#ancient near eastern literature

[aboutanancientenquiry]

Looking at your interesting — and always high quality — posts on the “Copenhagen school”. It seems we share similar concerns about later datings of the final redaction of the Torah and other Hebrew texts, to the 3rd and even second century BC by Gmirkin and others. How much do you think this reduces ancient Near Eastern literature to just variations on the classical Greek literature templates?

Thank you for your ask and for your kind words on the quality of my posts.

Concerning the substance of your ask, I am not a Biblical scholar, so I cannot speak with some authority on such topics. I posted about the "Copenhagen school" because I found its positions very interesting and thought provoking. But I think that most (non fundamentalist or "Biblical maximalist"...) Biblical scholars today place the composition of the bulk of the final version of the Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament for Christians) in the 5th century BCE, prior to any serious contact of the Jews with the Greeks, with the exception of the Book of Daniel, of some other pseudepigrapha and perhaps of the Book of Judith, of the Book of Esther and of Qohelet, which are placed in the Hellenistic period.

Now, even if the "Copenhagen school" and Gmirkin are right about the datings of composition of the final version of the Bible, so that we could accept the possibility of a Greek influence on it (other than the influence of Greek philosophy and culture on choices of translation from Hebrew to Greek and on the interpretation of the Bible, about which there is not much doubt), I think that it would be totally wrong to say that the Hebrew Bible, let alone ancient Near Eastern literature in its entirety, could be reduced to just variations on the classical Greek literature templates. In fact ancient Near East had a very important literary tradition which predates for many centuries even archaic ancient Greek literature, although of course the truth remains that the Greeks developed (mostly independently) and perfectioned pre-existing literary genres like epic and didactic and lyric poetry and revolutionized literature by creating new genres, like drama, historiography, rhetoric and philosophical dialogue and treatise. Personally I tend to see the Hebrew Bible as part of a broader Near Eastern religious and literary tradition, although there is for sure also much originality and new beginnings of crucial importance in content and form in the Bible.

On the other hand, even if the "Copenhagen school" is wrong in its main position, I think that their approach has the important merit that it drew attention to the analogies and similarities existing between ancient Greek literature and especially Herodotus' Histories and the Hebrew Bible, a field of research that I find very interesting.

But again this should not make us forget the essential differences that exist between these works. To focus only on the relationship between the Bible and Herodotus, which preoccupies the most scholars of the "Copenhagen school" and others who could be affiliated with it, even those of the books of the Bible which do not just expose various "myths of origins and of founders", but relate the history of a non mythological past and contain often (although for sure not always) accurate information, especially on the history of the two Hebrew kingdoms, are in fact above all hierohistory. I say this because these books are seen by their community as divinely inspired and the historical events are interpreted (and in not few cases even distorted or invented) in them exclusively on the basis of the relationship of the God of Israel with his people and of the respect or transgression by the latter and its leaders of the "pact' dictated by the former.

On the contrary, Herodotus presents himself as an investigator of the past who takes individual responsibility for what he says and adopts some explicitely stated methodological principles in his research. Moreover, although he believes in the (mostly indirect) intervention of the divine in the course of events and adopts a "tragic" conception of history, according to which the powerful and arrogant are eventually punished for their hybris, he pays mostly attention to and investigates the natural and above all the human causes of events (geography and environment, chains of interactions between actors, the conflict between the desire for domination over others and the aspiration to freedom, the necessary limits of imperial expansion, the tension between the common human nature and the vast diversity of cultures between human groups, institutions and their influence on collective and individual characters, military techniques and equipment, good or bad decisions of the historical actors in given circumstances) and tries to discern some patterns which underlie history.

[eesirachs]

In a speech by Olga Tokarczuk, a Nobel Prize winner in literature, she said: Have you ever wondered who the marvelous storyteller is in the Bible who calls out in a loud voice: “In the beginning was the word”? Who is the narrator who describes the creation of the world, its first day, when chaos was separated from order, who follows the serial about the origin of the universe, who knows the thoughts of God, is aware of his doubts, and with a steady hand sets down on paper the incredible sentence: “And God saw that it was good”? Who is this, who knows what God thought?

I find it really beautiful, that last question. who do you think it is?

it is the priestly source that composed (and was composed by) the first creation story. it is the last source of the torah. it is written in exile, far from eden, far from this god and all that he saw to be טֽוֹב. and yet, this god is never far. nor can eden be, for a composing body in diaspora. this god keeps his affect loud, his thoughts gushing, his heart on his sleeve. even for the priestly source, so pre-occupied with garb and blood and transcendence, this god can’t squirm out of his own immanence. they look up from writing about god in eden to find god in the room with them, and the room is eden anyway, and everything is טֽוֹב, because it has to be. hashem is a good ancient near eastern god. responsive as a lover. if he likes something he’ll tell you

[vanilla-cigarillos]

A History of Vampires

Vampy vampy vampires! I’m not talking about Twilight; today I want to make a post talking about the real cultural significance of vampires in different folk beliefs around the world.

What Is A Vampire?

“...a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living.”

- Good ol’ Wikipedia

When we think of vampires, we picture Dracula in his brooding cloak sucking the life out of others. We see those characteristic fangs, an aversion to garlic, and a fatal vulnerability to sunlight. 

Vampiric creatures have been noted in cultures around the world for generations. 

A History of “Vampires” (Popularized in the West)

Cultures such as the Mesopotamians, Ancient Greeks, and Manipuri have folk tales of entities that are now considered to be precursors to modern-day vampires. Despite such occurrences of vampiric creatures in these ancient civilizations, the folklore for what most consider vampires today comes almost exclusively from early 18-thcentury Southeastern Europe. 

The term “vampire” itself was popularized in Western Europe after reports of mass hysteria during the 18th-century. Said hysteria originated from a pre-existing folk belief in Southeastern and Eastern Europe that in some cases ended in corpses being staked, and some people were even persecuted under the accusation of vampirism.

Early folk beliefs in vampires has typically been summed up to pre-existing ignorance of how the body would decompose after death, with people attempting to explain such decay through the existence of vampires.

The more personable and charismatic version of the vampire, born in fiction, came in 1819 with the publication of The Vampyre by John Polidori. Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula in 1897 would later on provide the basis of the modern vampire legend and be remembered as the most significant vampire novel in literature. However, it is worth noting that Stoker’s novel came after the publication of the 1872 novel Carmilla, published by Irish author Sheridan Le Fanu. 

Folk Beliefs

In Slavic and Chinese folk traditions, any corpse that was jumped over by an animal (especially a dog or cat) was feared to become a “vampire”. There was also believed to be a risk with a body having any wound that wasn’t treated with boiling water.

In Russian folklore, vampires were said to have been witches or people who had rebelled against the Russian Orthodox Church while alive. 

Within Jewish traditions, “alukah” is synonymous with vampires. The creature is said to be a living human being, but can change into a wolf. It also has the ability to fly by releasing its long hair, and would eventually die if not allowed to feed on blood for an extended amount of time. Once dead, a vampire could be prevented from becoming a demon by being buried with its mouth stuffed with soil.

Albanian mythology discusses both the “shtriga” and the “dhampir”. Shtriga is a vampiric witch that sucks blood from infants while they sleep at night, then turning into a flying insect. Only a shtriga could cure those she drained blood from. A cross made of pig bone could be placed at the entrance of a church on Easter Sunday, which would render any shtriga inside unable to leave. Then, they could be captured and killed. 

The Ashanti people in West Africa have folk tales of the iron-toothed and tree-dwelling “asanbosam” which can take the form of a firefly and hunts for children for their blood.

The Betsileo people of Madagascar have stories of “ramanga”, a vampire who drinks the blood and eats the nail clippings of nobles.

The Mapuche of southern Chile have stories of a bloodsucking snake known as “Peuchen”, with aloe vera being hung backwards behind or near a door to ward off vampiric entities across a variety of South American superstition. 

Aztec mythology has folk tales of the Cihuateteo, which are skeletal-faced spirits of humans who died in childbirth. These entities were said to steal children, and entered into sexual liaisons with the living, which would drive them to insanity.

[the-bible-study]

For the sake of not filling up op's activity, I'll post my response here. I'm responding to this post here. And boyyyyyyyyyy is there a lot to unpack there. That said (in case op reads this) I would like first and foremost to thank you for being (moderately) reasonable and respectful. Even tho you did overgeneralize quite a bit (which is a logical fallacy) and make a few assumptions, you didn't shout expletives or call me a "cultist p*do" so I'll thank you for that.

Two more things before I start:

Never. Read. A. Bible. Verse. You take something out of context and you can justify any thing. The Scriptures (because I think "Bible" is a misleading term) are literature and have intense literary design. You can't read things out of context. If you read the Iliad out of context you could think it's about numerous things: how Helen's a s**t (even tho Homer never says that), how stealing women from the men who've enslaved them is wrong (yikes), how we should all burn down cities, how war is dangerous, how war is good, how glory is the best, how Achilles is the worst, how Achilles is the best, how being a real man means killing people in a fit or grief and rage. But the Iliad is actually about the destructive power of rage. Which you only know if you read it correctly. Same with the Scriptures.

