Top subscription boxes – right to your door, © 1996-2020, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. The facts are embedded in the text mostly, there isn't much "at-a-glance" information. It is very easily read though it is based on academic researches and citations from original texts. This book manages to remain with the factual while transporting the reader into the experience. It constitutes the oldest known literature in the world; moreover, inner criteria indicate that a long oral-literary tradition preceded, and probably coexisted with, the setting down of its songs and stories in writing. The Uruk Vase, with its representation of the rite of the sacred marriage, the Naram-Sin stela (inscribed commemorative pillar), the Ur-Nammu stela, and the stela with the Code of Hammurabi (Babylonian king, 18th century bce), which shows at its top the royal lawgiver before the sun god Shamash, the divine guardian of justice, are important works of art that may be singled out. Building on these many years of research, Bottéro here presents the definitive account of one of the world's oldest known religions. Each city had its own special god to watch over the city. The genre apparently is late in date, most likely Old Babylonian (c. 19th century bce), and in it the element of magic has, to all intents and purposes, disappeared. However, when you get into the text, it is extremely worthwhile - clear, beautifully written, informative, packed with information, but factual. A contemporary inquirer must keep his accustomed values and modes of thought in suspension and seek rather the inner coherence and structure of the data with which he deals, in order to enter sympathetically into the world out of which they came, just as one does, for example, in entering the sometimes intensely private world of a poem, or, on a slightly different level, in learning the new, unexpected meanings and overtones of the words and phrases of a foreign language. The religious development—as indeed that of the Mesopotamian culture generally—was not significantly influenced by the movements of the various peoples into and within the area—the Sumerians, Akkadians, Gutians, Kassites, Hurrians, Aramaeans, and Chaldeans. This book, put together by two scholars in the field, solves this problem. In the final analysis, there aren't many academics who can do this. One of the world's foremost experts on Assyriology, Jean Bottéro has studied the religion of ancient Mesopotamia for more than fifty years. Thus, for all periods before the 3rd millennium, scholars must rely on scarce, nonliterary data only, and, even though writing appears shortly before that millennium, it is only in its latter half that written data become numerous enough and readily understandable enough to be of significant help. The lamentation genre was the province of a separate professional, the elegist. There ar… Of greatest significance is the literary evidence, texts written in cuneiform (wedge-shaped) script on tablets made of clay or, for monumental purposes, on stone. It was studied and copied by student after student so that an abundance of copies, reaching a peak in Old Babylonian times, duplicated and supplemented each other as witnesses to the text of the major works. I do wish there was a little more examples given when the author made sweeping statements, but I’m aware that he’s attempting to explain a religion that existed and survived for more or less 3-4 thousand years. Fifty or more copies or fragments of copies of a single composition may support a modern edition, and many thousands more copies probably lie unread, still buried in the earth. Hymns, myths, and epics all were believed to sustain existing powers and virtues by means of praise, but laments were understood to praise blessings and powers lost, originally seeking to hold on to and recall them magically, through the power in the expression of intense longing for them and the vivid representation of them. They praise not only in description but also in narrative, by recounting acts of valour done by the hero, thus sustaining and enhancing his power to do such deeds, according to the magical view. This shopping feature will continue to load items when the Enter key is pressed. Religion was central to Mesopotamians as they believed the divine affected every aspect of human life. Of greatest significance is the literary evidence, texts written in cuneiform (wedge-shaped) script on tablets made of clay or, for monumental purposes, on stone. I have had some negative experiences trying to work my way through other academic studies translated from a foreign language. We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Having an overarching framework is key to understanding the myths, and hymns presented. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Some claim that he was worshiped as the Lord ghost, while, others regarded him to be the Lord of air. Prime members enjoy FREE Delivery and exclusive access to music, movies, TV shows, original audio series, and Kindle books. He shows how ancient Mesopotamian religion was practiced both in the public and private spheres, how it developed over the three millennia of its active existence, and how it profoundly influenced Western civilization, including the Hebrew Bible. Unlike many books on the topic which seem to highlight the various myths and fragments of writings, this author creates an understandable framework within which the myths are hung. This book does not have that kind of a problem. 1600 bce) at Nippur and Ur, the Sumerian and Akkadian texts of the 2nd and 1st millennia from Ashur and Sultantepe, and particularly the all-important library of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal (reigned 668–627 bce) from Nineveh. He shows how ancient Mesopotamian religion was practiced both in the public and private spheres, how it developed over the three millennia of its active existence, and how it profoundly influenced Western civilization, including the Hebrew Bible. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. Please try again. Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2017. This stage may be tentatively dated back to the 4th millennium bce and even earlier. It is generally necessary, therefore, to interpret the scarce data of the older periods in the light of survivals and of what is known from later periods, an undertaking that calls for critical acumen if anachronisms are to be avoided. In magic, words create and call into being what they state. Mesopotamians were polytheistic; they worshipped several major gods and thousands of minor gods. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition. The Treasures of Darkness: A History of Mesopotamian Religion, Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia: An Illustrated Dictionary, Mesopotamia: Writing, Reasoning, and the Gods, An Introduction to Ancient Mesopotamian Religion, The Sumerians: Their History, Culture, and Character (Phoenix Books), Myths from Mesopotamia: Creation, the Flood, Gilgamesh, and Others (Oxford World's Classics), Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth: Her Stories and Hymns from Sumer. Of nonliterary remains, the great temples and temple towers (ziggurats) excavated at almost all major sites—e.g., Eridu, Ur, Nippur, Babylon, Ashur, Kalakh (biblical Calah), Nineveh—as well as numerous works of art from various periods, are important sources of information. Also, for the later periods, the evidence flows unevenly, with perhaps the middle of the 2nd millennium bce the least well-documented and hence least-known age. Bottero offers a fairly concise review of Mesopotamian history and religion. It cleared up much confusion I had in reading other texts that presented the material in a fragmentary manner. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

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