Ishtar
1st Edition
Published on 16. June 2017
Book
Hardback
240 pages
978-1-138-86073-5 (ISBN)
Description
Ishtar is the first book dedicated to providing an accessible analysis of the mythology and image of this complex goddess. The polarity of her nature is reflected in her role as goddess of sexual love and war, and has made her difficult to characterise in modern scholarship. By exploring this complexity, Ishtar offers insight into Mesopotamian culture and thought, and elucidates a goddess who transcended the limits of gender, divinity and nature. It gives an accessible introduction to the Near Eastern pantheon, while also opening a pathway for comparison with the later Near Eastern and Mediterranean deities who followed her.
Reviews / Votes
"Ishtar is, without doubt, one of the most complex and baffling of the many gods of antiquity. Yet Louise Pryke has achieved something quite remarkable here in synthesising the multivalence of the goddess's deeds and personas into a coherent and manageable whole. Full of good sense, yet written with flair, this study of the goddess of all goddesses is an important and infinitely useful contribution to the study of ancient myth and religion. The many sources in translation bring alive the world of Mesopotamian thought and forefront Ishtar as the most supreme of deities."- Professor Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones, Cardiff University, UK
"The style is certainly scholarly, but it is not overly technical, and a reader without much background in the area will be able to follow most of the text [...] Pryke does a lot to help the reader [...] It will be appropriate for scholars in the field, but also those who have some familiarity with the area and want to know more."
- Christian Perring, Metapsychology Online Reviews
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Academic and Postgraduate
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
17 s/w Abbildungen
17 Illustrations, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 155 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
635 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-138-86073-5 (9781138860735)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Person
Louise M. Pryke is a Lecturer for the Languages and Literature of Ancient Israel at Macquarie University, Australia, and holds a PhD in Ancient Near Eastern History from the University of Sydney
Content
List of figures Acknowledgements Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Love and Intimacy Chapter 3: Sexuality and Order Chapter 4: Ishtar and the Pantheon Chapter 5: Kingship and Battle Chapter 6: Ishtar and Gilgamesh Chapter 7: Vengeance and Death Chapter 8: Ishtar Afterwards Bibliography Further reading