Ancient Near Eastern Religion and Mythology NEJS 116a - Fall 2016 Tuesday and Thursday, 2:00-3:20 Lown 201 Instructor: Tzvi Abusch Teaching Fellow: Jared Pfost Office: Lown 313 Office: Lown 115 (TF cubicle #4) Phone: 781-736-2969 (office) Email: jpfost@brandeis.edu Course Requirements: Attendance at all lectures and class participation. Reading all primary texts and modern treatments as outlined below. Article summaries. All students will complete short (one page, double-spaced) summaries of a select number of articles to be chosen by Professor Abusch. Each graduate student will present a 15- minute oral summary/review of an article to be chosen by Professor Abusch; upon Professor Abusch s approval, undergraduates will be permitted to make presentations for extra credit. Midterm Exam on October 20 th (Thurs.) covering readings from A. Cotterell (The Encyclopedia of Ancient Civilizations) and T. Jacobsen (Treasures of Darkness, pp. 1-164 and 195-219 [this text forms the intellectual framework of the course]), as well as lectures and readings from Sections I-II. 3-5 page treatment of a myth due November 10 th (Thurs.) (details to follow in class). A term paper (15-20 pages) due December 6 th (Tues.). Books to Acquire (available at the University Bookstore): Abusch, Tzvi. Male and Female in the Epic of Gilgamesh: Encounters, Literary History, and Interpretation. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2015. Coogan, Michael and Mark S. Smith. Stories from Ancient Canaan. 2d ed. Philadelphia: Westminster John Knox Press, 2012. George, Andrew. The Epic of Gilgamesh. New York: Penguin Books, 1999. Jacobsen, Thorkild. The Treasures of Darkness: A History of Mesopotamian Religion. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1976. Jacobsen, Thorkild. The Harps that Once : Sumerian Poetry in Translation. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1987. Leick, Gwendolyn. Dictionary of Ancient Near Eastern Mythology. London: Routledge, 1991. Course Description: This course is an introduction to the religion, mythology, and thought of the ancient Near East. In outline form, the topics to be covered in this course include the following: I. Introduction **Available on LATTE
A. Ancient Near Eastern History and Literature B. Mesopotamian Religion (Pantheon, Cult and Prayer) C. The Nature of Myth II. Epic of Gilgamesh III. Mesopotamian Myths of Creation A. Creation of Humanity B. Creation of Civilization and the Flood C. Creation of Cosmos IV. Myths of Combat in the Ancient Near East V. Biblical Mythology and Religion VI. Mesopotamian and Canaanite Myths of Life and Death General Comments: 1. Professor Abusch is available to discuss any aspect of the course or your work with you. Please make an appointment or come by during regular office hours. Office: Lown 313; Ext. 62969. Jared Pfost, the course TF, is also available for assistance by appointment and will hold regular office hours. Email: jpfost@brandeis.edu. 2. If you are a student with documented disabilities on record at Brandeis University and wish to have a reasonable accommodation made for you in this class, please see Professor Abusch immediately. 3. Academic Integrity: According to the student handbook, every member of the community is expected to maintain the highest standards of academic honesty. A student will not receive credit for work that is not the product of the student s own effort. Any words or ideas that are not the student s own must be explicitly attributed to their source. Violations of University policies on academic integrity, described in Section 3 of Rights and Responsibilities, may result in failure in the course or on the assignment, and could end in suspension from the University. If you are in doubt about the instruction for any assignment in this course, you must ask for clarification. 