historia

FOSTER, B. R. Before the Muses: An Anthology of Akkadian Literature. 3. ed. Bethesda, Md.: CDL Press, 2005, XX + 1025 p. – ISBN 9781883053765.

Benjamin Foster’s Before the Muses: An Anthology of Akkadian Literature is already a standard among collections of translated texts from ancient Mesopotamia. The third edition of this work is an expansion and revision of the second edition, which has been out of print for some time. The new edition appears as a single-volume paperback instead of the two-volume, hardcover set of its predecessors. Generally speaking, this new edition follows the format of the previous editions. That is, the anthology still offers a general introduction to Akkadian literature, a specific introduction to each of the main time periods of Akkadian literature as delineated by Foster (Archaic, Classical, Mature, and Late), a brief introduction to major text groupings and each individual selection, and a translation of each text, which is followed by a cornucopia of information arranged under the rubrics “Text,” “Editions,” “Literature,” and “Notes to Texts.” As with previous editions, the translations are clear and accurate though not literary, the references to secondary literature are ample, and the introductions to individual texts remain useful for orienting readers in the unfamiliar and often difficult Mesopotamian materials (da resenha de Alan Lenzi, publicada pela RBL em 17/12/2005).

The translator has crammed into this collection at least a substantial sample of the most important literary genres of the ancient Assyrians and Babylonians. It includes mythic narratives, epics of heroes and historical kings, Wisdom texts, humorous stories, royal inscriptions, poetry, letters, and more; the harvest of over a century and a half of work in the field, and in museums and collections.

Benjamin R. Foster (born 1945) is Professor of Assyriology at Yale University, USA.

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FLEMING, D. E. ; MILSTEIN, S. J. The Buried Foundation of the Gilgamesh Epic: The Akkadian Huwawa Narrative. Atlanta: SBL Press, 2014, XX + 227 p. – ISBN 9781628370324.

The Buried Foundation of the Gilgamesh Epic is a close study of the Old Babylonian Gilgamesh poems, intending to show that a lost Akkadian narrative about Gilgamesh, focused on the expedition of Gilgamesh and Enkidu against Huwawa, lies between the Old Babylonian Gilgamesh Epic, as known from the Penn and Yale tablets, and the Sumerian Gilgamesh and Huwawa poems. Fleming and Milstein propose that the outlines of this lost poem can be detected in the existing Sumerian and Akkadian sources and that the creative adaptation of this work explains certain inconsistencies they observe between the Penn and Yale Gilgamesh tablets, which, like most scholars, they consider a pair copied at the same time by the same person. They bring to their inquiry recently published Old Babylonian sources about Gilgamesh that suggest the confrontation with Huwawa was a separate story in Akkadian as well as Sumerian. They are forthright about the obvious problems with their hypothesis, such as that some or even all the independent Gilgamesh and Huwawa stories may well be later than the Penn and Yale tablets, but they are ready with carefully worked-out answers. Throughout, the authors demonstrate enviable analytic skills, attention to detail, and exceptional acuteness of observation, the result being a rewarding and interesting study for anyone interested in the Akkadian Gilgamesh tradition (da resenha de Foster, Benjamin R. Journal of the American Oriental Society 131, no. 1 (2011): 146-48)
 

Daniel Edward Fleming is Professor of Hebrew Bible and Ancient Near Eastern Studies in the Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies at New York University, USA.

Sara J. Milstein is Professor of Hebrew Bible and Ancient Near Eastern Studies in the Department of Classical, Near Eastern, and Religious Studies at University of British Columbia, Canada.

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Histórias do Antigo Oriente Médio: uma bibliografia

DALLEY, S. Myths from Mesopotamia: Creation, the Flood, Gilgamesh, and Others. Rev. ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009, 339 p. – ISBN 9780199538362.