It's Ancient Jewish Meditation Literature. And you need to know what those 4 words means because otherwise you will be reading the bible entirely wrong. It's Ancient (i.e. written FOR us but not TO us). It's Jewish (written in Hebrew or by Aramaic/Greek writers thinking in Hebrew; written in a distinctive Near Eastern Style). It's for Meditation (from a word meaning "too mutter". You are to meditate or mutter under your breath the Scriptures day and night for a lifetime). And it's literature (it's art. Divinely inspired art. But art nonetheless. There is an overarching narrative, symbolic key, theme and goal).

(EDIT: Somehow I forgot this last one). Everything EVERYTHING connects BACK to the first 3 chapters of Genesis and FORWARD to the Messiah.

Now. Let's begin.

[sag-dab-sar]

📚Resources for The Ancient Near East📚

With a focus on religion

Getting Started On Research

JSTOR Guide LINK

Lumenlearning Guide LINK

Center for Online Education Guide LINK

Layman's Guide to Online Research by @/sisterofiris LINK

How to Vet Sources by me LINK

Websites for ANE Study

ETCSL | The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature — http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/catalogue.htm

ePSD | The Electronic Pennsylvania Sumerian Dictionary — http://psd.museum.upenn.edu/epsd-frame.html

ORACC | Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus — http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/

ORACC's Mesopotamian Gods and Goddesses Project — http://oracc.iaas.upenn.edu/amgg/abouttheproject/index.html

ETANA | Electronic Tools & Ancient Near East Archive — http://etana.org/

CDLI | Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative — https://cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/about

CAD | The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago — http://www.aina.org/cad.html

Livius' Babylonian Section — https://www.livius.org/category/babylonia/

Multi Source Websites

Internet Archive Library — https://archive.org/details/texts | How To Use LINK

JSTOR — https://www.jstor.org/ | How To Use LINK

Google Scholar — https://scholar.google.com/intl/en/scholar/help.html

Google Books — https://books.google.com/googlebooks/about/index.html

Academia — https://support.academia.edu/hc/en-us/categories/360003163373-Academia-Free-Features

DOAJ Index of Open Access Journals — https://www.doaj.org/

Internet Ancient History Sourcebook — https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/ancient/asbook.asp

Met Museum Publications — https://www.metmuseum.org/met-publications

Holy Books — https://www.holybooks.com/about/

Internet Sacred Text Archive — https://sacred-texts.com/

Deepdyve is a website of academic journal articles that isn't free but it isn't outrageously expensive for what it offers if you are heavily invested in new research — https://www.deepdyve.com/

Please leave a comment if a link breaks I'll do my best to find a new one

Books

*When using older books be aware that there may be inaccuracies and out of date information. If at all possible cross-reference and synthesize with newer materials. I have added years for this reason.

Books Specifically on Religion

Introduction to Ancient Mesopotamian Religion by Tammi Schneider (2011) Google Books | Good overview, 130ish page easy read.

Gods Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia by Jeremy Black and Anthony Greene (1992) Internet Archive

Ancient Near Eastern Mythology by Gwendolyn Leick (1991) Internet Archive | This & Black's dictionary are good starting off points but I always use additional source's because some of Leick's info tends to be more out of date than other authors.

The Ancient Gods by E O James (1960) Internet Archive

The Cultic Calendars of the Ancient Near East by Mark Cohen (1993) PDF

Preforming Death Social Analysis of Funerary Traditions in the Ancient Near East and Medditarian edited by Nicola Laneri (2007) PDF

Mesopotamian Ritual-prayers of “Hand-lifting”(Akkadian Šuillas) by Christopher G Frechette Internet Archive

When Gods Were Men: The Embodied God in Biblical and Near Eastern Literature by Esther Hamon Internet Archive

Stories From Ancient Canaan by Michael D. Coogan and Mark S. Smith (1901) 1st Edition Internet Archive | 2nd Edition Google Books

A Handbook to Gods and Goddesses of the Ancient Near East (2021) Google Books

The City of the Moon God by Tamara Green (1992) Google Books

The Myth of Sacred Prostitution in Antiquity by Stephanie Lynn Budin (2008) Google Books

Books on ANE History in General

Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia by Stephen Bertman (2005) Google Books | Highly recommended, easy read

Ancient Mesopotamia Portrait of Dead Civilization by A. Leo Oppenheim (1964) Internet Archive

A History of the Ancient Near East ca. 3000- 323BC by Marc Van de Mieroop (2016) Internet Archive

Everyday Life in Ancient Mesopotamia by Jean Bottero (1992) Internet Archive

Women in the Ancient Near East by Marten Stol (2016) Open Access

Chapter 3 Elamite from The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Ancient World Languages edited by Roger Wooard (2004) PDF

Sumerian Art by Andre Parrot (1970) Digital Library

Dictionaries of Civilization Mesopotamia: Assyrians, Sumerians, Babylonians by Enrico Ascalone and Simona Schultz (2007) Publisher Website Entry

The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation, Including the Demotic Spells edited by Hans Dieter Betz PDF (If that link breaks Google Books)

Babylon: Mesopotamia and The Birth of Civilization by Paul Kriwaczek (2012) Google Books

Daily Life in Ancient Mesopotamia by Karen Rhea Nemet-Nejat (2002) Google Books

Mesopotamia to Iraq A Concise History by Hans Nissen (2009) Google Books

In the Land of A Thousand Gods: A History of Asia Minor in the Ancient World by Christian Marek (2016) Google Books

Mesopotamia: The Invention of the City by Gwendolyn Leick (2002) Google Books

Palmyra by Paul Veyne (2017) Google Books

The Ancient Near East c. 3000-330 BC Volume 1 by Amélie Kuhrt (1995) Google Books

The Ancient Near East c. 3000-330 BC Volume 2 by Amélie Kuhrt (1995) Google Books

The Image of the Netherworld in the Sumerian Sources by Diana Katz (2003) Google Books

Journal Articles

Mesopotamian Pandemonium by Frans Wiggermann LINK

Nergal A by Frans Wiggerman LINK

The Four Winds and the Origins of Pazuzu by Frans Wiggermann LINK

Sumerian Texts Involving The Netherworld and Funerary Offerings by Jeremiah Peterson LINK

The Sexual Union of Enlil and Ninlil: an uadi Composition of Ninlil by Jeremiah Peterson LINK

New Year Ceremonies in Ancient Babylon: 'Taking Bel by the Hand' and a Cultic Picnic Religion Jeremy A Black LINK

Phenomenon of God-nap in Ancient Mesopotamia A Short Introduction Erika D. Johnson LINK

Preforming Death Social Analysis of Funerary Traditions in the Ancient Near East and Medditarian edited by Nicola Laneri LINK

Tablet of Destinies and the Transmission of Power in Enūma eliš by Karen Sonik LINK

Theology and Worship in Elam and Achaemenid Iran by Koch LINK

Evil against evil. The Demon Pazuzu by Nils P Heeßel LINK

New Readings in the Amarna Versions of Adapa and Nergal and Ereshkigal by Shlomo Izre'el LINK

The Origin of the Mystical Number Seven in Mesopotamian Culture: Division by Seven in the Sexagesimal Number System by Kazuo Muroi LINK

Athirat: As Found at Ras Shamra Justin Watkins LINK

Two Remarkable Vocabularies: Amorite-Akkadian Bilinguals! by Andrew George, Manfred Krebernik. Unfortunately now I can only find a paywalled version.

From Beyond Ereškigal? Mesopotamian Magic Tradition in the Papyri Graecae Magicae by Daniel Schwemer LINK

The Phoenician Presence in the Aegean during the Early Iron Age : Trade, Settlement and Cultural Interaction by Edizioni Quasar LINK

Invoking the God: Interpreting Invocations in Mesopotamian Prayers and Biblical Laments of the Individual by Alan Lenzi LINK

The Two Steles of Sargon: Iconology and Visual Propaganda at the Beginning of Royal Akkadian Relief by Lorenzo Nigro LINK

Asherah, the West Semitic Goddess of Spinning and Weaving? Susan Ackerman LINK

Ancient Ethics by Gerald Larue LINK

Early Bronze Age Graves at Gre Virike (Period II B): An Extraordinary Cemetery on the Middle Euphrates by A. Tuba Ökse LINK

The Evil Eye in Mesopotamia by Marie-Louise Thomsen LINK

Web Articles

Living Deities: Ancient Mesopotamian Patron Gods & Their Statues by Iilias Luursema on The Collector LINK

Armana Letters by Elizabeth Knott on Met Museum. LINK

Translations

*ETCSL is all translations of Sumerian literature!