4. Computer use in class is limited to note-taking only. Use for other purposes will result in suspension of the right to use a computer in class for the remainder of the semester. 5. Success in this 4 credit course is based on the expectation that students will spend a minimum of 9 hours of study time per week in preparation for class (readings, papers, discussion sections, preparation for exams, etc.). Course Schedule I. Introduction A. Ancient Near Eastern History and Literature 1. History Cotterell, A., ed. The Encyclopedia of Ancient Civilizations, 72-141. ** 2. Literature Abusch, Cuneiform Writing. ** Leick, Dictionary, ix-xiii. Jacobsen, The Harps That Once, xi-xv. **Available on LATTE 2
Foster, From Distant Days, 1-8. B. Mesopotamian Religion (Pantheon, Cult and Prayer) 1. Nature and Pantheon Foster, From Distant Days, Ishtar Prayers (238-246), Marduk Prayer (247-248), Shamash Prayer (262-266). Jacobsen, Treasures of Darkness, chapter 1. Wiggermann, Theologies, Priests. ** Cotterell, A., ed. The Encyclopedia of Ancient Civilizations, 164-171.** 2. Cult Pritchard, ANET, temple ritual, 331-334, 343-345.** Abusch, Sacrifice in Mesopotamia. ** Bottéro, Religion in Ancient Mesopotamia, 114-170.** Hruša, Ivan. Ancient Mesopotamian Religion, 85 107.** 3. Prayer C. The Nature of Myth Hruša, Ivan. Ancient Mesopotamian Religion, 109 126.** - Abusch, Form and Meaning. ** Frankfort, Intellectual Adventure, chapter 1 ( Myth and Reality [3-27]).** Burkert, Structure and History, chapter 1 ( The Organization of Myth [1-34]).** Batto, Slaying the Dragon, chapter 1 ( Mythopoeic Speculation in Babylon [15-40]).** Bibliography for Section I: Pritchard, James., ed. Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1969. Abusch, Tzvi. Cuneiform Writing, in Harpers Bible Dictionary, ed. P.J. Achtemeier. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1985, 196-198. Abusch, Tzvi. Form and Meaning of a Babylonian Prayer to Marduk, Journal of the American Oriental Society 103/1 (1983), 3-15. **Available on LATTE 3
Abusch, Tzvi. Sacrifice in Mesopotamia, in Sacrifice in Religious Experience, ed. A. L. Baumgarten. Leiden: Brill, 2002, 39-48. Batto, Bernard F. Slaying the Dragon: Mythmaking in the Biblical Tradition. Westminster/John Knox Press: Louisville, KY, 1992. Bottéro, Jean. Religion in Ancient Mesopotamia. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001. Burkert, Walter. Structure and History in Greek Mythology and Ritual. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1979. Cotterell, A., ed. The Encyclopedia of Ancient Civilizations. London: Penguin Books, 1988, pp. 72-141, 164-171. Frankfort, Henri et al. The Intellectual Adventures of Ancient Man: An Essay on Speculative Thought in the Ancient Near East. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1977. Hruša, Ivan. Ancient Mesopotamian Religion: A Descriptive Introduction. Münster, Ugarit-Verlag, 2015. Jacobsen, Thorkild. The Treasures of Darkness: A History of Mesopotamian Religion. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1976. Jacobsen, Thorkild. The Harps that Once : Sumerian Poetry in Translation. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1987. Leick, Gwendolyn. Dictionary of Ancient Near Eastern Mythology. London: Routledge, 1991. Wiggermann, F.A.M. Theologies, Priests, and Worship in Ancient Mesopotamia, in Civilizations of the Ancient Near East, ed. J. M. Sasson, et al. New York: Scribner, 1995, 3:1857-1870. A. Introduction II. Epic of Gilgamesh George, Epic of Gilgamesh, Introduction. Abusch, Gilgamesh: Hero, King. ** Abusch, Male and Female in the Epic of Gilgamesh, Introduction. B. Standard Babylonian (SB) Version (Tablets I-XI) 1. Overview Tablets I-II George, Epic of Gilgamesh, Tablets I-XI. Jacobsen, Treasures of Darkness, chapter 7. Kirk, Myth: Its Meaning and Function, 132-152.** Tigay, Evolution of the Gilgamesh Epic, chapter 10 ( The Creation of Enkidu ), 192-197;** chapter 11 ( The Early Life of Enkidu ), 198-213.** **Available on LATTE 4
Abusch, Courtesan. ** Moran, Ovid's Blanda Voluptas. ** (Recommended) Fleming & Milstein, Buried Foundation of the Gilgamesh Epic, chapter 1 ( Introduction ), 1-17.** Fleming & Milstein, Buried Foundation of the Gilgamesh Epic, chapter 2 ( Enkidu s First Steppe: Competing Portraits... ), 19-42.** Tablets III-V Tablet VI Sumerian Forerunners: Gilgamesh and Huwawa, George, Epic of Gilgamesh, 149-166. Abusch, Hunting in the Epic of Gilgamesh. ** Fleming & Milstein, Buried Foundation of the Gilgamesh Epic, chapter 3 ( Defining the Bounds of the Akkadian Huwawa Narrative ), 43-67.** Sumerian Forerunner: Gilgamesh and the Bull of Heaven, George, Epic of Gilgamesh, 166-175. Canaanite: Coogan and Smith, Stories from Ancient Canaan, Aqhat, 27-55. Abusch, Ishtar's Proposal. ** Tablets VII-XI C. Old Babylonian Version D. Twelve Tablet Version E. Synthesis and Literary History George, Epic of Gilgamesh, Chapter 2. Greek: Homer, The Odyssey, Book V (Calypso).** Abusch, Gilgamesh's Request, Part I. ** Abusch, Mourning the Death of a Friend. ** Abusch, Gilgamesh's Request, Part II. ** (Recommended) Fleming & Milstein, Buried Foundation of the Gilgamesh Epic, chapter 4 ( From Sumerian to Akkadian ), 69-90.** Jacobsen, Gilgamesh Epic: Tragic. ** (Recommended) Gilgamesh and the Netherworld, George, Epic of Gilgamesh, 175-195. Greek: Homer, The Odyssey, Books X-XI (Circe and Trip to Netherworld).** Reread: Abusch, Ishtar s Proposal, 179-187.** Abusch, Development and Meaning. ** Fleming & Milstein, Buried Foundation of the Gilgamesh Epic, chapter 5 ( Behind **Available on LATTE 5
Bibliography for Section II: Penn ), 91-110.** Tigay, Evolution of the Pentateuchal Narratives. ** Reread: Abusch, Gilgamesh's Request, Part I, 9-14.** Reread: Abusch, Courtesan, 428-433.** Abusch, Epic of Gilgamesh and the Homeric Epics. ** Coogan, Michael and Mark S. Smith. Stories from Ancient Canaan. 2d ed. Philadelphia: Westminster John Knox Press, 2012. George, Andrew. The Epic of Gilgamesh. New York: Penguin Books, 2003. Greek: Homer, The Odyssey, Book V (Calypso). Greek: Homer, The Odyssey, Books X-XI (Circe and Trip to Netherworld). Abusch, Tzvi. Gilgamesh: Hero, King, God and Striving Man, Archaeology Odyssey (July-August 2000), 33-42, 58-59. Abusch, Tzvi. Male and Female in the Epic of Gilgamesh: Encounters, Literary History, and Interpretation. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2015. Abusch, Tzvi. Ishtar's Proposal and Gilgamesh's Refusal, History of Religions 26/2 (1986), 143-187 (=Abusch, Male and Female in the Gilgamesh Epic, Ch. 1). Abusch, Tzvi. Gilgamesh's Request and Siduri's Denial, Part I, in The Tablet and the Scroll: Near Eastern Studies in Honor of W.W. Hallo, ed. M.E. Cohen et al. Bethesda: CDL Press, 1993, 1-14 (=Abusch, Male and Female in the Gilgamesh Epic, Ch. 2). Abusch, Tzvi. Gilgamesh's Request and Siduri's Denial, Part II, in Comparative Studies in Honor of Yochanan Muffs JANES 22 (1993), 3-17 (=Abusch, Male and Female