Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia: An Illustrated Dictionary

Even though I have read a number of books about ancient Mesopotamia, many of which are focussed on political and economic history rather than on beliefs and religious practices, I am was still very confused about who were the principal gods and goddesses, during what period of time and where they became prominent, and why they were worshipped. The uniformly positive customer reviews of this 192 page book were what persuaded me to buy it , and I was not disappointed. When I buy a book, however, I do prefer to read it from start to finish, so reading a dictionary in this way is somewhat difficult and it is probably not the best way to read this one. The "gods and goddesses " entry in this dictionary indicate that more than 3000 names have been recovered, and while the book doesn't attempt to describe all of these, it does provide a significant amount of interesting reference material about the beliefs and religious practices of the peoples of Ancient Mesopotamia. Perhaps it would be better to use the term "ruler" or "the elite" rather than the term "peoples" since it is clear that nearly all the available information about the gods, demons, and symbols comes from inscriptions which were either from the rulers or from the priests of the religious institutions. At the beginning of the book there is a useful author's note on the variant spellings of ancient names which explains the scholarly consensus on the probable pronunciation of the Akkadian and Sumerian languages. This is followed, by a concise introduction which provides summaries on the places and peoples of Mesopotamia, their mythology and legends, their art and iconography and the periods of the various dynasties and a helpful one page chronological table. At the end of the book there is also a short bibliography listing books recommended for further reading. The bulk of the book consists of about a thousand entries (I didn't count them) on the different deities, religious objects, icons, symbols, and practices, of the peoples of ancient Mesopotamia. Most of these are quite short, although there are a few which run to three or four pages. At least half of them refer to one or more illustrations which are liberally sprinkled throughout the book, and this approach definitely enhanced my understanding of what I was reading. I did get the impression, though, that much of the information about the earlier period comes from the Assyrian kings of the 1st millennium, and while they were heirs to the Sumerian and Akkadian traditions, it is still not clear to me how much of a bias they brought into their inscriptions in order to better serve their own interests There are 159 illustrations in all, which are a mixture of drawings and very clear black and white photographs. The drawings by Tessa Rickards, the illustrator, are beautifully done, elegantly simple, and in my opinion, bring out the essence of the object of the illustration. While most illustrations are embedded in the te

Despite reading the Epic of Gilgamesh a couple of times and attending several exhibits of Mesopotamian artifacts, I always thought of the divinities of that area as alien. This is strange in itself since it is always pounded in one's head that these ancient people had the Flood story, the Tower of Babel, etc; that is they were instrumental in influencing the ancient Hebrews who have in turn influenced Western culture through the Bible. Well, there is help for those like me who felt estranged from these ancient Gods - GODS, DEMONS AND SYMBOLS OF ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA: AN ILLUSTRATED DICTIONARY. It's been around for a few years and if one wants to tackle the Mesopotamia societies, it is a handy reference. It has a short introduction and a dictionary from a to zed. I don't know if it contains everything one needs for understanding but what it does give clarity to things. It has black & white line drawing and a few black & white photos. But mostly it gives valuable information regarding things like astrology, the relationships of the Gods to men and the many different Gods that can be found in this geographical area, including the pre-Islamic Gods of Arabia. This is an excellent and indispensable guide.

This is an excellent resource for anyone interested in Mesopotamian daily life and religion. It provides a quick reference to not just myths and gods, but also religious rites and magical practices. For example, you can look up "sacrifice" if you want to see what information there is on how the Mesopotamians went about such things. I think this helps to flesh out how the religion affected the daily lives of the people. It has a wealth of illustrations and drawings, something that is rather lacking in many books about Sumer. It also covers the evolution of the gods and cultures who worshipped them, instead of a simplistic "This was the god of X." It helps to know that some things were specific to Assyria or the early Sumerian Dynasties, which is important if you wish to avoid a homogenized 'Babylonianoid' stereotype of Mesopotamian history and religion.Our copy is already looking shabby from being read so much.

This wonderful book was published in 1992, and reflects up-to-date knowledge of ancient Mesopotamian religion. It covers from prehistoric times (though mostly from the Early Dynastic Period) through to the Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian period, and is organized as a dictionary. Most entries are given a paragraph or two, though more important ones can cover a page or two, and many pictures and illustrations are sprinkled throughout.This is a wonderful resource for anyone who enjoys reading about ancient Mesopotamia. No part of Mesopotamian religion that I could think of was not covered, and quite a lot that I did not know was covered. The reach of this book is truly breathtaking! I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the religion of ancient Mesopotamia.

The book is setup just like a Dictionary with all the common Deities of Ancient(Sumer and Akkad only)Mesopotamia. All definitions have reference to other terms listed in bold letters somewhere in the defining paragraph. This makes cross referencing terms an easy goal to accomplish. The book does not include Egyptain, Canaanite, or Hittite Deities. However, there is a great companion volume to "Gods,Demon,and symbols in Ancient Mesopotamia" called "Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible" edited by Karel Van Der Toorn and for a complete book of all the Canaanite gods and stories that are availible try "Canaanite Myths and legends" by John Gibson. I have all three and they are a must for anyone doing research on the Ancient gods of The fertile Crescent.