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HU Credits:
2
Degree/Cycle:
1st degree (Bachelor)
Responsible Department:
Institute of Archaeology
Semester:
2nd Semester
Teaching Languages:
Hebrew/English
Campus:
Mt. Scopus
Course/Module Coordinator:
Coordinator Office Hours:
by appointment
Teaching Staff:
Prof Nathan Wasserman
Course/Module description:
We shall read a wide array of Akkadian Incantations from various periods, esp. from the Old Babylonian period (c. 1800-1500 BCE): Incantations against diseases, pests, snakes, and scorpions, as well as Incantations against witchcraft and Incantations to achieve love and sex.
Course/Module aims:
Good acquaintance with the main genres of Mesopotamian magic.
Knowing the language of Akkadian Incantations and its typical literary devices.
Learning outcomes - On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
Reading Akkadian magical texts with scientific editions.
Knowing the main studies and tools in the field of Mesopotamian magic.
Being able to define Akkadian Incantations from literary and linguistic point of view.
Attendance requirements(%):
Teaching arrangement and method of instruction:
Close reading of texts.
Literary/philological approach.
Careful preparation of texts for each class.
Course/Module Content:
Survey of ancient Mesopotamian literature.
The Old Babylonian literary system.
The different kinds of Akkadian magical texts.
Incantations against diseases.
Incantations against pests, snakes, and scorpions.
Incantations against witchcraft.
Incantations for love and sex.
Required Reading:
G. Cunningham 1997: ‘Deliver me from Evil’. Mesopotamian Incantations 2500–1500 BC (&eq; StPohl SM 17).
W. Farber 1990: Magic at the Cradle: Babylonian and Assyrian Lullabies, Anthropos 85, 139–148.
W. Farber 1990b: Mannam lušpur ana Enkidu: Some New Thoughts
about an Old Motif, JNES 49, 299–321.
N. Veldhuis 1990: The Heart Grass and Related Matters, OLP 21, 27–44.
N. Veldhuis 1991: A cow of Sîn (&eq; LOT 2).
N. Veldhuis 1993: The Fly, the Worm, and the Chain: Old Babylonian Chain
Incantations, OLP 24, 41–64.
N. Veldhuis 1999: The Poetry of Magic, in: T. Abusch/K. van der Toorn
(ed.), Mesopotamian Magic: Textual, historical, and interpretative
Perspectives (&eq; AMD 1) 35–48.
N. Wasserman 2002: Dictionaries and Incantations: Cross-Generic Relations in Old-
Babylonian Literature, in: N. Wasserman (ed.), Wool from the Loom: The Development of
Literary Genres in Ancient Literature, 1–13.
N. Wasserman 2007: Between Magic and Medicine - A Propos of an Old
Babylonian therapeutic Text against Kurārum Disease, in: I. L. Finkel/M. J. Geller (ed.), Disease in Babylonia (&eq; CM 36) 40–61.
N. Wasserman 2008 (app. 2010): Leeches and Worms in Old Babylonian
Medical Incantations, RA 102, 71–88.
N. Wasserman 2010: From the Notebook of a Professional Exorcist, in: Fs. Groneberg (&eq; CM 41) 329–349.
Additional Reading Material:
All the material which will be distributed in the seminar.
Course/Module evaluation:
End of year written/oral examination 0 %
Presentation 0 %
Participation in Tutorials 10 %
Project work 90 %
Assignments 0 %
Reports 0 %
Research project 0 %
Quizzes 0 %
Other 0 %
Additional information:
The course is open to students who have passed successfully "Akkadian for Beginners".
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