An Anthology of Ancient Mesopotamian Texts: When the Gods were Human

by Sabine Franke

Overview

Learn about the ancient civilizations of Iraq and Syria, through the stories they told.
 
This book gathers the best stories of ancient Near Eastern literature surrounding the Mesopotamian gods, men, and kings. It takes the reader on a journey back to the birth of literature in Mesopotamia—which at the same time seems so distant yet so familiar.
 
Fairy tales, myths, and epics of this region are still able to entertain readers today—and allow us to delve into the fascinating life of this ancient civilization. This book includes fables such as that of the tooth worm, which causes tooth pain, as well as the great myth of Innanas, which describes the goddess Ishtar’s transition to the underworld. There are also stories of daily life, such as that of a student, and the Sumerian incantations against a crying baby.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781473847743
Publisher:	Pen & Sword Books Limited
Publication date:	02/20/2019
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	96
File size:	932 KB

About the Author

Dr Sabina Franke has studied Ancient and Modern Near Eastern Languages and Cultures and Comparative Literature, gaining her master’s degree at the University of Pennsylvania and her PhD at the University of Hamburg. Sabina has taught at the University of Hamburg, the University of Salzburg and since 2010, at the Helmut-Schmidt-University in Hamburg where she offers mainly courses for the general public and non-academics. As a student she participated in several excavations in Syria and has since also has been working with history tour groups in Eastern Turkey.

Table of Contents

Preface 6

When the Gods were Human: The Ancient Near Eastern Tale of the Deluge 8

The Tooth Worm 34

Letter of Request to a God 35

Lullaby 36

The Master and his Servant 37

The Revenge of the Poor Man of Nippur 40

The Talc of Etana 45

Invitation to the Dead for a Feast: Ishtar's Descent to the World of the Dead and Dumuzi's Return to the World of the Living 52

The Ishtar Hymn of Ammiditana 61

Enheduana Sings Against the Imminent Destruction. A Sumerian Song for a Dangerous Ritual by the Earliest Female Author of World Literature 65

King Utuhengal Expels the Gutians 76

Gilgamesh and Akka 79

Birth and Rise of King Sargon 82

A Dialogue About the Indifference of the Gods: the Babylonian Theodicy 83

From the Life of a Student 96

Bibliography 100

Glossary 112