Religion in Ancient Mesopotamia [Paperback]

Jean Bottero (Author), Teresa Lavender Fagan (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2004 | ISBN-10: 0226067181 | ISBN-13: 978-0226067186

One of the world's foremost experts on Assyriology, Jean Bottéro has studied the religion of ancient Mesopotamia for more than fifty years. Building on these many years of research, Bottéro here presents the definitive account of one of the world's oldest known religions. He shows how ancient Mesopotamian religion was practiced both in the public and private spheres, how it developed over the three millennia of its active existence, and how it profoundly influenced Western civilization, including the Hebrew Bible.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

One of the world's foremost experts on Assyriology, Jean Bottéro has studied the religion of ancient Mesopotamia for more than fifty years. Building on these many years of research, Bottéro here presents the definitive account of one of the world's oldest known religions. He shows how ancient Mesopotamian religion was practiced both in the public and private spheres, how it developed over the three millennia of its active existence, and how it profoundly influenced Western civilization, including the Hebrew Bible.

About the Author

Jean Bottéro is the emeritus director of l'École Pratique des Hautes Études, quatrième section, Paris. He is the author of The Oldest Cuisine in the World: Cooking in Mesopotamia; Mesopotamia: Writing, Reasoning, and the Gods, and coauthor of Ancestor of the West: Writing, Reasoning, and Religion in the Ancient Near East, all published by the University of Chicago Press. Teresa Lavender Fagan has translated more than a dozen books for the University of Chicago Press.

Product Details

• Paperback: 260 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press (September 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226067181
• ISBN-13: 978-0226067186
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #135,296 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #25 in Books > History > Ancient > Assyria, Babylonia & Sumer

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent introduction., December 3, 2005

By 

Shachar Link (Douglaston, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Religion in Ancient Mesopotamia (Hardcover)

This book is an excellent introduction to religion in ancient Mesopotamia. It is clear, straightforward and written with a minimum of academic jargon. I would go so far as to say it is easy to read, not common for books of this type. The author makes clear points, does not overindulge in speculation, and has a very reasonable view of what we can and cannot know about this 3000 year old religion. I really like that, despite the vast historical distance between our worldview and that of the ancient Mesopotamians, the author tries as much as possible to understand the religious mentality through which these ancient peoples viewed their world. The book sheds a lot of light on the religion of the Bible and the religious environment that created it, yet in a manner accessible to non-experts. Overall, if you are looking for an accessible introduction to a religion that was so influential to the Bible, yet is grossly understudied and likely misunderstood, I would say this is an excellent place to start.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Religion/s of Mesopotamia, June 30, 2006

By 

Jacob Cloud - See all my reviews

This review is from: Religion in Ancient Mesopotamia (Paperback)

Bottero offers a fairly concise review of Mesopotamian history and religion. The book is a good introduction to the topic for both students of religion, as well as general readers. My original interest in the book pertained to the correlations between Mesopotamian mythology and the stories found in the `Old Testament,' i.e. my interests were more literary than historical. Bottero does discuss some of the myths, etc.; yet his main focus is on religious practices and/or behavior. It's still an interesting read, and, overall, I enjoyed the book. But if you are, like I was, looking for an analysis of the Mesopotamian myths themselves and how said myths influenced the entire Mediterranean basin, I recommend the book "Slaying the Dragon" by Bernard F. Batto.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Empathetic, experiential, but factual, August 17, 2009

By 

Artemesia - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Religion in Ancient Mesopotamia (Paperback)

There are several excellent reviews of this book (although one review posted here appears to be of Black and Green's "Illustrated Dictionary: Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia" - another excellent but very different book). Nevertheless, I thought I'd add my two cents worth. This book is very verbally descriptive and packed with facts by an expert. The facts are embedded in the text mostly, there isn't much "at-a-glance" information. However, when you get into the text, it is extremely worthwhile - clear, beautifully written, informative, packed with information, but factual. The author clearly has a deep empathy and understanding of the worldview of this most ancient of cultures (even though he obviously is himself from and assumes his reader is from a Judeo-Christian worldview), and through his elegant writing he is able to transport the reader into that world. In the final analysis, there aren't many academics who can do this. Many books either venture into the fantastic or too far into speculation on the one hand, or on the other hand refuse to enter into the experience the facts present leaving the reader with a dry summary. This book manages to remain with the factual while transporting the reader into the experience.

For those who know either of the extremely ancient languages of Mesopotamia, throughout, both Sumerian and Akkadian names are given for various deities, priesthoods, religious elements etc. The book is not a compendium of myths or texts although the most important myths are explained and used to situate cosmology with relation to the religion. Also, quite a number of samplings of texts (in English) are given which enable the reader to experience firsthand through example the principle being illustrated by the author. Chapter 6 p152 gives the standardized Mesopotamian calendar from which the ancient but later Hebrew calendar is partially derived. A few of the most important festivals are described with explication of what is known, what can be guessed at, what is unknown.

If you like reading text, then this is a very good book and you will come to a good feeling for Mesopotamian religion backed up by facts. There is a respectable bibliography at the end and notes.