Today we read through the Dialogue of Pessimism and the Poor Man of Nippur. Both are comedies with a bit of edge to them, though in very different formats, showing the richness of ancient literature. Dialogue of Pessimism is basically a two-man standup routine, with a fair amount of philosophical ideas thrown in as part of the comedy. Poor Man of Nippur is a farce mixed with a revenge tale, grounded with a perspective we rarely see in ancient literature, the common man viewing the wealthy and powerful. It is also the subject of the world’s first movie made in the Babylonian language which can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/pxYoFlnJLoE?si=jr4O7CGWpls6ulzU
Also, I am super excited to be back from Israel and into Mesopotamia. I liked the Israel series, but it got to be way larger than I had expected. Assyria is also going to be a big deal, but I think a more manageable one, with only one primary narrative and a type of written source that I am more comfortable with.
Also, with Assyria and Babylon coming up, let me know if there is anything you would like to see addressed. I have, of course, a pretty long list of stuff already, but I am not in any hurry, and can easily fit in stuff that folks are interested in with the Iron Age.
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