in the Gilgamesh Epic, Ch. 3). Abusch, Tzvi. Mourning the Death of a Friend, Gilgamesh: A Reader, ed. J. Maier. Wauconda: Bolchazy- Carducci Publishers, Inc., 1997, 109-121 (=Abusch, Male and Female in the Gilgamesh Epic, Ch. 4). Abusch, Tzvi. The Epic of Gilgamesh and the Homeric Epics, in Mythology and Mythologies: Methodological Approaches to Intercultural Influences, Melammu Symposia II, ed. R. M. Whiting. Helsinki: The Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project, 2001, 1-6 (=Abusch, Male and Female in the Gilgamesh Epic, Ch. 5). Abusch, Tzvi. The Development and Meaning of the Epic of Gilgamesh: An Interpretive Essay, Journal of the American Oriental Society 121/4 (2001), 614-622 (=Abusch, Male and Female in the Gilgamesh Epic, Ch. 6). Abusch, Tzvi. The Courtesan, the Wild Man, and the Hunter: Studies in the Literary History of the Epic of Gilgamesh, in An Experienced Scribe Who Neglects Nothing : Ancient Near Eastern Studies in Honor of Jacob Klein, ed. Y. Sefati, et al. Bethesda: CDL Press, 2005, 413-433 (=Abusch, Male and Female in the Gilgamesh Epic, Ch. 7). Abusch, Tzvi. Hunting in the Epic of Gilgamesh: Speculations on the Education of a Prince, in Treasures on Camels Humps: Festschrift for Israel Ephal, ed. M. Cogan and D. Kahn. Jerusalem: The Hebrew University Magnes Press, 2008, 11-20 (=Abusch, Male and Female in the Gilgamesh Epic, Ch. 8). Fleming, Daniel E., and Sara J. Milstein. The Buried Foundation of the Gilgamesh Epic. Leiden: Brill, 2010. Jacobsen, Thorkild. The Gilgamesh Epic: Tragic and Romantic Vision, in Lingering Over Words: Studies in Ancient Near Eastern Literature in Honor of William L. Moran, ed. T. Abusch et al. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1990, 231-249. **Available on LATTE 6
Jacobsen, Thorkild. The Treasures of Darkness: A History of Mesopotamian Religion. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1976. Kirk, Geoffery. Myth: Its Meaning and Functions in Ancient and Other Cultures. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1971. Moran, William. Ovid's Blanda Voluptas and the Humanization of Enkidu, Journal of Near Eastern Studies 50 (1991), 121-127. Tigay, Jeffrey H. The Evolution of the Gilgamesh Epic. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1982. Tigay, Jeffrey H. The Evolution of the Pentateuchal Narratives in the Light of the Gilgamesh Epic, in Empirical Models for Biblical Criticism, ed. J. H. Tigay. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1985, 21-53. A. Creation of Humanity III. Mesopotamian Myths of Creation 1. The Myth of Atrahasis: The Creation of Humanity Foster, From Distant Days, Atrahasis, 52-77. Jacobsen, Treasure of Darkness, 116-121. Abusch, Ghost and God. ** Moran, Some Considerations, 245-255.** 2. The Atrahasis Tradition: Antecedents and Developments Bibliography for Section III A: Jacobsen, The Harps that Once, The Birth of Man, 151-166. Foster, From Distant Days, Enuma Elish, Tablet VI, 38-42. Foster, Before the Muses, Creation of Humankind, 491-493.** Foster, Benjamin. Before the Muses: An Anthology of Akkadian Literature. 3 rd ed. Bethesda: CDL Press, 2005. Jacobsen, Thorkild. The Harps that Once: Sumerian Poetry in Translation. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1987. Abusch, Tzvi. Ghost and God: Some Observations on a Babylonian Understanding of Human Nature, in Self, Soul and Body in Religious Experience, ed. A. L. Baumgarten, et al. Leiden: Brill, 1998, 363-383. Jacobsen, Thorkild. The Treasures of Darkness: A History of Mesopotamian Religion. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1976. **Available on LATTE 7
