What do you think?
Rate this book
Origins: The Ancient Near Eastern Background of Some Modern Western Institutions
Origins is the first fully comprehensive study of the debt owed by modern western culture to Ancient Near Eastern civilization - a debt touched upon by standard histories of the Ancient Near East but never as systematically investigated as here by William W. Hallo.
The author, who has devoted a lifetime to the study of the Ancient Near East, places the emphasis on the way the Ancient Near East continues to shape our Western world. He takes an in-depth look at the ancient origins of many institutions that are most essential to contemporary life - and most often taken for granted.
In the exploration of the "first half of history", Hallo shows that modern ideas of urbanism and the formation of capital were first developed between 3000-500 BC and that aspects of 20th-century agriculture, manufacturing and trade go back to ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt and Israel. Special attention is given to the role played by women, arguing that this was an often non-traditional one; for example, women are shown to have been among the first authors in history who are actually known by their names.
The scope of the work is Hallo methodically examines a wide range of topics, from the order of the alphabet to the coronation of kings, and from schooling to the calendar. An intriguing touch is provided by sections on games and on the world's oldest cookbooks.
This ground-breaking study leaves the reader with a full appreciation of the legacy of the Ancient Near East to modern Western society, in all its aspects. It will be essential reading for researchers and general readers alike who are interested in the cultural history of the West as well as the history of the Ancient Near East.
The author, who has devoted a lifetime to the study of the Ancient Near East, places the emphasis on the way the Ancient Near East continues to shape our Western world. He takes an in-depth look at the ancient origins of many institutions that are most essential to contemporary life - and most often taken for granted.
In the exploration of the "first half of history", Hallo shows that modern ideas of urbanism and the formation of capital were first developed between 3000-500 BC and that aspects of 20th-century agriculture, manufacturing and trade go back to ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt and Israel. Special attention is given to the role played by women, arguing that this was an often non-traditional one; for example, women are shown to have been among the first authors in history who are actually known by their names.
The scope of the work is Hallo methodically examines a wide range of topics, from the order of the alphabet to the coronation of kings, and from schooling to the calendar. An intriguing touch is provided by sections on games and on the world's oldest cookbooks.
This ground-breaking study leaves the reader with a full appreciation of the legacy of the Ancient Near East to modern Western society, in all its aspects. It will be essential reading for researchers and general readers alike who are interested in the cultural history of the West as well as the history of the Ancient Near East.
- GenresHistory
364 pages, Leather Bound
First published January 1, 1996
22 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
October 28, 2012
Extremely eclectic in style and content, and a bit skewed towards Akkad/Sumer and Israel (this, however, can be easily justified).
Here is a sample:
The chameleon, with its improbable Greek etymology as the "on-the-ground lion," is more likely related to Akkadian hulamēšu and to the "lion of the ground" (nēšu sa qaqqarì) in Gilgamesh XI 296 with which hulamēšu is equated in a commentary text. A. Sjöberg has even suggested a relationship to the Hebrew nāhàš (= Akkadian nēšu, Eblaite na'isu?) in the story of Eden. This daring suggestion receives a curious sort of support from an unexpected quarter: the autobiography of an English physician's wife who spent many years in Kenya records the local belief that the snake of Eden was in fact a chameleon.
Greek etymology is swept away as "improbable", then its exact equivalent in Akkadian is given as a fact, then there is an unsubstantiated suggestion of Semitic cognates (maybe substantiated in the article mentioned), and then an absolutely fantastic "support" from a very solid source. This kind of argumentation (which might of course be a projection of something more serious but very well hidden from view) permeates the book.
Here is a sample:
The chameleon, with its improbable Greek etymology as the "on-the-ground lion," is more likely related to Akkadian hulamēšu and to the "lion of the ground" (nēšu sa qaqqarì) in Gilgamesh XI 296 with which hulamēšu is equated in a commentary text. A. Sjöberg has even suggested a relationship to the Hebrew nāhàš (= Akkadian nēšu, Eblaite na'isu?) in the story of Eden. This daring suggestion receives a curious sort of support from an unexpected quarter: the autobiography of an English physician's wife who spent many years in Kenya records the local belief that the snake of Eden was in fact a chameleon.
Greek etymology is swept away as "improbable", then its exact equivalent in Akkadian is given as a fact, then there is an unsubstantiated suggestion of Semitic cognates (maybe substantiated in the article mentioned), and then an absolutely fantastic "support" from a very solid source. This kind of argumentation (which might of course be a projection of something more serious but very well hidden from view) permeates the book.
Displaying 1 of 1 review