Literature Part 2
Satire, poetic. Roman Classical Era. Juvenal and the Thirteen Bitter Satires:
Romans also mastered the field of poetic satire, a genre that had an enormous success among the general populace. Satire, in general, uses humor, irony, and paradigm to point out human foibles and flaws. Roman irony shows the contradiction between the literal and intended meaning. Roman satire also shows human imperfection through great comical humor. This gave way in the visual arts to caricature – the exaggeration of peculiarities and defects, whether physical or mental – of human beings. This clearly gave way one of Rome’smost aggressive forms of arts, graffiti.
The most popular satirist in early imperial Rome was Juvenal (60-130AD), the most violent and devastating in his satirical compositions. Some of this attitude most have been produced by previous failures in life – he was born to a family of freed slaves, he failed to become a magistrate, abandoned by his wife, he experienced poverty – this must have given to him a negative perception of Roman society, at times exaggerated, but alsoconsidered as one of the most important sources of information regarding the new social asset of Romeduring the imperial era, when compared to the virtues of the Republic.
Juvenal, engraving
His sixteen bitter satires indicate that the Romans had degenerated. His satires show a deep criticism of the Romans’ descent into luxury and easy life styles. In his “Against Rome” he paints a picture of the city as being noisy, dirty, a crowded community of selfish, violent and self-indulgent people.
(Book 3 – Against Rome)
(the “new” poor and the “new rich in early imperial Rome)
“If you’re poor, you’re a joke, on each and every occasion.
What a laugh, if your cloak is dirty or torn, if your toga
Seems a little bit soiled, if your shoe has a crack in the leather,
Or if more than one patch attests to more than one mending!
Poverty’s greatest curse, much worse than the fact of it, is that
It makes men objects of mirth, ridiculed, humbled, embarrassed.
‘Out of the front-row seats!’ they cry when you’re out of money,
Yield your place to the sons of some pimp, the spawn of some cathouse,
Some slick auctioneer’s brat, or the louts some trainer has fathered
Or the well-groomed boys whose sire is a gladiator”.
Clearly, Juvenal attests that the values of the Republic – a government that showed concern for the lower classes – are gone. But it also depicts the rise of new wealthy groups that derive from classes that during the Republican era were among the lowest and most ignorant.
Graffiti found in Rome dating to the early period of Christianity.
Juvenal also gives us an idea of the overcrowded city of Rome. This rapid influx of people into the imperial capital created problems for many; unemployment, underemployment, disease, poverty, crime, housing was in high demand and short supply, and rents were steep. He describes how most Romans now lived in statesponsored multistory apartment blocks known as insulae; literally “islands” away from the wealthy center, housing about 80% of Rome’s population. They were basically tenements, with shops on the ground floors, and living quarters on top. They could rise to heights of 60’-70’, but were built of inadequate framework, the walls were as thin as paper, rat infested, land lords added upper rooms on the terrace making the structure more delicate, plumbing was never enough, and they were prone to set fire easily. Noise and hygiene were an enormous problem, as people dumped bodily wastes from the pots directly out of the window and onto the road, as Juvenal states:
“You can suffer as many deaths as there are open windows to pass under. So offer a prayer that people will be content with just emptying out their slop bowls.”
In describing social decay, in his view, nothing is more evident than his “Against Women,” where he laments the disappearance of the chaste Latin republican woman and her virtues, in contrast with the new frivolous, luxury-living, political engaging imperial women, devoted to lust and not their domestic duties. Was Juvenal maybe jealous of women in the imperial era?
Roman Insula - apartment building, 100 AD circa.
Women were sufficiently well educated and many were literate during the imperial era. Not to forget, that many aristocratic women could engage indirectly in politics by advising their son’s career, especially if the latter was on his way to a position of magistrate, senator, or emperor (see Nero and his influential motherAgrippina).
During the Republic a woman’s status was different. Women had no legal, civil, or juridical rights, they were always subject to the male authority of the family, and could receive orders from their father and brother in law as well. Women could not own property, and they even had to ask the permission of the husband – or makerelative – to write a simple contract.. Yet her duties were important not only for the family but also for the state.The “materfamilias” that Juvenal yearns for is gone with the rise of the empire. During the republic she held the keys to the storerooms, she kept track of expenditures and purchases (she was a secretary); she supervised the workmanship of the slaves and clients, she processed foods, and strictly overlooked the raising of her children.
Excerpt from Juvenal – see excerpts Juvenal
See also Power Points and Videos - Juvenal
Satire: Reformation. Erasmus of Rotterdam. The Praise to Folly
The powerful Medieval Church had called itself Catholic, which means “Universal”. In the hands of reformers, the term came to indicate more and more the Catholic Church of Rome, which already during the late Middle Ages, came under increasing attacks and criticism. Medieval critics questioned some of the beliefs and practices of the church – its power and wealth – and its insistence that obedience to the Pope was necessary for salvation. In the early Modern Era these critics grew mainly in Northern Europe and were known asChristian Humanists. In the fifteenth-century leaders in the Netherlands launched a movement known as the“Devotio moderna” (Modern Devotion). Lay men and women met in private “Comparative World Cultures, Religions, and Criticisms:”homes to read and interpret holy scriptures. In Germany, Thomas Kempis published the “Imitatio Christi” “Comparative World Cultures, Religions, and Criticisms:” (Imitation of Christ), bringing the message of Christ into the daily life and widely published throughout Europe.
Europe 1550 AD circa
This movement was noticeable in Germany, where differently from Italian Humanists – which studied the Pagan classics – German humanists preferred the study and translation of Christian manuscripts: Bible and the writings of the founding fathers of the Latin Church. They revived the values of early Christian life. Among them, the prince of all Christian humanists was by far Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam; learned in Latin and Greek, he was a pure neo-classicist, a devout Christian who preached for a return to the basic teachings of Christ and made wide use of the printing press to publicize his ideas. He also introduced a critical edition of the New Testament that corrected the mistranslations of Jerome’s translation – from Greek to Latin – in biblical passages.
Luther: In 1517, the German Augustinian monk, Martin Luther (pg. 473-479), a product of Christian Humanism and a doctor in theology, touched off a revolution that will rock the foundations of the Papal Roman Church: when Luther drew up the 95 Theses for debate and hammered them on the door of the church of Wittenberg.In them he questioned church practices, specifically the practice of granting indulgences, a practice by which Church authorities forgiveness of sin and remission of punishment by recognizing certain pious acts performed by people: such a pious act was often a donation of money to Church authorities, a practice that matured during the medieval Crusades. The granting of indulgences became so popular that it allowed the Church to finance the construction of St. Peter’s Basilica!
