#michibooks

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"We know about Zeus from myth, from cult and from art. The three fuse together to form the Zeus that Greeks constructed in their imaginations and revered.

Myth wraps religious sites in an ambience of gods and heroes, and presents the origins in the past of current religious life. It is told from childhood onwards, forms the subject of performances - whether epic, drama or hymns danced out - and is at the core of ancient education and life.

Cult is the unceasing recognition of the supremacy of the gods and our dependence on them: it embraces the home, the city and its countryside, and defines what it is to be Greek. Time itself is created by the rhythm of the festivals during the year, the spans of years between, for instance, Olympic festivals, and the ceremonies that highlight life stages, from birth to death.

Art gives visible shape and its own sense to the ideas we have of the gods and to their mythology; it does much more than decorate temples and shrines: it is a vehicle for religious ideas to penetrate the whole world."

— Zeus by Ken Dowden pg 4

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Heros and Hero Cults by Gunnel Ekroth — Link

The Sacrificial Rituals of Greek Hero-Cults in the Archaic to the Early Hellenistic Period by Gunnel Ekroth — Link

Gunnel has done a million papers on it.

Hero Cult in Apollonius Rhodius by Sarah Hitch — Link

The Ancient Greek Hero in 24 hours by Gregory Nagy — Link

The Rise of the Hero Cult and the New Simonides by Bremmer — Link

Hero Cult and Politics in Herodotus: The Bones of Orestes by Deborah Boedeker. Its Chapter 8 — Link

Hero-Cults in the Age of Homer by Coldstream (I'm not sure if this is accessible through JSTORs free article account link) — Link

Hero-Cult in Archaic and Classical Sparta: a Study of Local Religion by Nicolette A. Pavlides (PhD Thesis) — Link

Ancient Greek Cults by Jennifer Larson, Chapter 15 The Powerful Dead, Heros and Heroines — Link

I'm planning to work on a post about hero worship! Would anyone be willing to share resources that they have on the topic? I'm looking for things based on the general concept of hero worship, not anything related to a specific hero. Thank you in advance! c: 🧡

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Mimusubi Essays on Shinto

By David Chart

An author who writes independently about Shinto and also translates for the Shinto Organizations in Japan, Jinja Honchō (Association of Shrines).

Bolding ones I definitely want to read but I'll probably buy the bundle on Kindle when I get around to reading them.

Myths of Izumo | 36

The Daijosai | 34

Izumo Ōyashiro and Miho Jinja | 33

Oharaëkotoba Izumo Yogoto | 55

Shinto Practice for Non-Japanese | 35

Imperial Origin Myths | 36

Offerings For The Kami | 37

Explaining Shinto | 31

Myths of Jinmu Tennō | 33

Myths of Creation and Amaterasu | 37

Myths of the First Emperors | ?

The Early History of Shinto | 26

Suinin Tennō and Yamato Takeru | 44

Myths of Okinagatarashihimë | 40

Shinto Liturgy | 44

Myths from Izumo Fudoki | 43

Myths from the Hitachi Fudoki | 41

Shinto on Ethics and Death | 43

Myths of the Harima Fudoki | 67

Myths from the Bungo & Hizen Fudoki | 50

Shinto Portrayals in Manga | 40

The pages don't seem to match up to the Kindle book pages so I'm assuming it the pages in the paperbacks, or maybe inaccurate. Total pages is 805 (missing 1 essay)

The Essays — Link

Amazon Profile — Link

Blog Mimusubi — Link

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Enheduana Was A Strategic Priestess

She wasn’t just a priestess who became famous for her beautiful literature. She wasn't a woman of low birth who dedicated herself to Inana solely out of love. Or any other romanticized story. She was, in the beginning, a strategic royal tool of conquest.

