The Cults of Uruk and Babylon ― The Temple Ritual Texts As Evidence for Hellenistic Cult Practises

Wondering whether the cults of Bel, Anu, Ishtar, and the other ancient deities were still alive and flourishing during the Hellenistic period, Linssen examines the cuneiform texts for evidence about the religious cults and practices in the two Mesopotamian cities after the arrival of the Greeks. Because the temple ritual texts are literary compositions copied from older originals, scholars cannot be sure that they depict what was actually taking place during the Hellenistic period, so he compares information from texts that are unquestionably Hellenistic compositions, such as building inscriptions, legal documents, chronicles, and the astronomical diaries. The study was his November 2002 doctoral dissertation for Vrije University, Amsterdam. Annotation c2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Marc Linssen, Ph.D. (2002) in Assyriology, Free University of Amsterdam, currently works at the Humanities department of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). In his research he concentrates on religion, cult and magic in ancient Mesopotamia.