current significance of the Middle East for China's
diplomatic practice lies in the fact that the continued
transformation of the Middle East countries has brought rare
economic opportunities and new diplomatic growth points to
China's economic advantages and the expansion of China's
development philosophy. At the same time, maintaining
stability in the Middle East and consolidating relations with the
Middle East countries is an important guarantee to prevent
terrorist organizations and religious extreme ideas from
infiltrating China and ensuring national security. More
importantly, the Middle East is located at the meeting point of
the “Silk Road Economic Belt” and the “21st Century Maritime
Silk Road”, which will create good opportunities and prospects
for the common development and common prosperity of China
and regional countries.
In the past few decades, relations between China and the Middle
East have developed rapidly. In 2013, the bilateral trade volume
between China and the Middle East was nearly US$300 billion.

China has become the largest trading partner of many Middle
Eastern countries. According to incomplete statistics, the
amount of contracts between China and the Middle East
countries has reached US$120 billion. Direct investment has
also grown rapidly. Now it has reached US$10 billion and is
growing at a very fast rate.
Among them, China's trade with the Arab world will likely
increase to US$600 billion in the next 10 years.
These figures show that in recent years, China and the Middle
East countries have achieved remarkable results in pragmatic
cooperation and have great potential for development.
As a tool for creating an international political environment,
foreign policy is an external extension of public policy.
Specifically, foreign policy is the decision-making, principles
or course of action for external activities to promote national
interests and the achievement of national external goals, based
on its foreign strategy, comprehensive national strength, and
specific international environment.
From the perspective of China-Middle East relations, although
the situation in the region after the Middle East changes
continues to be turbulent, and some countries have even
experienced regime change, the relationship between the Middle
East countries and China has not been fundamentally affected.
In fact, with the rapid growth of China's comprehensive strength
and international influence in recent years, the Middle East
countries' awareness of China's national strength and their
recognition of China's development model have greatly
improved. After years of continuous turmoil, the political,
social and economic demands of many Middle Eastern countries
have to be rebuilt and governed. These countries have shown
great interest in China's development experience and
tremendous economic strength. They hope to learn from China's
experience and gain access to China's economic aid. The very
realistic need makes it more practical and meaningful to

strengthen cooperation with China and hope that China will play
a greater role in the Middle East. The international community
is also increasingly acknowledging and expecting China to play
a role in helping the Middle East countries to overcome the
difficulties of the early transition, and in return China will
greatly enhance its influence in this process.
In the process of foreign policy making, public opinion has a
great influence on it. Diplomacy is a continuation of a country's
internal political system and policy. The social, political and
economic policies it implements are inextricably linked to its
foreign policy. In the real world, because the public views the
specific issues and the value orientation differently, different
people or organizations may have different views on the same
events because of their own related interests. After a long
period of accumulation, this view has formed a social paradox,
which in turn has an impact on the formulation of the country's
foreign policy. Since the starting point and value orientation are
different, the business community, the media and the academic
community all hold different views and opinions on the
country's foreign policy at this stage. Naturally, its influence on
foreign policy formulation is not the same.
For a long time, the public in China has not fully understood the
situation in the Middle East. This makes China's foreign policy
toward the Middle East not understood by the public. As a
result, the relevant experts and scholars' analysis of the
situation and foreign policy in the Middle East is only a
summary of the incident, which has seriously affected the
public participation in the process of developing foreign policy
in the Middle East.
Through China’s long-term foreign policy toward the Middle
East, one of the important tasks of China’s foreign policy in the
Middle East is to ensure the social stability and energy supply
in the region and the smooth implementation of bilateral
economic contracts. In foreign policy, China should try to avoid
excessive initiatives involving sensitive topics in the region or
affecting changes in the political landscape in the region. This

