The Sumero-Akkadian Epic of Ninurta
99.99 €
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The Sumero-Akkadian Epic of Ninurta
99.99 €
The earliest epic texts known to us were written down on clay tablets in southern Mesopotamia at the end of the 3rd and beginning of the 2nd millennium BC in Sumerian and Akkadian languages. This is the so-called mythological epic, the main character of which is the god Ninurta. The same epic was reflected in inscriptions on clay cylinders and statues of Gudea, the ruler of the city of Lagash (c. 214Z c. 212Z B.C.). In this edition these monuments are translated together for the first time and studied as a single complex of ideas about the universe that emerged in Lagash and Nippur in the XXIII-XXII centuries BC.
The Ninurta epic and the Gudea texts reflecting it are the first examples of a Near Eastern religious text, as well as the first examples of a record of temple ritual. They served as sources for all subsequent hymn-epic literature of the Ancient Near East and influenced some books of the Old Testament through intermediaries. The Hellenistic tradition after Josephus Flavius recognized Ninurta as Nimrod, giving rise to numerous interpretations of this image in Western European and Russian literature. At present, the epic of Ninurta must also be considered in a paleoclimatic context. The so-called Great Drought of the XXII century B.C. affected a large part of the planet, including Egypt and India, and caused the destruction of the two largest states of the Ancient World, the Akkadian power in Mesopotamia and the Ancient Kingdom in Egypt. The Ninurta epic is the only literary source in the world that reflects the unfavorable for the life of ancient societies ecological events of this time - the onset of drought, soil salinization, hurricanes and earthquakes that occurred both in the south of Mesopotamia and in the mountains of Zagros. For all those interested in the monuments of ancient writing, history and culture of the Ancient East.
The Ninurta epic and the Gudea texts reflecting it are the first examples of a Near Eastern religious text, as well as the first examples of a record of temple ritual. They served as sources for all subsequent hymn-epic literature of the Ancient Near East and influenced some books of the Old Testament through intermediaries. The Hellenistic tradition after Josephus Flavius recognized Ninurta as Nimrod, giving rise to numerous interpretations of this image in Western European and Russian literature. At present, the epic of Ninurta must also be considered in a paleoclimatic context. The so-called Great Drought of the XXII century B.C. affected a large part of the planet, including Egypt and India, and caused the destruction of the two largest states of the Ancient World, the Akkadian power in Mesopotamia and the Ancient Kingdom in Egypt. The Ninurta epic is the only literary source in the world that reflects the unfavorable for the life of ancient societies ecological events of this time - the onset of drought, soil salinization, hurricanes and earthquakes that occurred both in the south of Mesopotamia and in the mountains of Zagros. For all those interested in the monuments of ancient writing, history and culture of the Ancient East.
See also:
- All books by the publisher
- All books in the series Literary monuments