Note: Some texts are buried
deep in e-archives. If title link does not work, click source.
Mesopotamia
Christopher Siren answers questions about the
relation of later Mesopotamian religion to that of Sumer, including the generations
of gods & heroes such as
Gilgamesh.
Christian restoration movement website posts an
extensive selection of primary documents illustrating Mesopotamian life-style,
religion, & mythology in English translation as historical background for
biblical texts.
Oxford U's comprehensive e-archive of Sumerian
literature posts transliterations, translations & bibliographies for myths
& epics (including Inana's
Descent, Enki's
Journey, Enlil
& Ninlil, the
Flood, Gilgamesh)
& prayers
to deities.
Timothy R. Carnahan's electronic edition of M. G.
Kovacs' translation of the 11 Akkadian tablets of this most ancient of epics.
On-line anthology provides, texts, maps,
chronology, essay & exam on Mesopotamia & adjacent cultures from 3450
BCE-70 CE. Readings include Hammurabi's
code of laws.
Elegant well-informed neo-pagan presentation of
Mesopotamian culture & religion offers essay on Sumerian
Religion & an extensive collection of classic
myths, hymns &
incantations, including many from hard-to-find texts.
Misleadingly named section of Paul Halsall's
vast collection of
links to academic quality e- resources covers Sumer, Akkadia, Assyria,
Babylonia, but also the non-Mesopotamian civilizations of the Hittites, Syria,
Phoenicia & Carthage.
Lists contents of previous & upcoming
issues (vol 43+).
This chapter of Richard Hooker's cyber-anthology
of World Civilizations offers selections
from the code
of Hammurabi, a summary of the epic of Gilgamesh
& a guide
to other resources on the WWW.
Reports on the excavations of the primary
temple city of early Mesopotamia, including McGuire Gibson's 1993 article "Nippur:
the Sacred City of Enlil, Supreme God of Sumer & Akkad"
(hyper-text with maps & photographs).
Christopher Siren answers basic questions about
the worldview of Sumerian religion including cosmology, gods, underworld
& biblical
parallels.
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Persia
Joe Peterson provides an on-line version of
Zoroastrian scriptures in both original language & translation: the
complete Avesta (including the Yasna
with the Gathas of Zarathustra) & several Pahlavi texts (including the Bundahishn
creation account & the Denkard chapter on the life
of Zarathustra). FAQ
gives basic introduction to Zoroastrianism.
On-line anthology provides, texts, maps,
chronology, essay & exam including Persia's impact on near eastern culture
from 600-300 BCE. Readings include selections from Pahlavi Ervad
Zadspram.
Paul Halsall's well-organized collection of
links to academic quality e-resources on ancient Persia (Fordham U).
Gnostic Society's Virtual Library posts
prayerbooks (including psalms to Jesus & Iranian hymns) as well as Augustine's anti-Manichean
writings.
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Syria & Palestine
Børre Ludvigsen's exquisite
encyclopedia of cultural riches from the countries of the eastern
Mediterranean features an interactive
map to sites in Lebanon with historical details, religious
sources, archaeological guides and stunning images of Baalbak,
Beirut, Tyre,
Sidon, &
the giant cedars
[hosted by Ostfold College, Norway].
Salim George Khalaf's award-winning
comprehensive study of the pioneers of Mediterranean culture includes
discussions of Phoenician
religion from the Canaanites to Christianity, including its influence on Solomon's
temple & the Hebrew
Torah.
Richard Shand provides an anthology of
scholarship on Canaanite archaeology & religion, including early Israelite
Yahwism.
Donovan Marais compares the biblical story with
other ancient near-eastern parallels to find a solution to the problem of the
protection, rather than the execution, of the first murderer (U of South
Africa).
Christopher Siren provides basic info about the
Canaanites, their religion & cosmology.
Paul Halsall's well-organized collection of
links to academic quality e- resources on ancient Israel. For some inscrutable
reason links to Canaanite, Syrian & Phoenician resources are found on his Mesopotamia
web page (Fordham U).
Visual aids & quotations from primary
sources arranged to complement the new book by K. C. Hanson & D. Oakman
(Fortress 1996).
A well-researched neo-pagan guide to the world
of the "purple people" who colonized the Mediterranean &
influenced the development of Hebrew tradition introduces their cultural
history, deities,
calendar, magic
rituals & provides a translation of
the complete Ugaritic text of the myth
of Ba'al.
U of Edinburgh's archive of the library of
ancient Ugarit (Lebanon) posts images, transliterations & translations of
key texts, including a tablet from the Ba'al cycle (RS
02.008). Site in transition.
Alexander Kaplunovsky's elegant gateway to
e-resources related to Israel's heartland is an indispensable tool for quick
access to information on the region's history,
geography, cities
& villages, & education.
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Digging. Help fill holes.
This page was revised
05 March 2008
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