Myths of Babylonia and Assyria
Donald Alexander Mackenzie
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Donald Alexander Mackenzie (1873 – March 2, 1936) was a Scottish journalist and prolific writer on religion, mythology and anthropology in the early 20th century. His works included Indian Myth and Legend, Celtic Folklore and Myths of China and Japan.
As well as writing books, articles and poems, he often gave lectures, and also broadcast talks on Celtic mythology.
This volume deals with the myths and legends of Babylonia and Assyria, and as these reflect the civilization in which they developed, a historical narrative has been provided, beginning with the early Sumerian Age and concluding with the periods of the Persian and Grecian Empires. Over thirty centuries of human progress are thus passed under review.
(Summary extracted from Wikipedia and the Preface of this book) (16 hr 13 min)
Chapters
Reviews
Not a beginner's introduction.
Bodhi42
I'm not sure why the title says Babylonian and Assyrian because the author jumps around a lot, with slightly more focus on the above mentioned groups. I wanted to hear their actual myths, not suddenly jump to comparisons and interpretation until I had a good understanding of the story. I would not recommend this book, unless someone was already familiar with the myths and would find the outdated anthropological terms of "savage" and "primitive" kind of amusing. I would have loved the book if he'd just tell me the myth, then the interpretation, and then similarity to other myths.
listen for the information and knowledge
Nathan
The audio levels are a little shabby. Especially from near raider near raider, but the information quite valuable.
Busted Myths Stand in the Way of Understanding
Sean O'Shannessy
Perhaps it is fitting that a book of ancient mythology should be prefaced with a cringeworthy display of self contradictory 19th-century racial stereotyping based on the significance of the shapes of chins, noses, eyes and heads. Skip the preface and first half of chapter 1 if you aren't looking for a collection of logical and factual fallacies that would make a phrenologist blush. Once you get past that though, Mackenzie settles into some (slightly chaotic) cultural and historical analysis of the mythical narratives of ancient Mespotamia and how they fit into the context of the rest of the ancient world. Ultimately worth the effort.
niccisupernova
Text is great - I do wish it was one reader throughout, but it is really a great listen!
MYTHS OF BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA.
SAGITTARIUS.
EXCELLENT, VERY INFORMITIVE AND ENTERTAINING. I LIKED THE STORY VERY MUCH. MS. SAGITTARIUS.
A LibriVox Listener
uneven quality of reading made it at times painful to listen to
listened to this book at least 20 times...and STILL learn someth
A LibriVox Listener
Falwless
This is an excellent book on comparative myths of the Ancient Near East. It’s a book that was targeted to Assyriologists and the select contingent of the public that was already self-educated on the subject. If you are unfamiliar with Marduk, Tammuz, Ištar, and Osiris, then this is not the book for you. If you are put off by the use of dated vocabulary that was appropriate at the time, but is not in use in academia today (e.g. “savage”), then this is not the book for you. For everyone else, it’s a wonderful book that makes broad, lateral connections across cultures of the ANE.