Uruk cycle

E812787

The Uruk cycle is a collection of Sumerian myths centered on the city of Uruk and its legendary rulers, including Enmerkar and Lugalbanda, that explore themes of kingship, rivalry, and divine favor in early Mesopotamian literature.

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Statements (46)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Mesopotamian literary tradition
cycle of Sumerian myths
centersOn city of Uruk
featuresRuler Enmerkar NERFINISHED
Gilgamesh NERFINISHED
Lugalbanda NERFINISHED
hasChronologicalPosition earlier than the Standard Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh
hasCompositionForm cuneiform tablet text GENERATED
hasCulturalContext Sumerian civilization NERFINISHED
ancient Mesopotamia NERFINISHED
hasGenre epic literature
mythology
hasHistoricalPeriod Early Dynastic period of Mesopotamia NERFINISHED
hasLanguage Sumerian
hasMainLocation Uruk NERFINISHED
hasMotif divine election of kings
heroic journey
long-distance rivalry with foreign cities
trial and suffering of the king
hasMythologicalFigure Anzud bird NERFINISHED
Inanna NERFINISHED
Utu NERFINISHED
hasNarrativeFocus legendary rulers of Uruk
hasNarrativeFunction exemplification of ideal kingship
legitimation of royal power
hasOriginalMedium clay tablets
hasScholarlySignificance evidence for development of epic narrative in Sumerian literature
source for early Mesopotamian royal ideology
hasTheme city-state competition
divine favor
kingship
legitimacy of rule
relationship between kings and gods
rivalry
includesWork Enmerkar and En-suhgir-ana NERFINISHED
Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta NERFINISHED
Lugalbanda and the Anzud Bird NERFINISHED
Lugalbanda in the Mountain Cave NERFINISHED
The Epic of Gilgamesh NERFINISHED
influenced later Mesopotamian epic tradition
preservedIn tablets from sites in southern Iraq
relatedTo Sumerian King List NERFINISHED
cult of Inanna in Uruk
setIn southern Mesopotamia
studiedInField Assyriology
comparative literature

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Enmerkar mythologicalCycle Uruk cycle