The Divine/Demonic Seven and the Place of Demons in Mesopotamia

The Divine/Demonic Seven and the Place of Demons in Mesopotamia PDF Author: Gina Konstantopoulos
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004546138
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 372

Get Book Here

Book Description
In The Divine/Demonic Seven and the Place of Demons in Mesopotamia, Gina Konstantopoulos analyses the Sebettu, a group of seven divine/demonic figures found across a wide range of Mesopotamian textual and artistic sources in Mesopotamia from the late third to first millennium BCE. The Sebettu appeared both as fierce, threatening demons and as divine, protective, figures. These seemingly contradictory qualities worked together, as their martial ferocity facilitated their religious and political role. When used in royal inscriptions, they became fierce warriors attacking the king’s enemies, retaining that demonic nature. This flexibility was not unique to the Sebettu, and this study thus provides a lens through which to examine the place of demons in Mesopotamia as a whole.

The Divine/Demonic Seven and the Place of Demons in Mesopotamia

The Divine/Demonic Seven and the Place of Demons in Mesopotamia PDF Author: Gina Konstantopoulos
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004546138
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 372

Get Book Here

Book Description
In The Divine/Demonic Seven and the Place of Demons in Mesopotamia, Gina Konstantopoulos analyses the Sebettu, a group of seven divine/demonic figures found across a wide range of Mesopotamian textual and artistic sources in Mesopotamia from the late third to first millennium BCE. The Sebettu appeared both as fierce, threatening demons and as divine, protective, figures. These seemingly contradictory qualities worked together, as their martial ferocity facilitated their religious and political role. When used in royal inscriptions, they became fierce warriors attacking the king’s enemies, retaining that demonic nature. This flexibility was not unique to the Sebettu, and this study thus provides a lens through which to examine the place of demons in Mesopotamia as a whole.

Theology and the DC Universe

Theology and the DC Universe PDF Author: Gabriel Mckee
Publisher: Lexington Books
ISBN: 1978716125
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 313

Get Book Here

Book Description
Superman’s first appearance in Action Comics #1 (1938) proclaimed that the character would “reshape the destiny of the world.” The advent of the first superhero initiated a shared narrative—the DC superhero universe—that has been evolving in depth and complexity for more than 80 years. Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman have become key threads in the tapestry of the American mythos, shaping the way we think about life, right and wrong, and our relationship with our own universe. Their narrative world is enriched by compelling stories featuring lesser-known characters like Dr. Fate, the Doom Patrol, John Constantine, and the Legion of Super-Heroes. Stories set within this shared universe have explored questions of death, rebirth, the apocalypse, the nature of evil, the origins of the universe, and the destiny of humankind. This volume brings together the work of scholars from a range of backgrounds who explore the role of theology and religion in the comics, films, and television series set in the DC Universe. The thoughtful and incisive contributions to this collection will appeal to scholars and fans alike.

Contemporary Approaches to Mesopotamian Literature

Contemporary Approaches to Mesopotamian Literature PDF Author: Dahlia Shehata
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004697578
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 327

Get Book Here

Book Description
This volume lays theoretical and methodological groundwork for the analysis of Mesopotamian literature. A comprehensive first chapter by the editors explores critical contemporary issues in Sumerian and Akkadian narrative analysis, and nine case studies written by an international array of scholars test the responsiveness of Sumerian and Akkadian narratives to diverse approaches drawn from literary studies and theories of fiction. Included are intertextual and transtextual analyses, studies of narrative structure and focalization, and treatments of character and characterization. Works considered include the Standard Babylonian Gilgamesh Epic and many other Sumerian and Akkadian narratives of gods, heroes, kings, and monsters.

Between Philology and Archaeology

Between Philology and Archaeology PDF Author: Natalia Bolatti Guzzo
Publisher: Lockwood Press
ISBN: 1957454849
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 371

Get Book Here

Book Description
This volume celebrates the scientific and academic career of Massimiliano Marazzi, full professor of Aegean and Anatolian History and Philology at the University of Naples "Suor Orsola Benincasa." His lifelong interest in the preclassical cultures of the Mediterranean is reflected in his intense research activity, carried out both as a philologist and as an archaeologist, with a special focus on the records of the Hittite world in both cuneiform and Anatolian hieroglyphic script. The present collection of essays, contributed by colleagues and friends, honors his scholarly contributions in the domain of Anatolian and ancient Near Eastern studies.