I'm writing this because I came across "Inanna: Lady of Largest Heart" by Betty DeSheong Meador. She is a Jungian analyst, she says she studied under an Assyriologist (I have a bone to pick with Jungian analysts but whatever) I noticed this on page 7:

...she was now elevated to the supreme position in the Sumerian pantheon. There is no way to know why Enheduanna made the painstaking effort to elevate Inanna above all the great gods. Perhaps it was simply an act of dedication to her goddess.

There is evidence. It wasn’t just an act of dedication.

🔹Why Inanna Was Elevated🔹

Ištar was the tutelary Goddess of Sargon of Akkad [1] [2]

From a legend of him:

Akki, the irrigator, as his gardener appointed me. When I was a gardener the goddess Ishtar loved me [3]

Sargon conquered many Sumerian cities. He instilled his daughter Enheduana as priestess of Nanna and Inana at Ur— one of the most powerful Sumerian cities [4].

Why? To use religion to legitimize his reign [5]. Sargon respected Sumerian culture [6] so it makes sense to try and legitimize his reign via appeasing the Sumerians themselves— using religion was an extremely common tactic for conquerors [5]. The Gods were the ones who appointed Kings and punished them when they did wrong.

Nanna was the tutelary God of Ur [7]. Making her a priestess of the most important God put her in a position of power to elevate Inana and equate her with Ištar [8] a good political move.

This is where the false idea that "Inana is a moon Goddess" comes from; people seem to cut out the Moon God Nanna when telling her story. Enheduana was priestess of both of them— and held the role of Ningal, Nanna's wife, in some ritual settings.

After being exiled from Ur and receiving no help from Nanna, she turns towards his daughter, Inana, to seek help. And raises her even further above the Gods in the hopes of gaining her favor and assistance; it was a personal cry for help by Enheduana while she is in exile. [11]

I’m not trying to say she did not love Inana and it was just a royal duty or some sort of bribe, I am stating her actual origin and reason for being a priestess.

She is described in the Disc of Enheduanna

Enheduana, priestess of Nanna, spouse of Nanna, daughter of Sargon, the king of the world, built an altar in the temple of Inana-Zaza at Ur and named it Altar, the Table of Heaven” [9.1]

[Right: Original Disc [9.1] | Left: restored version at Penn Museum [10] ]

🔹Inana's Importance🔹

No doubt Sumerian Inana and Akkadian Ištar was one of the most important Goddess throughout Mesopotamia and eventually neighboring regions. Many local Goddess were identified with her at various dates (even if originally separate).

But was Inana actually placed above all other Gods?

Yes, in two literary compositions (as of right now). The Exhaltion of Inana & Inana C. Two literary compositions do not equated to the 3000+ year history of Mesopotamian religion and I wish more people who wrote on this topic acknowledged that.

To be the "Queen of all the me" was to hold the cosmos in one's palm. Crucially, this was not a universally accepted view of Inana. Though she was of course a celebrated goddess in Sumerian culture, she was generally considered inferior to the main male deities of the pantheon: Enlil, An, and Ea. The Exaltation sets out to change this by making Inana supreme among gods, and this aim is emphatically announced in the first three words of the text. [11 page XIX]

It is often stressed that the plethora of myths & hymns from cultures with more literature available (and popularity) such as Greece & Rome do not always reflect the totality of their ancient beliefs—it is the exact same situation when it comes to Inana.

Ištar was risen further than Inana in terms of widespread importance discussion on that here — Link. But that is long after Enheduana

🔹Better Source for Enheduana🔹

If you want to read these same hymns in a way that is presented for a modern audience I suggest the version done by the Assyriologist Sophus Helle, who has a passion for Edheduana, in his book "Enheduana: The Complete Poems of the World's First Author"

Google Books — LINK

Companion website to the book - LINK

Enheduana on his personal website — LINK

Helle actually has Maedor's work listed in the bibliography of the companion website (albeit I read the entire website and can't find where it is used) [9.2], but translations coming from an actual Assyriologist are a better option for those who want to know Inana.