foreign policy reflects the foreign policy and traditional
practices of China's non-intervention in other countries' internal
affairs, but some foreign policies are too conservative. As can
be seen from the foregoing, due to cognitive and regional
limitations, the Chinese public cannot accurately understand the
pattern of the Middle East and the status quo of social
development. Therefore, it is impossible to talk about the
influence or intervention of the state on the formulation of the
Middle East policy.
� Flynt Leverett and Hillary Mann Leverett, “Reality Check:
America Needs Iran”, The National Interest, April 7, 2015, http:
/ /wwwna.tionalinterest.org /feature/reality-check-america-
needs-iran-12561
� "Wang Yi accepts an interview with Saudi Arabia", the
website of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, http: /
/www. Fmprc. Gov. Cn/web/wjbzhd/t1137697. Shtml
� Wang Yi: China will adhere to the "four support" for the
Arab countries, the website of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, http: / / www. Fmprc. Gov. Cn/web/ wjbzhd/t1114771.
Shtml
� Xi Jinping: "Promoting the Spirit of Silk Road and Deepening
China-Arab Cooperation--Speech at the Opening Ceremony of
the Sixth Ministerial Conference of the China-Arab Cooperation
Forum", in the People's Daily, June 6, 2014, 2nd edition.

1
Academic Journals List
1. Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies (in Asia)
2. Bustan: The Middle East Book Review
3. Contemporary Chinese Diplomacy. Beijing: Chinese Social
Science Press.
4. International Studies Review
5. Middle East Policy Council
6. Journal of Contemporary China
7. China’s Public Diplomacy
8. China Quarterly of International Strategic Studies
9. The Chinese Journal of International Politics
10. China Report
“What saved him?
His hands.
When you are popular you must have an open hand.
It is a man’s generosity that will save him.
Nothing saved Sunjata but his hands” (lines 1095-99).
position

Preview
oral tradition. The version we’re reading is a written
rendering of an oral performance by Tassey Condé
in the 1990s
Condé was a jeliw who lived in Fadama in
Northeastern Guinea (Norton)
been passed down and told by many different bards
Author
Time/Date of Composition
between late 1200s CE
and early 1300s CE

life is corroborated
through the writings of
Ibn Battuta, a
Berber/Moroccan
explorer/traveler in the
1350s BCE
(Book cover of The Travels of
Ibn Battuta)
Mande People.
inka) people live in
northeastern Guinea, southern Mali, and parts of
sub-Saharan West Africa (Norton)
independent groups “dominated by a hereditary
uninterrupted dynasty lasting 13 centuries
(“Mandinga” from Encyclopedia Brittanica)
Contextual Information
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Malinke
most powerful empires in Western Africa:
“The Empire was founded in 1235 CE by the legendary

King Sundiata [ii], and lasted until the early 1600s CE
[iii]. The Empire’s most famous ruler was named
Mansa Musa, and chroniclers of the times wrote that
when he travelled to Mecca on a pilgrimage he
distributed so much gold that he caused great inflation
lasting a decade “ (“The Empire of Mali” from South
African History Online)
https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/empire-mali-1230-1600
(“Detail Showing Mansa Musa Sitting on a Throne” from
Wikipedia)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musa_I_of_Mali#/media/File:Cata
lan_Atlas_BNF_Sheet_6_Mansa_Musa.jpg
peoples--ruled by King Sumaworo--at the Battle of
Kirina (1235)
Sunjata is thus known as “the Lion King of Mali”;
scholar Mary Ellen Snodgrass observes that Sunjata
may be the historical basis for Disney’s The Lion King
(“epic, African” from Encyclopedia of the Literature of

Empire)
https://books.google.com/books?id=LXyyYs2cRDcC&lpg=PT88
&ots=gkIHLN19x5&dq=ellen%20snodgrass%20sundiata&pg=P
T88#v=onepage&q=ellen%20snodgrass%20sundiata&f=false
Family/genealogy and Islam.
“Political alliances are often determined by ancestral
ties between royal families, and intermarriage between
kingdoms serves to bind separate communities into a
larger familial group. The genealogy of the ruling king
is preserved in detail through the jali, and he is often
called upon to recite the entire history of the royal
family on important ceremonial occasions and
especially before great battles…
to spell Sunjata]
genealogy is based in West Africa, the origins of the
family are traced back to Bilali Bounama, the first
muezzin and companion of the prophet Muhammad.
Like most medieval Muslim dynasties, the Mali
emperors linked themselves to the prophet's family
or with someone near them. Thus Sundiata is tied
both to his ancestral land in Mali and to the newer
religion which had spread through northern Africa”