Ishtar's Decent Translation & Recited in Akkadian LINK

The Harps That Once by Thorkild Jacobsen Google Books

The Project Gutenberg Sumerian Liturgies and Psalms by Stephen Langdon PDF

Project Gutenberg's Sumerian Hymns, by Frederick Augustus Vanderburgh LINK

Ancient Near East Anthology of Texts and Pictures edited by Pritchard 1st Edition Internet Archive

A Hymn to Tammuz (Cuneiform Texts from the British Museum, Tablet 15821, Plate 18) J. Dyneley Prince (1909) JSTOR

Ludlul Bel Nemegi by Alan Lenzi the Akkadian "Poem of the Righteous Sufferer" LINK

The Flood Myths LINK

Enūma Eliš Translations: L W King Translation 1902 LINK | ETANA Translation LINK | Composite Translation LINK

Code of Ur-Nammu LINK

Code of Liptin Ishtar LINK

The Legend of Sargon of Akkadê, c. 2300 BCE LINK

Other

Google Drive shared on Tumblr LINK

Dissertation: Personal Religion in Ancient Mesopotamia as shown in Akkadian Texts by Maurice Noil Leon Couve De Murville, University of London PDF

[marykk1990]

My next post in support of Ukraine is:

Next site, will be another Ukrainian. Ahatanhel Yukhymovych Krymsky (Агатангел Юхимович Кримський), a Ukrainian "Orientalist (the study of Near & Far Eastern societies & cultures), linguist, polyglot (knowing & using several languages), literary scholar, folklorist, writer, & translator. He was born in 1871 in Volodymyr-Volynskyi, in what is now Volyn Oblast. His father was a Tatar, and his mother was Polish. His last name literally means Crimean & one of his ancestors in the 17th century was a Crimean Tatar mullah. He was a founder of the All-Ukrainian Academy of Sciences in 1918 and a member of the Shevchenko Scientific Society from 1903. He wasn't ethnically Ukrainian himself but described himself as a Ukrainophile (a term for love of or identification with Ukraine or Ukrainians). This, of course, didn't sit well with the soviet authorities who arrested him in 1941 on charges of being a "Ukrainian Nationalist, an ideologist of Ukrainian nationalists, and head of a nationalistic underground." He was later convicted for "Anti-soviet nationalistic activities" and sentenced to prison. He died in 1942 while imprisoned in Kustanay General Prison No. 7 in what is now Kazakhstan. Officially, he died from exhaustion while in prison, but some believe he died from being tortured. This was a great loss as it sounds like he was an amazing person. He "was an expert in up to 34 languages, some sources report that he had at least an average knowledge of 56 languages." Wow! He also wrote and contributed to books & encyclopedias on "Arabic, Turkish, Turkic, Crimean Tatar, and Iranian history and literature."He also researched the Ukrainian language. He disagreed with Aleksai Sobolevsky (a "russian" linguist), who claimed that the ancient Kyivan Rus language was more "russian" than Ukrainian. He wrote three studies about that issue from 1904-1907. He was honored on a Ukrainian stamp in 1996.

#StandWithUkraine

#СлаваУкраїні 🇺🇦🌻

[yamayuandadu]

Which books would you recommend for studying the history of Mesopotamia and the ancient Middle East? I am currently reading ‘A History of Babylon 2200 bc–ad 75’ by Paul‐Alain Beaulieu, and ‘The Oxford History of the Ancient Near East’. I would like to know if you have any suggestions.

The Amorites. A Political History of Mesopotamia in the Early Second Millennium BCE is pretty good and goes into more detail than the Oxford series does. I would say the latter is atm the best starting point so you're on good track overall. Make sure to look through the bibliography section, check the other works of the contributors to this series as well. If you want to go beyond Mesopotamia, Archi's Ebla and Its Archives. Texts, History, and Society and Potts' The Archaeology of Elam: Formation and Transformation of an Ancient Iranian State come to mind as instant recommendations. Buck's The Amorite Dynasty of Ugarit. Historical Implications of Linguistic and Archaeological Parallels is worth checking out too. Most other recommendations heavily depend on what interests you - economy? Religion? Literature? Astronomy? Dynasties? Or, alternatively, which time period? If you're not sure yet I recommend looking through series like Studies in Ancient Near Eastern Records (De Gruyter), Mesopotamian Civilizations (Penn State University Press), Culture and History of the Ancient Near East (Brill) or Cuneiform Monographs (Brill) and checking what catches your attention.

[haggishlyhagging]

If we study the literature of the ancient Babylonians and Sumerians, we can no longer believe the description of "pagan" religion that has long been part of Western tradition and is still often found in modern religious writing. Instead of capricious gods acting only in pursuit of their own desires, we meet deities concerned with the proper ordering of the universe and the regulation of history. Instead of divine cruelty and arrogance, we find deliberation and understanding. Instead of lawlessness and violence, we see a developed legal system and a long tradition of reflective jurisprudence. Instead of immoral attitudes and behavior, we find moral deliberation, philosophical speculation, and penitential prayer. Instead of wild orgiastic rites, we read of hymns, processions, sacrifices, and prayers. Instead of the benighted paganism of the Western imagination, cuneiform literature reveals to us an ethical polytheism that commands serious attention and respect.

But this new valuation of paganism creates its own dilemmas and awakens new questions. If the Bible is not the first dawn of enlightenment in a world of total darkness, then what is it? If polytheism was not the dark disaster that our cultural tradition has imagined it to be, why was it abandoned in Israel and replaced by biblical monotheism? If the old religions swept away by our own monotheist tradition were not grossly deficient, how can we find the precise significance of one God as opposed to the many? How does a monotheistic religion develop? Did the god of Israel simply absorb all the functions and attributes of the pagan gods, essentially changing nothing? Or did monotheism represent a radical break with the past after all, a break not as simply defined and immediately apparent as has been believed, but no less revolutionary?

The discovery of advanced polytheism poses a central theological issue: if polytheism can have such positive attributes, what is the purpose of monotheism? Did the Bible simply substitute another system, one that represented no advance towards a better understanding of the universe and a more equitable way of living? Indeed, were there some aspects of paganism lost in the transition that present, in fact, a more positive way of living in the world? The immediacy of these issues makes imperative an analysis of the nature of paganism and the precise nuances and essential messages of the monotheist revolution of the Bible. We cannot build our spiritual quest on prejudiced assumptions and polemical attributions. We must attain a profound knowledge of ancient polytheism and a sophisticated reading of the biblical texts informed by this knowledge. Thanks to the discovery of ancient Near Eastern literature, we have the ability to study these questions, understand our own past religious development, and make informed contributions to our future.

-Tikva Frymer-Kensky, In the Wake of the Goddesses: Women, Culture, and the Biblical Transformation of Pagan Myth

[shatar-aethelwynn]

“Most High, or “‘Elyon,” is a formal title of El, the senior god who presided over the divine council in the Ugaritic literature of ancient Canaan. The reference thus invokes, as do other biblical texts, the Near Eastern convention of a pantheon of gods ruled by the chief deity (Pss. 82.1; 89.6-8). Israelite authors regularly applied El’s title to Israel’s God (Gen. 14.18-22; Num. 24.16; Pss 46.5;47.3). In relation to Israel’s numbers is unintelligible as it stands. The variant attested by the LXX and at Qumran, “according to the sons of El” (cf. NRSV), which preserves the mythological reference to Most High (“Elyon”) earlier in the v., makes much more sense. Here, the idea is that the chief god allocates the nations to lesser deities in the pantheon. (A post-biblical notion that seventy angels are in charge of the world’s seventy nations echoes this idea). Almost certainly, the unintelligible reading of the MT represents a “correction” of the original text (whereby God presides over other gods) to make it conform to the later standard of pure monotheism: There are no other gods! The polytheistic imagery of the divine council is also deleted in the Heb at 32.43; 33.2-3, 7.” – JPS Tanakh commentary on Deut. 32.8 (“When the Most High gave nations their homes/And set the divisions of man,/He fixed the boundaries of peoples/In relation to Israel’s numbers.”)

[alchemy-fic]

My book wishlist!

