Susa Funerary Texts
A New Edition and Re-Evaluation and the Question of Psychostasia in Ancient Mesopotamia
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3960675 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Nathan Wasserman (0000-0002-4966-6538, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 139 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Publication date | 2021-09-19 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of the American Oriental Society (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0003-0279 • E-ISSN: 2169-2289 |
| Publisher | American Oriental Society (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.7817/jameroriesoci.139.4.0859 |
| OpenAlex | W2994858724 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 6 |
A group of seven short late Old Babylonian texts, written in Akkadian, found in the early twentieth century in a grave in Susa, form the focus of this paper. The texts, which have attracted much scholarly attention since their publication in 1916 by Jean-Vincent Scheil, have until now not been collated. They are presented here with improved readings, a new translation, and extensive commentary. The mention in two of the texts of an alleged chthonic "weigher" is philologically disproved: psychostasia, the weighing of souls, did not exist in ancient Mesopotamian religion . The suggestion of some scholars that these Old Babylonian Akkadian texts are witnesses to Elamite, or even Iranian, belief in the weighing of souls is methodically refuted . The nature of the seven so-called Susa Funerary Texts (SFT) is discussed, demonstrating their close contacts to two other well-known Mesopotamian genres-personal prayers and reports of oracular or prophetic visions . Finally, the question of their unusual find spot, viz., in a grave, is discussed and the possibility raised that this peculiar location is a result of the texts' magical function
Akkadian · Ancient history · Art · Focus (optics · Literature · Theology · Vision · Ancient Near East History · Classics · Eurasian Exchange Networks · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies · History · Philosophy
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,2 |
| Citation span | 2021 - 2021 (1) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |