What you see is what you get? Comments on Early Akkadian magical tradition based on physical aspects of incantation tablets

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

Abstract

Magical texts are one of the earliest literary genres in cuneiform culture. Incantations are found as early as the third millennium BCE, both in southern Mesopotamia and in Ebla (current northern Syria, not far from the Mediterranean). In the second millennium incantations of various sorts are the commonest literary genre, quantitatively amounting to almost half the entire corpus of literary composition of the period (286 incantations out of a total of around 614 texts).² It is therefore clearly justified to speak here about a substantial written magical tradition in Ancient Mesopotamia.By contrast, medical texts stricto sensu – therapeutic or...[long field truncated]
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationTraditions of Written Knowledge in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia
Subtitle of host publicationProceedings of Two Workshops Held at Goethe-University, Frankfurt/Main in December 2011 and May 2012
EditorsDaliah Bawanypeck, Annette Imhausen
Place of PublicationMünster
Pages47-70
Number of pages24
StatePublished - 2014

Publication series

NameAlter Orient und Altes Testament
Volume403

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