6
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What is "cemuc barley" referred to in a Sumerian proverb, and how is it related to necromancy?
Let me continue the trail from where cmw left off…
TL;DR: The actual Sumerian name for this type of barley was probably šeĝuš ("shengush"; although šemuš is also a possible reading), which ...
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6
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Accepted
What is "cemuc barley" referred to in a Sumerian proverb, and how is it related to necromancy?
The C in cemuc is how the ETCSL transcribes the letter that is more often transcribed as SH or Š, so you'll see cemuc spelled with these letters instead (i.e šemuš or shemush).
What it exactly is I ...
cmw♦
- 7,383
6
votes
Accepted
What are the major branches of Mesopotamian mythology?
That is almost a too broad question!
"Historical writting" Mesopotamia started around 3100/3000 BC and vanished roughly in 549 when the Persian king Cyrius II the Great (an Achaemenid, the movie 300 ...
- 3,512
6
votes
What is the meaning of the star symbols appearing on seal VA 243?
Something I never see mentioned concerning this seal and the "solar system" is why only including Pluto makes no sense. Since you can't see all the planets with the naked eye, I believe the idea is ...
- 61
6
votes
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Significance of Enoch's age in the Hebrew Bible and identification with seventh antediluvian king/sage from Mesopotamian mythology
A few possible answers:
From a more secular view:
Heinrich Zimmern in The Babylonian and the Hebrew Genesis (Originally in German "Biblische und babylonische Urgeschichte"), pg 44-45, wrote:
...
- 984
6
votes
Accepted
Why does Inanna need a fruit to know of sex?
The way that poem is told in your link is fancy and questionable. That is a fairly personal interpretation of the myth. In that story, Inanna doesn't have to go the underworld, but in fact does ...
- 3,512
5
votes
Accepted
Babylonian, Sumerian or Mesopotamian
Mesopotamia is the ancient Greek name for the land between the rivers, the Euphrates and the Tigris. This geographical location is more or less modern day Iraq. The ancient Sumerians of Mesopotamia ...
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4
votes
Was the story of Adam and Eve influenced by Sumerian Ninti and Enki?
I find myself agreeing with Arthur George: The connection is indeed tenuous, as to Enki and Ninti being recast as Adam and Eve in the Bible, based on Professor Kramer's suggestion. I have written two ...
4
votes
Which 'Sea' does Tiamat represent, and why did she turn into a serpent?
The Enuma Elish begins with the creation of the universe, originally an undifferentiated mass of water swirling in chaos. The waters divided into fresh and salt. The freshwater formed the god Apsu and ...
- 4,067
4
votes
What is the meaning of the star symbols appearing on seal VA 243?
Apparently, either my research jiu-jitsu is flawed, or the first cylinder is a forgery. First of all, it does not resemble any of the Cuneiform writings that are historically known, secondarily there ...
3
votes
Who is the female figure in the Nirgul tablet?
If that is Nergal, then the female is most likely Ereshkigal/Allatu/Al-Lat. Would make sense given the snakes present, as both Nergal and Ereshkigal were children of Enki, the god whose family/clan ...
- 31
3
votes
Was Eannatum, the real historical figure that was characterised as Adam, in the Garden of Eden narrative?
If there is a connection, and I cannot stress this if enough, all it would indicate is that yet another biblical myth is based on older stories. It certainly doesn't in any way "prove" that ...
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3
votes
How did the ranking system for the Sumerian pantheon work?
The ranking system was based on base 60 which was the basis of the Sumerian number system. The top god Anu or sky father was ranked 60 and his spouse Antu was ranked at 55--that pattern of husband-...
- 31
2
votes
Accepted
How did the Assyrians imagine the underworld?
Making the Descent
The information I have encountered about the ancient Mesopotamian conception of the Underworld would seem to contradict the statement that the dead dwelt in any sort of "vibrant" ...
- 9,855
2
votes
Why does Shamash help the trapper rather than Enkidu?
It is not Shamash the sun god, but rather Shamhat the temple harlot, who (at the direction of King Gilgamesh) helps the "notorious trapper" to protect his livelihood from the wild man Enkidu....