On each of the companion pages—The Exaltation, The Hymn, and The Temple Hymns—he mentions other translations of the literary compositions that are also reliable but he never suggests Meador's translations. Additionally, his book is 2023, hers is 2000, so his will have much more updated information about Enheduana & Inana, and he mentions that more updated info will naturally continue to come forward.

You can also explore them in a very literal translation on the ETCSL.

ETCSL Inana Hymns— LINK

Exaltation of Inana / Inana B — LINK

The Hymn / Inana C — LINK

🔹Sources🔹

[1] The Two Steles of Sargon: Iconology and Visual Propaganda at the Beginning of Royal Akkadian Relief by Lorenzo Nigro in Iraq Vol. 60 https://www.jstor.org/stable/4200454?seq=1

[2] A Tribute to King Sargon of Akkad by Agulyas from Mott Community College Historical Faculty https://history.mcc.edu/wordpress/history/2014/04/04/a-tribute-to-king-sargon-of-akkad/

[3] Ancient History Source Book: The Legend of Sargon of Akkadê, c. 2300 BCE from Fordham University https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/ancient/2300sargon1.asp

[4] 095. Tell Maqayyar (ancient: Ur) from Colorado State University https://www.cemml.colostate.edu/cultural/09476/iraq05-095.html

[5] Sargon of Akkad: rebel and usurper in Kish by Marlies Heinz http://faculty.uml.edu/ethan_spanier/Teaching/documents/CP2.0HeinzSargonofAkkad.pdf

[6] Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia by Stephen Bertman.

[7] Nanna/Suen by Adam Stone at Oracc and UK Higer Education Academy http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/amgg/listofdeities/nannasuen/

[8] A Dictionary of Ancient Near Eastern Mythology by Gwendolyn Leick

[9] Enheduana . org "Authorship" https://enheduana.org/authorship/

[9.1] "Disc of Enheduana" https://enheduana.org/disk-of-enheduana/

[9.2] "Bibliography" https://enheduana.org/bibliography/

[10] Penn Museum https://www.penn.museum/collections/object_images.php?irn=293415

[11] Enheduana: The Complete Poems of the World's First Author by Sophus Helle

I have a working draft on the Inana's importance section, that I removed from this post because it was getting too long and off topic. Will I finish it? Literally have no idea.

Originally written February 9th, 2020, complete overhaul in 2024 due to access to Helle's commentary and resources. And wanting to be more concise. So I don't think this counts as a repost 😬.

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"...does the descriptor "communication via words" in the initial definition do justice to the Mesopotamian data about prayer and praise? Despite the prominence and therefore usefulness that verbal communication has for the present purpose (this book does after all deal with language), the answer is negative. "Communication via words" does Mesopotamian prayer justice no more than it does justice to the contemporary Muslim practice of salät. Throughout the ancient Near East, texts that contain or describe prayers and hymns-recognized as such by the initial definition given above-often record or prescribe various bodily gestures. These may include prostration, raising one's hands, kneeling, lifting up one's head, facing oneself toward a temple, etc. as well as ritual acts such as setting up altars, making offerings, applying substances to one's body, and manipulating objects (e.g., figurines or other items) before, during, and/or after the recitation of the verbal communication. For a variety of reasons, the descriptions of such practices may not be preserved with the texts to be recited and so may not be as easily identified. Nevertheless, attending to these other features—and therefore adjusting the definition of prayer in light of them—is important in order to avoid a truncated understanding of Mesopotamian prayer and praise. In order to capture the discourse/practice complex that is Mesopotamian prayer, it is advisable to think about most prayers as "ritual-prayers," comprising dromena, that which is done, and legomena, that which is spoken.

