Fables in Old Iraqi Literature

Fables are as old as man himself. He used them early as a means of expression when nature puzzled him beyond human perception. As a reaction to his perplexity, he proposed lots of interpretations that were mostly imaginary and Sheerly illogical. Fables, therefore, came to represent such interpretations, means for understanding the world of nature and deciphering its elements. Ever since, Fables proved the most ancient modes of narrative literature in comparison to Myths and Epics. Fables, which took for granted the animal character as a ruling persona, were the privilege of no individual nation. Nevertheless, some scholars attributed them to Indian and Greek civilization and sometimes to the ancient Egypt. Such a view is undoubtedly ignoring the ancient Iraqi civilization in this domain. Sumerian, Babylonian, and Assyrian Ages passed down a great number of Fables that echoed loudly in the literatures of later world civilizations. This is quite noticeable in comparing old Iraqi Fables with their Greek equivalents. The Greek and non-Greek “Isup is a good example for such a shared experience of the same artistic phase. The present study is to shed light upon the art of Fable through its early appearance in “Guilgamesh” up to its maturity in “Ihegar Wisdom. The study also attempts to classify Fables and their moral, educational, and political functions.