According to Luther salvation is not obtained through good deeds or grace mediated by the Church, and stimulated by his readings of Paul’s epistles he came
to the conclusion that “faith” alone saves the individual: Justification by Faith, “the just shall live by faith” (Romans 1:17). For example, point 27 of the 95 Theses, “They are wrong who say that the soul flies out of Purgatory as soon as the money thrown into the chest rattle”; and again, point 37 “Every true Christian, whether living or dead, has a share in all the benefits of Christ and of the Church, given by God, even without letters of pardon”. In fact, for Luther, Christ’s sacrifice had been one, complete and good for all times. Martin Luther, portrait by Lucas Cranach the Elder
The Christian didn’t really need anything else for his own salvation. Furthermore, he found justification in scripture for only two of the seven sacraments dispensed by the Church, Communion and Baptism, and rejected the other five. And finally, he attacked priesthood and monasticism, denied the Pope as being the vicar of Christ, and rejected relics and beatification of saints; point 50 “Christians should be taught that the Pope’s pardons are useful if they do not put their trust in them, but most hurtful if through them they lose the fear of God”. Therefore, faith alone, says Luther, and not good deeds, are necessary for salvation, and this remains at the core of Protestantism.
Nevertheless, Luther didn’t want to destroy the Catholic Church of Rome, but rather, reform it. Luther’s challenge, however, produced a storm within the Church that eventually drove him to reject some Catholic doctrine and organize his own Protestant Church. He will be excommunicated in 1520 by Pope Leo X, and then summoned to the Council of Worms in 1521, to defend himself from the accusation of heresy. At the Council he was protected by many German Princes, in particular, he remained under protection of the Duke of Saxony, a German Lord eager to defect from Rome. It’s under his protection that Luther spent the next four years in translating the New Testament from Latin to German. Our text, Reading 19.1 – Address to the German Nobility – clearly shows that many German leaders supported Luther’s challenge because they viewed it as an opportunity to avoid Papal Church intervention in their political affairs, as well as the Pope’s constant taxation of Germanic principalities. Furthermore, it gave the German nobility to recede their legacies with the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, a faithful Catholic. And finally, many Catholics sympathized with the need to reform.
Pope Leo X, portrait by Raffaello.
Luther’s Doctrine of “Justification by Faith” had widespread appeal. Moreover, many Catholics sympathized with the need of reform. Although the Holy Roman Emperor, the Spaniard Charles V fought Protestantism, he was distracted by many other concerns of his huge Empire – including Spain, Austria and the Germanic States. In 1555, following a series of religious/civil wars, he was obliged to accept the Peace Treaty of Augsburg that recognized the right of each Prince to determine whether his realm would be Catholic or Lutheran “Cuius Regio eius Religio”. The peace did not, however, recognize any other Protestant groups. Nevertheless, other movements of Catholic rejection grew throughout Europe reinforcing altogether the Protestant movement. For example, the 1524 Peasant’s Revolt in Germany, led by liberal, anti-catholic commoners, to the rise of Calvinism and Anabaptism in Switzerland.
Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466-1536): The greatest Christian humanist – that followed the above mentioned intentions - was Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466-1536), who became known as the “Prince of humanists”. It is said that Erasmus laid down the egg that Luther will hatch. Erasmus knew firsthand that the church needed reform, because he was born in Holland as the illegitimate son of a supposedly celibate priest. In fact, he dropped out of school complaining that the University offered “theology as stale as their eggs”. He moves to England and becomes friend of Thomas More and based his curriculum humanistic studies there.He learned Greek so he could immerse himself in the mental world of the New Testament.
ALBRECHT DÜRER, Erasmus of Rotterdam, 1526. Engraving, 9¾ × 7½ in. The Latin inscription at the top of the engraving reports that Dürer executed the portrait from life. The Greek inscription below reads, “The better image [is found] in his writings.”
His greatest contribution to the intellectual life of the West was his critical edition of the New Testament. To approach this, Erasmus rejected the officially accepted version of the bible – Jerome’s Latin translation – and returned to the Greek and Hebrew texts. He insisted that people should read the bible on their own – without the intermediation of priests – and possibly in Greek to understand its true essence. Most of all, he used satire to criticize corruption in the Church. His most famous satire was the Praise to Folly (reading 19.2); in it he attacked a wide variety of human foibles, including greed, intellectual pomposity and pride. Most of all his attacks also probed deeply into many of the religious and professional practices of the day, and as readers laughed at his attacks on those people who worshipped the Virgin over her son and the popes who didn’t live like Jesus, or physicians incapable of diagnosing a fever, their ideas on the church as well as religion, and the privileged began to change.
He dedicated this opera to his good friend, Thomas More (Latin Moria means Folly). The Praise to Folly opens with a world resembling a large theatrical stage. Dame Folly, the allegorical figure of this writing, is the speaker of the opera, and she compares life to a comedy, in which players assume several roles. Through the device of Folly, therefore, Erasmus is free to say anything he pleases. Erasmus spares virtually no one among Folly’s “regiment of fools”, least of all the Theologians and Church officials (lines 94 to 142 in Reading 19.2).he attacks, especially, those who “maintain the cheat of pardons and indulgences”, a sentiment that, as we know, would have influenced Martin Luther. Nevertheless, although a strident critic of the papacy, Erasmus remained committed to the Church throughout his life. He was a monk but also a Humanist scholar remaining committed to beauty as the flowers in the vase in the engraving portrait executed by Durer, attests (see fig. 19.3).
Excerpt from Luther’s 95 Theses and Erasmus’s “Praise to Folly – see excerpts Luther and Erasmus
Satire: Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment. Voltaire. Candide
Scientific Revolution: The 17th century was an age of intellectual and scientific ferment, dominated by France, Holland, Italy and England, it set the foundations of Contemporary Rationalism. It is the age of the Scientific Revolution. During the 17th century there was a passage from a society based on religious certainties to one based on secular-scientific concerns. The pace was uneven, it differed from place to place, and for most people religion remained at the root of human concern, since salvation was still the desired end of life. To say the truth, both Catholics and Protestants seemed appalled at many of the discoveries, since they seemed to challenge the authority of Scripture. Also problematic for both religions were new methods of reasoning that challenged the place of faith in arriving at an understanding of the universe. And in fact, in the seventeenth-century newly invented instruments allowed scientists to observe and measure natural phenomena withincreasing accuracy: faith was not set aside, but placed in a different branch of
The Heliocentric Theory proposed by Copernicus in 1453, giving way to the ntoion of a sun centered universe versus the geocentric theory, earth centered.
knowledge.
The scientific revolution was based in undermining the old world view still impinged on Aristotelian science, that is, the cosmological understanding of an earth-centered universe (see fig. 23.2). A concept, not only proposed by Aristotle, but “hammered” by the second-century AD Alexandrian scientist Ptolemy in his text Almagest (a favorite among Medieval thinkers).