Egyptian Magic by E.A. Wallis Budge (1901)

Magic of the Ordinary: Recovering the Shamanic in Judaism by Gershon Winkler, David Carson (2003)

Ashkenazi Herbalism: Rediscovering the Herbal Traditions of Eastern European Jews by Deatra Cohen, Adam Siegel (2021)

Jewish Magic and Superstition: A Study in Folk Religion by Joshua Trachtenberg (1939)

Ancient Jewish Magic: A History by Gideon Bohak (2008)

The Encyclopedia of Jewish Myth, Magic & Mysticism: Second Edition by Geoffrey W. Dennis (2007)

The Green Mysteries: An Occult Herbarium by Daniel A Schulke, Benjamin A Vierling (2023)

Reading Sumerian Poetry (Athlone Publications in Egyptology & Ancient Near Eastern Studies) by Jeremy Black (2001)

The Literature of Ancient Sumer by Jeremy Black, Graham Cunningham (2006)

Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia by Stephen Bertman (2002)

Weavers, Scribes, and Kings: A New History of the Ancient Near East by Amanda H. Podany

Auguste Racinet. The Costume History (Bibliotheca Universalis) by Françoise Tétart-Vittu

The Arthur of the Welsh: The Arthurian Legend in Medieval Welsh Literature by Rachel Bromwich (2009)

The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English: Seventh Edition (Penguin Classics) by Geza Vermes

Thomas Aquinas: Selected Writings (Penguin Classics) by Thomas Aquinas, Ralph McInerny

The Treasures of Darkness: A History of Mesopotamian Religion by Thorkild Jacobsen

The Tibetan Book of the Dead: First Complete Translation (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) by Graham Coleman, Thupten Jinpa

The Egyptian Book of the Dead (Penguin Classics) by Wallace Budge, John Romer

History Begins at Sumer: Thirty-Nine Firsts in Recorded History by Samuel Noah Kramer (1981)

The Sumerians: Their History, Culture, and Character (Phoenix Books) by Samuel Noah Kramer

Welsh Witchcraft: A Guide to the Spirits, Lore, and Magic of Wales by Mhara Starling

An Annotated Sumerian Dictionary by Mark E. Cohen

A Sumerian Chrestomathy by Konrad Volk

Toward the Image of Tammuz and Other Essays on Mesopotamian History and Culture by Thorkild Jacobsen

Early Mesopotamia by Nicholas Postgate

Amulets and Talismans by E. A. Wallis Budge

Mundane Astrology by Michael Baigent, Campion, Nicholas, Harvey, Charles

[aboutanancientenquiry]

"Examining the evolution of kingship in the Ancient Near East from the time of the Sumerians to the rise of the Seleucids in Babylon, this book argues that the Sumerian emphasis on the divine favour that the fertility goddess and the Sun god bestowed upon the king should be understood metaphorically from the start and that these metaphors survived in later historical periods, through popular literature including the Epic of Gilgameš and the Enuma Eliš. The author’s research shows that from the earliest times Near Eastern kings and their scribes adapted these metaphors to promote royal legitimacy in accordance with legendary exempla that highlighted the role of the king as the establisher of order and civilization. As another Gilgameš and, later, as a pious servant of Marduk, the king renewed divine favour for his subjects, enabling them to share the 'Garden of the Gods'. Seleucus and Antiochus found these cultural ideas, as they had evolved in the first millennium BCE, extremely useful in their efforts to establish their dynasty at Babylon. Far from playing down cultural differences, the book considers the ideological agendas of ancient Near Eastern empires as having been shaped mainly by class — rather than race-minded elites."

Table of Contents

Introduction: Laying the groundwork / Dying kings in the ANE: Gilgameš and his travels in the garden of power / Sacred marriage in the ANE: the collapse of the garden and its aftermath / Renewing the cosmos: garden and goddess in first millennium ideology / The Seleucids at Babylon: flexing traditions and reclaiming the garden / Synthesis: cultivating community memory.

Eva Anagnostou-Laoutides is a senior Lecturer in Classical Studies at Monash University, Australia. She holds degrees from Aristotle University, Greece, and the Universities of Leeds and Kent at Canterbury in the UK. She studied Akkadian through Macquarie University, Australia. She has published extensively on ancient comparative literature and religion and her work has appeared in a number of journals including The Classical Quarterly, Viator, GRBS, American Journal of Philology, The Classical Journal, Arethusa, Maia and Latomus.

Source: https://www.routledge.com/In-the-Garden-of-the-Gods-Models-of-Kingship-from-the-Sumerians-to-the/Anagnostou-Laoutides/p/book/9780367879433

Eva Anagnostou-Laoutides

[homerstroystory]

professional organizations for classics

this is by no means a comprehensive list of every Classics-oriented professional society in the world, but it's a pretty sizeable list. google around and see if you can find more that suit your interests! as you can tell from this list, theres a society or organization for practically every subfield within Classics. a lot of these societies also offer scholarships and grants.

based on my experience as an american, most of these are going to be based in the US; any that are international or outside the US will be indicated in blue. each state also typically has its own state-wide association (i know california has two distinct associations for different part of the state and new york has several, with some of them specifically geared toward NYC.

General Organizations

Society for Classical Studies (SCS)- one of the biggest Classical Studies organizations in the world, a catch-all for all subfields of Classical Studies and Classical Archaeology (including but not limited to Mediterranean prehistory, late antiquity, early medievalism, Near Eastern Studies, etc.) *INTERNATIONAL*

Classical Association of the Middle West and South (CAMWS)- the largest regional North American Classical organization (31 US states and 3 Canadian territories are included, divided into smaller subregions) *US & CANADA*

Classical Association of New England (CANE)- New England region Classical Association

Classical Association of the Atlantic States (CAAS)- Atlantic states (Virginia, Maryland, etc.) region Classical Association

Classical Association of the Pacific Northwest (CAPN)- Pacific Northwestern states and Canadian provinces region Classical Association *US & CANADA*

American Classical League (ACL)- a lot like SCS but not as prominent and restricted to the USA

Eta Sigma Phi- honor society for undergraduates; you can apply for scholarships for up to 8 years after graduating from your undergrad

Digital Classics Association- an organization focused on the teaching and study of Classics through digital media

Classical Association of Canada- like SCS and ACL but specifically for Canada *CANADA*

The Classical Association- like SCS and ACL but specifically for Great Britain *GREAT BRITAIN*

Hesperides: Classics in the Luso-Hispanic World- an organization focusing on the study of Greco-Roman influence outside of the normal geographic constraints (i.e., the Americas, Caribbean, Pacific, etc.) with an emphasis on underrepresented voices in the field including Hispanic, Indigenous, and African descent; website available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese *INTERNATIONAL*

Language & Author-Specific Organizations

International Ovidian Society *INTERNATIONAL*

Vergilian Society

American Association for Neo-Latin Studies (AANLS)

American Society of Greek and Latin Epigraphy (ASGLE)

International Society for Neoplatonic Studies (ISNS)

Society for the Oral Reading of Greek and Latin Literature

Minority Identity Organizations

Classics and Social Justice- not an organization, but an extremely helpful and important resource for Classicists who are not content with the current social and political climate and want to work towards change

Women's Classical Caucus (WCC)- affiliate organization of the SCS focusing on women's and gender studies in the Ancient Mediterranean

Mountaintop Coalition- a relatively new organization focusing on the professional advancement of students and scholars of the Ancient Mediterranean and its reception who identify with an underrepresented ethnic minority

Lambda Classical Caucus (LCC)- an organization for queer Classicists and allies

Eos- a relatively new organization focusing on Africana and Africana Reception Studies

Asian and Asian American Classical Caucus (AAACC)- an organization focusing on the promotion of scholarship by Asian and Asian-American Classicists

Multiculturalism, Race, and Ethnicity in Classics Consortium (MRECC)- an organization focusing on the teaching of race and ethnicity in ancient cultures, as well as sensitivity to those subjects in modern scholarship

Archaeological Organizations

Archaeological Institute of America (AIA)- the largest archaeological organization in the US and a sister organization to SCS; not limited to Classical archaeology *significant international presence*

American Society of Papyrologists

American Friends of Herculaneum (AFoH)- an organization focusing solely on the study of the archaeological site of Herculaneum

Etruscan Foundation- an organization dedicated to the study of Etruria

Historical & Religious History Organizations

Association for Ancient Historians (AAH)

Society for Ancient Medicine and Pharmacology

Society for Late Antiquity

Society for Ancient Mediterranean Religions (SAMR)

Society for Early Modern Classical Reception (SEMCR)

MOISA: International Society for Ancient Greek & Roman Music and Its Heritage

Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy

Schools

Most European countries have their own Schools in Rome and Athens, which may offer membership and scholarship opportunities.

American Academy in Rome

American School of Classical Studies at Athens

College Year in Athens

Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies in Rome

Padeia Institute

[frank-olivier]

Carl Gustav Jung (1865-1961)  was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychotherapist who founded analytical psychology. Jung proposed and developed the concepts of extraversion and introversion; archetypes, and the collective unconscious. The central concept of analytical psychology is individuation - the psychological process of integrating the opposites, including the conscious with the unconscious, while still maintaining their relative autonomy. Jung considered individuation to be the central process of human development. Though he was a practising clinician and considered himself to be a scientist, much of his life's work was spent exploring tangential areas such as Eastern and Western philosophy, alchemy, astrology, and sociology, as well as literature and the arts. Jung's interest in philosophy and the occult led many to view him as a mystic, although his ambition was to be seen as a man of science.

[..] It is a common and totally unjustified misunderstanding on the part of scientifically trained people to say that I regard the psychic background as something "metaphysical," while on the other hand the theologians accuse me of "psychologizing" metaphysics. Both are wide of the mark: I am an empiricist, who keeps within the boundaries set for him by the theory of knowledge.

[..] As a psychologist, I am not qualified to contribute anything useful to the question of the physical reality of Ufos. I can concern myself only with their undoubted psychic aspect, and in what follows shall deal almost exclusively with their psychic concomitants.

[..] To believe that Ufos are real suits the general opinion, whereas disbelief is to be discouraged. This creates the impression that there is a tendency all over the world to believe in saucers and to want them to be real, unconsciously helped along by a press that otherwise has no sympathy with the phenomenon. This remarkable fact in itself surely merits the psychologist’s interest. Why should it be more desirable for saucers to exist than not?

