Myth and Politics in Ancient Near Eastern Historiography
Mario Liverani, , , ,
The essays collected in this volume represent a selection of studies, previously published mainly in Italian, that make explicit use of anthropological and semiological tools in order to analyze important texts of historical nature from various regions of the Ancient Near East. They suggest that the... Read more
Published: 2004
Pages: 231
eBook: 9781904768043
| Cover | Cover | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Contents | v | ||
| Editors’ Introduction | vii | ||
| Acknowledgements | xiii | ||
| Abbreviations | xiv | ||
| PART ONE: Mesopotamia | 1 | ||
| 1. Adapa, guest of the gods | 3 | ||
| Introduction | 3 | ||
| 1. The Narrative Logic | 3 | ||
| 2. The Technological and Cultural Setting | 9 | ||
| 3. The Foundational Function | 17 | ||
| PART TWO: Hittite Anatolia | 25 | ||
| 2. Telipinu, or: on solidarity | 27 | ||
| Introduction | 27 | ||
| 1. Telipinu’s Edict as ‘Ready Made’ History, or as History ‘To be Constructed’ | 28 | ||
| 2. Prosperity, Decay, Restoration | 31 | ||
| 3. The System of Succession to the Throne | 36 | ||
| 4. The Bloody Deeds | 41 | ||
| 5. Lords and Servants | 44 | ||
| 6. The External Front | 47 | ||
| 7. Solidarity | 49 | ||
| 3. Shunashura, or: on reciprocity | 53 | ||
| Introduction | 53 | ||
| 1. Symmetry as the Formal Expression of Reciprocity | 53 | ||
| 2. Analysis of the Juridical Section | 57 | ||
| 3. Analysis of the Historical Section | 68 | ||
| 4. Levels of Discourse and Audiences of the Message | 80 | ||
| PART THREE: Syria | 83 | ||
| 4. Leaving by chariot for the desert | 85 | ||
| Introduction | 85 | ||
| 1. Idrimi and the Doomed Prince | 86 | ||
| 2. Other Occurrences of the Topos | 87 | ||
| 3. The Position of the Motif within the Narrative Sequence | 89 | ||
| 4. The Basic Features | 90 | ||
| 5. Accessory Features | 92 | ||
| 6. The Fairy Tale Pattern and Historical Truth | 94 | ||
| 5. Rib-Adda, righteous sufferer | 97 | ||
| Introduction | 97 | ||
| 1. The Present | 99 | ||
| 2. The Past | 113 | ||
| 3. The Future | 115 | ||
| 4. History and Wisdom | 121 | ||
| 6. Aziru, servant of two masters | 125 | ||
| Introduction | 125 | ||
| 1. Epistolary Technique | 126 | ||
| 2. The Code of Movement | 132 | ||
| 3. Building a Kingdom | 138 | ||
| PART FOUR: Hebrew Bible | 145 | ||
| 7. The story of Joash | 147 | ||
| Introduction | 147 | ||
| 1. Theatricality as a Form of Political Propaganda | 148 | ||
| 2. Joash and Idrimi | 148 | ||
| 3. Usurpation and Legitimation | 150 | ||
| 4. Hiding and Recognition | 152 | ||
| 5. Roles and Characters | 155 | ||
| 6. Political Action and Propaganda | 157 | ||
| 8. Messages, women, and hospitality: inter-tribal communication in Judges 19–21 | 160 | ||
| Introduction | 160 | ||
| 1. Non-Verbal Communication in Judges 19–21 | 161 | ||
| 2. The Woman as Message | 171 | ||
| 3. Hospitality | 179 | ||
| 4. The Topography of Social Communication | 184 | ||
| Bibliography | 193 | ||
| Index | 209 | ||
| Personal Names | 209 | ||
| Deities and Mythical Beings | 211 | ||
| Places and Peoples | 211 |