Anthony Ossa-Richardson
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691157115
- eISBN:
- 9781400846597
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691157115.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
This chapter considers the idea that the whole business of pagan oracles was a sham, perpetrated for money or political gain. It discusses the so-called “imposture thesis”—that pagan religions were ...
More
This chapter considers the idea that the whole business of pagan oracles was a sham, perpetrated for money or political gain. It discusses the so-called “imposture thesis”—that pagan religions were built on an edifice of priestly fraud, maintained by the laity's fear of divine authority. This thesis has been widely studied as an element of the Enlightenment and its immediate precursors, especially French libertinism eérudit and English Deism. Many thinkers associated with these movements applied the imposture thesis to the pagan oracles, and indeed, the oracles slotted into their narratives as neatly as they had into those of Catholic theologians.Less
This chapter considers the idea that the whole business of pagan oracles was a sham, perpetrated for money or political gain. It discusses the so-called “imposture thesis”—that pagan religions were built on an edifice of priestly fraud, maintained by the laity's fear of divine authority. This thesis has been widely studied as an element of the Enlightenment and its immediate precursors, especially French libertinism eérudit and English Deism. Many thinkers associated with these movements applied the imposture thesis to the pagan oracles, and indeed, the oracles slotted into their narratives as neatly as they had into those of Catholic theologians.
Charles Ramble
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195154146
- eISBN:
- 9780199868513
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195154146.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
The original aim of the research that led to this book was to explore the confrontation between Buddhism and Himalayan “pagan” religion, based on the sacrificial cult of territorial gods. It was ...
More
The original aim of the research that led to this book was to explore the confrontation between Buddhism and Himalayan “pagan” religion, based on the sacrificial cult of territorial gods. It was hypothesised that such a study might shed light on the interaction between Buddhism and indigenous religion in early Tibet. When this hypothesis was found to be misleadingly simple, the inquiry shifted to the way in which both Buddhism and pagan religion were just two components of a complex “civil religion,” revealed by the history of the community, its social institutions, and the dialectical relationship between the individual and the collective. The theoretical position adopted here is essentially a Durkheimian perspective as modified by authors such as Berger and Luckmann. A discussion of the concept of civil religion and the main literature on the subject is followed by an outline of the book's chapters.Less
The original aim of the research that led to this book was to explore the confrontation between Buddhism and Himalayan “pagan” religion, based on the sacrificial cult of territorial gods. It was hypothesised that such a study might shed light on the interaction between Buddhism and indigenous religion in early Tibet. When this hypothesis was found to be misleadingly simple, the inquiry shifted to the way in which both Buddhism and pagan religion were just two components of a complex “civil religion,” revealed by the history of the community, its social institutions, and the dialectical relationship between the individual and the collective. The theoretical position adopted here is essentially a Durkheimian perspective as modified by authors such as Berger and Luckmann. A discussion of the concept of civil religion and the main literature on the subject is followed by an outline of the book's chapters.
Simon Swain and Mark Edwards (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199297375
- eISBN:
- 9780191708978
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199297375.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, World History: BCE to 500CE
What factors already present in the society of the High Roman Empire developed and expanded into the world of Late Antiquity? What was distinct in this period from what went before? The answers to ...