Moran, William. Some Considerations of Form and Interpretation in Atrahasis, in Language, Literature, and History: Philological and Historical Studies Presented to Erica Reiner. Ed. F. Rochberg-Halton. New Haven: American Oriental Society, 1987, 245-255. B. Creation of Civilization and the Flood 1. The Flood: Its Literary Contexts and Significance Foster, From Distant Days, Atrahasis, 52-77. George, Epic of Gilgamesh, Tablet XI, 88-89. Genesis 6:5-9:17 Moran, Atrahasis. ** Kilmer, Mesopotamian Concept. ** 2. From Nature to Culture: The Creation of Civilization Bibliography for Section III B: Jacobsen, The Harps that Once, Eridu Genesis, 145-151. Pritchard, ANET, Sumerian King List, 265-266.** Jacobsen, Eridu Genesis. ** George, Andrew. The Epic of Gilgamesh. New York:Penguin Books, 2003. Jacobsen, Thorkild. The Harps that Once: Sumerian Poetry in Translation. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1987. Pritchard, James., ed. Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1969. Hebrew Bible. Book of Genesis. Jacobsen, Thorkild. Eridu Genesis, Journal of Biblical Literature 100/4 (1981), 513-529. Jacobsen, Thorkild. The Treasures of Darkness. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1976. Kilmer, A. Mesopotamian Concept of Overpopulation, Orientalia 41/2 (1972), 160-177. Moran, William. Atrahasis: The Babylonian Story of the Flood, Biblica 52/1 (1971), 51-61. C. Creation of Cosmos 1. Creation of the Cosmos: The Battle of the Gods Foster, From Distant Days, Enuma Elish, 9-51. Jacobsen, Treasures of Darkness, Chapter 6. Lambert, Babylonian Creation Myths, Part V: Summary, 439-465.** 2. The Centrality of the Capital Babylon: The God Marduk **Available on LATTE 8
Bibliography for Section III C: Abusch, Marduk. ** Abusch, Tzvi. Marduk, in Dictionary of Deities and Demons, ed. K. van der Toorn, et al. Leiden: Brill, 1995, 1014-1026. Jacobsen, Thorkild. The Treasures of Darkness: A History of Mesopotamian Religion. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1976. Lambert, W. G. Babylonian Creation Myths. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2013. A. Ninurta and his Enemies B. Other Conflicts IV. Myths of Combat in the Ancient Near East Foster, From Distant Days, Anzû, 115-131. Jacobsen, The Harps That Once, The Ninurta Myth Lugal-e, 233-272. Hesiod, The Theogony. Coogan and Smith, Stories from Ancient Canaan, Baal and Yamm, 110-115. YHWH and his Enemies: Isa. 27:1; Isa. 51:9-10; Hab. 3:8-9; Ps. 74:12-17; Ps. 89:9-12; Job 9:13-14; Job 26:12-13, etc. Hoffner, Hittite Myths, Hurrian Myths, 38-61.** Foster, Before the Muses, 489-491 ( Myth of the Plow ).** ---- Coogan and Smith, Stories from Ancient Canaan, 97-109. Puhvel, Comparative Mythology, chapter 2 ( Creation Myths in the Ancient Near East [21 32]).** Bibliography for Section IV: Coogan, Michael and Mark S. Smith. Stories from Ancient Canaan. 2d ed. Philadelphia: Westminster John Knox Press, 2012. Foster, Benjamin. Before the Muses: An Anthology of Akkadian Literature. 3 rd ed. Bethesda: CDL Press, 2005. Hoffner, Harry. Hittite Myths, Writings from the Ancient Near World, no. 2. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1990. **Available on LATTE 9
