A Dictionary Of Ancient Near Eastern Mythology

The Dictionary of Ancient Near Eastern Mythology covers sources from Mesopotamia, Syro-Palestine and Anatolia, from around 2800 to 300 BC. It contains entries on gods and goddesses, giving evidence of their worship in temples, describing their 'character', as documented by the texts, and defining their roles within the body of mythological narratives; synoptic entries on myths, giving the place of origin of main texts and a brief history of their transmission through the ages; and entries explaining the use of specialist terminology, for such things as categories of Sumerian texts or types of mythological figures.

An authoritative guide to the whole of the cradle of civilization.

From the tragic young Adonis to Zašhapuna, first among goddesses, this handbook provides the most complete information available on deities from the cultures and religions of the ancient Near East, including Anatolia, Syria, Israel, Sumer, Babylonia, Assyria, and Elam. The result of nearly fifteen years of research, this handbook is more expansive and covers a wider range of sources and civilizations than any previous reference works on the topic. Arranged alphabetically, the entries range from multiple pages of information to a single line—sometimes all that we know about a given deity. Where possible, each record discusses the deity’s symbolism and imagery, connecting it to the myths, rituals, and festivals described in ancient sources. Many of the entries are accompanied by illustrations that aid in understanding the iconography, and they all include references to texts in which the god or goddess is mentioned. Appropriate for both trained scholars and nonacademic readers, this book collects centuries of Near Eastern mythology into one volume. It will be an especially valuable resource for anyone interested in Assyriology, ancient religion, and the ancient Near East.

Exploring the earliest literary evidence for human-animal relations, this volume presents and analyzes biblical and Mesopotamian (Sumerian, Assyrian, and Babylonian) sources from the third millennium BCE through to the consolidation of the biblical literature in the first millennium BCE. Key Features: Provides the first comprehensive study of these texts from an ethical perspective. Examines proverbs, popular aphorisms, myths, epic literature, wisdom literature, historiography, prophecy, and law codes. Applies methodology from current contemporary biblical and ancient Near Eastern scholarship and human-animal ethics, thereby raising new questions that lead to fresh insights. ​An Ethical View of Human Animal-Relations in the Ancient Near East is essential reading for scholars and graduate students of animal ethics, applied ethics and biblical studies.

A Research Guide to the Ancient World: Print and Electronic Sources is a partially annotated bibliography that covers the study of the ancient world, and closes the traditional subject gap between the humanities and the social sciences in this area of study. This book is the only bibliographic resource available for such holistic coverage.