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Title: Myths from Mesopotamia: Creation, the Flood, Gilgamesh, and Others (Oxford World's Classics) by Stephanie Dalley ISBN: 0-19-283589-0 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: 01 September, 1998 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $11.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.18 (11 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: A new translation worth purchasing
Comment: Stephanie Dalley presents us an excellent translation of Ancient Babylonian cuneiform texts. This Akkadian translation includes all the essentials in Mesopotamian Mythology, from the Epic of Creation to The Story of Ishtar's Descent into the underworld and of course the Gilgamesh Epic (Standard and Old Babylonian versions). This book is well worth the purchase. However, I do also suggest adding two other Mesopotamian Myth anthologies to your library. "The Ancient Near East" Volumes 1 & 2 Edited by James Pritchard are enduring translations. Pritchard develops more Sumerian Myths in his book than Dally preceeds to in her anthology. All of these books are excellent sources into Mesopotamian literature and highly recommended.
Rating: 5
Summary: A trove of tales at a bargin price
Comment: Dalley's book is perhaps the most recent compilation of Akkadian (the language of the Babylonian empire) myths in translation. The only rival for completeness here would be the Akkadian sections of James Pritchard's Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament - but Dalley trumps Pritchard in having more complete, more modern translations. Each tale is preceded by a brief introduction placing them in their historical context, and are followed by varying amounts of endnotes.
Dalley's translations include:
Atrahasis - one of the Mesopotamian flood stories which resonates with Noah in Genesis and Utnapishtim in Gilgamesh
The Epic of Gilgamesh - the hero of the Sumerian King Lists, in his story's most complete form
The Old Babylonian version of Gilgamesh - This version is very incomplete and contains bits of Enkidu's introduction and the Humbaba episode, as well as a bit surrounding Gilgamesh's lament/quest for the deceased Enkidu.
The Descent of Ishtar to the Underworld - This brief seasonal dying and rising god/goddess story is much more developed in the surviving Sumerian Inanna cycle than it is here.
Nergal and Ereshkigal - Dalley presents the Sulantepe and the Amarna versions of this tale of Nergal's visit to the Underworld.
Adapa - a brief story of the antediluvian king's loss of immortality could draw some parallels with the fall of Adam and Eve in Genesis.
Etana - the story of the king of kish who flew to heaven on the back of an eagle.
Anzu(Standard and Old Babylonian versions) - the storm god Ninurta conquers the bird monster Anzu.
The Epic of Creation - Known elsewhere as Enuma Elish, this is the story of the chaos/water/mother goddess/dragon Tiamat and her defeat at the hands of the storm god Marduk, who uses her body to create the universe, and his conquest to take charge of the pantheon.
Theogony of Dunnu - a brief cosmology that shows that antimosity between cattle herders and shepherds goes back further than the Western.
Erra and Ishum - Erra (Nergal) and Marduk argue, while Isshum calms things down.
Rating: 5
Summary: Awesome! And I wonder what these others expected?
Comment: Despite what you see in some other reader reviews, this book is written for intelligent laypeople with an interest in history, not for scholars. Either that, or I'm more of a scholar than I realized, but apparently not, since I don't read any of the original languages. While translating the myths into clear English, this book presents them as they are, instead of constructing a speculative theory of what they might have been. Yes, there are acknowledged gaps. The book also provides multiple versions of some of the tales, with different gaps in each version. This shows the reality of what we are dealing with and lets readers do some theorizing of their own.
For me, the book offered a fascinating glimpse into a part of history that was long suppressed and nearly forgotten and is now often distorted, especially by people who want to transform Mesopotamian literature into external confirmation of the historical truth of biblical stories. Instead, these myths, including the very different version of the flood story in Gilgamesh, open a separate window onto the primitive, very human mindset that produced the Old Testament. Readers who are not prepared to accept that, and who want Discovery Channel-style historical pabulum, undoubtedly feel a need to disparage this book.
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Title: Sumerian Mythology: A Study of Spiritual and Literary Achievement in the Third Millennium B.C. by Samuel Noah Kramer ISBN: 0812210476 Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press Pub. Date: 01 April, 1998 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: History Begins at Sumer: Thirty-Nine "Firsts" in Recorded History by Samuel N. Kramer ISBN: 0812212762 Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press Pub. Date: 01 October, 1981 List Price(USD): $21.95 |
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Title: Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia : An Illustrated Dictionary by Jeremy Black, Anthony Green ISBN: 0292707940 Publisher: University of Texas Press Pub. Date: 1992 List Price(USD): $18.34 |
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Title: The Sumerians: Their History, Culture, and Character by Samuel Noah Kramer ISBN: 0226452387 Publisher: University of Chicago Press Pub. Date: 01 June, 1971 List Price(USD): $18.00 |
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Title: Ancient Mesopotamia: Portrait of a Dead Civilization by A. Leo Oppenheim, Erica Reiner ISBN: 0226631877 Publisher: University of Chicago Press Pub. Date: 01 October, 1976 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
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