Personifications and Metaphors in Babylonian Celestial Omina

Bibliographic Data

ID3969458
AuthorsFrancesca Rochberg (corresponding author)
Year1996
Volume116
Issue3
Pages475
Publication date1996-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of the American Oriental Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0003-0279 • E-ISSN: 2169-2289
PublisherJSTOR (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2307/605149
OpenAlexW2316254427
LanguageEN
Citations received5

Within the protases of the Babylonian celestial omen series Enuma Anu Enlil, a number of celestial phenomena are referred to by means of anthropomorphic tropes whose referents are the gods associated with the celestial body in question. For example, a lunar eclipse is referred to as the moon god in mourning. Metaphor and its implications for abstract relational thought in the language of Babylonian divination can be established on the basis of the function of the attested metaphorical expressions, which was to represent a physical phenomenon deemed ominous. This evidence sheds light on the conception of natural phenomena and the relation between nature and the gods in ancient Mesopotamia, underscoring the religious component of Mesopotamian science. A culture's capacity or incapacity for the use of metaphor has been used as a criterion for differentiating ancient/traditional from modern/scientific thought in a substantial literature that includes studies in the history of Greek and Renaissance science and magic as well as in anthropology. Establishing the existence and identifying the function of metaphorical language in Mesopotamian celestial divination introduces evidence which tempers such dichotomous schemes of culture and thought

Ancient history · Astrobiology · Astronomy · Physics · Ancient Near East History · Families in Therapy and Culture · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies · History

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