Demons and Illness from Antiquity to the Early-Modern Period

Demons and Illness from Antiquity to the Early-Modern Period PDF Author: Siam Bhayro
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004338543
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 447

Get Book Here

Book Description
In many near eastern traditions, including Christianity, Judaism and Islam, demons have appeared as a cause of illness from ancient times until at least the early modern period. This volume explores the relationship between demons, illness and treatment comparatively. Its twenty chapters range from Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt to early modern Europe, and include studies of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. They discuss the relationship between ‘demonic’ illnesses and wider ideas about illness, medicine, magic, and the supernatural. A further theme of the volume is the value of treating a wide variety of periods and places, using a comparative approach, and this is highlighted particularly in the volume’s Introduction and Afterword. The chapters originated in an international conference held in 2013. "Ultimately, Demons and Illness admirably performs the important task of reminding modern scholars of premodern health of the integral role played by these complex and shifting entities in the lives of people across the globe and through the centuries." -Rachel Podd, Fordham University, in: Social History of Medicine 32.3 (2019) "Given the sheer breadth of its scope, the volume is, of course, illustrative rather than comprehensive in its coverage, yet there is a definite coherence to its content, aided by the introduction and afterword which bookend the work and help begin to draw out the threads of commonality and difference. As such it constitutes a significant and welcome resource for comparative explorations of historical-cultural links between demons, illness, medicine, and magic, while offering a clear invitation to future work." -Matthew A. Collins, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 43.5 (2019)

As Above, So Below

As Above, So Below PDF Author: Gina Konstantopoulos
Publisher: Penn State Press
ISBN: 1646021533
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 205

Get Book Here

Book Description
This volume addresses the nexus of religion and geography in the ancient Near East through case studies of various time periods and regions. Using Sumerian, Akkadian, and Aramaic text corpora, iconography, and archaeological evidence, the contributors illuminate the diverse phenomena that occur when religion is viewed through the lenses of space and place. Gina Konstantopoulos draws upon Sumerian literature to understand mythicized and semimythicized locations. Seth Richardson and Elizabeth Knott focus on the Old Babylonian period, with Richardson addressing the interplay between law, location, and the gods, while Knott turns from text to image, relocating the reader to Syria and realizing the potential of royal iconography when situated in the “right” space. Shana Zaia moves forward to the first millennium, following the capital of the Neo-Assyrian Empire as it shifted from city to city, with divine implications. Finally, Arnulf Hausleiter and Sebastiano Lora focus on northwest Arabia, unearthing a local pantheon and situating it among the various influences in the region from the second millennium onward. Covering a broad geographical and temporal scope while maintaining a cohesive focus on the theme, this book will appeal especially to Assyriologists, scholars of the ancient Near East, and specialists in historical geography.

Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia

Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia PDF Author: Jeremy Black
Publisher: University of Texas Press
ISBN: 9780292707948
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 192

Get Book Here

Book Description
Ancient Mesopotamia was a rich, varied and highly complex culture whose achievements included the invention of writing and the development of sophisticated urban society. This book offers an introductory guide to the beliefs and customs of the ancient Mesopotamians, as revealed in their art and their writings between about 3000 B.C. and the advent of the Christian era. Gods, goddesses, demons, monsters, magic, myths, religious symbolism, ritual, and the spiritual world are all discussed in alphabetical entries ranging from short accounts to extended essays. Names are given in both their Sumerian and Akkadian forms, and all entries are fully cross-referenced. A useful introduction provides historical and geographical background and describes the sources of our knowledge about the religion, mythology and magic of "the cradle of civilisation".

The Babylonian Legends of the Creation

The Babylonian Legends of the Creation PDF Author: E. A. Wallis Sir Budge
Publisher: DigiCat
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 84

Get Book Here

Book Description
"The Babylonian Legends of the Creation" presents the texts of the first Babylonian clay tablets presented to the scientific world in 1848. Many of the stories reflected the mythical history of creation. The authors of this book were among the pioneers of archaeology, who made the earliest attempts to see and analyze these artifacts. The presented here book covers the history of discoveries of the tablets, their contents, and comments regarding Babylonian mythology.

Living and Dying in Mesopotamia

Living and Dying in Mesopotamia PDF Author: Alhena Gadotti
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1350301884
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 313

Get Book Here

Book Description
Exploring life, death, and the afterlife in Mesopotamia, Alhena Gadotti and Alexandra Kleinerman examine how life and death experiences continually developed over the course of nearly three millennia of Mesopotamian history. To achieve this, the book follows the life cycle of the people of the Tigris and Euphrates River valleys from 3000 BCE to 300 BCE, from birth, through death, and beyond. This book is the first to interrogate the relationships between living and dying through case studies and primary evidence. Including letters written by both women and men, the book allows readers to enter the minds of the ancients. First, the authors focus on life through topics such as the rituals surrounding birth, marriage, and religion. The authors then examine the common causes of death, the rituals associated with death, and the Mesopotamian views of the netherworld, its gods, and inhabitants. Concepts of gender fluidity, both in life and death, are considered alongside evidence from epigraphic data. Illustrating daily life as a multifaceted subject affected by time, space, location, socioeconomics, and gender, this book creates a window into the conditions and concerns of the Mesopotamian people.

Mesopotamian Protective Spirits

Mesopotamian Protective Spirits PDF Author: F. A. M. Wiggermann
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9789072371522
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 246

Get Book Here

Book Description
Wiggerman's study of Mesopotamian monsters bridges the gap between text and image. Wooden and clay figures of monstrous spirits such as Hairy-One (lahmu), Bison-Bull (kusarikku), and Furious-Snake (mushussu) stand guard at the entrances to buildings to protect the inhavitants from demonic intruders. Deriving his information from the ritual texts that describe the production and installation of these figures, the author identifies the monsters of the texts with objects from the archaeological record and presents a detailed discussion of the identities and histories of a variety of Mesopotamian monsters.