More
What factors already present in the society of the High Roman Empire developed and expanded into the world of Late Antiquity? What was distinct in this period from what went before? The answers to these questions embrace the fields of cultural history, politics, ideas, art, philosophy, pagan religion, Christian church, Greek and Latin literature, the army, the law, the provinces, settlement, and the economy. This book is an illustrated collection of fifteen essays on the later Roman world, and each study focuses on the two centuries from AD 200 to 400. The book challenges orthodoxies (for example, Honoré on law, Whitby on military life, Edwards on monotheism), gives coverage (Duncan-Jones on economy, Cameron on poetry, Elsner on art), and discusses the general issues and problems through major examples (McLynn on emperors in church, Papi on Italian towns, Adams on governing Egypt, Swain on Libanius, Garnsey on citizens, Dillon on philosophers, Walker on mummy portraits). The authors have set their contributions in the light of current approaches and bibliography, and the volume is a reference work in its own right.Less
What factors already present in the society of the High Roman Empire developed and expanded into the world of Late Antiquity? What was distinct in this period from what went before? The answers to these questions embrace the fields of cultural history, politics, ideas, art, philosophy, pagan religion, Christian church, Greek and Latin literature, the army, the law, the provinces, settlement, and the economy. This book is an illustrated collection of fifteen essays on the later Roman world, and each study focuses on the two centuries from AD 200 to 400. The book challenges orthodoxies (for example, Honoré on law, Whitby on military life, Edwards on monotheism), gives coverage (Duncan-Jones on economy, Cameron on poetry, Elsner on art), and discusses the general issues and problems through major examples (McLynn on emperors in church, Papi on Italian towns, Adams on governing Egypt, Swain on Libanius, Garnsey on citizens, Dillon on philosophers, Walker on mummy portraits). The authors have set their contributions in the light of current approaches and bibliography, and the volume is a reference work in its own right.
Devin Stauffer
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780226552903
- eISBN:
- 9780226553061
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226553061.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This chapter considers Hobbes’s treatment of religion in the early chapters of Leviathan, especially in Chapter 12, “Of Religion.” In that chapter, Hobbes presents an account of the psychological ...
More
This chapter considers Hobbes’s treatment of religion in the early chapters of Leviathan, especially in Chapter 12, “Of Religion.” In that chapter, Hobbes presents an account of the psychological “seed” of religion in anxiety and ignorance, an account of God as the mysterious first cause, an analysis of the political differences between pagan religion and biblical religion, and a sketch of the “resolution” of religion back into its first seeds. An examination of these argument brings to light key aspects of Hobbes’s critique of religion and provides evidence of his atheism and antireligious intentions in Leviathan.Less
This chapter considers Hobbes’s treatment of religion in the early chapters of Leviathan, especially in Chapter 12, “Of Religion.” In that chapter, Hobbes presents an account of the psychological “seed” of religion in anxiety and ignorance, an account of God as the mysterious first cause, an analysis of the political differences between pagan religion and biblical religion, and a sketch of the “resolution” of religion back into its first seeds. An examination of these argument brings to light key aspects of Hobbes’s critique of religion and provides evidence of his atheism and antireligious intentions in Leviathan.
Anthony Ossa-Richardson
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691157115
- eISBN:
- 9781400846597
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691157115.003.0008
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
This chapter focuses on Delphi, arguing that it has fallen out of our world. Since it yielded to the archaeologists, and to the tourists, it has become ashrine only to curiosity, to be approached ...
More
This chapter focuses on Delphi, arguing that it has fallen out of our world. Since it yielded to the archaeologists, and to the tourists, it has become ashrine only to curiosity, to be approached with a disinterested wonder. In opening our minds to its mysteries, and to the beauty of its setting, we have rendered the oracle unable to tell us about ourselves. The fictions and half-fictions spun of the oracles since Petrarch and Ciriaco have both echoed and shaped our views of our own culture and history. Early modern constructions of Delphi, and of pagan religion, were, at the last count, constructions of self, even as that self changed. The oracles could have no higher calling.Less
This chapter focuses on Delphi, arguing that it has fallen out of our world. Since it yielded to the archaeologists, and to the tourists, it has become ashrine only to curiosity, to be approached with a disinterested wonder. In opening our minds to its mysteries, and to the beauty of its setting, we have rendered the oracle unable to tell us about ourselves. The fictions and half-fictions spun of the oracles since Petrarch and Ciriaco have both echoed and shaped our views of our own culture and history. Early modern constructions of Delphi, and of pagan religion, were, at the last count, constructions of self, even as that self changed. The oracles could have no higher calling.