Altogether, the scientists of the seventeenth-century deferred from their Medieval predecessors in asserting that “Scientia” (knowledge in Latin) operates separately from God’s dominion. Medieval thinkers viewed the universe and its movements as nothing else than the extension of god’s divine power. The rationalist of the 17th C. viewed the universe as operating according to mathematical laws that could be understood by the human mind. In simple terms, the scientists of the 17th C. moved nature from the hands of monks and priests into the hands of laboratories.
The Baroque era, in fact, witnessed this almost empirical attention to the natural world; in art, most noticeable, is the application of real light in well defined space, and an increased wanting for figures that revealed every day experience: landscape, portraiture, still life, and domestic settings. The Scientific Revolution had an enormous effect not only on the visual arts - with the inventions of new instruments coming from the scientific world to perfect detail – but also on the rise of new and better performing musical compositions and instruments.
https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSa02FktjkKaVMMIti5yqVfInInDtKrhyBg0SYvon7zaIDZ_oqCmgScience will become a profession in the 17th century. And although a true conflict between science and religion didn’t really exist, the scientific revolution launched by the Italians Giordano Bruno, Marco Coronelli and Galileo Galilei, the Englishmen Newton, Bacon, Harvey and Boyle, and Frenchmen Des Cartes and Pascal, moved steadily the world towards secularism and man’s domination of natural phenomena. As an American philosopher will say, Norm whitehead “we have been living upon the accumulated capital of ideas provided…by the genius of the seventeenth century.
Galileo's refracting telescope. New instruments such as the telescope allowed scientists observe with greater and detail and measure with greater precision natural phenomena.
The new empirical approach to the world had also a great impact on the evolution of satirical writings that aggressively attacked the deductive and erroneous opinions regarding the world and politics that had been dominated by Church and dogmatism world and natural events.
The Enlightenment and the Satire of Voltaire: Reason, Natural Law, Progress, these were the key terms by the eighteenth-century. It was the Age of Enlightenment, when it was widely assumed that human reason could cure the ills of the past and help achieve utopian modern democratic governments, perpetual peace and a perfect society. Reason would enable humanity to discover the rules of nature that regulate our existence and thereby assure progress. The intellectuals who professed this creed were known as Philosophes. They included critics, publicists, economists, political scientists, and social reformers. On the whole the Enlightenment was based on the fact that people could correct the error of their ways once those errors had been pointed out to them. The principle preoccupation of the Enlightenment thinkers was the comprehension of human nature in scientific terms – without reference to divine authority. It is no wonder that during this time we have the rise of modern social sciences; from sociology, psychology to anthropology. And finally, Many Enlightened thinkers developed and articulated the fundamental concepts of natural law, political freedom, free enterprise, and the social contract between ruler and ruled: in France and North America they “fanned” the flames of revolt, culminating in violent revolutions.
Enlightenment and Religion: For the most part, the thinkers of the Enlightenment were deist, and therefore, believed in religious tolerance. Deist doctrines arose in late seventeenth-century England, where the deists hoped to settle religious strife by reason rather than by arms. All persons, they asserted, could agree on a few broad religious principles.
N. LAVRÉINCE, Assembly in a Salon, 1745–1807. Oil on canvas, 1¾ × 2⅕ ft. The painting shows the elegantly dressed men and women of eighteenth-century society enjoying leisure activities in the salon of a Parisian townhouse. Arts, philosophy, science and playing music were freely practiced in these salons. This shows young Mozart exhibiting himself while playing the clavichord blindfolded.
They accepted that God had created the universe but didn’t believe he had much, if anything, to do with its day-to-day working. Rather, the universe proceeded according to what they termed natural law, law derived from nature and binding upon society. In Newtonian terms, God had created a great clock, and it ran like clockwork, except for the interference of inept humanity. They believed in the immortality of the soul, not in a dogmatic sense, but because they regarded human beings unique and different from other living creatures.They viewed the bible as mythology and full of superstition, they showed aversion to irrationality, which, according to many, was implicit in Christian dogma (especially the “non sense” - as they termed it – of the Original Sin). This made them anti-clerical, showing enoprmo0us antipathy for the Catholic Church of Rome, and this resulted sometimes in the persecution of many Philosophes (remember the “Illuminati”? They were all deists). Voltaire, maybe the most powerful mind of the eighteenth-century, declared, “men will not be free until the last king will be strangled with the entrails of the last priest.” Such concepts will be actually imposed by the republican governments of Revolutionary France at the end of the eighteenth-century.
*The Pilosophes derived their principles from the writers and scientists of the preceding age of genius. Their faith in Natural Science came from Newton, and their confidence of the power of human reason in part to Rene’ Descartes. But it was John Locke to whom the rationalists turned to in the field of politics. In his “Of Civil Government”, Locke professed that all people are by nature born free, equal and independent and that they submit to government always because they find it convenient to do so.
Satire: It became the weapon of the Enlightenment. Cultural trends were still controlled by political powers that remained blind to the new progressive ideas of the Philosophes; they in turn responded to this by writing biting literary satire. In fact, the 18th C. was the greatest era in the history of satire. Satire used irony and paradigm to attack human ignorance and foibles. Juvenal in ancient imperial Rome used it to attack political realities;Erasmus of Rotterdam used it to criticize the Catholic Church so that it would re-moralize and reform its assets.
Voltaire (1648-1778): The chief exponent of the enlightenment, as well as of Deism and anti-clericalism in the France and in Europe was Francois Arouet, Voltaire. Born in Paris to a middle class family he was educated by Jesuits. He poured forth letter, epics, plays, often brightly satirical, he was viewed by authorities as being so subversive that he often had to elude authorities by printing with different names (twice he was slapped in jail, as well as being forced into exile). Voltaire’s works broadened the writing of history, including economy and culture, as well as war and politics.
Figure SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 1JEAN-ANTOINE HOUDON, Voltaire in Old Age, 1781. Marble, height 20 in.
He criticized French politics and the intolerance of the Catholic Church, and in fact, he moved to England and then traveled abroad comparing foreign customs with the decaying “Old Regime” in France portrayed in his “Letters Concerning the English Nation”, as well as “Essay on Manners”, a universal history that examines the customs of foreign nations. No other Philosophes showed interest in the traditions of non-Western cultures more than Voltaire (admired the ethical teachings of Confucius). Voltaire remains also renown for becoming a councilor of great kings: he lived in Frederick’s II palace at Potsdam, and became the personal advisor of the king of Prussia, and kept a nourished correspondence with Catherine the Great of Russia, directing many of the empress’s reforms. Finally Voltaire was renowned for his tolerance and his aversion for religious wars and intolerance. In his “On Tolerance”, he explains how tolerance becomes a product of natural law, stimulated by a true case in France regarding a protestant merchant Jean Calais, which was falsely believed to have tortured and murdered his son that threatened to convert to Catholicism.
First and foremost, what Voltaire championed was freedom of thought, including the freedom of being absolutely pessimistic. This pessimism is directed against the “irrational” – so Voltaire interprets it – optimism of thinkers like Alexander Pope and Karl Leibniz. Voltaire’s pessimism remains immortal in his satires.
