Desire,Discord and Death: Approaches to the Ancient Near Eastern Myth
The three essays presented in this volume reveal the symbolic complexity and poetic vision of ancient Near Eastern mythology. Through the application of contemporary methods of literary analysis, the author explores the interrelated themes of erotic desire, divine conflict, and death's realm in selected ancient Mesopotamian and Egyptian mythological narratives. Topics include the construction of desire in the Gilgamesh epic, a psychoanalytic approach to "The Contendings of Horus and Seth,"...
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The three essays presented in this volume reveal the symbolic complexity and poetic visions of ancient Near Eastern mythology. The author explores the interrelated themes of erotic desire, divine conflict, and death's realm in selected ancient Mesopotamian and Egyptian mythological narratives using contemporary methods of literary analysis. Topics include the construction of desire in the Gilgamesh epic, a psychoanalytic approach to 'The Contendings of Horus and Seth', and gender and the exercise of power in the stormy romance of Nergal and Ereshkigal. Walls' fresh treatment of these three important myths brings them to life for the specialist and mythology buff alike.Jerrold S. CooperNeal Walls' critically informed readings of ancient Near Eastern myths are novel, insightful and very smart. This book is a must for anyone interested in the literature and religions of the ancient Near East.
AbbreviationsAcknowledgementsIntroduction: Hidden Riches in Secret Places1Methods and Approaches3Ch. 1The Allure of Gilgamesh: The Construction of Desire in the Gilgamesh Epic9The Erotic Gilgamesh17Ch. 2On the Couch with Horus and Seth: A Freudian Analysis (Or, The Case of Pharaoh's Mommy)93A Contentious Court: Two Episodes98The Three Contests108Ch. 3Desire in Death's Realm: Sex, Power, and Violence in "Nergal and Ereshkigal"127Crucible of Desire137A Goddess Scorned147To Reign in Hell161References183Subject Index205Text Index207
