Sex and Eroticism in Mesopotamian Literature

By interpreting the Sumero-Akkadian cuneiform sources from ancient Mesopotamia, Gwendolyn Leick allows us an insight into a world with fundamentally different attitudes to eroticism. The sophisticated literary texts which survive; poems, songs, myths, narratives and incantations, provide a fascinating breadth of perspectives on the subject of love and sensuality. This book examines all these literary genres ; the Bridal songs which celebrate the anticipation of adult sexuality, and the courtly love poems in which women seduce with passionate evocations of their own erotic pleasure. Gwendolyn Leick also interprets works which probe the world of masculinity, the importance of fertility and potency. She shows how the problematic and disruptive aspects of sexual love, anxiety, envy and jealousy were addressed primarily in magic and ritual texts. Sex and Eroticism in Mesopotamian Literature enriches contemporary discussions about sexuality, by making the latest research on Mesopotamia accessible. Gwendolyn Leick draws on her own interdisciplinary teaching to encompass themes of archaeology, religious studies, ancient history and women's studies. This book will appeal to students and teachers in all these fields.

ISBN 0415065348   Pages 336 ISBN13 9780415065344 (What's this?)   Volumes 1 Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd   Weight (grammes) 694 Imprint Routledge   Published in London Format Hardback   Height (mm) 216 Publication date 13 Oct 1994   Width (mm) 138 Library of Congress PJ4047.L45   Spine width (mm) 25 DEWEY 899.950993538   Academic level Undergraduate, Postgraduate DEWEY edition DC20

		List of plates
		Preface
		Acknowledgements
		Notes for non-Assyriologist readers
		Abbreviations
		Chronological chart
		Map
		Introduction		1
Pt. I		The Sumero-Akkadian tradition of the third and early second millennia
1		The Cosmological Articulation of Sexuality		11
2		Masculine Sexuality in Sumerian Literature		21
3		Enki and Ninhursaga: A Myth of Male Lust?		30
4		From Adolescence to Maturity: The Myth of Enlil and Ninlil		42
5		Phallicism in Sumerian Literature		48
6		Femininity and Eroticism in Sumerian Literature		55
7		The Bridal Songs		64
8		Inanna and her Brother		80
9		Inanna Rejoicing in her Vulva		90
10		'My Consort, Maid Inanna, Lady, Voluptuousness of Heaven and Earth'		97
11		'Words of Seduction': Courtly Love Poetry		111
12		The Rites of Divine Love		130
13		L'Amour Libre or Sacred Prostitution?		147
14		Liminal Sexuality: Eunuchs, Homosexuals and the Common Prostitute		157
Pt. II		Sources from the later second and first millennia
15		Eroticism in Akkadian Literature		173
16		Ballads, Hymns and Dialogues: Akkadian Love Poetry		180
17		Love Magic and Potency Incantations		193
		More...

'In this excellent study, Gwendolyn Leick presents an extensive body of Sumerian an dAkkadian cuneiform poems, magic spells, myths and stories bearing on a wide range of sexual themes.' Antiquity

 Be the first to write a customer review