JOURNAL ARTICLE

The Sumerian Proverb-Game: Rhetoric, Play, and Political Performance.

  • Published In: Rhetorica, 2025, v. 43, n. 2. P. 127 1 of 3

  • Database: Academic Search Ultimate 2 of 3

  • Authored By: Richardson, Seth 3 of 3

Abstract

I argue that lists of Sumerian proverbs (mostly ca. 1800 BCE) were not anthologized either as collections of wise sayings nor as curricular tools, but as handbooks used for competitive praise-and-blame debates in intermediate scribal education. Positing a fundamentally dialogic purpose for the collections points us towards rhetorical performance as a goal of Mesopotamian education. A model of the game illustrates how the collections had the capacity to support a wide variety of rhetorical maneuvers. Both comparative and culture-specific evidence demonstrate how the "mixed" material of Sumerian proverbs and the rules it taught were appropriate for the instruction of young Babylonians in the politics of formal speech. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Additional Information

  • Source:Rhetorica. 2025/04, Vol. 43, Issue 2, p127
  • Document Type:Article
  • Subject Area:Communication and Mass Media
  • Publication Date:2025
  • ISSN:0734-8584
  • DOI:10.1353/rht.2025.a968710
  • Accession Number:188095459
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