- 1,400
2
votes
Who are the deities of natural order, justice or wisdom?
Greek:
Order and Justice: Zeus is the Lord of Order and Justice (Zeus Nomos "Zeus the Lawgiver", Zeus Ktêsios "Zeus Protector of Property", Zeus Horkios "Zeus Watcher of ...
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2
votes
Who are the deities of natural order, justice or wisdom?
Natural Order
Chinese
the gods are energies or principles revealing, imitating and propagating the way of Heaven (Tian 天), which is the supreme godhead manifesting in the northern culmen of the ...
- 5,378
2
votes
Accepted
Literature for mesopotamian seven-tiered cosmos?
The number seven is used in the Gilgamesh epos 40 times, so it seems more like a special connotation given to the number in general. Some examples:
You have loved the lion tremendous in strength: ...
- 5,378
2
votes
Do any Mediterranean mythologies depict souls escaping from the Underworld without the help of a living rescuer?
Roman satirist Lucian of Somosata wrote of philosophers whose souls escaped from the Underworld. Names such as Plato, Socrates, even the founders of Stoicism which was popular in the second-century ...
2
votes
Do any Mediterranean mythologies depict souls escaping from the Underworld without the help of a living rescuer?
Plato’s Republic includes the myth of Er, son of Armenius, in which Er avoids drinking the water of Lethe and so escapes from the underworld:
All the souls […] marched on in a scorching heat to the ...
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2
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Accepted
Do any Mediterranean mythologies depict souls escaping from the Underworld without the help of a living rescuer?
I doubt that this has anything to do with Mediterranean cultures specifically.
The myth of Izanagi/Izanami in Japanese Shinto is straightforwardly identical to the myth of Orpheus (only that the ...
1
vote
Which Mesopotamian gods had sacred numbers?
To start things off, here are the ones I know of, taken from here:
10 for Adad, god of storms and power
15 for Ishtar, goddess of love and war
20 for Shamash, god of the sun and justice
30 for Sîn, ...
- 1,388
1
vote
What are some actually evil gods around the world?
In Zoroastrianism, the Angra Mainyu could be seen as an evil god.
Angra Mainyu...is the Avestan-language name of Zoroastrianism's hypostasis of the "destructive/evil spirit" and the main ...
cmw♦
- 7,383
1
vote
Was there a concept of bringing about a perfect world in ancient pagan religions?
Norse myth does feature such a belief. See the last seven stanzas of the Vǫluspá or "Sybil's Prophecy," in the Elder or Poetic Edda, or Chapters 52-53 of the "Gylfaginning" section ...
- 1,400
1
vote
Who are the deities of natural order, justice or wisdom?
Yama is the god of death and justice in Hinduism which I found interesting. Forseti is another god of justice in Norse mythology. Toth is the Egyptian god of wisdom.
- 11
1
vote
Did the inhabitants of the ancient Near East believe in an ocean in the sky?
Not sure if my entry helps because its not connected with Near East but there are mentions in the ancient texts of the East (Hindu tradition) such as Padma Purana or Srimad Bhagavtam, where you will ...
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1
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How is the Borjgali related to Mesopotamian symbols of eternity?
Mesopotamian sign of Eternity is same as Georgian Borjgali, Georgians also speak language which is derived from Shumer and Mesopotamia since survivors of "the great deluge" settled in Caucasus ...
- 11
1
vote
Was the story of Adam and Eve influenced by Sumerian Ninti and Enki?
Sadly most of the recast here are based on somebody's wild theories without referring to the translation from the thousands of ancient tablets of sumerian, akkadian, assyrian and babylonian. Hebrew ...
- 19
1
vote
Are Noah and Ziusudra the same person?
You cannot deny the Hebrew-Sumerian connection, for example: in creation, both stories identify creation of modern man as the Adamu (derived from Adam); then, there was Abraham who was raised up from ...
- 19
1
vote
What is the meaning of the star symbols appearing on seal VA 243?
It's a date-stamp that indicates which Akitu festival the seal is commemorating. Akitu was a barley festival, andwas celebrated twice per year (sowing and reaping.) The Akitu festival marked the ...
- 11
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