Vickie B. Sullivan
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781501747847
- eISBN:
- 9781501747861
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9781501747847.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
This chapter argues that Niccolò Machiavelli considers the Roman leaders' use of pagan religion to maintain popular support as pernicious. It enabled the leaders of the people to put this religion to ...
More
This chapter argues that Niccolò Machiavelli considers the Roman leaders' use of pagan religion to maintain popular support as pernicious. It enabled the leaders of the people to put this religion to a very different purpose. The successive innovations of aspiring tyrants strengthened such appeals and eventuated in the destruction of the republic. Christianity transcends the methods of Caesar and the Gracchi in a critical way. Christ's followers pique the passions of the people not merely with lands that many Romans have not seen, but with domains beyond human experience. This appeal to transcendence trumped all the benefits the city of Rome could offer. When the Roman people accepted the imported doctrine, they no longer needed to devote themselves to the earthly city to receive their rewards, and thus “civil life” was utterly transcended in Rome. Therefore, only when the critical element of a promise of divine provision was added to the familiar litany of private benefits did the line of ingenious aspiring tyrants, who wished to transcend civil life, achieve its goal.Less
This chapter argues that Niccolò Machiavelli considers the Roman leaders' use of pagan religion to maintain popular support as pernicious. It enabled the leaders of the people to put this religion to a very different purpose. The successive innovations of aspiring tyrants strengthened such appeals and eventuated in the destruction of the republic. Christianity transcends the methods of Caesar and the Gracchi in a critical way. Christ's followers pique the passions of the people not merely with lands that many Romans have not seen, but with domains beyond human experience. This appeal to transcendence trumped all the benefits the city of Rome could offer. When the Roman people accepted the imported doctrine, they no longer needed to devote themselves to the earthly city to receive their rewards, and thus “civil life” was utterly transcended in Rome. Therefore, only when the critical element of a promise of divine provision was added to the familiar litany of private benefits did the line of ingenious aspiring tyrants, who wished to transcend civil life, achieve its goal.
Hussein Ahmad Amin
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781474437073
- eISBN:
- 9781474453653
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9781474437073.003.0006
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Middle Eastern Studies
Following on from the previous chapter, this chapter addresses the status of awliya’, or saints and holy men, and other icons venerated by the general populace for different reasons. The chapter ...
More
Following on from the previous chapter, this chapter addresses the status of awliya’, or saints and holy men, and other icons venerated by the general populace for different reasons. The chapter discusses the need for a tangible, rather than an abstract, form of spirituality and takes a critical stance towards the over-veneration of such icons almost to the point of sanctification, tying it to remnants of pagan religions as well as historical customs and traditions kept alive by the general populace.Less
Following on from the previous chapter, this chapter addresses the status of awliya’, or saints and holy men, and other icons venerated by the general populace for different reasons. The chapter discusses the need for a tangible, rather than an abstract, form of spirituality and takes a critical stance towards the over-veneration of such icons almost to the point of sanctification, tying it to remnants of pagan religions as well as historical customs and traditions kept alive by the general populace.
David Neal Greenwood
- Published in print:
- 2021
- Published Online:
- January 2022
- ISBN:
- 9781501755477
- eISBN:
- 9781501755491
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9781501755477.003.0009
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Religions
This chapter follows Julian's journey after he left Constantinople for Antioch. It looks closely at Julian's campaign for pagan religious revival in Antioch, a city with a past steeped in pagan ...
