20 h 11 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 20 h 11 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
A sea monster faces a god, a goddess enters the underworld, and a restless king seeks escape from death.
In Myths of Babylonia and Assyria, Donald A. Mackenzie brings the clay tablet stories of Babylon and Nineveh into plain prose. Meet Marduk and Tiamat in the creation tale Enuma Elish, follow Ishtar into the land of the dead, and join Gilgamesh in his search for a way past death. Behind these tales lies Mesopotamia, the land between the Tigris and Euphrates.
Mackenzie sets these stories beside the history of the peoples who tell them, from the early Sumerians to the Assyrian conquerors. He introduces each city's gods, follows the recovery of ancient tablets, and explores kingship in the gods' names. His comparisons reach Egypt, India and the Bible, though some of his theories are now outdated rather than current scholarship.
What you’ll discover
- Gods at war Enter a creation story where Marduk faces Tiamat in a struggle among the gods.
- A king against death Follow Gilgamesh, strong and restless, as he searches for an escape from human limits.
- Love in the underworld Explore the tales of Ishtar and Tammuz, where love meets death and mourning.
- Stories recovered from clay Discover how scholars recover tablets and bring the stories of buried cities into view.
- Cities and their gods Meet Anu, Enlil and Ea, and explore the beliefs surrounding kings, temples and armies.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this if you love ancient myths, buried cities and royal courts, or like spotting the same story told in different lands.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Buried libraries gave back a lost world
- A fish god taught the river people
- Sumer and Akkad blended two peoples
- Spirits filled the world with luck and danger
- Tammuz and Ishtar explain the dying year
- Early kings fought, reformed and conquered
- Creation came from slaying a dragon mother
- Gilgamesh and Etana sought what mortals cannot hold
- Hammurabi made Babylon the centre of law
- Assyria rose, fell, and Persia took Babylon
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook and the audiobook open when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then 0,14 USD a day in your first year on the yearly plan and 0,27 USD a day after, or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
Mythes de Babylone et d’Assyrie
by Donald A. Mackenzie · 1915
Sargon floats down a river in a reed basket and rises from gardener to master of an empire.
Challenging10–20 hours to readfrançais
Learn a language with challenging classicsEspagnolFrançaisAllemandItalienJaponaisPortugaisAnglaisHow we measure levels
Excellent
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then 0,14 USD a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
- Read or listen
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
In short
Who floated down a river in a basket of reeds, sealed with pitch, and grew up to found an empire? The answer is Sargon of Akkad, a gardener who said the goddess Ishtar loved him.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Buried libraries gave back a lost world
For centuries, Babylon's history survived only in scraps from the Old Testament and classical writers. Its palaces lay under desert sand. Then, in the 1840s, the digging began.
Sir A. H. Layard uncovered the palaces of Calah and Nineveh and sent winged stone lions to the British Museum. Henry Rawlinson copied the three-language inscription of Darius the Great on a cliff at Behistun, at great personal risk. That copy helped scholars read cuneiform, the wedge-shaped writing pressed into clay.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1915
- Language
- français
- Level
- Challenging
Cite this edition
Mackenzie, Donald A. Myths of Babylonia and Assyria. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/myths-of-babylonia-and-assyria.
Mackenzie, D. A. (2026). Myths of Babylonia and Assyria. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/myths-of-babylonia-and-assyria (Original work published 1915)
Mackenzie, Donald A. Myths of Babylonia and Assyria. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/myths-of-babylonia-and-assyria.
@book{mackenzie2026myths,
author = {Mackenzie, Donald A.},
title = {Myths of Babylonia and Assyria},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/myths-of-babylonia-and-assyria},
note = {First published 1915}
}
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about Mythes de Babylone et d’Assyrie
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is Myths of Babylonia and Assyria about?
It gathers the myths and legends of ancient Mesopotamia and places them within the history of Sumer, Akkad, Babylon and Assyria, from before 3000 B.C. to the Persian and Greek empires, comparing them with parallels from other lands.
Who are Ea, Tiamat and Merodach?
Ea is the water god of Eridu who helps humankind. Tiamat is the dragon mother of chaos. Merodach, also called Marduk, is Ea's son and the god of Babylon, who defeats Tiamat and shapes the heavens and earth.
What is the Babylonian flood story in this book?
Ea warns Pir-napishtim in a dream to build a ship before the gods send a flood. The tale is told to Gilgamesh and is compared with the biblical account and with flood stories in India and the Americas.
The author
Donald A. Mackenzie
1873–1936 · Scottish folklorist and journalist
Donald A. Mackenzie was a Scottish journalist and folklorist who wrote prolifically on mythology and ancient religion. His Myths of Babylonia and Assyria gathers the gods, epics, and legends of ancient Mesopotamia — from Gilgamesh to Ishtar — into one sweeping, readable account for general readers.
More by Donald A. Mackenzie
Voir tous ses livresMore like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