(“Sundiata” from Berkeley ORIAS)
https://orias.berkeley.edu/sundiata
(“Sunjata’s Family Tree” from Berkeley ORIAS)
https://orias.berkeley.edu/sundiata
Britannica:
An epic may deal with such various subjects as myths, heroic
legends, histories, edifying religious tales, animal stories, or
philosophical or moral theories. Epic poetry has been and
continues to be used by peoples all over the world to
transmit their traditions from one generation to another,
without the aid of writing. These traditions frequently
consist of legendary narratives about the glorious deeds of
their national heroes. (“Epic”)
Form
https://www.britannica.com/art/epic

Some epic elements in Sunjata.
a poem that tells a
story
birth and lifetime of Sunjata: “Like many epics, Sunjata is
a relation of the hero’s many trials, which he surmounts
through his courage, tenacity, and piety” (from Norton)
a kind of spirit), nine sorceresses of Manden, Sunjata’s
sisters are sorceresses, prophecies and oracles throughout
the narrative, Sumaworo is a sorcerer king
Form
society is passed down
poet/performer,” from the French griot (“Griot”)
, musicians,
praise-singers, spokespersons and diplomats”
because they maintain the oral traditions of the
Mande people
Form

https://www.etymonline.com/word/griot#etymonline_v_33947
Form
s performed with
musical instruments, such
as an nkoni (lute), a kora
(harp), or a bala
(xylophone)
response” system in
which the jeliw speaks and
the audience responds
with naamu (meaning,
“yes” or “we hear you”)
(Norton)
(“Balafon” from Wikipedia)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balafon#/media/File:Balafoon.jpg
his/her culture

l” religion) and Islam
Major Themes
“Rage:
Sing; Goddess, Achilles’ rage” (line 1)
�
�Author
�Time/Date of Composition
�Contextual Information
�Form
�Major Themes
Preview
�
Author
(“Bust of Homer” from the British Museum)
�
�The Iliad is credited to a person called Homer, but…
We don’t really know if Homer ever existed
� “In modern times the elements of pre-historic Greece

have begun to come to light, but Homer grows no
more familiar. He remains ‘Homer,’ ‘the poet or poets
of the Iliad and Odyssey,’ ‘the bard,’ almost totally
anonymous because he so rarely reveals himself in his
epics” (Beye 75)
Author
�
�It is possible The Iliad and Odyssey are the work of
one or more oral poets who learned to write. The
texts may also “represent a collaboration between
one or more oral poets, and a scribe” (Puchner et al
122)
Author
�
�Interesting fact: there is an authorial “voice” in the
poem. The poem begins: “Rage: Sing; Goddess,
Achilles’ rage” (line 1). Consider who is the one
commanding the goddess? Scholars usually assume
it is the author, whether that be a single person
(Homer) or a collection of people
Author
�

�The written version was written down around the 8th
Century BCE, although it probably existed as an oral
story for a long time before it was written down
� May reflect an ancient battle at Troy
Time & Date
�
Context - Mycenae
�Major Mycenaean cities
included Sparta and
probably Athens
� Agamemnon is king of
Mycenae
� Menelaus is king of
Sparta
(Ancient Theater of Sparta from The Greek Reporter)
�
� The Greek Bronze Age included the rise and fall of
three civilizations
� Cycladic à lived on islands in the Aegean Sea and the
Cyclades Islands
� Minoan à Lived on the islands of Crete