More
This chapter follows Julian's journey after he left Constantinople for Antioch. It looks closely at Julian's campaign for pagan religious revival in Antioch, a city with a past steeped in pagan religion, and his preparation for the future invasion of Persia. His revival would depend not only on the articulation of a robust contemporary version of this religion, but also the denigration and subversion of Christianity. In Constantinople, Julian had reintroduced the pagan mysteries and built a pagan chapel in the imperial palace. In Jerusalem, he countered Constantine's Church of the Resurrection, itself a response to the Jewish Temple, with the attempt to rebuild that temple. The chapter then reviews the dechristianization of two key sites affiliated with Constantine and Constantius II: the temple of Apollo at Daphne and the Great Church of Antioch. The chapter explores the importance of oracles to Julian — discussing how Julian made them a focus of his revival. It then explicates Julian's reversal of Constantine's process of Christianization.Less
This chapter follows Julian's journey after he left Constantinople for Antioch. It looks closely at Julian's campaign for pagan religious revival in Antioch, a city with a past steeped in pagan religion, and his preparation for the future invasion of Persia. His revival would depend not only on the articulation of a robust contemporary version of this religion, but also the denigration and subversion of Christianity. In Constantinople, Julian had reintroduced the pagan mysteries and built a pagan chapel in the imperial palace. In Jerusalem, he countered Constantine's Church of the Resurrection, itself a response to the Jewish Temple, with the attempt to rebuild that temple. The chapter then reviews the dechristianization of two key sites affiliated with Constantine and Constantius II: the temple of Apollo at Daphne and the Great Church of Antioch. The chapter explores the importance of oracles to Julian — discussing how Julian made them a focus of his revival. It then explicates Julian's reversal of Constantine's process of Christianization.
Hussein Ahmad Amin
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781474437073
- eISBN:
- 9781474453653
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9781474437073.003.0005
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Middle Eastern Studies
Amin explores the development of Sufism in this chapter. He ties it to popular religious practices and the traces of ancient pagan religions in various geographical locations of the Muslim Empire. He ...
More
Amin explores the development of Sufism in this chapter. He ties it to popular religious practices and the traces of ancient pagan religions in various geographical locations of the Muslim Empire. He explores how theologians and jurists reacted to the development of Sufi concepts and rituals. He also questions several of these rituals, tying them to the historical, political and sectarian contexts at the time of their emergence.Less
Amin explores the development of Sufism in this chapter. He ties it to popular religious practices and the traces of ancient pagan religions in various geographical locations of the Muslim Empire. He explores how theologians and jurists reacted to the development of Sufi concepts and rituals. He also questions several of these rituals, tying them to the historical, political and sectarian contexts at the time of their emergence.
P.G. Walsh (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- February 2021
- ISBN:
- 9780856687594
- eISBN:
- 9781800342996
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3828/liverpool/9780856687594.003.0003
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Greek, Roman, and Early Christian Philosophy
This chapter provides the original text and translation of Book IV of Augustine's The City of God. It investigates the nature and the roles of the gods that the demons impersonate and demonstrate how ...
More
This chapter provides the original text and translation of Book IV of Augustine's The City of God. It investigates the nature and the roles of the gods that the demons impersonate and demonstrate how the pagan religion is riddled with illogicalities and improbabilities. It also discusses the deities to whom the Romans ascribe the prosperity of their empire, the prominence of abstract deities, and the attitudes of Roman intellectuals towards their gods. The chapter describes how Augustine roundly condemns rampant imperialism and describes how the Roman gods had no care for the welfare of the state. It cites the evidence of Pompeius Trogus on the claim that Ninus, king of the Assyrians, was the first ruler in history to launch aggressive wars.Less
This chapter provides the original text and translation of Book IV of Augustine's The City of God. It investigates the nature and the roles of the gods that the demons impersonate and demonstrate how the pagan religion is riddled with illogicalities and improbabilities. It also discusses the deities to whom the Romans ascribe the prosperity of their empire, the prominence of abstract deities, and the attitudes of Roman intellectuals towards their gods. The chapter describes how Augustine roundly condemns rampant imperialism and describes how the Roman gods had no care for the welfare of the state. It cites the evidence of Pompeius Trogus on the claim that Ninus, king of the Assyrians, was the first ruler in history to launch aggressive wars.
Barbara K. Gold
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- October 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780195385458
- eISBN:
- 9780190905316
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780195385458.003.0005
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, World History: BCE to 500CE
This chapter discusses the rise, development, and Romanization of ancient Carthage in the early Christian period after the formation of the province of Africa Proconsularis in the Augustan period; ...