Further, a definition of Mesopotamian prayer should avoid making communication via words a central or essential feature. Obviously the verbal or textual side of prayer is important for the purposes of this volume. Yet this focus should not unduly limit one's view of Mesopotamian prayer and praise. Although nonverbal prayer is not explored in this volume, it is important to keep in mind that a votive statue placed in a temple or a cylinder seal depicting a presentation scene may represent a petitioner's attempt to express their concerns or praise to a benevolent being visually, a manner completely lacking any linguistic form of communication"

— from Reading Akkadian Prayers & Hymns an Introduction edited Alan Lenzi by Page 10-11 (PDF 35-36) Full Book Link

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I took the list from the Reddit post and tried my best to get online access for each.

How to use the Internet Archive — Link

Sometimes Internet Archive books become unavailable

Google Books Link: this is not the full book. It may or may not give you a decent amount of preview; the ability to search inside; and where to buy or borrow.

Simple Intro:

"Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan" by John Day — Google Books

Primary Textual Sources:

"Ugaritic Narrative Poetry" by Simon B Parker — Internet Archive

"Cult and Ritual at Ugarit" by Dennis Pardee — Internet Archive

"Hittite Prayers" by Itamar Singer — Internet Archive

"Hittite Myths" by Harry Hoffner Jr. — Google Books | On JSTOR if you are a student Link

"Becoming Diaspora Jews" by Karel Von Der Toorn (contains full text of Papyrus Amherst 63) — Downloadable PDF; I downloaded it to my drive and it is legit, make sure you click the correct download button

"The Phoenician History of Philo of Byblos: A Commentary" by Albert I. Baumgartner — Internet Archive

General Studies:

"Ebla and its Archives" by Alphonso Archi — PDF

"Phoenicians: Lebanon's Epic Heritage" by Sanford Holst — Google Books

Academic Papers on Phoenicians — Website (found this looking for the above book)

"The Aramaeans: Their Ancient History, Culture, Religion" by Edward Lipinski — Google Books

"The Pantheon of Palmyra" by Javier Teixidor — Internet Archive

Specific Deities:

"The Origin and Character of God" by Theodore J. Lewis (good history of the deity El) — Expanded Table of Contents | Google Books, ebook available

"A Reassessment of Asherah" by Steve Wiggins — Academia

"The God Dagan in Bronze Age Syria" by Lluís Feliu — Google Books

"Transformation of a Goddess: Ishtar - Astarte - Aphrodite" by David T. Sugimoto — Internet Archive

"The Many Faces of the Goddess" by Izak Cornelius (focuses on Anat, Astarte, Asherah, Qedeshet) — Internet Archive

I am interested in Canaanite and pre-Islamic Arabian religion. Can you recommend any books on those subjects? I am especially interested in goddess-worship, but nothing New Age or mystical.

I know a fair amount about ancient Egypt and a bit about Sumer from my reading, and I want to branch out.

I am delighted to have discovered your blog and will be exploring it in the future.

I'm glad you find it edifying! I recently drew up a bibliography for r/Semitic_Paganism that is hopefully useful. You can read the full post here, but three good academic works come to mind that focus on goddesses specifically:

- A Reassessment of Asherah by Steve Wiggins

- The Many Faces Of The Goddess by Izak Cornelius

- De Dea Syria by Lucian

I also have a few online texts with commentary and sources for further reading at:

https://sapiru.wordpress.com/categories/

— J. Sullivan

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Managed to snag this when it was posted on amazon again (I had it saved and it became "unavailable" for months)

