A Mesopotamian Miscellany

174 Pages·2020·5.177 MB·English

by  Karen Polinger Foster, Benjamin R. Foster

A Mesopotamian Miscellany
Gorgias Studies in the Ancient Near East
15
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This series publishes scholarly research focusing on the societies,
material cultures, technologies, religions, and languages that
emerged from Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Levant. Gorgias Studies
in the Ancient Near East features studies with both humanistic and
social scientific approaches.
A Mesopotamian Miscellany
Karen Polinger Foster
Translations by
Benjamin R. Foster
gp
2020
Gorgias Press LLC, 954 River Road, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA
www.gorgiaspress.com
Copyright © 2 0 2 0 by Gorgias Press LLC
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright
Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise without the
prior written permission of Gorgias Press LLC.
2020 ܐ 1
ISBN 978-1-4632-4052-3
All tablet images courtesy of the Yale Babylonian Collection; photography
by Klaus Wagensonner.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication
Data
A Cataloging-in-Publication Record is available
from the Library of Congress.
Printed in the United States of America
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Plates ................................................................................................ ix
Map of Places Mentioned .............................................................. xix
Chronological Table ...................................................................... xxi
Preface .......................................................................................... xxiii

INTRODUCTION ................................................................................ 1
From Wedges to Words ............................................................. 1
Gilgamesh as Guide .................................................................... 5
For Further Reading ................................................................. 8

I. EXPLORATIONS OF THE MIND..................................................9

LEARNING ........................................................................................ 11
School Days in Sumer .............................................................. 14
Copycat Homework ................................................................ 15
Learned References .................................................................. 16
Court Literati ........................................................................... 16
Belles-Lettres ............................................................................ 18
Enheduanna, Princess and Poet .............................................. 20
For Further Reading ............................................................... 24
NUMERACY...................................................................................... 25
Mathematical Lessons ............................................................. 29
Measurement Lessons .............................................................. 31
Agricultural Accountability ..................................................... 33
Taxation .................................................................................. 35
Weights and Measures .............................................................36
v
vi A MESOPOTAMIAN MISCELLANY
International Exchange Rates .................................................. 37
Compound Interest ................................................................. 38
How Many Miles to Babylon? ................................................. 38
Sun and Moon, Stars and Planets ............................................ 39
For Further Reading ................................................................ 41
MEMORY ........................................................................................ 43
I, Sargon .................................................................................. 46
Remembering Naram-Sin ....................................................... 46
The Curse of Agade ................................................................ 47
Remembrance of Things Past .................................................. 57
For Further Reading ................................................................ 59

II. PASSION AND DISCIPLINE ..................................................... 61

LOVE ................................................................................................63
Sacred Marriage ...................................................................... 66
Courtship ................................................................................ 68
Mail-order Bride? .................................................................... 69
Marriage Contracts ................................................................. 69
Father of the Bride .................................................................. 70
Recovering the Dowry ............................................................. 71
Adultery................................................................................... 71
A Dangerous Liaison .............................................................. 72
Unloved and Unmourned ...................................................... 72
Family Love ............................................................................. 73
A Woman’s Yearning .............................................................. 74
The Love of the Gods for People ............................................. 75
Love, Assaulted ....................................................................... 76
For Further Reading ............................................................... 77
MADNESS ........................................................................................ 79
The Madness of Gilgamesh..................................................... 80
The Madness of Nabonidus .................................................... 83
Divining Madness in the Land ................................................ 84
Divining Madness in the Person .............................................. 85
Divining Madness at a Distance ............................................... 85
For Further Reading ............................................................... 86
TABLE OF CONTENTS vii
JUSTICE ........................................................................................... 87
Murder for Hire...................................................................... 90
Embezzlement.......................................................................... 91
A Thieving Shepherd .............................................................. 92
Witch Trial? ............................................................................ 92
A Jail Break .............................................................................. 93
Let the Punishment Fit the Crime .......................................... 94
Learning to be a Law Clerk ...................................................... 95
A Broken Engagement ............................................................ 96
Buying a House....................................................................... 97
A Last Will and Testament ..................................................... 97
For Further Reading ............................................................... 98

III. SIGNS AND WONDERS OF NATURE....................................... 99

ANIMALS ........................................................................................101
Animal Proverbs and Fables .................................................. 103
Animal Husbandry ................................................................ 104
Cats in Houses ....................................................................... 105
Cats in Temples ..................................................................... 106
Creatures for Kings ................................................................ 106
Nuisance Animals .................................................................. 108
For Further Reading .............................................................. 108
BIRDS .............................................................................................. 111
Anzu, the Wicked Bird............................................................ 115
Bird versus Fish ....................................................................... 119
Wren Wit ............................................................................... 120
Eagle Omens .......................................................................... 120
The Meaning of Spots on Birds .............................................. 121
Ducks and Doves for a Goddess ............................................. 121
Of Eggs and Feathers...............................................................123
Cooking in Cuneiform............................................................123
For Further Reading ............................................................... 125
MAGIC ........................................................................................... 127
Magic Circles .......................................................................... 130
Magic Bowls........................................................................... 130
Childbirth Spells ..................................................................... 131
viii A MESOPOTAMIAN MISCELLANY
Lullaby Spells .......................................................................... 131
Spells against Lamashtu ..........................................................132
Spells against a Temptress Demon ..........................................132
Spells Cast by a Sorcerer .......................................................... 133
Spells Cast by a Witch ............................................................ 134
Pest Control Magic ................................................................ 134
Cultic Magic .......................................................................... 134
Reading the Stars .................................................................... 135
Omens and Kings .................................................................. 136
For Further Reading .............................................................. 137

Index of Museum Numbers........................................................... 139
Bibliography of Texts...................................................................... 141
Learning.................................................................................. 141
Numeracy .............................................................................. 142
Memory ................................................................................. 143
Love ....................................................................................... 143
Madness ................................................................................. 144
Justice ..................................................................................... 145
Animals.................................................................................. 146
Birds ....................................................................................... 146
Magic ..................................................................................... 147
PLATES

Plate 1
LEARNING: Enheduanna, Princess and Poet (YBC 4656)

ix
x A MESOPOTAMIAN MISCELLANY

Plate 2
NUMERACY: Mathematical Lessons (YBC 7289)