20 h 11 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 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 His comparisons reach Egypt, India and the Bible, though some of his theories are now outdated rather than current scholarship.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
For readers who love ancient myth, early religion and the roots of the Bible, and anyone drawn to tales of Gilgamesh, gods and kings.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Two rivers shaped a civilization of cities
- Clay tablets let the dead speak again
- Every city kept its own gods
- Marduk wins the world from Tiamat
- Ea, the water god, teaches humankind wisdom
- Ishtar and Tammuz carry love into the underworld
- Gilgamesh seeks a way past death
- Kings rule as the servants of the gods
- Mackenzie's theories and what has lasted
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Miti di Babilonia e Assiria
by Donald A. Mackenzie · 1915
Gilgamesh searches for a way to escape death, while Marduk faces the sea monster Tiamat.
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In short
Myths of Babylonia and Assyria is a guide to the stories, gods and kings of ancient Mesopotamia, the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. It was written by Donald A. Mackenzie, a Scottish folklorist, and published in 1915 in a series of books on the myths and legends of the world.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Two rivers shaped a civilization of cities
Mackenzie begins with the land. Mesopotamia means the land between the rivers, and the Tigris and Euphrates ran through a plain with little stone and little rain. Farming depended on canals, and canals depended on organized people. That need, Mackenzie suggests, helped create the first cities and the priests and kings who ran them.
In the south lay Sumer, and later the country called Babylonia, with cities such as Ur, Nippur, Eridu and Babylon. In the north rose Assyria, with Ashur, Nineveh and Calah. Each city had its own patron god and its own temple, often built as a tall stepped tower called a ziggurat. A city's fortunes were read as the fortunes of its god.
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What is Myths of Babylonia and Assyria about?
It retells the myths of ancient Mesopotamia, including the creation story of Marduk and Tiamat, Ishtar's descent to the underworld and the tale of Gilgamesh, and it outlines the history of the Babylonians and Assyrians who told them.
Who are the main gods of Babylon and Assyria?
Key gods include Anu of the sky, Enlil of storm, Ea of the waters and wisdom, Sin the moon, Shamash the sun, Ishtar of love and war, Marduk of Babylon and Ashur of Assyria.
What is the Enuma Elish?
It is the Babylonian creation poem, named after its first words. It tells how Marduk defeats the sea goddess Tiamat and shapes the world from her body, and it was recited at the New Year festival.
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
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