This open access book is the first in a groundbreaking series making Babylonian literature accessible. It presents Enuma Elish in transcription and translation, with an introduction for non-specialist readers and essays from leading scholars in the field.
Acting as a companion to the poem, the book provides readers with the tools they need to explore Enuma Elish in greater depth. Essays cover important historical and contextual information, offer discussions of key topics and explanations of technical terms, as well as suggestions of relevant further reading. The book’s interpretive and reflective approach, which pays special attention to questions of poetic style, intertextual resonance, and literary and cultural significance, encourages a greater understanding of the poem as a work of literature while remaining grounded in philology.
The critical essays examine Enuma Elish and the following themes: the poem’s rhythm and style;
its modern receptions, issues of gender, motherhood and masculinity; Marduk’s rise to power; Babylonian astronomy; intertextuality and the poem as counter myth.
Enuma Elish and the Library of Babylonian Literature series will be an indispensable companion for anyone interested in the literature, culture and religion of ancient Assyria.
The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by LMU Munich and Princeton University.
Edited by:
Johannes Haubold (Princeton University USA),
Sophus Helle (The Free University of Berlin,
Germany and Oxford University,
UK),
Enrique Jiménez (Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich,
Germany),
Selena Wisnom (University of Leicester,
UK)
Imprint: Bloomsbury Academic
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 234mm,
Width: 156mm,
ISBN: 9781350297197
ISBN 10: 1350297194
Series: The Library of Babylonian Literature
Pages: 352
Publication Date: 31 October 2024
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Preface: Introducing the Library of Babylonian Literature, Johannes Haubold (Princeton University, USA), Sophus Helle (The Free University of Berlin, Germany), Enrique Jiménez (Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany), Selena Wisnom (University of Leicester, UK) Part I: Enuma Elish Introduction, Sophus Helle (The Free University of Berlin, Germany) Text and Translation, Adrian C. Heinrich and Sophus Helle (The Free University of Berlin, Germany) Part II: The History of the Epic 1. Marduk and the Battle with the Sea: On the Dating of Enuma Elish, Enrique Jiménez (Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany) 2. Enuma Elish in Cult and Ritual Performance,, Céline Debourse (University of Helsinki, Finland) 3. The Cuneiform Reception, Frances Reynolds (University of Oxford, UK) 4. Enuma Elish Outside the Cuneiform Tradition, Eckart Frahm (Yale University, USA) 5. Monstrous Mothers and Metal Bands: Enuma Elish Today, Gina Konstantopolous (University of California Los Angeles, USA) Part III: Major Themes 6. Marduk’s Elevation: A Masterpiece of Political Thought, Gösta Gabriel (The Free University of Berlin, Germany) 7. Divine Rhetoric: Enuma Elish on Communication and Emotion, Johannes Haubold (Princeton University, USA) 8. A Mirror for Queens: Gender, Motherhood, and Power in Enuma Elish, Karen Sonik (Auburn University, USA) 9. Enuma Elish, Knowledge of the Heaves, and World Order, Francesca Rochberg (University of California Berkeley, USA) Part IV: Poetics and Hermeneutics 10. Soothing the Sea: Intertextuality and Lament in Enuma Elish, Selena Wisnom (University of Leicester, UK) 11. The Shape of Water: Content and Form in Enuma Elish, Sophus Helle (The Free University of Berlin, Germany) 12. The Sound of Creation: The Revolutionary Poetics of Enuma Elish, Piotr Michalowski (University of Michigan, USA) 13. Marduk’s Names and Cuneiform Hermeneutics, Marc Van De Mieroop (Columbia University, USA) Index Bibliography Index
Johannes Haubold is Professor of Classics at Princeton University, USA Sophus Helle is Postdoctoral Fellow at The Free University of Berlin, Germany and Oxford University, UK Enrique Jiménez is Chair of Ancient Near Eastern Literatures at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany Selena Wisnom is Lecturer in the Heritage of the Middle East, University of Leicester, UK
Reviews for Enuma Elish: The Babylonian Epic of Creation
The narrative riches of Enuma Elish are given new life through a new translation and a dazzling array of supporting literature. This is a truly indispensable guide to navigating this ancient literary masterpiece. * Louise Pryke, Research Associate, University of Sydney, Australia * The Library of Babylonian Literature is a ground-breaking new series that should be welcomed by students, academics and the general public alike. * Christopher Metcalf, Associate Professor in Classical Languages and Literature, University of Oxford, UK * This volume sets an ambitious standard for the new series. It is a carefully crafted rendering of the text seen and heard in all its poetic value and contextualized in its social and cultural setting through a series of interacting essays. There is an impressive small pantheon of scholars contributing to a fuller understanding of one of the most influential pieces of Mesopotamian literature. * Giorgio Buccellati, Professor Emeritus of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, University of California, Los Angeles, USA *