� Mycenaean (or “Helladic”) à Lived on the Greek
mainland
Context - Myceneae
�
Context - Mycenae
�The Mycenaeans were
a people who lived
from around 1,900 –
1,100 BCE
� The term Mycenaean
comes from the name
for their major city,
Mycenae
(Lions Gate in Mycenae by Andreas Trepte
via Wikimedia)
�
�The Mycenaean civilization collapsed around
1100/1200 BCE; no one knows why
� Theories include: earthquakes, invasions, or in-fighting
�After the collapse, people in Greece fell into a dark
ages that lasted for the next 400 years
�The dark ages were characterized by a loss of

affluence and the loss of the knowledge of writing
� The loss of writing is why they’re called “Dark Ages”
Context - Myceneae
�
Context - Troy
� In the 19th Century, Heinrich
Schliemann discovered a site
in northwestern Turkey that
corresponds with Homer’s
Troy
� Not everyone agrees a
Trojan War happened, but
most think it’s this
archaeological site was the
historical city of Troy
� In fact, Ilias “is another
name for Troy” (Puchner
et al 123) (Walls of Troy via Wikimedia)
�
�During the Dark Ages and before the rediscovery of
reading and writing, Greek peoples had a strong
tradition of oral poetry
� Poetry composed and recited without writing

�Bards traveled extensively, telling stories of the
Bronze Age, thereby preserving that history in a
pseudo realistic/fictional way
� The stories were probably accompanied by music
Form – Oral/Written
�
�The Mycenaean people had a form of writing called a
syllabary
� Syllabary is a system of writing in which a symbol
corresponds to each syllable, not to each letter
� Some modern examples: Japanese katakana &
hiragana; Cherokee
�The Iliad is divided into 24 books corresponding to
each letter of the Greek alphabet
�
(Mycenaean Syllabary – Linear B by Sharon Mollerus via
Wikimedia)

�
�Greek and Latin epic poetry is composed in a six-
part line called a hexameter
� All lines of Greek poetry are divided into six parts, or
feet, according to syllables (long or short)
� Short syllables = short vowel with a consonant at the end
� Long syllable = long vowel or two or more consonants
Form – Epic Poetry
�
�The Iliad is further characterized by:
1. Character delineation à developing characters,
usually evidenced through speeches (Beye 86) &
through epithets, or descriptive adjectives that
accompany someone’s name (Beye 88)
2. Catalogs à “a passage in which something is being
enumerated or listed” (Beye 89)
Form - Epic Poetry
�
3. Battle narrative à comprised of “the names of the victor
and the victim in each encounter, often an anecdote relating
to either of them” and “then a realistic description of the
fatal wounding (Beye 93)

4. Repetitions à about 1/3 of The Iliad is comprised of
repeated lines; probably a feature of its roots in oral poetry
(Beye 97)
5. Similes à epic similes ranging from very long to short
ones; usually compares narrative action with something
from home or from nature (Beye 108-9)
�
�Rage/Anger
�War, Honor, and Aggression
�Hubris
Major Themes
“Rama, devoted as he was to dharma, spoke:
‘Among our ancestors were renowned kings
who earned fame and heaven by doing their
father’s bidding. Mother, I am but following
their noble example’” (695)
�
�Author

�Form
�Major Themes
Preview
�
Author
�Valmiki à not much is
known about him,
except for what he says
in his poetry
� Was an ascetic, or
person who practices
self-denial in order to
develop spiritual
discipline
� Invented the sloka, a
type of verse
(Valmiki from Wikipedia)
�
�Probably composed around 550 BCE
� Gilgamesh: ~1200 BCE (standard version by Sin-leqi-
unninni)
� The Iliad: ~ 800 BCE
�Expanded upon by other authors and composers for

the next 500-600 years
Time & Date of
Composition
�
�Crash Course Hinduism: Vishnu
�Crash Course Hinduism: Dharma
Context
�
Context
�Vishnu, meaning “the
pervader” in Sanskrit
�Vishnu is the second
god of the Hindu
triumvirate
� Brahman – creator of
the universe
� Vishnu – preserver
and protector of the
universe
� Shiva – the destroyer
(Vishnu from the Brooklyn Museum)

�
Context
� Vishnu often appears in
avatar form
� An avatar is the “human
or animal form of a
Hindu god on
Earth” (“Avatar” from
Merriam-Webster)
� Two of Vishnu’s most
famous avatars are
Rama from The
Ramayana and Krishna
from The Mahabharata
(Vishnu from Wikipedia)
�
�Vishnu is portrayed as a blue-skinned man with four
arms. He always carry items representing different
aspects of himself
� The conch
� The chakra
� The lotus flower
� The mace (“Vishnu” from BBC)
Context

�
�Dharma means “duty, virtue, morality” and
“religion”
� It is a universal law that “upholds the universe and
society” and “gives humans the opportunity to act
virtuously” (“Hindu Concepts” from the BBC)
� Everyone has different dharma “according to their age,
gender, and social position” (“Hindu Concepts” from the
BBC)
� Example: the dharma of a woman is different than the
dharma of a child, or the dharma of a warrior
Context
�
Context
� Rama is an example of
someone who loyally
performs his dharma: as son,
as prince, and as husband
� But.. You could also argue
that Sita, Laksmana, and
Hanuman perform their
dharma too. Sita is the
“perfect wife,” Laksmana

the “perfect brother” or
vassal, and Hanuman is a
loyal follower
� Who(m) do you think is the
“hero” of The Ramayana?
(Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana from
Wikipedia)
�
� The dharma of different social classes or castes is different
� In hierarchical order:
� Brahmans – intellectuals and priestly class
� Kshatriya – nobles or warriors
� Vaishyas – commoners or merchants
� Shudras – workers
� The lowest class, called “the untouchables,” were
considered impure à the caste system has been officially
abolished, but it is still practiced in some rural parts of
India nonetheless
� The caste system is fixed; intermarriage is very rare
Context
�
�The Ramayana was first composed orally “using a
large repertoire of formulaic expressions”

�The Ramayana is divided into seven books called
kandas
� The kandas are subdivided into sections called sargas
� Each sarga contains about twenty to fifty couplets
�There are a total of 24,000 couplets in The Ramayana
� About 1.5X the length of The Iliad and The Odyssey
combined.
Form
�
� The Ramayana is composed in lines called sloka, meaning
“song” in Sanskrit
� Unrhymed metrical verse; usually a couplet
� Used in Indian epic verse; often called “epic couplets”
� Example of a rhyming couplet:
“Good night, good night. Parting is such sweet sorrow
That I shall say good night till it be morrow.”
(from Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, Scene 2)
� Example of an unrhymed couplet:
“The man bent over his guitar,
A shearsman of sorts. The day was green.”
(from “The Man with the Blue Guitar” by Wallace Stevens)
Form

�
�Dharma à probably the most important theme
�Loyalty
�Virtue
�What else do you think might constitute a theme?
Themes
“He who saw the Deep” (line 1)
�
�Author
�Form
�Major Themes
Preview
�
Author
� Anonymous; written by
various authors from different
Mesopotamian cultures
� Sumerians, Akkadians,
Babylonians, and Assyrians
� Standard written version

comes down to us mostly
through the work of a
Babylonian priest and scholar
named Sîn-liqe-unninni
� His name translates to “O
Moon God, Accept My
Prayer!”
Statue of Gilgamesh in the
Palace of Sargon II (from the
British Museum)
�
�Oldest version of Gilgamesh was written in the
Sumerian language around 2,000 BCE (George 3)
� Earliest writing = Sumerian, and most surviving
Sumerian literature was written by Babylonian
apprentice scribes who were learning to write
�The Sumerian version became the basis of the one
written in Babylonian around 1,800 BCE
� Babylonian is an Akkadian language that was used in
the Ancient Near Eas
� Note: “Babylonia” is a Greek term given to this place/
people; it is not a term they used for themselves
Time & Date

