Antiquity Studies

From Dialogue to Debate

Argumentative and Epic Discourse in Mesopotamian Literature Between II and I Millennium BCE

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Abstract

Dialogical structures in the wisdom debate of the Babylonian Theodicy and in the epic of Erra and Išum are analysed comparing both the stylistic level and the main moral and theological issues the texts bring to the fore. Rhetorical and dialectical means appear to be deployed as tools for articulating subtle reasoning and arguments. They allow myth to be subjected to renewed reflection and reworking, deeply transforming epic narrative. This scenario suggests the emergence of a new figure of sage and literatus, particularly versed in the art of debate.


Open access | Peer reviewed

Submitted: Nov. 24, 2023 | Accepted: March 4, 2024 | Published July 9, 2024 | Language: en

Keywords Babylonian literature • Dialogue and debate • Babylonian Theodicy • Dialectics in Assyro-Babylonian texts • Erra and Išum

Copyright © 2024 Simonetta Ponchia. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/978-88-6969-776-0/010


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