Syllabus
Hrůša, I., Ancient Mesopotamian Religion: A Descriptive Introduction, Münter: Ugarit-Verlag, 2015.
Lambert, W.G. - George, A. - Oshima, T., Ancient Mesopotamian Religion and Mythology, Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2016.
Additional bibliography will be discussed during the lectures. Moreover, the students will be individually provided with supplementary specialistic bibliography in accordance with the topic chosen for the presentation.
Annotation
This course aims to introduce students to one of the key practices of religious and other life in ancient Mesopotamia. During the lessons, students will learn not only what divination is for the Ancient Near East, but also who are the actors involved in these practices, what are the purposes of these activities, and how they are carried out in practice. Part of the course will be devoted to the reading of Akkadian texts belonging to some divination series from the 2nd millennium BC. For this reason, a knowledge of Akkadian is highly recommended. The last part of the course will also include some practical activities agreed upon with the students. Breakdown of the lessons:
1. Introduction to the course
2. Introduction to Mesopotamian religious tradition
3. What is divination? Who are the actors involved? Which are its aims?
4. Typologies of divinatory practice
5. Some omina from the OB period
6. Some omina from the OB period
7. Some omina from the OB period
8. Some omina from the OB period
9. Some omina from the OB period
10.Activities
11.Activities
12.Activities
13.Activities