The Ancient Near Eastern Creation Mythology and the Structural Developments of the Pantheon
The main objective of the study is the diachronical analysis of the formation of the Sumero-Akkadian creation mythology and the structure of the pantheon, from the earliest sources to the era of the First Dynasty of Babylon. This period forms the basis for all the further developments of mythological systems in later Ancient Near Eastern cultures. Establishing a firmer chronology of Sumerian mythology based on the structure of the pantheon and other datable records is an important aim.
Explaining the decline of the mother goddess figure in the pantheon will be one of the points of interest. This topic is important and relevant in today’s modern society and has often been discussed (with reference to the principal investigator´s previous work) in modern day feminist and even conspiracy theory circles. The new information should be significant for the study of ancient mythology and will provide new interpretational possibilities for many modern problems. The senior researcher in charge of this project is Peeter Espak.
Notable publications thus far:
- Espak, Peeter (2015). The God Enki in Sumerian Royal Ideology and Mythology. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz
- Sazonov, Vladimir (2016). Die Assyrischen Königstiteln und -epitheta vom Anfang bis Tukulti-Ninurta I und seinen Nachfolgern. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns