Their history, culture, and character phoenix books new edition by samuel noah kramer isbn. He believed this hypothetical planet of nibiru to be in an elongated, elliptical orbit in the earths own solar system, asserting that sumerian mythology reflects this view. All myths are laced with metaphors many leading to gods and creators as ancient alien who came to earth to create a race called humans and what followed after that. It is written in the sumerian language and dated to around 1600 bce. To be sure, there were hundreds of tablets and fragments inscribed with sumerian mythological tales lying about in museum drawers, and quite a number of them had been copied and published in the preceding half century by various scholars. Instead, after a person died, his or her soul went to kur later known as irkalla. I appreciate all the years of time, study and research that went into this book. The texts mention that at some point the gods mutinied against their labour. One response to mesopotamian magic, rites and rituals of eridu, sumerian anunnaki in babylonian system pingback. List of books and articles about sumeria online research. Yama, the hindu god of death is the close cousin of his. This sumerian and akkadian assyrian and babylonian goddess of death and the consort of the god of death, nergal comes from akkadian mythology. The earliest record of a sumerian creation myth, called the eridu genesis by historian thorkild jacobsen, is found on a single fragmentary tablet excavated in nippur by the expedition of the university of pennsylvania in 1893, and first recognized by arno poebel in 1912. Sumerian mythology revised edition samuel noah kramer a real addition to the body of world mythology.
Including material hitherto unpublished from recent excavations, the articles are organised thematically using evidence from archaeology, texts and the natural sciences. The gods of the mesopotamian region were by no means uniform in name, power. The sumerian creation myth can be found on a tablet in nippur, an ancient mesopotamian city founded in approximately 5000 bc. Ancient history encyclopedia receives a small commission for each book sold through our affiliate partners. Cuneiform and the advent of writing, astronomy, astrology, farming and religion. The sumerian religion influenced mesopotamian mythology as a whole, surviving in the mythologies and religions of the hurrians, akkadians, babylonians, assyrians, and other culture groups. Mesopotamian magic, rites and rituals of eridu, sumerian. Traces of sumerian religion survive today and are reflected in writings of the bible. When this book first appeared in 1944, sumerian mythology was virtually terra incognita in cuneiform studies and oriental research.
Middle eastern mythology, penguin books, new york, 1963. American anthropologist no people has contributed more to the culture of mankind than the sumerians, and yet it has been only in recent years that our knowledge of them has become at all accurate or extensive. In particular the societies of sumer, akkad, and assyria, all of which existed shortly after 3000 bce and were mostly gone by 400 ce. Sumerian mythology book ancient history encyclopedia. Bibliography related content books cite this work license. The sumerians were a nonsemitic, nonindoeuropean people who lived in southern babylonia from 40003000 b. Mesopotamian mythology refers to the myths, religious texts, and other literature that comes from the region of ancient mesopotamia in modernday west asia. Although nammu also transliterated as namma does not appear as a main character in any of the known sumerian myths, she is referred to briefly in several of them. The sumerians regarded their divinities as responsible for all matters pertaining to the natural and social orders 34 before the beginning of kingship in sumer, the citystates were effectively ruled by theocratic priests and religious officials. They invented cunieform writing, and their spiritual beliefs influenced all successive near eastern religions, including judaism, christianity and islam. This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and if not signed in for advertising. I figure you guys will know the most interesting books to check out.
Sumerian mythology revised edition samuel noah kramer a real. Sumerian mythology mythology and folklore the white. The origins of human beings according to ancient sumerian. The second scholar was german fritz hommel about a century ago, concluding it was turanian turkic. Yama is still alive, well and kicking in the hindu mind and daily. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. As late as ezekiel, there is mention of a sumerian deity. Discover delightful childrens books with prime book box, a subscription that delivers new books every 1, 2, or 3 months new customers receive 15% off your. Sumerian mythology, free pdf, ebook, epub global grey. Sumerian mythology the underworld of the sumerians is revealed, to some extent, by a composition about the death and afterlife of the king and warlord urnammu. Sumerian mythology by samuel noah kramer ebook lulu. This audiobook includes tales of gods and goddesses, both major and minor, as well as kings and heroes, both historical and mythical. The first person to ever compare sumerian mythology with turkic mythology was a french scholar named francois lenormant in 1874.
Sumerian religion was the religion practiced and adhered to by the people of sumer, the first literate civilization of ancient mesopotamia. Does anyone now of comprehensive books on sumerian mythology. When they came to the earth, there was much work to be done and these gods toiled the soil, digging to make it habitable and mining its minerals. Aang avatar katara avatar sokka avatar original female characters original male characters summary. The sumerian religion influenced mesopotamian mythology as a whole. Sitchins books have sold millions of copies worldwide and have been translated into more than 25 languages.
This work covers sumerian, babylonian, canaaniteugaritic, hittite, and hebrew mythologic material in brief and with comparisons. The creation of earth enuma elish according to the sumerian tablets begins like this. From wikibooks, open books for an open world sumerian mythology, gilgamesh, ur, assyrians, babylon, hammurabi and the persian empire. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. The sumerian world explores the archaeology, history and art of southern mesopotamia and its relationships with its neighbours from c.
In one sumerian poem, offerings are made to shulpae in the underworld and, in later mythology, he was one of the demons of the underworld. Pdf the god enki in sumerian royal ideology and mythology. Sumerian mythology, turkish mythology comparison, sumerian. Whatever little is known of sumerian mythology is largely surmised from the modified, redacted, and in a sense, garbled versions of the babylonians who conquered the sumerians toward the very end of the third millennium b. The sumerian gods personified local elements and natural forces. The sumerians thought that a great domed roof contained the sky, the stars, the moon, and the sun which lighted the cities beneath it. Sumerian mythology by samuel noah kramer goodreads.
A study of spiritual and literary achievement in the third millennium b. Sumerian myths were passed down through the oral tradition until the. Discover librarianselected research resources on sumeria from the questia online library, including fulltext online books, academic journals, magazines, newspapers and more. See more ideas about books, ancient mesopotamia and ancient civilizations. If youre looking for a captivating collection of sumerian myths, then pay attention. The mesopotamian pantheon ancient history encyclopedia. The last airbender was not inspired by the cultures of the arctic, japan, china and tibet, but instead by the cultures and mythologies of ancient egypt, ancient mesopotamia, ancient iran and ancient india. Just like the title says, i am interested in reading about the sumerians. Fascinating myths and legends of gods, goddesses, heroes and monster from the ancient mesopotamian sumerian mythology as want to read. This book is our first authoritative sketch of the great. History and overview sumer may very well be the first civilization in the world although long term settlements at jericho and c,atal hu. By purchasing books through this website, you support our nonprofit organization. The extant text of this poem, which we may entitle the epic of enmerkar, is reconstructed from the following tablets and fragments.
So when you read a sumerian tablet the next time youre at a museum, remember. Im glad i read it but i cant agree with the authors interpretation of sumerian mythology being where biblical creation stories originate from. Id prefer it if you could read it as a book and not as an encyclopedia, but i imagine there isnt a big. We help people distribute information and art spanning a wide range of subject matter while providing a safe. Sumerian mythology claims that, in the beginning, humanlike gods ruled over earth. Because tiamat is better known in literary sources, researchers can unravel part of the ancient mythology surrounding the goddess nammu by comparing the two deities. This book is our first authoritative sketch of the great myths of the. All it takes is a little effort, and youll be hearing the voices of people just like us, with all the hopes and dreams and ambitions that accompany the human spirit wherever it goes. The sumerian lexicon has benefitted from several classes at ucla with dr. The bulk of sumerian parallels can, however be found much earlier, in the book of genesis. Anu the supreme god of heaven, enlil god of water, and ea god of magic were among the gods most worshipped by the sumerians. Sumerian religion was the religion practiced and adhered to by the people of sumer, the first. Robert hetzron, with whom i had the pleasure of studying during every week of the four years that i attended the university of california at santa barbara. The sumerians held the belief that a sacred ritual marriage between the ruler and inanna, goddess of love and fertility, brought rich harvests.