More
This chapter discusses the rise, development, and Romanization of ancient Carthage in the early Christian period after the formation of the province of Africa Proconsularis in the Augustan period; the physical topography of the city of Carthage, including the Byrsa, the Antonine Baths, and the amphitheater; and it describes the tophet or outdoor sacrificial area and whether human sacrifice was practiced among the Carthaginians. It also covers the life, influence, and African roots of Septimius Severus, the Roman emperor during Perpetua’s life and death. Also discussed are the social, religious, and intellectual conditions for pagans in Roman Carthage, who their local gods were (Tanit, Saturn, Juno Caelestis, Baal Hammon), and the connections between civic and religious life.Less
This chapter discusses the rise, development, and Romanization of ancient Carthage in the early Christian period after the formation of the province of Africa Proconsularis in the Augustan period; the physical topography of the city of Carthage, including the Byrsa, the Antonine Baths, and the amphitheater; and it describes the tophet or outdoor sacrificial area and whether human sacrifice was practiced among the Carthaginians. It also covers the life, influence, and African roots of Septimius Severus, the Roman emperor during Perpetua’s life and death. Also discussed are the social, religious, and intellectual conditions for pagans in Roman Carthage, who their local gods were (Tanit, Saturn, Juno Caelestis, Baal Hammon), and the connections between civic and religious life.
Jón Vidar Sigurdsson
- Published in print:
- 2022
- Published Online:
- May 2022
- ISBN:
- 9781501760471
- eISBN:
- 9781501760495
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9781501760471.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
This book returns to the Viking homeland, Scandinavia, highlighting such key aspects of Viking life as power and politics, social and kinship networks, gifts and feasting, religious beliefs, women's ...
More
This book returns to the Viking homeland, Scandinavia, highlighting such key aspects of Viking life as power and politics, social and kinship networks, gifts and feasting, religious beliefs, women's roles, social classes, and the Viking economy, which included farming, iron mining and metalworking, and trade. Drawing of the latest archeological research and on literary sources, namely the sagas, the book depicts a complex and surprisingly peaceful society that belies the popular image of Norsemen as bloodthirsty barbarians. Instead, Vikings often acted out power struggles symbolically, with local chieftains competing with each other through displays of wealth in the form of great feasts and gifts, rather than arms. At home, conspicuous consumption was a Viking leader's most important virtue; the brutality associated with them was largely wreaked abroad. The book's engaging history of the Vikings at home begins by highlighting political developments in the region, detailing how Danish kings assumed ascendency over the region and the ways in which Viking friendship reinforced regional peace. The book then discusses the importance of religion, first pagan and (beginning around 1000 A.D.) Christianity; the central role that women played in politics and war; and how the enormous wealth brought back to Scandinavia affected the social fabric — shedding new light on Viking society.Less
This book returns to the Viking homeland, Scandinavia, highlighting such key aspects of Viking life as power and politics, social and kinship networks, gifts and feasting, religious beliefs, women's roles, social classes, and the Viking economy, which included farming, iron mining and metalworking, and trade. Drawing of the latest archeological research and on literary sources, namely the sagas, the book depicts a complex and surprisingly peaceful society that belies the popular image of Norsemen as bloodthirsty barbarians. Instead, Vikings often acted out power struggles symbolically, with local chieftains competing with each other through displays of wealth in the form of great feasts and gifts, rather than arms. At home, conspicuous consumption was a Viking leader's most important virtue; the brutality associated with them was largely wreaked abroad. The book's engaging history of the Vikings at home begins by highlighting political developments in the region, detailing how Danish kings assumed ascendency over the region and the ways in which Viking friendship reinforced regional peace. The book then discusses the importance of religion, first pagan and (beginning around 1000 A.D.) Christianity; the central role that women played in politics and war; and how the enormous wealth brought back to Scandinavia affected the social fabric — shedding new light on Viking society.
