World's Oldest Author and Poem

 

(Picture Credit - G Salahuddin)

 

 

The other day a lady on a poetry forum asked a good question: what is the oldest poem ever? I Googled “oldest poem” and got 14,800,000 results. This led me to some fine “contenders” and also arguably the oldest written author.

The other day I Googled “oldest poem”, with 14,800,000 results. There were indeed many websites on this. Many sites claimed that “Epic of Gilgamesh” (a Sumerian work) was the first epic poem. It was written about 2000 BC. Yep, 4000 years ago. Others, however, asserted that the Egyptian “Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor” (C 2,500 BC) came first.

Let’s not forget, though, that the very first poetry was purely oral: passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth. Whether any of that material reached being written, nobody knows. It had to be memorable of course, so techniques such as alliteration, assonance and rhyme were probably employed. Then the words were recited or sung, over and over again. Such words were about historical events, genealogy and laws mainly.

Finding written poetry was not too easy either. Archaeologists have spent many years discovering and interpreting various stone tablets, papyrus scrolls and seals etc. I will not bore you with all the ancient written languages that have been uncovered. Let’s not forget that the earliest writings were produced in The Bronze Age. Need I say more?

The ancient kingdom of Sumeria was a very interesting place. Some claim it was the “cradle of civilisation”, building the very first cities. There are of course counter claims from Egypt, India and China (to name a few). It is said that the Sumerians invented the 24 hour day!

By most accounts the first ever known named woman and “published” author was Sumerian: the High Priestess Enheduanna who lived in the city of Ur around 2,500 to 3,000 BC. (My spellcheck does not like her name!). She wrote many hymns which were recorded on stone tablets, two seals and some alabaster discs. Not quite E-books.

Here’s the opening of one hymn:

  “Nin-me-sharra. The exaltation of Inanna.

1-12Lady of all the divine powers, resplendent light, righteous woman clothed in radiance, beloved of An and Urac! Mistress of heaven, with the great pectoral jewels, who loves the good headdress befitting the office of en priestess, who has seized all seven of its divine powers! My lady, you are the guardian of the great divine powers! You have taken up the divine powers, you have hung the divine powers from your hand. You have gathered up the divine powers, you have clasped the divine powers to your breast. Like a dragon you have deposited venom on the foreign lands. When like Ickur you roar at the earth, no vegetation can stand up to you. As a flood descending upon (?) those foreign lands, powerful one of heaven and earth, you are their Inana.”

 

I have resisted the urge to reformat this into verses here. It is beautiful nonetheless. What more can I say?

For the record, here’s the opening of “Gilgamesh”:

“He who has seen everything, I will make known (?) to the lands.
I will teach (?) about him who experienced all things,
... alike,
Anu granted him the totality of knowledge of all.
He saw the Secret, discovered the Hidden,
he brought information of (the time) before the Flood.
He went on a distant journey, pushing himself to exhaustion,
but then was brought to peace.”

“The Tale of The Shipwrecked Sailor”:

“Speech of an excellent follower:

May your heart prosper, my master. Behold, we have reached home. The mallet having been taken, the mooring post is driven in. The bow-rope having been placed on land, thanksgiving and praise to god are given. Everyone is embracing his companions. Our crew returned safely; there was no loss to our army. We have reached the end of Wawat; we have passed Senmut.”

 

More of a play or story this one. Much shorter than Gilgamesh. Must also mention “The Vedas”, written 1700 -1200 BC, another classic. All these works probably predate “The Iliad” (1194-1184 BC by the Greek Homer).

Listverse dot com is a very interesting website. Amongst many other things it cites the very first “chat up line” as being:

“The oldest love poem in the world is only slightly younger (than Gilgamesh etc.). Written on a tablet about the size of a cell phone, the 4,000 year old Sumerian ballad also contains the oldest recorded chat-up line: “You have captivated me, let me stand trembling before you; Bridegroom, I would be taken to the bedchamber.” It seems the last several thousand years has seen the quality of propositions heading in the wrong direction.”

(This was by Shin-Rai-unninni on a tablet)

When I was doing A Levels I studied Milton’s epic, “Paradise Lost”. It was mentioned that there had been earlier epics such as “The Iliad” and “The Aeneid” (Roman Virgil 19 BC). “Paradise Lost” was first published in 1667 by English poet Milton: a relatively modern poem. Here’s a sample:

“Him the Almighty Power
Hurled headlong flaming from th' ethereal sky,
With hideous ruin and combustion, down
To bottomless perdition, there to dwell
In adamantine chains and penal fire,
Who durst defy th' Omnipotent to arms.
Nine times the space that measures day and night
To mortal men, he, with his horrid crew,
Lay vanquished, rolling in the fiery gulf,
Confounded, though immortal.”

The subject here is The Devil, who is clearly given “the treatment” by God. “Bottomless perdition” – so memorable! Indeed all these poems utilise a “higher” language than mere prose. Okay, so maybe “Tale of The Shipwrecked Sailor” is more prosaic. Yet so began that age-old debate, what is poetry? These ancient scripts are certainly poetic to me. A great source of inspiration.

 

Paul Butters