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2010
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284 pages
1 file
The study explores the significance of the Sumerian god Enki (Ea) in the context of Mesopotamian mythology and royal ideology. Despite being central to many aspects of Ancient Near Eastern culture, detailed analyses of Enki have been scarce. The research emphasizes the intertwined nature of religion and culture, suggesting that comprehending Enki's role provides insights into the broader cultural dynamics of the region, including discussions on water-cults, tribal unions, and the evolution of political ideologies in relation to religious narratives.
2006
The current master's thesis is a continuation of a bachelor's thesis defended in June 2004 at the Faculty of Theology of Tartu University under the title "Diachronical Analysis of the Theological Concept of Enki and Ea." I would like to express my deep gratitude to Thomas Richard Kämmerer, Professor of Ancient Near Eastern Studies of the Faculty of Theology at Tartu University, for supervising the thesis and providing me with several critical comments during the preparation of the study. I am especially thankful to Professor Walther Sallaberger, whose suggestions and critical remarks during my six-month stay at the Institut für
American Journal of Archaeology, 2023
Enūma eliš and the Priestly Narrative have often been compared. The former is a myth of creation dated to the 2 nd millennium that strives to promote Marduk as the greatest god, while the latter, as it is now embedded into other strata in the Pentateuch, is usually dated around the exilic period (6 th century BC); it promotes the one God Yahweh and runs from the creation of the world to the building of the sanctuary. Both writings thus present a similar trajectory from creation to the sanctuary. Though influences from the former over the latter are assumed, any dependence has not yet been demonstrated in a systematic way. In this contribution, main themes from both writings (creation, flood and sanctuary) will be compared in order to bring to light very similar scribal practices in both writings. These practices and different motifs may be considered shared knowledge that can only point to the time of Exile not just as a time of crisis but also as a time of intense learning when cultural transfers became possible and renewed intellectual and technical scribal practices in an extraordinary manner.
Armen Petrosyan has joined Armenian, Indo-European and ancient Oriental Studies in his late 30's, a phenomenon not quite usual in our field, coming from diametrically opposite direction. Perhaps, when at some point a desire to deal with Armenian prehistory prevailed, his excellent knowledge of natural sciences (physics, biology and related fields), gained at the Yerevan State University played a significant role in his humanitarian scholarship. Within several years he achieved so much first in linguistic matters then in mythology.
CAENL XII, 2021
Abstract The best parallels, in the Middle Bronze Age, of the major broad-room temple (Temple III) in Tell el-Dab‘a, point to the far north of Syria, especially the centres of Aleppo and Alalakh, while the Tell el-Dab‘a tripartite bent-axis temple (Temple II), has its best parallels in Ebla and Tell Brak extending to Mesopotamia as far as Assur in the Tigris region. Both types of temples were constructed in Tell el- Dab‘a in the 14th Dynasty (c. late 18th and first half of the 17th century BCE) which preceded the Hyksos Period. Three main questions arise: first, who decided which type of temple to construct in Avaris? Second, what did these two types of temples mean? Without doubt, the decision makers were part of the elite responsible for cult and religion. And third, was it a takeover of specific architectural forms alone, or did the appearance of Near-Eastern sacred architecture reflect the veneration of specific divinities to whom these types of temples were dedicated in their places of origin? If the latter is true, the evidence shows that northern Syria, and to some extent northern Mesopotamia, were the most dominant cult centres in the Middle Bronze Age. This influence is felt, albeit differently, in the southern and middle Levant, but it can be strongly recognised in the eastern Nile Delta where it can be connected to Western Asiatic immigrants. This does not mean, however, that these people came from northernmost Syria, it means that high-status, influential people seem to originate from this region or were at least strongly influenced by its religious centres and culture. The first part of this essay2 dealt with the broad-room temples. This second part concentrates on the bent-axis temples, and on the combination of both types of temples, their gender relationship, and their distribution in the Near East.
aBsTracT This paper tries to demonstrate that some motifs in the descriptions of the soul's journey to the hereafter in Mandaean and Yezidi beliefs have parallels in ancient Mesopotamian texts. The same motifs are applied to heavenly ascents in Jewish apocalypticism and mysticism, and also in some Mandaean texts. The Netherworld or Paradise images in those descriptions often correspond to specific features in Babylonian mystical texts and literature. The continuity of the Mesopotamian intellectual traditions in the later world, especially in Jewish mysticism has been a favourite area of research for Simo Parpola during the last two decades. The assumption of a Mesopotamian heritage in the Jewish traditions such as Kabbala still raises considerable controversy among many scholars, and the cognate models of reconstruction are often said to belong to the methods of the " Helsinki school ". I am rather sceptical about the existence of such a school as a real institution either in the past or present, and moreover, the evidence seems to indicate that the influence of professor Parpola's ideas in the scholarship of ancient Near Eastern religion is more widespread than just the Helsinki area. Prof. Parpola has given a fresh impetus to comparative studies in Near Eastern religions, both ancient and modern. While reading religious and literary texts from the Middle East, irrespective of their age and origins, one is frequently struck by how similar the texts in different languages, ages and regions can be, both in style and content. The intermixture of cultures and traditions is evident in every step one takes in the study of the ancient Near East, but only much luck and scholarly open-mindedness can enlighten us to see how precisely religious ideas, the pieces of ancient wisdom spread and circulated from one culture to another. One such case was analyzed by Peter Kingsley in 1 The present paper was written by a partial support of a grant from Estonian Science Foundation, no. 6625.
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The New Alexandria library of Texas & Samuel Bagster and Sons, 15 Paternoster Row, London, 1876
I. Hrůša, Ancient Mesopotamian religion: A Descriptive Introduction. Münster: Ugarit-Verlag, 2015
Peeter Espak