Lamaštu
An Edition of the Canonical Series of Lamaštu Incantations and Rituals and Related Texts from the Second and First Millennia B.C.
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Pennsylvania State University Press
Published:7th Apr '14
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
Lamaštu was one of the most important Mesopotamian demons, playing a dominant role in the magico-religious and magico-medical beliefs and practices of ancient Mesopotamia for nearly two millennia. Yet, she has never been the subject of a scholarly monograph dedicated to the textual and visual evidence for her, her activities, and the measures that ancient magical specialists took to counter her. This volume also falls short of this description, because it covers only one part of the material: it is an edition of the textual record only, which is, however, collected here as completely as seems possible today. Walter Farber, who has studied these materials for decades, presents a comprehensive collection of all of the known texts, the texts of the primary incantations in a “score” format, and transliteration and translation of a number of ancillary texts. This much-awaited volume will fill the void in the literature on this aspect of the life and thought of ancient Mesopotamian peoples regarding the character of this malevolent creature and the means of warding off the threat that she posed.
“This volume is a significant milestone not only for Assyriologists but for anyone interested in the larger field of comparative religion.”
—Michael S. Moore Review of Biblical Literature
“Walter Farber’s edition of the canonical Lamaštu series is an important philological milestone for the study of the most fascinating demons from Mesopotamia. The book will remain the standard edition of the Lamaštu Series for generations to come. The glossary is particularly welcome as it provides the opportunity to study the world of Lamaštu in depth, and likewise enables thematically based research into the realities within the Series itself. All who are interested in ancient magic and medicine should be grateful to the author.”
—Strahil V. Panayotov Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies
“It must be stated that a milestone has been reached by Farber, providing a complete overview of all Lamaštu texts, containing expert transliterations, transcriptions, elaborate commentaries, and excellent copies which will serve research for many decades to come.”
—Elyze Zomer Journal of the American Oriental Society
“Farber provides an excellent and masterful edition of the Lamaštu series, showing his long experience with the subject. The edition of these texts is an important milestone and a most desired result that, together with other recent publications on related topics, significantly broadens the number of Mesopotamian incantation textual editions available.”
—Lorenzo Verderame Journal of Near Eastern Studies
ISBN: 9781575062587
Dimensions: 279mm x 216mm x 32mm
Weight: 1588g
488 pages