[..] I know that, just as before, my voice is much too weak to reach the ear of the multitude. It is not presumption that drives me, but my conscience as a psychiatrist that bids me fulfill my duty and prepare those few who will hear me for coming events which are in accord with the end of an era. As we know from ancient Egyptian history, they are manifestations of psychic changes which always appear at the end of one Platonic month and at the beginning of another. Apparently they are changes in the constellation of psychic dominants, of the archetypes, or "gods" as they used to be called, which bring about, or accompany, long-lasting transformations of the collective psyche.

This transformation started in the historical era and left its traces first in the passing of the aeon of Taurus into that of Aries, and then of Aries into Pisces, whose beginning coincides with the rise of Christianity. We are now nearing that great change which may be expected when the spring-point enters Aquarius. It would be frivolous of me to try to conceal from the reader that such reflections are not only exceedingly unpopular but even come perilously close to those turbid fantasies which becloud the minds of world-reformers and other interpreters of "signs and portents." But I must take this risk, even if it means putting my hard-won reputation for truthfulness, reliability, and capacity for scientific judgment in jeopardy. I can assure my readers that I do not do this with a light heart. I am, to be quite frank, concerned for all those who are caught unprepared by the events in question and disconcerted by their incomprehensible nature. Since, so far as I know, no one has yet felt moved to examine and set forth the possible psychic consequences of this foreseeable astrological change, I deem it my duty to do what I can in this respect. I undertake this thankless task in the expectation that my chisel will make no impression on the hard stone it encounters.

[..] Certain objects are seen in the earth’s atmosphere, both by day and by night, which are unlike any known meteorological phenomena. They are not meteors, not misidentified fixed stars, not "temperature inversions," not cloud formations, not migrating birds, not aerial balloons, not balls of fire, and certainly not the delirious products of intoxication or fever, nor the plain lies of eyewitnesses. What as a rule is seen is a body of round shape, disk-like or spherical, glowing or shining fierily in different colours, or, more seldom, a cigarshaped or cylindrical figure of various sizes. It is reported that occasionally they are invisible to the naked eye but leave a "blip" on the radar screen.

The round bodies in particular are figures such as the unconscious produces in dreams, visions, etc. In this case they are to be regarded as symbols representing, in visual form, some thought that was not thought consciously, but is merely potentially present in the unconscious in invisible form and attains visibility only through the process of becoming conscious. The visible form, however, expresses the meaning of the unconscious content only approximately. In practice the meaning has to be completed by amplificatory interpretation. The unavoidable errors that result can be eliminated only through the principle of "waiting on events"; that is to say we obtain a consistent and readable text by comparing sequences of dreams dreamt by different individuals. The figures in a rumour can be subjected to the same principles of dream interpretation. If we apply them to the round object – whether it be a disk or a sphere we at once get an analogy with the symbol of totality well known to all students of depth psychology, namely the mandala (Sanskrit for circle).

This is not by any means a new invention, for it can be found in all epochs and in all places, always with the same meaning, and it reappears time and again, independently of tradition, in modern individuals as the "protective" or apotropaic circle, whether in the form of the prehistoric "sun wheel," or the magic circle, or the alchemical microcosm, or a modern symbol of order, which organizes and embraces the psychic totality. As I have shown elsewhere, in the course of the centuries the mandala has developed into a definitely psychological totality symbol, as the history of alchemy proves.

[..] In so far as the mandala encompasses, protects, and defends the psychic totality against outside influences and seeks to unite the inner opposites, it is at the same time a distinct individuation symbol and was known as such even to medieval alchemy. The soul was supposed to have the form of a sphere, on the analogy of Plato’s world-soul, and we meet the same symbol in modern dreams. This symbol, by reason of its antiquity, leads us to the heavenly spheres, to Plato’s "supra-celestial place" where the "Ideas" of all things are stored up. Hence there would be nothing against the naïve interpretation of Ufos as "souls." Naturally they do not represent our modern conception of the psyche, but give an involuntary archetypal or mythological picture of an unconscious content, a rotundum, as the alchemists called it, that expresses the totality of the individual. I have defined this spontaneous image as a symbolical representation of the self, by which I mean not the ego but the totality composed of the conscious and the unconscious. I am not alone in this, as the Hermetic philosophy of the Middle Ages had already arrived at very similar conclusions. The archetypal character of this idea is borne out by its spontaneous recurrence in modern individuals who know nothing of any such tradition, any more than those around them.

[..] If the round shining objects that appear in the sky be regarded as visions, we can hardly avoid interpreting them as archetypal images. They would then be involuntary, automatic projections based on instinct, and as little as any other psychic manifestations or symptoms can they be dismissed as meaningless and merely fortuitous. Anyone with the requisite historical and psychological knowledge knows that circular symbols have played an important role in every age; in our own sphere of culture, for instance, they were not only soul symbols but "God-images." There is an old saying that "God is a circle whose centre is everywhere and the circumference nowhere." God in his omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence is a totality symbol par excellence, something round, complete, and perfect. Epiphanies of this sort are, in the tradition, often associated with fire and light. On the antique level, therefore, the Ufos could easily be conceived as "gods." They are impressive manifestations of totality whose simple, round form portrays the archetype of the self, which as we know from experience plays the chief role in uniting apparently irreconcilable opposites and is therefore best suited to compensate the splitmindedness of our age.

It has a particularly important role to play among the other archetypes in that it is primarily the regulator and orderer of chaotic states, giving the personality the greatest possible unity and wholeness. It creates the image of the divine-human personality, the Primordial Man or Anthropos, a chên-yên (true or whole man), an Elijah who calls down fire from heaven, rises up to heaven in a fiery chariot, and is a forerunner of the Messiah, the dogmatized figure of Christ, as well as of Khidr, the Verdant One, who is another parallel to Elijah: like him, he wanders over the earth as a human personification of Allah.

Gisela von Frankenberg: Nommo (1981), Blaue Blume (1990)

The present world situation is calculated as never before to arouse expectations of a redeeming, supernatural event. If these expectations have not dared to show themselves in the open, this is simply because no one is deeply rooted enough in the tradition of earlier centuries to consider an intervention from heaven as a matter of course. We have indeed strayed far from the metaphysical certainties of the Middle Ages, but not so far that our historical and psychological background is empty of all metaphysical hope. Consciously, however, rationalistic enlightenment predominates, and this abhors all leanings towards the "occult." Desperate efforts are made for a "repristination" of our Christian faith, but we cannot get back to that limited world view which in former times left room for metaphysical intervention. Nor can we resuscitate a genuine Christian belief in an after-life or the equally Christian hope for an imminent end of the world that would put a definite stop to the regrettable error of Creation. Belief in this world and in the power of man has, despite assurances to the contrary, become a practical and, for the time being, irrefragable truth. This attitude on the part of the overwhelming majority provides the most favourable basis for a projection, that is, for a manifestation of the unconscious background.

Undeterred by rationalistic criticism, it thrusts itself to the forefront in the form of a symbolic rumour, accompanied and reinforced by the appropriate visions, and thus activates an archetype that has always expressed order, deliverance, salvation, and wholeness. It is characteristic of our time that the archetype, in contrast to its previous manifestations, should now take the form of an object, a technological construction, in order to avoid the odiousness of mythological personification. Anything that looks technological goes down without difficulty with modern man. The possibility of space travel has made the unpopular idea of a metaphysical intervention much more acceptable. The apparent weightlessness of the Ufos is, of course, rather hard to digest, but then our own physicists have discovered so many things that border on the miraculous: why should not more advanced star-dwellers have discovered a way to counteract gravitation and reach the speed of light, if not more? Nuclear physics has begotten in the layman’s head an uncertainty of judgment that far exceeds that of the physicists and makes things appear possible which but a short while ago would have been declared nonsensical. Consequently the Ufos can easily be regarded and believed in as a physicists’ miracle.

[..] Should it be that an unknown physical phenomenon is the outward cause of the myth, this would detract nothing from the myth, for many myths have meteorological and other natural phenomena as accompanying causes which by no means explain them. A myth is essentially a product of the unconscious archetype and is therefore a symbol which requires psychological interpretation. For primitive man any object, for instance an old tin that has been thrown away, can suddenly assume the importance of a fetish. This effect is obviously not inherent in the tin, but is a psychic product.

-- C. G. Jung, Ein moderner Mythus: Von Dingen, die am Himmel gesehen werden (1958)

Sunday, December 3, 2023

[hamliet]

I know this is a very sensitive subject but I still need to know ; please tell me do you think that God is against homosexuality ?

No. I think being homophobic is a sin, actually.

I can't speak for all religions, but I do know that there are plenty of, say, Jewish and Muslim scholars who are pro-LGBT and would happily discuss. I can only speak for my religion, which is Christianity.

I'm gonna talk a bit more... upfront about my personal beliefs under the cut. Which are very Christian, so if you aren't comfortable with that, feel free not to read.