Candide hastened further to another village duirng the Thirty Years' War
His best satirical masterpiece, and maybe unprecedented in the world is Candide (subtitled optimism) Reading 25.4, a satire that attacks human optimism, that is, that a benevolent God could have only created a perfect world absent of evil and hatred. Voltaire’s attacks are directed mainly at the optimism of the Catholic Church and Christian institutions. This opera describes the exploits of a youthful simple man
Candide (literally frank), whose typical optimism – making him blind of the existence of evil – is struck by a series of terrible and hilarious experiences until he realizes the folly of believing “that all is for the best in this best of all possible worlds”. Candide had been taught so by Pangloss (all tongue, and representing Leibniz), the intellectual teacher of Candide that in the beginning teaches him optimism and that “whatever is, is right, because it is part of a plan”. Candide experiences the horrors of war (Thirty Years’ War); the evils of religious fanatism (inquisition, see Ch. 6 in Reading 25.4); the disasters of nature (the Lisbon earthquake); and the horrible effects of greed (nobility). Voltaire’s skepticism is clear: it is Voltaire’s answer to blind optimism and the foolish hope that God can justify (allay) evil. Voltaire explains this by ending his tale with Candide settling in a farm in turkey and telling his friend Pangloss that “we must cultivate our garden”, a metaphor indicating that pursuit of personal satisfaction is justified by a hostile world.
In fact, although Canidide survives his adventures – a testament of human resilience – and eventually finds and marries his love Cunegonde, the books conclusion with his famous statement, “we must cultivate our own garden”, can be seen also in another mode. We must, in other words, give up our naïve belief that we live in the best of all possible worlds, tend to small things that we can do well – thus keeping total pessimism at bay – and leave the world at large to keep on its incompetent, evil, and even horrific way. The conclusion of the satire shows the “absurdity” of optimism in Voltaire’s thought: Ch. 28, as they are sailing towards Turkey, Voltaire writes, “Well my dear Pangloss,” said Candide to him, “when you were hanged, dissected, whipped, and tugging at the oar, did you continue to think that everything in this world happens for the best?” “I have always abided by my first opinion,” answered Pangloss, “for after all, I am a philosopher…”
Excerpt from Voltaire’s Candide Theses and Erasmus’s “Praise to Folly – see excerpts Candide
Ancient Egypt: The Hymn to Aten and Hebrew Psalms (104)
It’s known that in three thousand years Egyptians worshipped a pantheon of more than 2000 deities. At times some were exhorted over the others, and deities were blurred or combined. Throughout most of Egyptian polytheist creed, the sun God, Amon Ra, had been the leader of this pantheon. However, during the eighteenth dynasty, a radical change happened, anticipating monotheism. The Hymns to Aten is a solemn lyrical poem, written by an Egyptian Pharaoh during the New Kingdom that is used to praise the divine power of a God. It still ranks as one of the most exquisite pieces of literature during the New Kingdom. Written by the Pharaoh Amenhotep IV (1353-1337), the father of Tutankhamen, it can be viewed inscribed in the tombs of many of his successors. The hymn to Aten marks a radical departure from traditional Egyptian belief, which, throughout the centuries had been thoroughly polytheistic, with the leadership given to the God Amon Ra. But toward the end of the eighteenth-dynasty, the Pharaoh Amenhotep IV gave way to one of the most important crisis in Egyptian history. He undertook a religious reformation, and fifteen years after his death his name was damned, his body scattered and his city leveled to the ground.
King Akhenaton and his wife, Queen Nefertiti, enjoying time with three of their six daughters under the sun disk God, the Aten. Sunken Carved Alabaster.
He is believed to have been the first monotheist, eliminating the existence of all other Gods except the solar disk god the Aten. He proclaimed the Aten his own deity, addressing the god as the soul god, the god in question was one. Therefore Amenhotep IV abolished the pantheon of Gods and established a monotheistic religion in which the sun disk Aten was worshipped exclusively. Other gods were still acknowledged, but they were considered to be too inferior to Aten to be worth worshipping. This type of monotheism is known as“henotheism.” Amenhotep’s new religion might have influenced the Hebrews that were arriving in that area during the 17th C. BCE. Amenhotep believed the sun was the creator of life, and he was so dedicated to Aten that he changed his own name to Akhenaten (“The shining Spirit of the Aten”) and moved the capital from Thebes to a site many miles north that he also named Akhenaten. This move transformed Egypt’s political and cultural as well as religious life. At this capital he presided over the worship of Aten as a divine priest and his queen as a divine priestess (Nefertiti). Temples to Aten were open courtyards, where the altar received the sun’s direct rays.
akhenatenColossusMany Egyptologists argue that the Pharaoh’s switch from polytheism to monotheism, quite clear in the hymn to Aten, was meant to enhance the power of the Pharaoh over a growing number of independent local temple priests who were menacing the centrality of the pharaoh.
The statue of Amenhotep IV (Akhenaton) in a strange new-fangled guise: an androgynous style with long, exaggerated bone structure, a long face, swollen belly and hips, and feminine-looking breasts. manifestation of some congenital pathology for example Marfan’s or Froelich’s syndrome. The Egyptian royal family had also been interbreeding for generations, and (the most famous Amarna mummy that has come down to us—Tutankhamun, very likely Akhenaten’s son—is loaded with congenital problems, including scoliosis, cleft palate, and club foot.)
With the pharaoh representing the one god that mattered, all religious justification for the power held by priesthood dedicated to the traditional gods, was gone. With the only sun disk god Aten as supreme god, embodying the characteristics of all other gods, this rendered them superfluous. By analogy Akhenaten was now supreme priest, rendering all other priests superfluous as well. Simultaneously, the temples dedicated to the other gods lost prestige and influence. These changes also converted the priests into dissidents. Akhenaten and his family worshipped the disk god, his subjects worshipped him. The reform, more than beingmonotheistic, was egocentric, only its intolerance was monotheist.
In brief, the Hymn to Aten is a ritual hymn of renewal and of constant creation. It emphasizes the Egyptiannotion of dualism and of universal balance between different forces.
Some scholars see a similarity between the Hymn to Aten and the Hebrew psalm. 104. In fact, some scholars argue that his religious reforms may have had a formative effect in the development of monotheism on the Hebrews, many of whom were perhaps enslaved in Egypt at the time of Akhenaten’s reforms. The style and subject of Psalm 104 bear a striking resemblance to the king’s hymn to the Aten.
