Here is the precise and engaging English version of your presentation opening, aligned with the historical facts: Pietro Della Valle copied cuneiform inscriptions at Persepolis in 1621 (during his visit), and he brought inscribed bricks from Ur and Babylon (and copies) back to Europe around 1625–1626 (after his return journey via India, arriving in Rome in March 1626; the bricks from Mesopotamian sites like Ur/Babylon were collected during his earlier Mesopotamian stay ~1616–1621 and transported/mentioned in that timeframe).
Many sources highlight 1625 as the year the materials reached wider European notice or were brought back.Slide 1 – Dramatic OpeningIn 1625 — a historic milestone:
The Italian traveler Pietro Della Valle brings to Europe the first copies of cuneiform characters from Persepolis (modern-day Iran), along with inscribed bricks from Ur and Babylon (modern-day Iraq). These were among the earliest Western exposures to Mesopotamian scripts. At first, Europeans mistook the wedge-shaped marks for mere decorative patterns or exotic ornaments — no one yet realized they were an actual ancient writing system.Until then, the Western world knew almost nothing about the great civilizations of Sumer, Akkad, and Babylonia. These odd “nail-like” signs seemed like curious decorations. Little did anyone suspect that behind them lay vast libraries of myths, laws, and — above all — stories of gods who descended from the heavens to Earth.Slide 2 – Transition to the Main ThemeIt was from these very tablets and inscriptions — gradually excavated and deciphered in the 19th and 20th centuries — that one name emerged to capture modern imagination: the Anunnaki (Anunnaki). In Sumerian-Akkadian mythology, they are a powerful group of deities, “those who from heaven to earth came” (An = heaven, Ki = earth). According to myth, they created humanity, shaped the fate of mankind, and played a key role in the great flood — a story strikingly similar to the biblical account of Noah.Open question for the audience (or next slide):
Coincidence?
Did the Bible — composed in the same cultural region — “know” these myths and transform them into a monotheistic message?
Or is there direct influence and inheritance here?In this presentation, we will explore the possible connections:
The Italian traveler Pietro Della Valle brings to Europe the first copies of cuneiform characters from Persepolis (modern-day Iran), along with inscribed bricks from Ur and Babylon (modern-day Iraq). These were among the earliest Western exposures to Mesopotamian scripts. At first, Europeans mistook the wedge-shaped marks for mere decorative patterns or exotic ornaments — no one yet realized they were an actual ancient writing system.Until then, the Western world knew almost nothing about the great civilizations of Sumer, Akkad, and Babylonia. These odd “nail-like” signs seemed like curious decorations. Little did anyone suspect that behind them lay vast libraries of myths, laws, and — above all — stories of gods who descended from the heavens to Earth.Slide 2 – Transition to the Main ThemeIt was from these very tablets and inscriptions — gradually excavated and deciphered in the 19th and 20th centuries — that one name emerged to capture modern imagination: the Anunnaki (Anunnaki). In Sumerian-Akkadian mythology, they are a powerful group of deities, “those who from heaven to earth came” (An = heaven, Ki = earth). According to myth, they created humanity, shaped the fate of mankind, and played a key role in the great flood — a story strikingly similar to the biblical account of Noah.Open question for the audience (or next slide):
Coincidence?
Did the Bible — composed in the same cultural region — “know” these myths and transform them into a monotheistic message?
Or is there direct influence and inheritance here?In this presentation, we will explore the possible connections:
- The “sons of God” and Nephilim (Genesis 6:1–4) — could they be the Anunnaki reinterpreted in Hebrew tradition?
- The word Elohim (אֱלֹהִים) — plural form used for “God,” but literally “gods” — an echo of a collective term like the Anunnaki?
- Stories of creation, the flood, and paradise — astonishing parallels between Sumerian tablets (e.g., Atrahasis, Enki and Ninhursag, Enuma Elish) and the Book of Genesis.
- Direct quotes from Sumerian/Akkadian texts (e.g., “The Anunnaki descended from heaven”).
- Biblical parallels (Genesis 6, Numbers 13 — Nephilim/giants as towering figures).
- Discussion of modern theories (Sitchin, von Däniken — extraterrestrials? Or simply shared human mythology?).
- Conclusion: What does this reveal about the origins of the Bible and Mesopotamian cultural influence?
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