�
�However… “The complexity of the written tradition
in the eighteenth century suggests that by then the
poem was a composition of some antiquity; in the
absence of older written sources it seems justified to
postulate an oral prehistory extending over several
generations of singers” (George 4)
Time & Date
�
Context - Mesopotamia
�The word
“Mesopotamia”
translates into “the land
between two rivers”
� The two rivers are: the
Tigris and Euphrates
Fertile Crescent (by NormanEinstein)
�
�This part of the world is known as the fertile
crescent because of the rich soil that lent itself to
highly successful agriculture

�These optimal conditions were instrumental for the
rise of human civilization—it is said that the first
Western civilizations began here
Context - Mesopotamia
�
�The name “Gilgamesh” appears in a list of Sumerian
Kings as the 5th ruler of the First Dynasty of Uruk
(George xxxi)
�From a ~2000 BCE list of Mesopotamian kings:
� “The god Lugalbanda, a shepherd, reigned for 1200 years.
The god Dumuzi, a fisherman (?), whose city was Ku’ara,
reigned for 100 years. The god Gilgamesh, whose father
was a phantom, lord of the city of Kulaba, reigned for 126
years” (Foster xi).
�This historical Gilgamesh probably lived around
2750 BCE
Context – Historical
Gilgamesh
�
Context – Historical
Gilgamesh
Excavated ziggurat in Uruk, in modern day southern Iraq (from

the British Museum)
�
�Babylonians believed purpose of humans was to “be
in service of the gods” (George xxxviii)
�Each city-state belonged to a particular patron deity
who was thought to live in the city’s temple
�Babylonians worshipped in this temple by giving
their deities “ritual offerings of meat and incense,
[and] ritual worship with prayer and song” (George
xxxviii)
Context - Religion
�
�Major deities include:
� Anu (sky god)
� Enlil (god of breath/wind)
� Ea (freshwater)
� Adad (god of storm)
� Sîn (god of moon)
� Shamash (sun god)
� Ishtar (goddess of sex and war)
� Ereshkigal (queen of the underworld)
Context - Religion

�
�The Epic of Gilgamesh is usually considered epic
poetry
� From Greek, epikos, meaning: “word, story, poem”
�However… “epic” is an anachronistic term because
Mesopotamia had no concept of epic, either as a term
or a literary form at the time of Gilgamesh’s
composition
�They associated with narû-literature, or a type of
wisdom literature used for counseling and
teaching (George 11)
�
�Official definition of epic poetry
�A long narrative poem that celebrates the deeds
of one or many heroes à “narrative” means story
�Uses elevated language à “elevated language”
means the use of formal, dignified, and objective
tone & figures of speech
�Action takes place in a vast setting, meaning the
story takes place in a big space
�Heroes/monsters perform superhuman feats of

strength
�
Form – Literary
�The Epic of Gilgamesh is
considered a literary
form because all of the
versions we have are
written ones
� The versions we have
were almost certainly
used in Babylonian
schools to teach
literature & writing
Part of a cuneiform tablet containing The
Epic of Gilgamesh (from
The British Museum)
�
�The Epic of Gilgamesh exists on tablets, which are in
fragmentary form. Explains why some parts of the
story are missing or others are repetitious
�Only 2/3 of the story has been discovered (Bottero
234)

Form – Fragmentary
�
�“The standard version of the Babylonian epic is
known from a total of 73 manuscripts extant: the 35
that have survived from the libraries of King
Ashurbanipal at Nineveh, 8 more tablets and
fragments from three other Assyrian cities (Ashur,
Kalah and Huzirina), and 30 from Babylonia,
especially the cities of Babylon and Uruk [emphasis
added]” (George xxvii)
Form – Fragmentary
�
�“Friction between nature and civilization” (George 1)
�Friendship
�Hierarchies of gods, kings, and mortals
�“Misuse of power” (George 1)
�The human condition (death)
Major Themes

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