Principal Egyptian Gods
Name
|
Role
|
Depicted As
|
Amon
|
sun god, creator of heaven and earth
|
falcon, sun rays
|
Anubis
|
patron of embalmers, god of cemeteries
|
jackal
|
Aten
|
god of the solar disk
|
solar disk
|
Bes
|
helper of women in childbirth, protector against snakes
|
lion-faced dwarf
|
Hapi
|
god of the Nile
|
bull
|
Hathor
|
mother, wife, and daughter of Ra, sky goddess
|
cow
|
Horus
|
son of Isis and Osiris, sky god
|
falcon
|
Isis
|
wife of Osiris, mother of Horus, fertility goddess
|
female
|
Maat
|
goddess of truth and universal order
|
head-feather
|
Osiris
|
god of the underworld
|
mummified king
|
Ptah
|
creator of humans, patron of craftspeople
|
mummified man
|
Set
|
brother of Osiris, god of storms and violence
|
pig, ass, hippopotamus
|
Thoth
|
inventor of writing, patron of scribes
|
ibis
|
Excerpt from Akhenaton’s Hymn to Aten – see excerpts Hymn to Aten
Prose. Overview Christianity and Buddhism: Prose, Sermon of the Mount; Sutra on Abuse
The earliest narratives regarding a prominent, eloquent, charismatic Jewish rabbi preacher named Jesus (Greek) or Joshua (Hebrew) appear in 70AD and will continue to be written until 100AD. This message became the basis for a new religion that will color the Middle Ages: Christianity. These testimonials were written or orally transmitted (as we know, Jesus’ sayings were also transmitted word of mouth) of some of his most renown disciples: Mark, Luke, Matthew, John – the Evangelist (in the arts they appear as winged figures). These accounts are known as the “Gospels”, literally “Good News”, one of five parts composing theNew Testament. The Gospels are the statements of teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, written so that such teachings would not be lost. They indicate that Jesus was born in Palestine around 4-8AD, and that he was crucified during Tiberius’s reign. They tell us that he was born a Jew and that he will remain a Jew, and that he had stoutly said that he hadn’t come to lead a revolution if succession from Judaism, but one of reform and fulfillment.
The Message of Jesus: It’s true, there are no historical accounts contemporary to Jesus. All New Testament sources were written decades after the appearance of Jesus. They were written in Greek for non-Jews, and truly don’t reflect the situation immediately after Jesus’ death.
Orans (praying figure), ca. 300. Fresco. Catacombs of Saint Priscilla, Rome. The figure is shown here wearing the Jewish prayer shawl known as the tallis (or tallit).
It was in a divided land, characterized by civil dispute and hatred that Jesus started to preach. He preached the love of one God for all people; he preached to the poor, the simple, the weak, the sick, the outcasts. His preaching brought to us an enormous quantity of literature. From the books of his disciples – the Gospels, written in Greek – we learn what he said. He spoke of his father in heaven, and thought that he was themessiah that God had sent to earth to redeem humanity from sin. The rewards for a humble, honest life are the eternal joys of the afterlife in heaven: this he offered to all regardless of class status and race. Jesus was also known as the Christ – from the Greek Cristo (Christ, the anointed one). He was baptized by John in the Jordan river and all his followers required the same form of initiation. Jesus’ message is based on the following principles; 1- he gives more importance to faith and love an individual has towards God than to ritual activity; 2- he emphasis more the moral and ethical intentions of an individual than outward ritual behavior; 3-he offers a stern but loving, caring, understanding God, a God of mercy and pity ready to grant forgiveness through the sacrifice of his own son; this is not a judicial, inaccessible, remote, punishing God sitting on a throne with the Decalogue in his hands. The Sermon on the Mount recorded in Matthew’s Gospel summons the basic principles of Jesus’ reformation
The Good Shepherd, ca. 300. Marble, height 3 ft. (The legs are restored.) One of the most common images of Jesus in Early Christian art shows him as a youthful figure holding a lamb on his shoulders, a theme illustrating the parable of the Good Shepherd
Jesus’ thought aroused alarm and hostility among Jewish authorities. Both Sadducees and Pharisees mistrusted all reforming movements. When the Roman governor Poncius Pilate – to bring order – brought Jesus under trial and the latter responded that he was the Messiah, the Romans mistranslated Jesus’ expression as “King of the Jews”, therefore it was the political implication in Jesus’ answer that was the factor of fatality, the only implication that the Romans found punishable, the religious factor. The cruxification became the act of redemption for the Christian faith: Jesus had died for everyone. His followers said that he rose from the dead and would return for the final day of judgment.
Did he break Mosaic Law? 1- Accused merchants of blasphemy; 2- “I will rebuild the Temple”; 3- Forgave sin, only God can; 4- convened with the unclean and prostitutes; 5- got rid of blood sacrifice; 6- Worked on Saturday.
Sermon on the Mount, Matthew’s Gospel:
The gospel was probably written in the last decades of the first Century C.E. It incorporates many traditionalJewish teachings, and Jesus’s primary source is his Judaism. The sermon contains Jesus’ most famous sayings, Lord’s Prayer – itself a kind of collage of passages from the Hebrew Scriptures – and it differentiates, particularly, between accepted wisdom (“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy…”) and the compassionate wisdom of new faith (“But I say to you so that you. Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven”). It is, furthermore, a masterpiece of rhetorical persuasion.
For example, in the The fulfilment of the Law, Jesus clearly states his aversion to break from Hebrew truth but at the same times, reveals his will to perfect it: “Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete them.”
Excerpt from The Gospel of Matthew – see excerpts Sermon on the Mount
The Buddha and the sutra on Abuse:
Against the worldly creed of Hinduism that dominated India, there gradually rose – within Hinduism itself - a new religion based on the teachings of a sagacious, eloquent, ascetic Indian priest named Siddhartha Gautama (560-480BC); due to his righteous life, his exemplary morality and virtue, they called him theBuddha, the “Illumined One”. As Christianity began to win converts within the Roman Empire, the message of Buddha swept throughout Asia as well. The parallels – similarities – between both religions are remarkable, and both religions played a formative role in the cultural aspects of East and West.
The Buddha:
Born probably in the 560s BC into a rich Hindu family in the Indus river valley, Siddhartha was well educated and enjoyed a sumptuous life, free from pain and despair. He married a cousin at 19, fathered a child, but as he matured he came to realize how the lives of people – rich or poor – were always troubled by pain and anxiety. His discovery of the “Three Truths” of existence – sickness, old age, and death – led him at 29 to renounce to wealth, abandon his wife and child, and begin a quest for illumination.
Seated Buddha, from the Gandharan region of northwest Pakistan, ca. 200 c.e. Gray schist, 4 ft. 3 in. × 31 in. Born into India's princely Shakya clan, the Buddha was known as Shakyamuni, “sage of the Shakyas.” He is shown here wearing the simple robes of monk; his elongated earlobes are a reference to his princely origins. The iconic Buddha-pose is a study in
psychic self-containment.
He shaved his head, wore a yellow robe, barefoot and begging with a bowl, embraced ascetics, and toured India. After 6 years of Hindu ascetic life he concluded that total self-denial was useless. Turning inward he looked for a “middle path” of salvation, sitting under a fig tree and practicing meditation to reach the enlightenment.