The myths collected here include parallels with the biblical stories of the Creation and the Flood, and the famous Epic of Gilgamesh, the tale of a man of great strength, whose heroic quest for immortality is dashed through one moment of weakness. Recent developments in Akkadian grammar and lexicography mean that this new translation–complete with notes, a glossary of deities, place-names, and key terms, and illustrations of the mythical monsters featured in the text–will replace all other versions.

Stephanie M. Dalley is a Retired Research Fellow in Assyriology, Faculty of Oriental Studies at Oxford. From 1979 to 2007, she taught Akkadian and Sumerian at the Oriental Institute, Oxford University, UK.

BRANDÃO, J. L. Como se faz um herói: as linhas de força do poema de Gilgámesh. E-Hum, Belo Horizonte, v. 8, n. 1, p. 104-121, 2015.

O trabalho é uma tradução comentada da qual a primeira parte (a primeira tabuinha) se encontra publicada no volume 10 (2014) da Revista Nuntius antiquus. Nesse sentido, o objetivo é duplo: de um lado, apresentar algo de minha tradução da versão babilônica clássica da chamada epopeia de Gilgámesh (cujo título original é Ele o abismo viu), atribuída ao “exorcista” (mašmaššu) Sîn-lēqi-unninni e composta por volta do século XIII a. C.; por outro lado, examinar as linhas de força temáticas que dão coesão ao poema, considerando a conexão que nele têm os feitos heroicos com o sexo, a morte e a vida civilizada.

BRANDÃO, J. L. No princípio era a água. Rev. UFMG, Belo Horizonte, v. 20, n. 2, p.22-41, 2013. 

Este trabalho trata das cosmogonias babilônicas que instituem a água como o princípio de tudo, bem como das tradições grega e hebraica delas dependentes. No poema intitulado Enuma elish, escrito provavelmente no século XII a.C., Apsû e Tiamat – a água das fontes e a água do mar, respectivamente – são apresentados como os primeiros deuses, a partir dos quais o mundo ganha forma. Ressalta-se como, provindo de povos que vivem no deserto, esses mitos sublinham o caráter da água como fonte de vida, ao mesmo tempo que elaboram uma imagem do mar como uma força perigosa que é preciso conter em seus limites, tarefa que cabe ao mais jovem dos deuses, responsável pela ordem do mundo.

BRANDÃO, J. L. Sîn-lēqi-unninni, Ele o abismo viu (Série de Gilgámesh 1). Nuntius Antiquus, Belo Horizonte, v. X, n. 2, jul.-dez., p. 125-159, 2014.

Apresento a tradução da primeira tabuinha de Ele o abismo viu (Sha naqba imuru), poema babilônico que se costuma intitular “Epopeia de Gilgámesh”. Trata-se do primeiro resultado que publico de projeto em fase de finalização e que teve como objetivo traduzir todo o poema diretamente do acádio.

Jacyntho José Lins Brandão é  Professor de Língua e Literatura Grega na Faculdade de Letras da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, em Belo Horizonte.

BOTTÉRO, J. ; KRAMER, S. N. Lorsque les dieux faisaient l’homme: Mythologie Mésopotamienne. Paris: Gallimard, 1993, 755 p. – ISBN 9782070713820.

On trouvera ici, pour la première fois rassemblés, traduits et dûment éclairés par deux éminents spécialistes, la cinquantaine de mythes sauvés du naufrage de la civilisation mésopotamienne. Ces documents vénérables, dont les plus vieux remontent à la fin du millénaire, sont les plus anciens témoignages écrits du travail de pensée par lequel des hommes ont tenté de répondre, avec les moyens de leur bord, aux questions éternelles qui nous travaillent toujours devant cet univers démesuré autour de nous, devant notre propre existence, le sens et le destin de notre vie.

Jean Bottéro (1914 – 2007) foi um historiador e  renomado assiriólogo francês.

Samuel Noah Kramer (1897-1990) foi um renomado assiriólogo, especialista em língua e literatura suméria.

