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Mesopotamian Religion

3. Notes

Notes to Chapter 15. Materializations

Giorgio Buccellati, “When on High…”

August 2023

15.1 Modes of Expression
15.2 Gestures of Prayer
15.3 Testimony Behavior
15.4 Private Representations of the Divine


ERRORS in databases:
  • "Boson1918Assiriologia.d": duplicate bibliography "Boson1918Assiriologia" for site "Akk-lg".
  • "Bottero1992Reasoning.d": duplicate bibliography "Bottero1992Reasoning" for site "Mes-rel".
  • "Buccellati1972Teodicea.d": duplicate bibliography "Buccellati1972Teodicea" for site "Mes-lit".
  • "Cauvin2000Birth.d": duplicate bibliography "Cauvin2000Birth" for site "Mes-rel".
  • "DMB.d": duplicate bibliography "DMB" for site "Mes-rel".
  • "Edzard2003Sumerian.d": duplicate bibliography "Edzard2003Sumerian" for site "Mes-rel".
  • "Oshima2014Sufferers.d": duplicate bibliography "Oshima2014Sufferers" for site "Mes-rel".
  • "Trinkaus1983Shanidar.d": duplicate bibliography "Trinkaus1983Shanidar" for site "Mes-rel".

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15.1 Modes of Expression

  1. For the expression of religiosity through cultic activities at Ebla, an example of Mesopotamian rituality, see Bonechi 1989 Ebla.

    – [ Marco De Pietri, June 2020]

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15.2 Gestures of Prayer

  1. For prayer gestures, see RlA.

    See also Langdon 1919 Gesture.

    – [ Marco De Pietri, September 2020]

  2. For examples of cylinder seals and sealings in Syro-Mesopotamia, see e.g. those from Urkesh/Tell Mozan.

    – [ Marco De Pietri, September 2020]

  3. «The position of the body (erect or genuflected) and arms (raised or elevated) characterize these gestures in the most common way, with a great number of variations. For example, the hands can be held together, with the thumbs crossed» (G. Buccellati, Chapter 15, Section 2).

    An example of a figurine portraying a standing male worshipper in a position similar to that described here by G. Buccellati can be found at the MET.

    – [ Marco De Pietri, September 2020]

  4. For the so-called ‘raised-hand prayer’ in Mesopotamia, see supra 7.3, with further bibliography. Cf. also Shibata 2010 Suilla.

    For ‘lifting-hand prayer’ in Israel, see Calabro 2013 Gestures.

    – [ Marco De Pietri, September 2020]

  5. For the Akkadian expression nīš qāti, ‘the raising of the hand’, as a typical Mesopotamian praying gesture, see CAD 11 = N2, pp. 294-297, nīšu, ‘to raise’ and CAD 13 = Q, pp. 183-188, qātu, ‘hand’; for the entire expression, see specifically CAD 11 = N2, p. 294.

    – [ Marco De Pietri, September 2020]

  6. For the Akkadian expression laban āppi, ‘(to) touch the nose’, as a typical Mesopotamian praying gesture, see CAD 9 = L, pp. 294-297, labānu, ‘to beg’ and CAD 1 = A2, pp. 184-189, appu, ‘nose’; for the entire expression, see specifically CAD 9 = L, p. 11.

    About the laban āppi gesture, see also Gruber 1975 Akkadian.

    – [ Marco De Pietri, September 2020]

  7. For many examples of Mesopotamian devotional gestures, described by Buccellati in this paragraph, see Goldman 1990 Gestures and the contributions collected in Kipfer 2017 Emotions.

    – [ Stefania Ermidoro, November 2020]

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15.3 Testimony Behavior

  1. For the account of Enkidu’s death, see George 2000 Gilgamesh.

    – [ Marco De Pietri, September 2020]

  2. For Enḫeduanna, daughter of Sargon of Akkad, see here.

    – [ Marco De Pietri, September 2020]

  3. On the goddess Inanna/Ishtar, see here.

    – [ Marco De Pietri, September 2020]

  4. For the prophet Jeremiah, see the Jewish Encyclopedia.

    – [ Marco De Pietri, September 2020]

  5. For the Maccabees, see the Jewish Encyclopedia.

    – [ Marco De Pietri, September 2020]

  6. On food regulation in ancient Mesopotamia (with a particular focus on meat, but that includes several relevant bibliographical references on the broader topic), see Ermidoro 2020 Animals.

    – [ Stefania Ermidoro, November 2020]

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15.4 Private Representations of the Divine

  1. For an investigation on the divine speech in ancient Mediterranean world, see Anthonioz 2019 Divine Speech.

    – [ Marco De Pietri, June 2020]

  2. For the depiction of deities in Mesopotamia, on different archaeological finds, see e.g. Braun Holzinger 2013 Gotterdarstellung.

    – [ Marco De Pietri, September 2020]

  3. See Spieckermann 2007 Welt on pictorial representations of gods.

    – [ Jonah Lynch, January 2021]