Michael Squire
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780198802228
- eISBN:
- 9780191840562
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198802228.003.0003
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, History of Art: pre-history, BCE to 500CE, ancient and classical, Byzantine, Prose and Writers: Classical, Early, and Medieval
Michael Squire explores how Greek and Roman materials can illuminate the thinking behind Lessing’s Laocoon. While Lessing’s project is structured around the interpretation of an ancient statue, the ...
More
Michael Squire explores how Greek and Roman materials can illuminate the thinking behind Lessing’s Laocoon. While Lessing’s project is structured around the interpretation of an ancient statue, the Laocoon’s conclusions about aesthetic media—not least, its implicit argument concerning the superiority of ‘ancient’ words over images—are predicated on a particular set of ‘modern’ ideas, themselves conditioned by a certain theological outlook. While purporting to talk about antiquity, Lessing re-imagines a Graeco-Roman ‘world full of gods’ in distinctly ‘Protestant’ terms.Less
Michael Squire explores how Greek and Roman materials can illuminate the thinking behind Lessing’s Laocoon. While Lessing’s project is structured around the interpretation of an ancient statue, the Laocoon’s conclusions about aesthetic media—not least, its implicit argument concerning the superiority of ‘ancient’ words over images—are predicated on a particular set of ‘modern’ ideas, themselves conditioned by a certain theological outlook. While purporting to talk about antiquity, Lessing re-imagines a Graeco-Roman ‘world full of gods’ in distinctly ‘Protestant’ terms.
Jon Stewart
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- February 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780198854357
- eISBN:
- 9780191888632
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198854357.003.0002
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Greek, Roman, and Early Christian Philosophy
Chapter 1 gives a reading of the Mesopotamian The Epic of Gilgamesh. At the outset an account is provided of the historical context of the work in antiquity and its discovery and translation in the ...
More
Chapter 1 gives a reading of the Mesopotamian The Epic of Gilgamesh. At the outset an account is provided of the historical context of the work in antiquity and its discovery and translation in the nineteenth century. An interpretation is given of the creation of the wild man Enkidu. Parallels are pointed out between this story and that of the Fall in Genesis. The nature of the Mesopotamian gods is also explored in the context of an interpretation of the episode featuring the goddess Ishtar. Angered by Gilgamesh’s rejection of her advances, Ishtar sends the Bull of Heaven to destroy Uruk. Gilgamesh and Enkidu manage to kill it, but only after it has caused much death and destruction. Enkidu insults Ishtar, and she in turn causes his death. Gilgamesh is deeply distraught by the death of his friend and goes in search of a solution to the problem of human mortality. He has many adventures and ultimately finds Utnapishtim, the Mesopotamian Noah, who survives the Flood and is made immortal. An account is given to the parallels of this episode and that of the Flood in Genesis. Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh about a magic plant that can restore youth. Gilgamesh manages to find it, but he loses it right away to a snake. The story is interpreted as a statement of the finitude and limitations of the human condition.Less
Chapter 1 gives a reading of the Mesopotamian The Epic of Gilgamesh. At the outset an account is provided of the historical context of the work in antiquity and its discovery and translation in the nineteenth century. An interpretation is given of the creation of the wild man Enkidu. Parallels are pointed out between this story and that of the Fall in Genesis. The nature of the Mesopotamian gods is also explored in the context of an interpretation of the episode featuring the goddess Ishtar. Angered by Gilgamesh’s rejection of her advances, Ishtar sends the Bull of Heaven to destroy Uruk. Gilgamesh and Enkidu manage to kill it, but only after it has caused much death and destruction. Enkidu insults Ishtar, and she in turn causes his death. Gilgamesh is deeply distraught by the death of his friend and goes in search of a solution to the problem of human mortality. He has many adventures and ultimately finds Utnapishtim, the Mesopotamian Noah, who survives the Flood and is made immortal. An account is given to the parallels of this episode and that of the Flood in Genesis. Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh about a magic plant that can restore youth. Gilgamesh manages to find it, but he loses it right away to a snake. The story is interpreted as a statement of the finitude and limitations of the human condition.