Berossus

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/berossus

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. Where was Berossus born?Babylon (modern-day Iraq)
2. What is the period of activity?Early 3rd century BCE
3. What is the primary work title?Babyloniaca (Βαβυλωνιακά)
4. Who was Berossus?Berossus was an ancient writer and priest from Babylon who lived in the early 3rd century BCE. He wrote stories about stars, history, and gods in Greek so more people could read them.
5. What is the Babyloniaca?The Babyloniaca was Berossus’s big book that told the history of Babylon, its gods, kings, and the movements of the stars. We only know parts of it because the whole book was lost.

Assyriology: The academic study of the ancient history, languages, and cultures of Mesopotamia.
Cosmology: The study of the origin, evolution, and structure of the universe.
Greco-Roman World: The ancient civilizations of Greece and Rome and their cultural influence.