I was raised to think it was, to be sure. But I was never fully comfortable with this idea, and have studied theology a bit in college to examine what I believed and why.

I love the Bible, actually. I think it's inspired by God, but that doesn't mean a flat literal interpretation. I mean, it's actually a fundamental misunderstanding to think so--we must ask ourselves why God chose literature as a medium to speak to us. That doesn't mean everything that's in the Bible is a narrative allegory and never historical, btw. It just means that, like all works of literature, we gain understanding when we approach it through different lens: lens that take in the culture it was written in, biases of authors, our own bias, the culture we live in now, and the fact that as Christians, we believe the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and that flesh is Jesus Himself. Jesus is the fulfillment of God on earth, both human and divine.

Hence, however you interpret Scripture, if you're Christian, I would argue it should be through the lens of Jesus.

A lot of the "sins" outlined in the Christian Old Testament are no longer considered sins in the New Testament. I've seen people debate back and forth what is and what isn't, and I believe Jesus did leave us a way to tell.

Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

All the commandments, including sexual morality ones, can be summed up through loving God and loving our neighbor. Loving God is shown directly through loving our neighbor.

Romans 13:10 is pretty explicit about this:

The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

I don't see harm coming from love between people of any gender. I see a lot of harm coming from homophobia, though. I see raised suicide rates. I see so many "ex gay" ministries folding in on themselves. And this does matter; in fact, it's Biblical. Matthew 7:15-20:

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

The fruit of this homophobia is apparent for everyone to see. It's rotten. It results in dead kids, in (straight) marriages that are based on lies that harm women who marry men who admit to not ever being attracted to them, in people dying from AIDS.

Besides, the Old Testament is itself a chronicle of God's revelation that ends in the ultimate form of the person of Christ. That doesn't mean it can be cast aside, but instead seen as a progressive revelation, as a compassionate God makes allowances for people in an ancient Near Eastern culture to maintain some ancient Near Eastern cultural practices, which may well have been not exactly positive towards any sexuality outside of men and their wives, who were also their property. I mean, it's complicated--for example, David and Jonathan saying the love they share is "better than that of women" might be two bros being bros but also very well might not be because that is... deeply intense--but also, Jesus directly counters some of the "Law" in his testimony and says precisely that God does make allowances for cultures.

Plus, let's look at history. There are more in-depth theological examinations of the phrasing used that is often translated "homosexuality" in the New Testament (which only began to be translated as such in 1946). The historical context of these words almost certainly refer to p*dophilia (which was frankly common back then; ancient Greek culture encouraged men to sleep with young boys to "mentor them) and to religious prostitution, which are very, very different things than how we understand LGBT relationships. There still might well be a bias in Paul's letters, but Paul is not Christ, and culturally it's not surprising. We are all limited by our cultures, even today.

Gay relationships have positively impacted Christianity. You know the King James Bible, the first English translation? It was authorized because King James himself was in a gay relationship with another man and wanted to get the church leaders off his back. In fact, King James then literally stated:

I, James, am neither a god nor an angel, but a man like any other. Therefore I act like a man and confess to loving those dear to me more than other men. You may be sure that I love the Earl of Buckingham more than anyone else, and more than you who are here, assembled. I wish to speak in my own behalf and not to have it thought to be a defect, for Jesus Christ did the same, and therefore I cannot be blamed. Christ had John, and I have George."

(I mean, I think you're wrong there King James--John was certainly a teenager, as were most of the disciples--no this wasn't weird this was normal for that day in age--but I do not think Jesus was sleeping with a teen.) But thanks to King James, despite his iffy thoughts on specific hermeneutics, lots more people had access to the Scriptures.

There's also science. We can't ever discover anything God doesn't already know, so. Statistics and science do tell us that intersex conditions are not nearly so rare and gender is not as clear-cut as we'd like to think (please research Complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome). It is very possible there are conditions we don't know about, biological ones, that change how we label someone's gender. If gender is itself far more complex than male or female, if it's somewhat of a spectrum, then it follows that God is aware of this and whom we're attracted to itself cannot be so clearly labeled.

[magpigment]

list of names i use to pick character names!

i scoured several baby names sites years ago and i still use this list to this day if i’m stumped on what to name a character of mine! figured i might as well post it since it might help someone else! feel free to add on ^^

https://parenting.firstcry.com/articles/50-baby-names-that-means-healer-for-girls-and-boys/ (boys?? ig??) Aeson Before Jason, it was Aeson. This variation of name had commanded the hearts and minds of the warriors. Aeson means ‘healer’. Alaunus Alaunus is the name Sun God in Gaulish. It also means prediction, and revenge, which also happens to be related to the Greek god named Apollo. The name Alaunus signifies ‘brightness’. Asa A simple, sober, and scriptural name, Asa, means ‘expert, healer, or an individual born in the morning sun’. This is a uni-sexual name, that sounds equally good on females. Galen Galen is the name of a second-century physician who developed the basis of medicine. Galen means ‘quiet or healer’. Helem Helem, an Israeli word, signifying ‘to dream or to heal’. This name is slowly losing its existence, however if you like sound of it, you can definitely pick it up for your boy. Jayr Jayr, which means ‘healer’, has been used in America since the founding of the provinces, all thanks to the Puritans. Despite being an old name, its a rarely used one. (girls?? ig??) Airmed The name Airmed comes from the Irish mythology. A woman named Airmed was known for her ability to heal people during battle. There goes a folklore that healing herbs sprouted from her tears and healed the body of the injured. Althea This sentimental and ethereal name comes from the Greek folklore and has a peaceful ring to it. Althea implies healing power. Amethyst Amethyst has been utilized in healing and enchantment since time immemorial. As Amethyst is a birthstone from February, it would be best utilized for a young lady from February. Emma Emma, the generally acclaimed name, has numerous takers everywhere throughout the world. So no big surprise individuals decipher it unexpectedly. While its most regular meanings are ‘widespread, complete or whole’, in Teutonic, Emma signifies ‘healer of the universe’. Leigh Leigh has several meanings. In Celtic, Leigh signifies ‘healer’. This name can likewise be spelled as Leigha. It is a unisex name. Reselda Reselda, an enchanting Latin American name, which means healer, is getting a charge out of moderate degrees of utilization in European nations. Sirona The name Sirona belongs to the Celtic healing goddess. In the eastern Gaul, the figure of Sirona appears in carvings near the German sulfur springs. Even its temples are built near the thermal springs and healing wells.

https://baby.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Gothic_Baby_Names Arachne (girl) - Young woman who challenged Athena and was turned into a spider Balor (boy) - One-eyed giant in Irish mythology Griffin/Gryphon (boy) - Mythological beast with the body of a lion and the wings and head of an eagle Isolde (girl) - tragic Irish heroine Moon (unisex) - ancient symbol of fertility (last names) Addams - from the famous show The Addams Family Bara - a noted femme fatale from the 1910s Baudelaire - French poet famous poet from Gothic period in literature Gorey - artist who has a goth aesthetic Mortem - after fashion design Rose Mortem who is married to Goth band frontman from The Awakening Stoker - last name of the writer of Dracula (dark sounding names) Akeldama (boy) - field of blood; where Judas Iscariot committed suicide Dade (boy) - dark one Draven (m) - Child of the shadows Leila (girl) - Arabic for night Mara (girl) - a maleficent female wraith in Scandinavian folklore that causes nightmares Shadow (unisex) - black Shiva (boy) - God of destruction (creepy) Avarice (girl) - greed Badriyah (girl) - full moon Golgotha (unisex) - Hebrew for skull Melancholia (girl) - a mental condition and especially a manic-depressive condition Morte (boy) - French for dead Thorne (unisex) - sharp Vladimir (boy) - alleged vampire Wolfe (boy) - deadly beast (creative gothic names) Ascelin (unisex) - of the moon Aelfwif (boy) - Germanic word for elf + battle or war Alaric (boy) - first king of the Visigoths; means all-powerful ruler Clove (girl) - spice Draconia (girl) - dire Druscilla (girl) - it sounds dark but actually means fruitful Dyrk (boy) - one who admires nighttime Mallory (girl) - cursed or ill-fated one Perdita (girl) - lost in Spanish Quillon (boy) - sword Twilight (girl) - dusk Vespers (unisex) - Catholic evening prayers Xander (boy) - vampire hunter from the television show, Buffy, The Vampire Slayer (nature) Ash (boy) - what's left after a fire Belladonna (girl) - poisonous plant with purple flowers Branwen (boy) - Bran is a Celtic word for crow Briar (boy) - a thorn Chrysanthemum (girl) - flower associated with death in Japan and some European countries Foxglove (girl) - a beautiful but poisonous flower Hellebore (girl) - flower that blooms through the snow in the middle of winter Hemlock (unisex) - poison Socrates took to commit suicide Merula (boy) - Latin for blackbird Oleander (unisex) - a beautiful but poisonous plant Onyx (unisex) - stone that is pitch black Raven (girl) - bird often associated with death Sage (unisex) - a spice Willow (girl) - weeping tree; symbol of death (books) Basil - from The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde Desdemona (girl) - tragic Shakespearean heroine Grendel (boy) - name of the beast from Beowulf Eulalie (girl) - figure from Edgar Allen Poe poem Manfred (boy) - the lord in The Castle of Otranto, a gothic novel by Horace Walpole Nimue (girl) - an Arthurian sorceress Tempest (unisex) - as in by Shakespeare