"This book explores the veiling of women in the ancient Greek world from the period between roughly 900 BC and AD 200. It covers a wide geographical area that ranges from mainland Greece to Asia Minor, Egypt, and South Italy. The study argues that the veiling of the female head or face was part of a male ideology that required women to be silent and invisible creatures, like mute tortoises contained and hidden within their shells. This book suggests that veiling was so routine a practice that it seldom receives a mention in the ancient male sources, although, as the quotation from Menander cited at the top of this page suggests, the habitual practice of veiling does receive an occasional sideward glance in the texts. Despite (or perhaps because of) its brevity, Menander's statement, that 'that's what women do', speaks volumes about the routine nature of veiling. Women, the daughters of Aphrodite - sexualized, polluted and dangerous - subscribed to this male ideology (perhaps willingly, but perhaps not). While working within the confines of this philosophy though, the veiled woman was granted some independence and was allowed a degree of freedom of movement and self-expression since the veil enabled the woman to comment on her social standing, on her emotions (such as anger and grief and shame) and on her own sexuality. Just as the silent tortoise had the liberty to wander about underneath her all-covering shell, as long as she stayed silently unobtrusive, so too could the woman of ancient Greece." page 1

Google Books Link

318 pages, no clue where it should go on my reading list.

Also the pages have a weird smell its not too bad but its also not "book smell" granted the pages are like those laminated ones like those in textbooks not "normal" paper

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In the third millennium [Mesopotamian] gods and goddesses share realms, equally important domains and functions, individual deities of both gender hold powers and have authority over other deities, land, states, cities, society and humans as well as over all aspects of communal and individual life. Texts describe assemblies of gods and goddesses deciding together (not necessarily in unison).

Images rarely show goddesses involved in narrative actions. In general, images of goddesses interacting with gods or humans are relatively rare, predominantly attested in the Akkadian and Old Babylonian periods; narrative is predominantly a subject of literature.

In general the character of goddesses transcends female/feminine even with those goddesses with strong biological or feminine traits; neither female biology nor feminine gender roles define a goddess. This is also visible in images where goddesses are rarely represented as sexualized beings or in roles obviously feminine. Like all Mesopotamian divinities, goddesses are transcendental beings with a secondary feminine aspect and even when emphasis shifted towards their roles as mother/birth goddess or spouse, they remained foremost divinities. Because of the lack of emphasis on gender differentiation and the pairing of deities as married couples, transferal of domains and functions were facilitated but could go both ways. Major goddesses whose importance declined were predominantly old Sumerian deities presiding over cities. Additionally, the synchronization and fusion that already began in the third millennium may have influenced visual representation of ‘generic’ rather than individualized divine figures.

The changing status of goddesses from powerful, titular deity to – not exclusively but predominantly – spouses and intermediaries can be traced to the Ur III period but is primarily attested in the Old Babylonian textual and visual sources. In god-lists goddesses feature behind their husbands which is reflected in the Old Babylonian seal imagery where goddesses contrary to gods lose their elevated position as the enthroned deity. The major enthroned goddess virtually disappeared from the visual repertoire and is replaced by standing goddesses juxtaposed to gods and other figures. The prominent ‘feminine’ religious icons on Neo-Sumerian reliefs and seals nearly vanished from the figural repertoire, only Inana/Ištar continues to feature prominently often together with the king. At the same time, official cults of goddesses continue and private veneration is exemplified in theophoric personal names. The question arises why their visual presence diminished, particularly as the choice of personal names also reflect religious ideas, family piety and relationship to a specific deity or deities.

The discrepancies between the changing status of goddesses during the second millennium from powerful titular and patron divinities to spouses and their simultaneous hold on supreme divine powers indicate on one hand different notions about divine genders and on the other hand continuity in regard to the notions about the essence of divinity. The essence of divinity is not rooted in the ‘sex’ of a deity. One particular aspect considered ‘feminine’ in goddesses is ‘mediating’ between mortals and gods. Goddesses, even very high ranking ones, were perceived as more approachable than gods. Thus, we can conclude that goddesses are divinities with what are still considered ‘feminine’ qualities, such as interpretation, mediation, and empathy – today we speak of the social competence of women when we mean these qualities. The ‘social competence’ of major Mesopotamian goddesses may be visually expressed in en face images and reflected in text, for example in this prayer to Gula: Link

