Religion in Ancient Mesopotamia by Jean Bottero - 9780226067186 - Compare Prices on New & Used Textbooks, Cheap Textbooks

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.

		Religion in Ancient Mesopotamia by Jean Bottero, Teresa Lavender Fagan (Translator) ISBN-10: 9780226067186 ISBN-10: 0-226-06718-1 ISBN-13: 9780226067186 ISBN-13: 978-0-226-06718-6 Paperback 2004-09-01 University Of Chicago Press Find Lowest Price
Editorials

Product Description 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.
Reviews

An Illustrated Dictionary of Ancient Mesopotamia Teachers and students have needed this book for a long time; previously, we had to depend on skimpy glossaries at the end of anthologies. Inevitably, for reasons of space and cost, those glossaries were very brief and not cross-referenced. This book, put together by two scholars in the field, solves this problem. In 192 illustrated pages, Black and Green have, in dictionary-style defined, explained, and cross-referenced to other items and illustrations, every god, demon, and symbol mentioned in the available Mesopotamian literature. Like good scholars, they are very careful when they speculate about meanings; they are factual and write clearly,linking, whenever possible, the item they're defining to parallels in architecture, sculpture, and literature. This is a very valuable resource since it puts into one text the best, most up-to-date scholarly understanding of the many gods, demons, and symbols that the ancient Mesopotamians poured so many of their imaginative energies into creating.
The Religion/s of Mesopotamia 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.
Good read in the field This is a great summury of the subject, a great book if your wanting to learn the basics before you dive into more scholarly work. I strongly recommend it as a introductory read, though it can be complicated at times.
Excellent introduction. 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.