Originality in literary compositions in the ancient world did not carry the same weight and value as it does today. In recent centuries, authors have been applauded for the creation of original works and have been derided for plagiarism or for passing off a work as a true account – especially a first-person account – when it is not. This same paradigm did not hold true for the ancient world. In the modern day, an author creates an original work and hopes it will catch the interest of the majority of the reading public and become a bestseller; in the ancient world, an author could simply assume the identity of an already famous person, write an account using their name and point of view, and present it to the reading public as an authoritative, first-person account.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original article at https://www.worldhistory.org/article/749/truths-wrapped-in-fiction-mesopotamian-naru-litera/.
Join the Conversation
- Do you think naru literature was meant to teach people more than to tell the truth?
- Should the gospels be compared to naru literature, or is that comparison unfair?
- Why do you think ancient people cared more about the message than the facts?
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