— From Goddesses in Context: On Divine Powers, Roles, Relationships and Gender in Mesopotamian Textual and Visual Sources by Julia Asher-Greve and Joan Goodnick Westenholz. Summary in Epilogue page 295 Full Book Link

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"To the best of our knowledge, until now no composition is known in which Namma is mentioned as the tutelar goddess of a specific city. There are three foundation pegs from the ED IlIb period —one peg from Uruk, the other two in all probability also from that town —on which a text was inscribed saying that Lugalkisalsi built a temple for Namma. The goddess is present in the Fãra god list SF 1 (obv. viii 10). In the Old Babylonian literature Namma appears in prominent roles: in a cosmogonic function as the mother of an-ki 'heaven-earth'; as the 'procreator of a multitude of gods' and as the mother of Enki."

— The Sumerian Zame Hymns from Tell Abu Salabih: With an Appendix on the Early Dynastic Colophons by M. Krebernik and J.J.W. Lisman p 129 PDF Dowland (legit just make sure to click correct download button)

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The actual FUCK did I just read????

"Earth based spirituality" already gave me alarm bells. "Old Gods" too. "Universe is love & light literally"— anyone wanna tell him about dark energy & matter. "Founded religion", ah so you're just someone who hates Christianity, Islam and Judaism good to know. Also, my dude, temple complexes were state funded— religion was just as much civic as it was natural.

"Aligned their lives with her rhythms. The Earth Showed her magic and wisdom"; "ascend"; "greatest civilizations." Okay so, pray tell, why the earth's wisdom and ✨magic✨ didn't involve telling them to abolish slavery, create complete equality of men & women? Oh right maybe its because ancient people did not have this all-loving ✨in tune✨ relationship with Earth that gave them the utopia new agers (& neo-pagans tbh) desperately want to believe existed in the past.

Right. Scholars who dedicate their lives have it all wrong but you the self proclaimed "Greek pagan priest" definitely know better than they do right?

Why are new agers & neo-pagans allergic to the fact that ancient people feared their Gods, regularly appeased them, and sought their favor. Why. The Fuck. Is that concept so hard to get through their thick skulls.

I'm mad.

I tried to keep reading via skimming and quit before I threw my phone at the wall. This is why I rarely read by pagan for pagan books.

Just got through reading Secrets of Greek Mysticism by George Lizos. Interesting food for thought.

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Routledge's Gods and Heros of The Ancient World Series

Available here

Ok, so I want to read one of these books to see if I enjoy them. Because they are "short", comparatively speaking, which makes them seem doable.

I have 4. If I enjoy the one I read I might want to collect the ones I don't have— the series is 17 right now especially want Hermes, Athena, and Gilgamesh. I also want to make sure the authors has credibility for the book. Wish there was more Mesopotamian Gods/Heroes.

I HOPE I can post about what I'm reading, even if quotes or very short posts.

Routledge Gods Series, listed by number of pages bold are ones I own:

Gods:

Zeus | pp 136 by Ken Dowden

Dionysos | pp 151 by Richard Seaford

Artemis | pp 171 by Stephanie Lynn Budin

Aphrodite | pp 176 by Monica S Cyrino

Athena | pp 200 by Susan Deacy

Ishtar | pp 204 by Louise M Pryke

Apollo | pp 208 by Fritz Graf

Hermes | pp 214 by Arlene Allan

Mithras | pp 224 by Andrew Fear

Heros:

Achilles | pp 166 by Marya Gonzalez

Medea | pp 168 by Emma Griffiths

Prometheus | pp 176 by Carol Dougherty

Oedipus | pp 200 by Lowell Edmunds

Perseus | pp 218 by Daniel Ogden

Antigone | pp 252 by Efimia D Karakantza

Gilgamesh | pp 254 by Louise M Pryke

Herakles | pp 330 by Emma Stafford

{update Jan 2025}

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Using Internet Archive & OpenLibrary

