This research investigates the divergent traditions of foundling narratives of the eastern Mediterranean and southwest Asian antiquity. The primary research centers on the question whether divergences in narratives are functions of differential geographic, socioeconomic, and cultural contexts. To answer this query, several well-known foundling narratives were compared with the background from which they emerged and the depth of the relationship between narrative and context determined. Subsequently, the regional variations of narratives and practices in three major culture areas were...