The message of Buddha is found in the Book of Dharma (Book of teaching or righteous living); in it, meditation led Siddhartha to the full perception that the cause for human suffering was desire, that is, the attachment to material things that creates illusion. The Nirvana for the Buddha is the ultimate release from illusion and from the wheel of rebirth. Furthermore, as in Hinduism, Buddhism accepts the general Brahman belief of dividing the world into evil-doers and virtuous individuals, but it finds salvation in a different “Nirvana” – the peaceful release from the chain of earthly births and rebirths by living a life based on good works, charity and ascetic life. Finally, as Jesus will later on imply, Buddha’s message is based on equality, everyone can reach the Nirvana regardless of cast hierarchy, therefore, offering salvation to all.
The Buddha speaks about the 4-Noble Truths 1- Pain is Universal; 2- desire causes pain; 3- ceasing to desire relieves pain 4- right conduct leads to release from pain. This can be obtained by following the Middle Way, or the Eightfold Path (see book). Differently from Christianity however, the Buddhist reward is not immortality, but to end reincarnation (the rebirth of the soul into different animal form): the release form the endless cycle of death and rebirth.
Enlightenment, detail of frieze showing four scenes from the life of the Buddha: Birth, Enlightenment, First Preaching, and Nirvana, from the Gandharan region of northwest Pakistan, Kushan dynasty, late second–early third century. Dark gray-blue slate.
Like Jesus, the Buddha was an eloquent teacher. And just like Jesus criticized Judaism’s heavy emphasis on ritual, so Buddha attacked the forms of Hindu worship; such as animal sacrifice and the caste system of the book of Vedas. In this sense both religions – Buddhism and Christianity – were products of reformation of older world faiths: Hinduism and Judaism.
The Buddha himself never wrote nothing, but his disciples memorized his teachings and wrote them down in the 1st C. BC. in three main books known as the Pitakas “Baskets of Law”. The Pitakas were divided into instructional chapters known as “Sutra” (comparable to the sermons in Christianity). The Sermon on abuse remains emblematic and building a parallel with Christianity: Buddha’s regard for loving and caring guarantees the return of good from evil – a concept found in the Sermon on Abuse.
Excerpt from Buddah’s Sermons – see excerpts Sermon on Abuse
Similar sayings between Buddha and Jesus: press ctrl + click on the following link:
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Prose. Overview Islam: Excerpts from the Koran; The Thousand and One Nights
General Principles (Arabia, Bedouin life, pre-Islamic religion);
In the early seventh century AD, in the Middle East, we have the rise of a newly arrived monotheist faith, Islam, that from Arabia, will spread strongly into the Eastern and Western world, determining the intellectual character of the Middle Ages, with its enormous contribution in the arts, philosophy, and especially the applied sciences, as well as being the natural economical and cultural venue between the East and the West.
Islam, Submission to god, is the most recent of the monotheist creeds. Its adherents are known as Muslims, those who submit to God. And today Muslims inhabit the entire North African coast, major portions of Western and central Africa, the former Yugoslavian confederation, Ethiopia, Egypt, turkey, Central Asia and the entire Middle East. (see map 4.3, pg. 112 in text)
Arabia was the birthplace of the Islamic religion. The leader of Islam is Muhammad, the “Prophet”, the “Praised One”, he is not worshipped as a God, but respected as a Prophet. Arabia is a peninsula, a million square mile “wasteland”, practically devoid of any kind of marketable resource: Arabia was large, poor, hostile, and hot. Before the birth of Muhammad in the late sixth-century, it was inhabited by nomadic Arabic caravan trading tribes; Bedouin tribes, each one representing an independent society, each one under its own chieftain, Arabia was politically fragmented. Arabia was therefore a culturally isolated and underdeveloped region before the arrival of Islam. In the south-western corner of the peninsula, relatively fertile, several Arabic Kingdoms flourished. These kingdoms lived by the domestication of camels and trade in frankincense and spices, creating a commercial network of kingdoms, reaching as far as the Byzantine Empire (that controlled Asia Minor and Egypt), as well as the Persian Sassanid Empire (controlling also Mesopotamia), as well as Christian Ethiopia. It is from Byzantium and Ethiopia that Christian ideology – which played a relevant role in influencing the idea of monotheism – arrived. It is also known that Jewish colonies were also present in the southern parts of Yemen.
These Bedouin kingdom tribes were extremely mobile, lived by trade but also raid, the term “Arab”, is a Semitic term meaning “on the move”. The Bedouin of the 7th C. didn’t have a highly structured religious system. They apparently looked at life as a brief time during which to take full advantage of its pleasures.Ideas of an afterlife were not well defined. They Bedouins were pagan and animist; they worshipped a large number of gods and spirits, drawn from their natural surroundings, especially stones. Each tribe had its own Gods.
The two major cities in Arabia were Mecca and Yatrib. The former was the most important location in Arabia, located in the rising desert mountains of the region of Higiaz (meaning barrier), approx. 50 miles from the Red Sea. It was the most important center of commerce, trade, culture, and religion. Prior to Islam, the Mecca revealed the practice of a polytheist religion not so different from other Semitic people. Moreover, Mecca lay astray the most important trade routes, contributing to its relative stability and wealth.
The Kaaba, Mecca, Saudi Arabia. According to Muslim tradition, the Kaaba was built by Abraham and his son Ishmael; it is also said to mark the sacred spot where, at God's command, Abraham had prepared to sacrifice his son, Isaac.
Most important, was its function of acting for the most important religious sanctuary, the Ka’ba (the “cube”).The Ka’aba is a cube 48’x48’x48’, believed by the Muslims to have been built by Abraham, and where he prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac. Actually, before the rise of Muhammad, frequent Bedouin tribes worshipped a multitude of Gods and Goddesses (more than 360). Finally, the Ka’ba created an environment that was quite favorable and safe for commerce.
Inside the Ka’ba we find a prestigious stone (believed to have fallen from heaven), the Black Stone (maybe a meteorite), representing the God Hubal (which, ironically, was called by the pagan Bedouins, Allah – “the God”). Altogether, the Sacred Stone and the Ka’ba contributed in giving the city a great religious importance, which culminated with a ceremonial pilgrimage, of Pan Arabic value. Prior to Islam, it was known as the Umra, and followed by rotating around the Ka’ba known as the Tawaf, and a final pilgrimage – known as Hagg, to the close mountain of Arafa. In the 6th century this center was dominated by the Quraysh tribe, a trading people that lived by caravan commerce. They were an aristocracy of merchants and protectors of the Ka’ba and the Black Stone. In fact, the Quraysh were spectacularly rich due to the fact that they had Bedouins pay tribute to worship this sacred shrine, allowing them to worship a multitude of Gods. This process ensured a continuoussource of revenue for the merchants of the city.
