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The aim of the present course is to provide the students with a comprehensive knowledge of the religious systems developed during the long history of Mesopotamia.
The course will be divided into two parts. The first one (lessons nos. 1-7) will be committed to frontal lectures to be presented to the students. During these lessons, the main topics related to Mesopotamian religious beliefs will be analyzed thoroughly also by referring directly to highly relevant excerpts from the emic literature (in translation). The choice of compositions (see below) fell on outstanding traditional texts that display the religious constructs of different stages in the history of Mesopotamia. The diachronic approach will allow the students to detect changes and developments in this highly flexible and permeable religious system. In the second part of the course (no lessons in this phase only the student’s work is required), the students will be asked to actively participate preparing essays on topics previously agreed upon with the teacher. Lessons breakdown: 1. Polytheism and religious system in Mesopotamia. 2. Temples, temple personnel and the Temple building 3. Communicating with the gods 4. Creations 5. Destructions 6. Death, the Netherworld, demons and liminal figures 7. The king and the gods 10-13. Students’ work Last update: Bertolini Ludovica, Dr., Ph.D. (25.09.2024)
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Relevant bibliography: § Ambos, C. “Temporary Ritual structures and Their Cosmological symbolism in Ancient Mesopotamia,” In Ragavan D. (ed.), Heaven on Earth: Temples, Rituals and Cosmic Symbolism in the Ancient World. Chicago: The oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, 2013, pp. 245-258. § Brisch, N. 2011. “Changing Images of Kingship in Sumerian Literature,” in: Radner, K. – Robson, E. (eds.) Handbook of Cuneiform Culture. Oxford: Oxford university Press, 706-724. § Delnero, P. Divination and Religion as a Cultural System [PDF] § Gabbay, U. “"We Are Going to the House in Prayer": Theology, Cultic Topography, and Cosmology in the emesal Prayers of Ancient Mesopotamia,” In Ragavan D. (ed.), Heaven on Earth: Temples, Rituals and Cosmic Symbolism in the Ancient World. Chicago: The oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, 2013, pp. 223-244. § Gabbay, U. “The Performance of Emesal Prayers within the Regular Temple Cult: Content and Ritual Setting,” In K. Kaniuth, A. Löhnert, J. L. Miller, A. Otto, M. Roaf, W. Sallaberger (eds.), Tempel im Alten Orient (7. Internationales Colloquium der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft 11.-13. Oktober 2009, München) Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, pp. 103-123. § George, A. R. Cosmogony in ancient Mesopotamia (translation from Die Kosmogonie des alten Mesopotamien, in: Marion Gindhart and Tanja Pommerening (eds.), Anfang & Ende: vormoderne Szenarien von Weltenstehung und Weltuntergang (Darmstadt: von Zabern, 2016) 7–25, 132–33, 140 [PDF]. § Hallo, W. W. “Individual Prayer in Sumerian: The Continuity of a Tradition,” JAOS 88/1, 1968, pp. 71-89. § Hrůša, I., Ancient Mesopotamian Religion: A Descriptive Introduction, Münster: Ugarit-Verlag, 2015. § Hundley, M. B. “Divine Presence in Ancient Near Eastern Temples,” Religion Compass 9/7, 2015, pp. 203-215. § Koch, U. S. 2011. “Sheep and Sky: Systems of Divinatory Interpretation,” in: Radner, K. – Robson, E. (eds.) Handbook of Cuneiform Culture. Oxford: Oxford university Press, 447-469. § Kraus, F. R. “The Role of Temples from the Third Dynasty of Ur,” Monographs of the Ancient Near East vol. 2 fascicle 4. Malibu: Undena publications, 1990. PDF § Lambert, W. G. Babylonian Creation Myths. Eisenbrauns: Winona Lake, 2013. [extracts] § Lambert, W.G. – George, A. – Oshima, T., Ancient Mesopotamian Religion and Mythology, Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2016. § Lenzi, A. Reading Akkadian Prayers and Hymns: An Introduction. Atlanta: society of Biblical Literature. [till page 68] § Löhnert, A. 2011. “Manipulating the Gods: Lamenting in Context,” in: Radner, K. – Robson, E. (eds.) Handbook of Cuneiform Culture. Oxford: Oxford university Press, 402-417. § Nakamura, C. “Ritual,” , in: Gunter, A. C. A Companion to Ancient Near Eastern Art. Wiley Blackwell. 2019. 309-332. § Ragavan, D. “Entering Other Worlds: Gates, Rituals, and Cosmic Journeys in Sumerian Sources,” In Ragavan D. (ed.), Heaven on Earth: Temples, Rituals and Cosmic Symbolism in the Ancient World. Chicago: The oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, 2013, pp. 201-222. § Roaf, M. et al. "Palaces and Temples in Ancient Mesopotamia." In Civilizations of the Ancient Near East ; 1, vol. 1, 1995, pp. 423-441. § Rochberg, F. 2011. “Observing and Describing the World through Divination and Astronomy,” in: Radner, K. – Robson, E. (eds.) Handbook of Cuneiform Culture. Oxford: Oxford university Press, 618-637. § Schwemer, D. 2011. “Magic Rituals: conceptualization and Performance,” in: Radner, K. – Robson, E. (eds.) Handbook of Cuneiform Culture. Oxford: Oxford university Press, 418-444.
Additional bibliography will be discussed during the lectures. Moreover, the students will be individually provided with supplementary specialistic bibliography in accordance with the topic chosen for the presentation. Last update: Bertolini Ludovica, Dr., Ph.D. (25.09.2024)
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