Instructions for the Netherworld

Instructions for the Netherworld
Author: Alberto Bernabé Pajares
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 392
Release: 2008
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9004163719

Orphic gold tables are key documents for the knowledge of rites and beliefs of Orphics, an atypical group that configured a highly original creed and that influenced powerfully over other Greek writers and thinkers. The recent discovery of some tablets has forced a noteworthy modification of some points of view and a review ofthe different hypothesis proposed about them. The book presents a complete edition of the texts, their translation and some fundamental keys for their interpretation, in an attempt at updating our current knowledge on Orphic ideas about the soul and the Afterlife stated in those texts. The work is improved with an appendix of iconographic annotations in which some plastic representations in drawings are reproduced related to the universe of tablets, selected and commented on by Ricardo Olmos.

Reading the Way to the Netherworld

Reading the Way to the Netherworld
Author: Ilinca Tanaseanu-Döbler
Publisher: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht
Total Pages: 551
Release: 2016-12-05
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 3647540307

The volume focuses on the various representations of the Beyond in later Antiquity, a period of intense interaction and competition between various religious traditions and ideals of education. The concepts and images clustering around the Beyond form a crucial focal point for understanding the dynamics of religion and education in later Antiquity. Although Christianity gradually supersedes the pagan traditions, the literary representations of the Beyond derived from classical literature and transmitted through the texts read at school show a remarkable persistence: they influence Christian late antique writers and are still alive in medieval literature of the East and West. A specifically Christian Beyond develops only gradually, and coexists subsequently with pagan ideas, which in turn vary according to the respective literary and philosophical contexts. Thus, the various conceptualisations of the great existential unknown, serves here as a point of reference for mirroring the changes and continuities in Imperial and Late Antique religion, education, and culture, and opening up further perspectives into the Medieval world.

Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia

Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia
Author: Stephen Bertman
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 410
Release: 2005-07-14
Genre: History
ISBN: 0195183649

Modern-day archaeological discoveries in the Near East continue to illuminate man's understanding of the ancient world. This illustrated handbook describes the culture, history, and people of Mesopotamia, as well as their struggle for survival and happiness.

The Ancient Egyptian Netherworld Books

The Ancient Egyptian Netherworld Books
Author: John Coleman Darnell
Publisher: SBL Press
Total Pages: 725
Release: 2018-11-07
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0884140458

The first, complete English translation of the ancient Egyptian Netherworld Books The ancient Egyptian Netherworld Books, important compositions that decorated the New Kingdom royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings, present humanity's oldest surviving attempts to provide a scientific map of the unseen realms beyond the visible cosmos and contain imagery and annotations that represent ancient Egyptian speculation (essentially philosophical and theological) about the events of the solar journey through the twelve hours of the night. The Netherworld Books describe one of the central mysteries of Egyptian religious belief—the union of the solar god Re with the underworldly god Osiris—and provide information on aspects of Egyptian theology and cosmography not present in the now more widely read Book of the Dead. Numerous illustrations provide overview images and individual scenes from each Netherworld Book, emphasizing the unity of text and image within the compositions. The major texts translated include the Book of Adoring Re in the West (the Litany of Re), the Book of the Hidden Chamber (Amduat), the Book of Gates, the Book of Caverns, the Books of the Creation of the Solar Disk, and the Books of the Solar-Osirian Unity. Features: Accessible presentations of the main concepts of the Netherworld Books and the chief features of each text Notes and commentary address major theological themes within the texts as well as lexicographic and/or grammatical issues An overview of later uses of these compositions during the first millennium BCE

Ishtar

Ishtar
Author: Louise M. Pryke
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 487
Release: 2017-07-14
Genre: History
ISBN: 1317506642

Ishtar is the first book dedicated to providing an accessible analysis of the mythology and image of this complex goddess. The polarity of her nature is reflected in her role as goddess of sexual love and war, and has made her difficult to characterise in modern scholarship. By exploring this complexity, Ishtar offers insight into Mesopotamian culture and thought, and elucidates a goddess who transcended the limits of gender, divinity and nature. It gives an accessible introduction to the Near Eastern pantheon, while also opening a pathway for comparison with the later Near Eastern and Mediterranean deities who followed her.

Inanna

Inanna
Author: Kim Echlin
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 273
Release: 2015-08-04
Genre: Poetry
ISBN: 0143198068

Inanna, a goddess of ancient Mesopotamia, was worshipped around 1800 BCE by our ancestors in the land that is now modern-day Iraq. But who was she? Who were her followers? And what did her stories mean for their lives? Lost for millennia, Inanna’s stories were buried and forgotten, unearthed by archaeologists only recently, around the turn of the 19th century. Their translation has been a remarkable work of collaboration by scholars from disparate parts of the globe, as fragments of stone tablets were pieced together and the symbols on them recorded, transliterated, and interpreted. And although we still know relatively little about this ancient time, a picture of this extraordinary figure has slowly begun to emerge, through the painstaking work of these dedicated scholars: Inanna the creator, Inanna the destroyer; the leader, the warrior, the lover, the friend. Inanna was a guiding light for her followers, a commanding symbol of justice and honour, and her stories have much to teach a contemporary readership about love, power, independence, and compassion. Now, these stories are brought to vivid, visceral life by beloved Canadian author Kim Echlin, who brings her trademark passion and poet’s sensibility to the translation of the Inanna myth. With a new introduction and comprehensive notes, this new English version renders Inanna’s powerful story accessible and captivating for a new generation of eager readers.

Greek Myths and Mesopotamia

Greek Myths and Mesopotamia
Author: Charles Penglase
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 250
Release: 2003-10-04
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1134729308

Examines the Mesopotamian influence on Greek mythology in literary works of the epic period, concentrating in particular on journey myths. A major contribution to the understanding of the colourful myths involved.

The Shape of Stories

The Shape of Stories
Author: Gina Konstantopoulos
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 368
Release: 2023-03-27
Genre: History
ISBN: 900453976X

How were narratives composed in the ancient Near East? What patterns and principles, constraints and considerations guided the shaping of cuneiform stories? The study of narrative structures has emerged as a promising approach to the textual heritage of the cuneiform world. Engaging with practically any ancient text—whether literary, historical, or religious—requires some understanding of the narrative forms that shaped their content. This volume gives researchers the tools to better understand those form, illustrating each approach to narrative analysis with a case study from the cultures of the ancient Near East: Sumerian, Babylonian, Assyrian, and Hittite.

Mythology

Mythology
Author: David Adams Leeming
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 289
Release: 1998-05-28
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0198028105

What makes something mythic? What do mythic events and narratives have to do with us? In Mythology, David Leeming offers an unusual and effective approach to the subject of mythology by stressing universal themes through myths of many cultures. This anthology collects a wide array of narrative texts from the Bible to English literature to interpretations by Joseph Campbell, C.G. Jung, and others, which illustrate how myths serve whole societies in our universal search for meaning. Leeming illustrates the various stages or rites of passage of the mythic universal hero, from birth to childhood, through trial and quest, death, descent, rebirth, and ascension. The arrangement of texts by themes such as "Childhood, Initiation and Divine Signs," "The Descent to the Underworld," and "Resurrection and Rebirth" strip mythic characters of their many national and cultural "masks" to reveal their archetypal aspects. Real figures, including Jesus and Mohammed, are also included underlining the theory that myths are real and can be applied to real life. This edition is updated to include additional heroine myths, as well as Navajo, Indonesian, Indian, Chinese, and African tales.