Jacobsen, Thorkild. The Harps that Once: Sumerian Poetry in Translation. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1987. Hebrew Bible. Coogan, Michael and Mark S. Smith. Stories from Ancient Canaan. 2d ed. Philadelphia: Westminster John Knox Press, 2012. Puhvel, Jaan. Comparative Mythology. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987. Literary Structure, Psychology, and Rhetoric The Primeval History Jonah 1-4 ------------ Abusch, Jonah and God ** V. Biblical Myths and Religion Genesis 1-11. Speiser, Genesis, xvii-lii.** Kaufmann, Religion of Israel, 60-121.** Abusch, Biblical Accounts of Pre-History, 1-17. ** Bibliography for Section V: Hebrew Bible: Jonah; Genesis 1-11. Abusch, Tzvi. Biblical Accounts of Prehistory: Their Meaning and Formation, in Bringing the Hidden to Light: The Process of Interpretation. Studies in Honor of Stephen A. Geller, ed. K. Kravitz and D.M. Sharon. Winona Lake, Indiana: Eisenbraun, 2007, 1-17. Abusch, Tzvi. Jonah and God: Plants, Beasts, and Humans in the Book of Jonah (An Essay in Interpretation), Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Religions 13 (2013), 146-152. Kaufmann, Yehezkel. The Religion of Israel from its Beginning to the Babylonian Exile. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1960. Speiser, E. A. Genesis. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1964. A. The Netherworld VI. Mesopotamian and Canaanite Myths of Life and Death George, Epic of Gilgamesh, Tablets VI-VIII and XII, 47-69, 175-195. **Available on LATTE 10
Abusch, Etemmu. ** Abusch, Ascent to the Stars. ** B. The Descent of Inanna/Ishtar Jacobsen, The Harps That Once, Inanna s Descent, 205-232. Foster, From Distant Days, Descent of Ishtar, 78-84. Abusch, Ishtar. ** Jacobsen, Treasures of Darkness, 55-63. Katz, The Image of the Netherworld, 265-280.** C. Other Journeys of Ascent and Descent Foster, From Distant Days, Nergal and Ereshkigal, 85-96. Adapa, 97-101. Etana, 102-114. Jacobsen, Treasures of Darkness, Epilogue, 223-239. Ponchia and Luukko, Nergal and Ereškigal, ix-xix.** D. West Semitic Mythology Reread: Coogan and Smith, Stories from Ancient Canaan, Aqhat, 27-55. Coogan and Smith, Stories from Ancient Canaan, Baal versus Mot, 139-153. Hebrew Bible. Geller, Sacred Enigmas, 168-194.** Miller, Aspects of the Religion of Ugarit, 53-66.** del Olmo Lete, Canaanite Religion, 43-57.** Bibliography for Section VI: Coogan, Michael and Mark S. Smith. Stories from Ancient Canaan. 2d ed. Philadelphia: Westminster John Knox Press, 2012. George, Andrew. The Epic of Gilgamesh. New York: Penguin Books, 2003. Jacobsen, Thorkild. The Harps that Once: Sumerian Poetry in Translation. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1987. Abusch, Tzvi. Etemmu, in Dictionary of Deities and Demons. Leiden: Brill, 1995, 588-594. Abusch, Tzvi. Ishtar, in Dictionary of Deities and Demons. Leiden: Brill, 1995, 847-855. Abusch, Tzvi. Ascent to the Stars in Mesopotamian Ritual, in Death, Ecstasy, and Other World Journeys, ed. J. J. Collins and M. Fishbane. New York: State University of New York Press, 1995, 15-39. **Available on LATTE 11
Geller, Stephen A. Sacred Enigmas: Literary Religion in the Hebrew Bible. London and New York: Routledge, 1996. Jacobsen, Thorkild. The Treasures of Darkness. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1976. Katz, Dina. The Image of the Netherworld in Sumerian Sources. Bethesda, MD: CDL, 2003. Miller, Patrick. Aspects of the Religion of Ugarit, in Ancient Israelite Religion: Essays in Honor of Frank Moore Cross, ed. P. Miller, et al. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1987, 53-66. Olmo Lete, Gregorio del. Canaanite Religion according to the Liturgical Texts of Ugarit, translated by W.G.E Watson. Bethesda: CDL Press, 1999. Ponchia, Simonetta and Mikko Luukko. The Standard Babylonian Myth of Nergal and Ereškigal. Helsinki: The Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project, 2013. **Available on LATTE 12