https://baby.lovetoknow.com/baby-names/celestial-boy-names-related-space-astronomy (galaxy) Baade - last name Burbidge - last name Cygnus - swan Fath - conquest Fornax - furnace Helix - spiral ornament Leo - lion Phoenix - dark red Reinmuth - counsel mind Serpens - the serpent Virgo - young (planet, moon, satelite) Atlas - moon of Saturn; name of a Greek titan who held the heavens on his shoulders Hyperion - moon of Saturn; named for a Greek titan Jovian - name of the system that includes Jupiter, its rings, and its moons Mars - planet name representing the Roman god of war because the planet is red Mond - German word for "moon" Oberon - moon of Uranus; named after the king of the fairies in a Shakespeare play Phobos - one of Mars' moons named after a horse who pulled Roman god Mars' chariot (star and constellation) Alnair - the bright one Aquila - the eagle; constellation Azmidi - unknown Celaeno - the dark one Chertan - two small ribs Dorado - the swordfish; constellation Elgafar - the forgiver Felis - cat Hydrus - the male water snake; constellation Wurren - little fish (astronomers) Asaph (Hall) - discovered the moons of Mars Edwin (Hubble) - American astronomer who created a galaxy classification system Kepler (Johannes) - determined planets traveled around the sun in ellipses Sagan (Carl) - American astronomer who helped popularize astronomy (astronomy terms) Albedo - ratio of reflected light Aphelion - the point where a celestial body is furthest from the sun while orbiting Barlow - type of lens for a telescope Blazar - type of active galaxy Comet - ball of ice and debris orbiting the sun Dob - short for Dobsonian; type of reflector for a telescope Equinox - when day and night are of equal length Phoenix or Phoena (The magical fire bird in Greek mythology. In Greek, Phoenix means "rising bird" and Phoena means "mystical bird" or "purple.") Gibbous - when the moon appears more than half illuminated Meridian - imaginary north-south line Mak - nickname for the Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope Zodiac - set of constellations

https://baby.lovetoknow.com/baby-names/137-magical-girl-names Althea (Greek for "with healing power) Andromeda (In Greek mythology, she became a star. The name means "advising like a man.) Diana (Roman goddess of the hunt and the moon who is often associated with witchcraft and Wiccans. The word means "divine" in Latin.). Holly (English word for a type of plant, the name is often associated with Wicca.) Iris (Greek for "rainbow" and also the name of a flower. Iris was the Greek goddess of the rainbow.) (fairy) Aine (Irish name that means "brightness or splendor." In Celtic folklore, Aine was the queen of the Munster fairies and a goddess of the summer.) Asteria (Greek for "star." She was the goddess of justice. Also known as the "crying fairy.") Calliope (Greek for "beautiful voice.") Devas (Persian/Greek fairies that live in nature and appear as small balls of light, like fireflies.) Mab (Irish for "baby." In Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Mab is the queen of the fairies.) Selkie (In Scottish mythology, Selkie is a name for fairies which means "seal folk" as they had the ability to change into seals and human form at will.) Titania (Greek for "great one" or "giant." Titania was the queen of the fairies in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.) (dark fairy) Agatha (Greek for "good woman." Agatha Harkness is a witch in Marvel comics.) Belinda (German/Spanish word for "pretty one" or "serpent" or "beautiful snake." A goddess of heaven and earth in Babylonian mythology." Ceridwen (Welsh for "beautiful as a poem." A Celtic goddess of poetry and a sorceress in Welsh folklore.) Dahlia (Swedish origin, the name for a flower. A dark witch character in the television show The Originals.) Eris (Greek goddess of discord and strife and a witch in the Maleficent Disney movie.) Koko or Kohko (Algonquin name that means "the night.") Lamia (Evil witch in the book and movie Stardust. A Lamia was a snake with the head and breasts of a human female in Greek mythology.) Melinoë (In Greek mythology, a nymph associated with nightmares and mental illness as well as the moon. She is associated with wearing the color yellow.) Opal (A dark pixie character in the Artemis Fowl series. The word comes from the Sanskrit and is a type of gem.) Tanith (A Phoenician goddess of the moon. Tanith Lee is an acclaimed dark fantasy author.)

(elven) Amberle (Elven princess character from the Shannara series.) Elanor (A Sindarin name that means "sun star.") Siofra (An Irish name that means "fairy" or "elf.") Vila (In Slavic mythology, a type of winged elven race that are beautiful and live in the clouds.) Willow (English origin. A type of tree and also a witch in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.) (witch) Alcina (Greek for "strong willed." A witch from Greek mythology and also an opera by Handel.) Aradia (The "first witch" from the Wiccan work Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches.) Aurora (Goddess of the dawn in Greek mythology and also the name of Sleeping Beauty in the Disney movies.) Circe (Geek for "bird." Circe was a witch in Greek mythology.) Cirilla or Ciri (A pale-haired sorceress from The Witcher books, video games and television show.) Fleur (French for "flower." Fleur Delacour is a French witch in the Harry Potter series.) Lilith (Asyrrian word for "ghost." Lilith was Adam's first wife in Hebrew mythology who became a demon.) Merlinne or Merlynne (Welsh for "sea fortress." A feminine version of Merlin, the wizard in the story of King Arthur.) Minerva (Latin for "of the mind; intellect." Minerva McGonagall is a witch in the Harry Potter series.) Sabrina (A name of Celtic origin that means "white rose." Also a famous teenage witch on television.) Sadira (Persian for "lotus tree." Sadira is a sand witch in the Aladdin Disney television show.) (mystical) Aisling (Irish name that means "dream or vision.") Amitola (A Native American name that means "rainbow.") Ariadne (A Greek goddess of fertility.) Avalon (The mystical "isle of apples" in Celtic and Arthurian legend.) Celeste or Celestia (Latin for "heavenly.") Epiphany (Greek word that means "revelation" or "revelation of a divine being.") Kachine or Kachina (A "sacred dancer" or "dancing spirit" in southwestern Native American cultures.) Luna (Italian for "moon." Luna was a Roman goddess of the moon.) Maia (Greek for "mother." Maia was the goddess of spring and "mother earth" in Roman mythology.) Merope (Greek for a bird that eats bees. In Greek mythology, one of the seven Pleiades, a group of nymphs who were turned into stars by Zeus. Also Voldemort's mother in the Harry Potter series.) Nokomis or Nakomis (Chippewa name for the daughter or grandmother of the moon.) Seraphina or Serafina (Hebrew for "fiery," Seraphina is based on the seraphim which are angels in Judaism and Christianity. Serafina Pekkala is a witch in the His Dark Materials series.) Ulloriaq (A Native American name that means "star like.") Zorya, Zora or Zarya (A pair of goddesses in Slavic mythology who are the morning star and evening star.)

(mermaid) Acantha (Greek for "thorn." A nymph in Greek mythology). Asrai (A fairy that lives in seas and lakes in English legends. They are associated with the moonlight.) Asterope (A Greek word for "starry face." She was a nymph in Greek mythology.) Clio (Greek for "glory." Cleo was a sea nymph in Greek mythology.) Daphne (Greek for "laurel tree." Daphne was a nymph in Greek mythology.) Kailani or Kailee (Hawaiian for "sea and sky.") Larissa (Greek for "citadel." A nymph in Greek mythology and the name of one of Neptune's moons.) Lorelei (In German folklore, Lorelei was a mermaid who lured sailors to their death in the Rhine River.) Melia (Greek name that means "work." Melia was a nymph in Greek mythology and the daughter of Oceanus.) Narice or Nerissa (Greek for "from the sea." Niamh, Neve, Nieve or Neave (Gaelic for "bright." In Irish folklore, Niamh was the daughter of the sea god.) Ondine (Latin for "little wave." Ondie was a nymph and water spirit in German folklore.) Sereia (Portuguese name that means "mermaid.")

https://baby.lovetoknow.com/baby-names/47-rare-boy-names-that-are-unexpectedly-cool Aero (air-oh) - air Axton - swordsman's stone Asar (ah-sar) - unknown; Greek form of Osiris, God of the Dead Benno - bear Brage (brah-gee)- first Druid (droo-ihd) - strong seer; Ancient Celtic priest or magician Enos (ay-nohss)- man or mortal Kalix - most beautiful Omri (om-ree) - my sheaf Orvar - arrow Osten - stone island Rodion (roh-dee-on) - song of the hero Scion (si-on)- descendent Taft - building site Torin - chief Yudel (yoo-dehl) - praise Zoar (zor) - light or brilliance (Extraordinary and Rare Long Names for Boys) Alderic (ahl-day-reek) - old ruler Benesh - blessed Caishen (ki-shen) - god of wealth Coleman - dove Jacobus (juh-koh-bus) - supplanter Janeiro (juh-nayr-oh) - January Ledger - tribe spear Raiden - thunder and lightning Taranis (tuh-ran-iss) - thunder Tristram (trihss-trum) - riot Whittaker (wit-uh-ker) - white field Yorick - farmer Zhubin (zoo-bihn) - spear-like

