Sylabus
ALSTER, Bendt. Death in Mesopotamia. Copenhagen: Akademisk Forlag, 1980.
Felli, Candida, Mourning and Funerary Practices in the Ancient Near East: an essay to bridge the gap between the textual and the archaeological record: Felli, C. (Hg.), How to Cope with Death: Mourning and Funerary Practices in the Ancient Near East (Ricerche di Archeologia del Vicino Oriente 5.), 2016.
KATZ, Dina. The image of the netherworld in the Sumerian sources. Bethesda: CDL Press, 2003
KRAMER, Samuel Noah. The Death of Ur-Nammu and his descent to the Netherworld. Journal of Cuneiform Studies 21, 1967, pp. 104-122.
SMITH, Mark S. “The death of "dying and rising gods" in the biblical world: An update, with special reference to Baal in the Baal cycle. Scandinavian journal of the Old Testament [online], 12(2), 1998, pp. 257-313.
Suriano, Matthew J. “Ruin Hills at the Threshold of the Netherworld: The Tell in the Conceptual Landscape of the Ba’al Cycle and Ancient Near Eastern Mythology.” Die Welt Des Orients, vol. 42, no. 2, 2012, pp. 210-30.
WILHELM, Gernot. “The Dispute on manumission at Ebla: Why does the Stormgod descend to the Netherworld” Revue d’Assyriologie et d’archéologie Orientale, vol. 107, 2013, pp. 187-91.
NB Further readings will be assigned during the lessons.
Anotace
The course aims at introducing the students to one of the most important topics of Mesopotamian religious traditions, that is death and the existence in the netherworld of human beings and divine entities. During the course the instructor will present Sumerian and Akkadian literary and mythological compositions in translation and provide the students with secondary literature on the single sub-topics dealt with. The course will be organized in 13 frontal lessons. For the evaluation a final exam is expected, whose modality will be arranged together with the students. The choice of compositions (see below) fell on outstanding traditional texts that display the religious constructs of different stages in the history of Mesopotamia and taking into consideration the various features that constitute the phenomenon of death and afterlife in written sources. Main sources: a. Gilgameš Epos b. Ur-Namma A c. The Death of Gilgameš d. Inanna’s Descent to the Netherworld and the Descent of Ištar e. Nergal and Ereškigal f. The Underworld Vision of an Assyrian Prince c. Prayers d. Hymns e. Spells
4. Creations: a. Anthropogonies i. Eridu Genesis or Sumerian Creation Myth ii. Debate between sheep and grain iii. Debate between winter and summer iv. Barton cylinder v. The song of the Hoe b. World ordering i. Enki and Ninmaḫ, ii. Enki and the World Order iii. Enuma Eliš
5. Destructions: a. Flood stories (Atraḫasis, Utanapištim in the Gilgameš Epos, Ziusudra in the Sumerian Creation Myth) b. Lament for Ur c. The Curse of Agade and Naram-Sîn in The Babylonian Chronicles [Weidner]; d. Nin-me-šar2-ra
6. Death and the Netherworld: a. Gilgameš Epos; b. Ur-Namma A c. The Death of Gilgameš d. Inanna’s Descent to the Netherworld and the Descent of Ištar e. Nergal and Ereškigal f. The Underworld Vision of an Assyrian Prince
7. Demons, hybrid beings, liminal figures, witches and sorcerers (Incantations against demons, Lamaštu, evil spells);
8. The king and the gods: a. Divine kingship b. Mediation between cosmic spheres c. Kingship as a divine construct d. Sumerian King List e. The kings of Uruk f. Akītu Festival
9. Short accounts from the peripheries: a. Ugarit b. Ḫatti c. Ebla d. Mari 10-13. Presentation of essays in pairs (topic to be assigned later)