Drawn from Akkadian and Sumerian tablets in the Yale Babylonian Collection, many of them previously unpublished, this collection of readings brings to life the vibrancy of ancient Mesopotamian literature, beyond its better-known myths and epics. The book’s unique thematic structure presents a wide range of timeless subjects, while the individual selections open new perspectives, thanks to their vivid details. The texts include letters, poems, prayers, humorous sketches, dialogues, and proverbs. Each theme is introduced, followed by brief commentaries on the dozen or more illustrative texts. Suggestions for further reading are also provided, as well as a map, chronological outline, and general introduction.
REVIEWS
"While the volume describes itself as a miscellany, it is really a candy box of a book, full
of novelty and delight...
Foster has managed to cover the breadth of Mesopotamian history, with texts ranging from the Early Dynastic period all the way to a magic bowl text from the first centuries of the Christian era. She also covers all the genres one might wish for, from legal documents to recipes. Moreover, the book also offers a wide array of the most famous and fascinating aspects of Mesopotamian civilization: from Enheduanna to Shulgi to the Palace without Rival, from the invention of writing to the last cuneiform text, from letters from Kanesh to prayers and laments to the flood story. To achieve this reach, she is willing to add one or two works that are not in the Yale collection, giving this book the feel of having a world in your pocket.
This book is sure to be of both use and delight to many. The lively examples and gentle humor with which it is written are appealing but always scholarly. The volume could serve as an accessible background to an undergraduate course on the Bible, world literature, or history. The section on numeracy might make a valuable addition even to a high-school mathematics class.
Even, or perhaps especially, for nonspecialist scholars of Mesopotamia, there are fresh insights and new texts. Each chapter is full of variety that piques curiosity, even in topics that might previously have seemed dry, such as mathematical exercises or legal texts. The short introductions to the texts are invaluable. The book’s length means that one can read the whole work; the variety means that the reader’s attention is kept stimulated. As Foster writes of the cuneiform recipes, so, too, her selection, arrangement, and writing “give the dish an appetizing allure” (124). This book is a luscious sampler."
Excerpts: Corinna Nichols, University of Washington, RBL 06/2024
"[This] book offers an assortment of amuse-bouches drawn from texts, largely literary, from the Yale Babylonian Collection...
the translations are beautiful and the explanations leading up to them insightful."
Excerpts: Nathan Wasserman, Rezensionen