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BLACK J. et alii The Literature of Ancient Sumer. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006, 438 p. – ISBN 9780199296330.

This anthology of Sumerian literature constitutes the most comprehensive collection ever published, and includes examples of most of the different types of composition written in the language, from narrative myths and lyrical hymns to proverbs and love poetry. The translations have benefited both from the work of many scholars and from our ever-increasing understanding of Sumerian. In addition to reflecting the advances made by modern scholarship, the translations are written in clear, accessible English. An extensive introduction discusses the literary qualities of the works, the people who created and copied them in ancient Iraq, and how the study of Sumerian literature has evolved over the last 150 years.

Jeremy Allen Black (1951 – 2004) was a leading Assyriologist, master of Sumerian literature, and Oxford University Lecturer.

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Histórias do Antigo Oriente Médio: uma bibliografia

ABUSCH, T. Male and Female in the Epic of Gilgamesh: Encounters, Literary History, and Interpretation. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2015, IX + 236 p. – ISBN 9781575063492.

The Epic of Gilgamesh combines the power and tragedy of the Iliad with the wanderings and marvels of the Odyssey. It is a work of adventure, but it is no less a meditation on some fundamental issues of human existence. The epic explores many issues; it surely provides a Mesopotamian formulation of human predicaments and options. Most of all, the work grapples with issues of an existential nature. It talks about the powerful human drive to achieve, the value of friendship, the experience of loss, the inevitability of death. The story draws together the many strands that make up the identity of Gilgamesh: man, hero, king, god. Gilgamesh must learn to live. The studies gathered here all demonstrate Tzvi Abusch s approach to ancient literature: to make use of the tools of literary, structural, and critical analysis in service of exploring the personal and psychological dimensions of the narration. The author focuses especially on the encounters between males and females in the story. The essays are not only instructive for understanding the Epic of Gilgamesh, they also serve as exemplary studies of ancient literature with a view to investigating streams of commonality between ancient times and ours.

Tzvi Abusch is Rose B. and Joseph Cohen Professor of Assyriology and Ancient Near Eastern Religion, Brandeis University, USA.

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VAN DE MIEROOP , M. A History of the Ancient Near East ca. 3000–323 BC. 3. ed. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell, 2016, 424 p. – ISBN  9781118718162.

Incorporating the latest scholarly research in this rapidly developing field, the third edition of A History of the Ancient Near East ca. 3000 323 BC presents a comprehensive overview of the extraordinary multicultural civilizations of the ancient Near East. Marc Van De Mieroop (born 1956) is Professor at Departament of History, Columbia University, New York, USA.

SNELL, D. C. (ed.) A Companion to the Ancient Near East. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell, 2007, 528 p. – ISBN 9781405160018.

A Companion to the Ancient Near East offers students and general readers a comprehensive overview of Near Eastern civilization from the Bronze Age to the conquests of Alexander the Great. Written by leading experts, the book examines all the major civilizations of the region, including the Sumerians, Hittites, Babylonians, Assyrians, Israelites, and Persians. The Companion provides a survey of both the history of the Ancient Near East and the sources for studying the period. It places special emphasis on social and cultural history and also covers the legacy of the Ancient Near East in the medieval and modern worlds. 

Daniel C. Snell (born 1947) is Professor at College of Art & Sciences, Department of History, University of Oklahoma, USA.

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Histórias do Antigo Oriente Médio: uma bibliografia

SNELL, D. C. Ancient Near East: The Basics. Abingdon: Routledge, 2014, 178 p. – ISBN  9780415656986.

Ancient Near East: The Basics surveys the history of the ancient Middle East from the invention of writing to Alexander the Great’s conquest. The book introduces both the physical and intellectual environment of those times, the struggles of state-building and empire construction, and the dissent from those efforts. Daniel C. Snell (born 1947) is Professor at College of Art & Sciences, Department of History, University of Oklahoma, USA.

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Histórias do Antigo Oriente Médio: uma bibliografia