Literature begins in Sumer and Egypt, the lands where writing was first invented and where it was first used to record poems and stories. The cuneiform script was initially developed to write Sumerian, then adapted to write Akkadian, the principal Semitic language of ancient Mesopotamia, and later to write other languages, including Hurrian and Hittite. In this course we shall read legends, myths, dialogues, satires, and other literary works from the “cuneiform world” in translation. We shall analyze these ancient works of literature on their own terms, within their cultural and historical contexts, and in light of other literary traditions.