Muhammad: Into this environment at Mecca was born Muhammad, actually, from one of the Quraysh clans, in 570AD. He was an early orphan (6 years old), his father Abdullah, died before his birth, his mother Aminashortly after. He was then raised by his uncle, Abu Talib, a prominent merchant of Mecca. He had little formal education, and his early years were spent helping his uncle in the caravan trade. He then entered the services and favors of a prominent woman of the Mecca, Khadija, her major business was caravan trading, and married her. She was about 15 years his senior, and she gave birth to 4 children, the most important of all was his daughter, Fatima, that played a an important role in the future of the Islamic state. The founts of information that we have of his life are two: the Koran (Recital), the sacred text of Islam; and the immense collections of traditions, “Hadits” (narrative), formed a few centuries after. The most ancient compilations of Hadits is known as the “sira” (model life), written by Ibn Ishaq, in the early 7th C.
Kufic calligraphy from the Qur'an, from Persia, ninth–tenth centuries. Ink and gold leaf on vellum, 8½ × 21 in. Qur'ans, like the holy books of Judaism and early Christianity, were usually handwritten on sheepskin (parchment) or calfskin (vellum) and han Kufic calligraphy from the Qur'an, from Persia, ninth–tenth centuries. Ink and gold leaf on vellum, 8½ × 21 in. Qur'ans, like the holy books of Judaism and early Christianity, were usually handwritten on sheepskin (parchment) or calfskin (vellum) and hand-decorated or “illuminated”—that is, ornamented with gold leaf or gold paint and brightly colored pigments. Arabic script, like Hebrew script, is read from right to left. Kufic calligraphy is notable for its angularity and its horizontal extensions.
Void of information is the life of Muhammad between his wedding to Khadica and the descent of the Koran upon him; it’s very probable that he was a pagan during these years. Nevertheless, it’s very probable that during his voyages for commercial reasons, he had reached Jerusalem several times and came into contact with the teachings of both Christianity and Judaism which must have infatuated him more than the primitive pagan beliefs of his own Mecca. Muhammad might have been driven by a sense of reforming not only the pagan traditions of Mecca, which he saw as irreligious and materialistic, but also Judaism and Christianity; in fact, he spent many days in vigils and fasting in a small cave of Mount Hira. There, finally, at the age of forty, in 610, Muhammad believes that God is revealing the truth to him, commanding him the seventh and last prophet to spread the last word of god. This word was spelt in Arabic. Muhammad therefore, is the new messenger, the prophet, the seal of god, he is the last prophet. Muhammad heard a call, coming from heaven, in the form of a command: “Recite!, In the name of the Lord, who created all things, who created man from a clot [of blood]. Recite! And your lord is the most Bounteous Who teaches by the pen, Teaches man that which he would not have otherwise known.” (Koran 96:1-5) It’s said that when Muhammad received revelations he would fall in a state of intense fever and cold, telling his followers to wrap him in a mantel; “Zammiluni! Zammiluni!”
Hence, the entire body of revelations is known as the Qur’an – the recital – one of the world’s most perfect literary productions, written in perfect well balanced rhymed Arabic prose. It was devolved by Allah (the God), through Gabriel and imposed on Muhammad. Imposed, because in the beginning, when Gabriel unraveled a fine silken cloth with the writings of God, Muhammad was reticent in obeying to the Archangel’s orders. Hadits narrate that Muhammad was almost “strangled” by the silken cloth, until he agreed to read. Therefore, the Koran is the direct and infallible word of God. “Muhammad”, commanded Gabriel, “you are the Prophet of Allah and I am Gabriel!” In reality, Islam diverges in the interpretation of how he had received the Qur’an, had he memorized it all at once (in verbatim), or will he receive it in parts during the next 20 years!
Gabriel encounters Muhammad revealing the written words of Allah through the Koran.
One point is clear, he was and remained an unlettered man, he didn’t write the Koran. To call Muhammad the author of the Qur’an is considered blasphemous for all Muslims. Islam believes, then, that God had spoken several times prior to Muhammad; through Abraham, Moses, Samuel, Christ, but his message has been distorted or forgotten. The chapters of the Qur’an are not arranged chronologically, but by subject: chapters are known as “Surahs” (steps), there are 114, and they all start with the Bismillah, “In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, Ever Merciful.” Chapters are divided into verses, “ayas”, there are altogether 6000. The opening chapters are of the Mecca period, the closing of the Median period. One of the marvels of the Qur’an is thateach following chapter is proportionally shorter than the other one, until the last chapters are reduced to few and short sentences, from 287 in the first Ch. to only 3 the last ch. It’s almost as if you are going down a long flight of stairs and the steps become narrower and narrower (like an algorithm). The true Qur’an, hence,literally records God’s speech and can only exist in the Arabic in which Muhammad had received it. In Sura n.75: 16-18, Allah states, “You need not move your tongue too fast to learn the revelation. We ourself shall see to its collection and recital. When we read it, follow its words attentively.” One point is clear, Muhammad was a man, a spokesman for Allah (a microphone), and worked out no miracles. In simpler terms, God does everything, or better, the angel. Among the first converts were his wife, and his cousin, Ali, son of Muhammad’s uncle, Abu Talib.
*The Qur’an is never to be translated from the Arabic for the purpose of worship because it is believed that translation distorts the divine message. The Qur’an remains the basic document for the study of Islamic theology, law, social institutions, and ethics. It forms the core of Muslim scholarship, from legal and linguistic inquiry to scientific and technical investigation.
Five Pillars of Islam: The formal demands of Islam are known as the Five Pillars of Islam; they are not that demanding or hard to perform, they put the believer in direct contact with God, since in Islam there isn’t any organized Church or hierarchy of clergymen between God and man.
When Muslims pray together - Salat - they pray in a mosque.
Islam makes salvation an individual responsibility of the believer. It is a layman religion.
Five times a day a Muslim must pray towards the Mecca – Kiblah Mihrab – this prayer is known as salat – obligation to pray. Muslims are called to prayer by a Muezzin (screamer), from the top of a minaret (tower). Prayer can be said alone, at work, at home, or in a mosque.
During the month of Ramadan – when in 620 for one month, Muhammad receives the revelations of Allah – all Muslims are prohibited to eat, drink, smoke tobacco or practice sex from dawn to sun setting. This is known as“sawm.”
All Muslims must make alms to the poor – Zakat - at least 1/10 of their richness must go to those in wanting.The payment is a social and religious obligation to provide for the welfare of the Umma.
At least once in their life they must make a sacred pilgrimage to the Mecca, known as Hajj. This happens in the twelfth month of the Islamic year. It symbolizes the unity of the Umma and the equality of all believers regardless of race or class.
All Muslims must make the Profession of Faith (shahada); this makes him a Muslim; “I believe that Allah is only true God and Muhammad is his prophet.”