(elemental) Aidan (Gaelic) - fire element; fiery Ethereal (English) - air element; extremely delicate Garnet (Middle English) - earth element; dark red gemstone Gale (Middle English) - air element; jovial Rain (American) - water element; abundant blessings River (Latin) - water element; flowing body of water Sky (Old Norse) - air element; cloud Zephyr (Greek) - air element; west wind https://baby.lovetoknow.com/baby-names/graceful-tree-names-girls Apple Ash Aspen Catalpa Cherry Hazel Holly Juniper Laurel Madrone Magnolia Myrtle Poplar Willow Yew (scientific tree inspired) Balsamea - Abies balsamea, or balsam fir Betula - Betula lenta, or black birch Carya - Carya ovata, or shagbark hickory Castanea - Castanea dentata, or American chestnut Celtis - Celtis occidentalis, or common hackberry Cercis - Cercis canadensis, or redbud Gleditsia - Gleditsia triacanthos, or honey locust Ostrya - Ostrya virginiana, or American hophornbean Swietenia - Swietenia mahogoni, or mahogany Taeda - Pinus taeda, or loblolly pine Tilia - Tilia Americana, or American Basswood

(unique/cool) Baylisiana - there is only one Pennantia baylisiana, or Three Kings Kaikomako, left in New Zealand Dentelle - there are only two Bois dentelle, or Lace Wood trees, left in Mauritius Erythrina - coral tree, or Erythrina schliebenii, found in Tanzania Kaikomako - also inspired by the Pennantia baylisiana (Three Kings Kaikomako) in New Zealand Mpingo - African blackwood tree with a purplish hue Pennantia - also inspired by New Zealand's Pennantia baylisiana (Three Kings Kaikomako) Socotra - Socotra dragon tree, also known as Dragon Blood tree, found in Yemen (rare) Auxin - hormones in trees that stimulate cell growth Cambium - the growing part of the tree trunk Chi (Vietnamese) - branch Clematis (English) - twig Crown - the upper part of the tree with the branches Dalia (Hebrew) - hanging branch Lignin - a strong, natural chemical glue that holds the central heartwood of a tree together Ritva (Finnish) - birch branch Verbena - leaves, twigs (meaning tree) Alani (Hawaiian) - orange tree Anargul (Kazakh) - blooming pomegranate tree Ashley (English) - ash tree clearing Björk (Icelandic) - birch tree Eglė (Lithuanian) - spruce tree Elowen (Cornish) - elm tree Fidan (Turkish) - sapling Hadas (Hebrew) - myrtle tree Hadassah (Biblical) - myrtle tree Hollis (English) - holly trees Iva (Slavic) - willow tree Jela (Serbian) - fir tree Kalina (Polish) - viburnum tree Kiri (Maori) - skin of a tree Liepa (Lithuanian) - linden tree Lina (Arabic) - palm tree Lovorka (Croatian) - laurel tree Melia (Greek) - ash tree Moriko (Japanese) - forest child Oihana (Basque) - forest Ornella (Italian) - flowering ash tree Pomona (Roman) - fruit tree Randa (Arabic) - scented tree Taimi (Finnish) - young tree

if anyone has more they’d like to add feel free!

[jacobray]

8 Yunnan Architecture Tour - China Adventure Tour

While exploring Yunnan’s countryside, I have stumbled upon impressive and almost unknown architectural wonders. Here is a list of eight structures that are worth putting on your bucket-list.

1. Shuanlong Bridge of Daying

This bridge is considered as a marvel of ancient civil engineering that compete with Beijing’s Summer Palace (颐和园) ten-span bridge. Following a series of devastating floods during which the Lujiang and the Tachong Rivers merged into one near the village of Shui Daying, this seventeen-span bridge was built.

Known by locals as the ‘Seventeen Arches Bridge’ or Shiqi Kong Qiao (十七孔桥), it is also called the Shuanglong Qiao (双龙桥) or ‘Double-Dragon Bridge’, because the two rivers are said to meander in the valley like two dragons.

2. Huilan Pavilion of Baxin

Under this well-preserved stunning centuries-old historical pavilion and arched stone structure acted as a device that allowed for the regulation of the stream of water flowing from the Yilong Lake into the plains of Jianshui (建水). The name itself, Huilan Pavilion 洄澜阁 points to this function of water regulation. The character ‘hui’ 洄 means ‘whirling of water’ or ‘to go against the current’ (etymologically, water 氵returning 回) and ‘lan’ 澜 means ‘swelling waters’.

Since then, the water regulation device is cloaked and with the waters receding, it is no longer on the shores of the Yilong Lake. It is a still a wonder of ancient architecture in Yunnan province.

Recomendatiosn: The Ultimate Christmas Holiday Guide

3. The Chen Clan Lineage Temple of Zhengying

Completed in 1925 in Zhengying (郑营), a small village that started off as a military outpost just 10 kilometers west of Shiping (石屏) in south Yunnan province, the Chen Clan Lineage Temple (陈家宗祠) is a large compound that includes a massive stone gate, a lotus pond, two main temples and wing halls built to honor the ancestors of the Chen family who had migrated from eastern China into the rural southwest borderland and amassed their wealth in mining and trade.

The Chan Clan Lineage Temple was secularized and you will not find any stone tablets or altars for ancestors worship lifestyle. Instead, it is now a recreational center for the village’s elderly who spend their afternoon chatting, playing mahjong or cards inside the wing hall.

4. Wu Family Courtyard of Heijing

Constructed between 1837 and 1858 in Heijing (黑井), the ancient salt capital of Yunnan, the Wu Family Courtyard (武家大院) with its wood and stone carvings that ornate the 99 different rooms on three floors, its garden surrounded by a wall, the ostentatious entrance gates, and the large scale of the building, is an astounding public display of luxury and wealth in a remote rural village of central Yunnan.

Shaped like character wang 王 which means ‘king’ in Chinese language, the Wu Family Courtyard is also an expression of the power and the www.athomepodcast.com of wealth family in the dominance of trade in Yunnan. Witness of a class of wealth salt merchants and traders which became extinct after the Communist took over the power in 1949, the Wu Family Courtyard is a unique structure and architectural wonder of Yunnan.

5. Wenchang Palace of Yiluo

Built in 1637, the Wenchang Palace (文昌宫) of Yiluo (绮罗), an ancient village near Tengchong (腾冲) in western Yunnan province, integrates the architectural features Confucius Temples (文庙) and Taoist temples and combine them into a large temple complex. Extended in the 1740s, the Wenchang Palace was renovated in 1851 and 2009 after being damaged during the Cultural Revolution. Local villagers call it the ‘Small Forbidden City’ (小故宫).

Inside, behind a half-moon shaped pool, we find several temples and halls dedicated to Confucius (孔子), Wenchang (文昌), the god of culture and literature, Nüwa (女娲), the goddess-creator of Chinese mythology, Kuixing (魁星), the god of scholars, and a performance stage.

6. Catholic Church of Dali

Tucked away in a courtyard right next to Dali ancient town’s busy shopping street, the Catholic Church of Dali (大理天主教堂) is an architectural masterpiece that combine the Western features of the church layout and the exceptional Bai construction style. Built in 1927 by foreign missionaries who had set out to evangelize southwest China, it is one of the 32 churches still active in western Yunnan.

Read Also: Getting The Best Deal – Tips On Bargaining Abroad

7. Theater of Sideng village

In the center of Sideng, the main village of Shaxi valley, the Old Theatre is a masterpiece of the Bai people architecture and one of the main reason to come and visit.

Dominating the old Market Square, the Old Theatre stage stands face to face to the Xingjiao Temple so that the Buddhas may also enjoy performances with the people.

On each side of the Old Theatre, shops that catered to the caravan leaders and muleteers were transformed into coffee shops and storefronts for tourists. Behind the performance stage, there is a four-story Kuixing Tower (魁星阁). Kuixing is the deity of good fortune in examinations and was thus revered by scholars who wanted success in the imperial examination.

8. Ganden Sumtselin of Zhongdian

Established in 1679 by https://www.marimo-fmky.com, Sumtseling was built during the reign of emperor Kangxi 康熙 of the Qing dynasty, the layout of Sumtseling was designed to look like the Potala palace in Lhasa, but without any original blue prints, the architects were not able to make a faithful replica. Songzanlin Monastery monastery was given the name of ‘Ganden’ in reference to the Ganden monastery near Lhasa which was founded in 1409 by Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelupa order or Yellow Hat Sect. After Zhongdian changed its name into Shangri-la, the local government marketed Sumtseling as the ‘Little Potala’ and became known to tourists as ‘Songzanlin Temple’ (松赞林寺) in Chinese.