The Gods Rich in Praise

Abstract

Abstract This book contributes to the current academic debate on the relationship between early Greek poetry and the ancient Near East, especially Mesopotamia. It is the first extensive study to be based on a detailed analysis of the ancient texts, consisting in this case of a selection of religious poems mainly in Sumerian, Akkadian, Hittite, and Greek. The first part of the book (Chapters 1–3) presents the core groups of sources from the ancient Near East, describing the main features of style and content of Sumerian and Akkadian religious poetry and showing how certain compositions were translated and adapted beyond Mesopotamia (such as in Hittite). Chapter 4 introduces the early Greek sources and makes some initial comparative observations. The study then proceeds to compare selected elements of form and content: hymnic openings (Chapter 5), negative predication (Chapter 6), the birth of Aphrodite in the Theogony of Hesiod (Chapter 7), and the origins and development of a phrase in Hittite prayers and the Iliad of Homer (Chapter 8). The first conclusion is that, in terms of form and style, early Greek religious poetry was probably not indebted to ancient Near Eastern models. This contradicts some current thinking in Classical scholarship, according to which Near Eastern influence was pervasive in early Greek poetry in general. But this book also argues that such influence may nevertheless be perceived in certain closely defined instances, particularly where supplementary evidence from other ancient sources is available, and where the sources permit a reconstruction of the process of translation and adaptation.

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