Islam and other Religions: We notice many similarities between Islam, Christianity and Judaism; all believe in the same God, all are monotheist, all believe that Abraham is the first prophet of monotheism, all believe in the afterlife. Muslims and Jews have similarities of their own; both can worship together or worship alone, they don’t require an ecclesiastical organization; both practice circumcision and also are distinguished by their similar dietary restrictions. Interesting are the similarities between Christians and Muslims; both believe in the Final day of judgment (Qur’an, Sura 76:23-25), in hell (Qur’an, Sura 47:8-11), Christ, the Virgin Mary and the Virgin birth of Christ. Muslims recognize Jesus as a great prophet, and refer to him as Isa ibn Maryam – Jesus, the son of Mary; Mary is the only woman mentioned in the Qur’an. Muslims believe that Jesus ascended to heaven following his death, however, they cannot accept him as the son of God, Allah is above having a son (Qur’an, Sura 5:75). In addition, Islam believes that only Jesus and Mary were born untouched by Satan. Even Muhammad had to be purified by angels before receiving prophet hood. There are, however, two concepts in Islam regarding Christ that make it impossible for a reconciliation with Christianity:
1.Muslims believe that Jesus asked God to save him from crucifixion, and that God answered his prayer by taking him directly to heaven, God would not allow one of his prophets to be killed.
2.The Original Sin: While Christianity teaches that sin was transmitted to Adam’s descendents, Islam teaches that all people are born fundamentally good with a natural inclination to believe in one God. This innocent free state is called “fitrah.” This reinforces free will, because, although a person is born without original sin, a person is vulnerable to committing sins and becomes accountable for them at the age of reason. Furthermore, the original sin, would justify Jesus as the Son of God, sent down by God to redeem humanity.
Sharia, the Islamic Law: To Muslims, nevertheless, Jews and Christians are all “People of the Book”, because they worship the Holy Scriptures, recognized by Islam as valid (Qur’an, Sura 5:68-69). The Qur’an, however, differently from the Old Testament and the bible – which represent commendations – represents instead, a series of civil laws, to be followed and respected in order to reach salvation; the Sharia. The Sharia in itself indicates the concept of “The Path to Follow”, or ethical conduct, it’s a blending of Qur’an sayings and the words of the prophet known as Hadits. The sharia gives believers a perfect pattern of human conduct and regulates every aspect of a person’s activities. Those who study, interpret, and administer Sharia are known as Ulama (those who know). These laws range from private and personal concerns to those involving thewelfare of the whole state. It emphasizes the patriarchal nature of the family and society.
Hijra: Muhammad started to preach to the people of the Mecca the belief in one single God; not surprisingly, the Quraysh authorities repudiated him scornfully and menaced to death. His message threatened their economic livelihoods. Without the tolerance for a multitude of Gods that the Ka’ba represented among Arabs,Mecca could not guarantee a safe environment for trade and richness for the Quraysh.
Muhammad during his flight to Medina in 622 A.D., an event known as the Hijra or Hegira. Mohammed arriving at the walls of Medina.
He was accused of being a magician, a poet, he spoke about resurrection and of the final day of judgment, viewed by the Quraysh as ridiculous and dangerous. Furthermore, a tough blow was the dearth of Abu Talib and his wife Hadiqa, in 619, which had guaranteed protection.
In 622, pilgrims from the city of Yahtrib – 200 miles north of Mecca – invited Muhammad to reach their city and settle violent disputes between Arabs and Jews. The residents of Yahtrib were somewhat familiar with monotheistic beliefs. The choice was made, the city of the Prophet would have been Yahtrib (al-Medina – the City of the Prophet). By accepting this invitation, Muhammad temporarily abandoned the Mecca in 622 with a group of followers – known as the first Muslim “Umma” community. The Umma established relations with the Medinan tribes, including Jewish and Christian residents. Those that did not accept Islam were allowed to continue their way of life. Ultimately the Prophet’s preaching came into conflict with the Jewish tribes, and they were expelled. In fact, Muhammad’s attempt to convert the Jews failed, in retaliation he ordered in 624 that henceforth prayers will be directed not towards Jerusalem but towards the Mecca.
This period is known as the Hijra “departure”. Thus, 622, marks the beginning of the official Islamic calendar, just what the birth of Christ is for the Christians. It’s based on the lunar cycles, the Muslim year is about 11 days shorter than the Christian year, resulting in a difference of three years per century.
Excerpt from the Koran – see excerpts Koran
Arab Literature: Arab Muslim contribution in the field of literature dominated the Middle Ages. The Koran is written in beautiful, balanced Arabic rhymed prose, and its study, recitation, and memorization contributed to a lively appreciation for literature. Muslim writers throughout the Middle Ages penned magnificent poetry as well as prose that celebrated love, beauty and the sensual life. Perhaps, the most famous literary opera was the tales of the Arabic nights. This widely admired collection of stories was set in Baghdad in the court of the most powerful man on earth, the Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid, which will become one of its protagonists. These tales have delighted readers in the east and the west as well.
The Thousand and One Nights was composed between the 8th and 10th C. AD, and it brings together in theArabic tongue tales from Persian, Indian, Chinese, and Arab background.
A Thousand and One Nights FilmPoster.
The framework of all these tales is the opening tale, an Indian tale of the beautiful princess Scheherazade, which is the allegorical narrator of the opera. The princess risking her life, decides to marry the very jealous king of her realm, King Shahriyar who avenged his first wife’s adultery – she had been caught making love to one of his slaves while he was out on a hunting bout – that he fears female infidelity so much that he married virgins one day and beheading them the morning after their defloration. This is a deeply satisfying image of Islam’s images and relations to the concepts of life, death, and storytelling. Despite her father’s remonstranceto avoid this marriage, he was the king’s emir that beheaded the young women in the morning, she decides to marry the king, and to avoid her tragic fate she narrates to her husband impressive tales, and she carefully brings the story to a climax during the early lights of dawn. The king, anxious to know the ending, must have her survive one more day (1001 nights, an infinite number). Scheherazade keeps her own going, hence, by telling other lives and deaths – and prolongs it long enough to bear the king three sons and extended both their lifelines into another generation. The king, satisfied, abolishes this horrible law, and sheds tears for hisprevious behavior.
Princess Scheherazade narrating a tale to her husband king Shahriyar
The opera contains 250 tales some read throughout the west as well. Such as Alibaba and the 40 Thieves,Aladdin, and the adventures of Sinbad the sailor. Not only does it demonstrate the new social and active position of females, thanks to the sharia law, that gave women certainly more opportunities than what they experienced in Bedouin times, but the manner in which each tale loops, linking one story to the other resembles the regulating and repetitive principles of the Koran as well as their artwork.
Excerpt from the Thousand and One Nights – see excerpts Prince Behram and the Princess Al-Datma
See Power Points: Islam