🔹The Internet Archive & OpenLibrary are completely free

🔹You don't need any card details to sign up

🔹You can log in via google or sign up with email

🔹Once you've done this you can borrow books for "1 hour", but you can just keep borrowing if the time is used up (unless its a very popular book, I wouldn't know how that works)

🔹You Internet Archive account will also be used for OpenLibrary

🔹FAQ for borrowing:

🔹FAQ for searching:

🔹Though usually I type: [book name] internet archive , into a search engine and often it comes up, either as the the reader or sometimes the PDF

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Bloomsbury Shinto Studies Series

Available Here in Paperback, Hardcover, e-book, PDF

The Origin of Modern Shinto in Japan by Yijiang Zhong | pp 272

Shinto, Nature and Ideology in Contemporary Japan by Aike P. Rots | pp 272

Religion, Power, and the Rise of Shinto in Early Modern Japan edited by Stefan Köck, Brigitte Pickl-Kolaczia, Bernhard Scheid | pp 302

A Social History of the Ise Shrines by Mark Teeuwen and John Breen | pp 320

The Sea and the Sacred in Japan edited by Fabio Rambelli | pp 296

Overseas Shinto Shrines by Karli Shimizu | pp 296

Kyoto's Gion Festival by Mark Teeuwen | pp 288

The God Susanoo and Korea in Japan's Cultural Memory by David Weiss | pp 256

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Finished another book! Introduction to Shinto by David Chart. I want to do a review about why its useful but I have no energy.

I am now conflicted on what to read next off my reading list.

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An Ancient Prayer to Gula For Intercession

O Gula, most great lady, merciful mother, who dwells in the great heavens,

I call upon you, my lady, stand by me and hear me!

I seek you out, I turn to you, I seize your hem (= gesture of entreaty) as if it were that of my personal god and my personal goddess.

Because judging the case, rendering the verdict, Because reviving and granting well-being are yours to grant, Because you know how to save, spare, and rescue,

O Gula, most great lady, merciful mother,

I turn to you, from among all the stars of heaven,

O my lady, I turn to you, I am heedful of you.

Accept of me my flour offering, receive my plea,

Let me send to my angry personal god, my angry personal goddess,

To the god of my city who is in a rage and furious with me,

On account of omens and dreams that are continually besetting me,

I am afraid and always anxious.

O Gula, most great lady, with the utterance of your sublime command, which is greatest in Enlil’s Ekur,

And with your firm assent, which cannot be changed, May my angry personal god return to me, may my angry personal goddess relent to me,

May the god of my city who is in a rage and furious with me,

Who is angry, calm down; he who was vexed, may he be soothed!

O Gula, most great lady, who intercedes for the weak,

Intercede for me with Marduk, king of the gods, the merciful lord; say a favorable word.

May your broad protection and imposing forgiveness be with me, Grant me favor and life,

Let me proclaim your greatness,

let me sound your praises!

— Taken from Goddesses in Context: On Divine Powers, Roles, Relationships and Gender in Mesopotamian Textual and Visual Sources by Julia Asher-Greve and Joan Goodnick Westenholz. Page 295. (They cite: "Text: BMS 6, lines 71-94; duplicate: Mayer 1976: Gula Ia. Translation by Foster 2005: 671-672.") Full Book Link

My thoughts:

Based on my understanding from all I have read on ANE religion I interpret this as the individual has experienced bad omens, bad dreams, and is thus constantly anxious and afraid. In Ancient Mesopotamian Religions this could mean one's personal God(s) is angry and/or has abandoned them [See in the section "Ancient Polytheist Counter" Link]. This prayer is to have one's personal God and personal Goddess return to the worshipper and to calm their Gods' angry hearts as well as the anger of the City God.

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I finished a full book in 2024!

The Cultic Calendars of the Ancient Near East by Mark Cohen of 481 pages is completely finished!

So one in 2023, one in 2024.... maybe one in 2025?