Book contents
- Language and Cosmos in Greece and Mesopotamia
- Language and Cosmos in Greece and Mesopotamia
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Tables
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Babylonian Theories of Language
- 2 Language and Cosmos in the Epic of Creation
- 3 Hesiod, Language, and the Names of Ishtar
- 4 Orpheus’ Cosmic Names
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
2 - Language and Cosmos in the Epic of Creation
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 16 May 2023
- Language and Cosmos in Greece and Mesopotamia
- Language and Cosmos in Greece and Mesopotamia
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Tables
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Babylonian Theories of Language
- 2 Language and Cosmos in the Epic of Creation
- 3 Hesiod, Language, and the Names of Ishtar
- 4 Orpheus’ Cosmic Names
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
This chapter presents a detailed examination of the theory of language put forward in the Babylonian cosmogony, Enuma elish. This poem locates the origin of language at the very beginnings of the cosmos’ formation, even before the gods came to be. Accordingly, language is one of the first principles on which the world is founded. Thus, just as there is a temporal and spatial dimension of existence, there is also a linguistic one that is beyond the human and the divine. The poem futher explores this idea in using wordplay and etymology of sacred places, divine objects, and gods. In this context, the patron god of Babylon, Marduk, is conceptualized as a polyonymous cosmic divinity who incorporates into his persona the names of other gods.
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- Language and Cosmos in Greece and Mesopotamia , pp. 43 - 75Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023