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Myths and Legends: Babylonia and Assyria
Myths and Babylonia and Assyria by Lewis Spence is a comprehensive collection of ancient myths and legends from the civilizations of Babylonia and Assyria. The book delves into the rich cultural heritage of these ancient civilizations, exploring their fascinating myths, legends, and beliefs. The book is divided into several chapters, each of which covers a different aspect of the mythology and culture of Babylonia and Assyria. The first chapter provides an introduction to the history and culture of these civilizations, while subsequent chapters explore the pantheon of gods and goddesses worshipped by the people, the creation myths, the epic of Gilgamesh, and other fascinating tales.The book also includes detailed descriptions of the religious beliefs and practices of these ancient peoples, including their rituals, festivals, and ceremonies. Throughout the book, Spence provides insightful commentary and analysis, placing the myths and legends in their historical and cultural context.Overall, Myths and Babylonia and Assyria is an engaging and informative read for anyone interested in ancient mythology, history, and culture. It offers a fascinating glimpse into the beliefs and traditions of these ancient civilizations and sheds light on their enduring legacy.The purpose of this book is to provide not only a popular account of the religion and mythology of ancient Babylonia and Assyria, but to extract and present to the reader the treasures of romance latent in the subject, the peculiar richness of which has been recognized since the early days of archaeological effort in Chaldea. Babylonia and Assyria in History and Legend; Babylonian Cosmogony; Early Babylonian Religion; Gilgamesh Epic; Later Pantheon of Babylonia; Great God Merodach and His Cult; Pantheon of Assyria; Babylonia Star-Worship; Priesthood, Cult, and Temples; Magic and Demonology of Babylonia and Assyria; Mythological Monsters and Animals of Chaldea; Tales of the Babylonian and Assyrian Kings; Comparative Value of the Babylonian and Assyrian Religions; Modern Excavation in Babylonia and Assyria; Twilight of the Goods; Glossary and Index.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.
496 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1916
24 people are currently reading
132 people want to read
About the author
Lewis Spence
379 books50 followersJames Lewis Thomas Chalmers Spence was a Scottish journalist, poet, author, folklorist and student of the occult.
After graduating from Edinburgh University he pursued a career in journalism. He was an editor at The Scotsman 1899-1906, editor of The Edinburgh Magazine for a year, 1904–05, then an editor at The British Weekly, 1906-09. In this time his interest was sparked in the myth and folklore of Mexico and Central America, resulting in his popularisation of the Mayan Popul Vuh, the sacred book of the Quiché Mayas (1908). He compiled A Dictionary of Mythology (1910 and numerous additional volumes).
Spence was an ardent Scottish nationalist, He was the founder of the Scottish National Movement which later merged to form the National Party of Scotland and which in turn merged to form the Scottish National Party. He unsuccessfully contested a parliamentary seat for Midlothian and Peebles Northern at a by-election in 1929.
He also wrote poetry in English and Scots. His Collected Poems were published in 1953. He investigated Scottish folklore and wrote about Brythonic rites and traditions in Mysteries of Celtic Britain (1905). In this book, Spence theorized that the original Britons were descendants of a people that migrated from Northwest Africa and were probably related to the Berbers and the Basques.
Spence's researches into the mythology and culture of the New World, together with his examination of the cultures of western Europe and north-west Africa, led him almost inevitably to the question of Atlantis. During the 1920s he published a series of books which sought to rescue the topic from the occultists who had more or less brought it into disrepute. These works, amongst which were The Problem of Atlantis (1924) and History of Atlantis (1927), continued the line of research inaugurated by Ignatius Donnelly and looked at the lost island as a Bronze Age civilization, that formed a cultural link with the New World, which he invoked through examples he found of striking parallels between the early civilizations of the Old and New Worlds.
Spence's erudition and the width of his reading, his industry and imagination were all impressive; yet the conclusions he reached, avoiding peer-reviewed journals, have been almost universally rejected by mainstream scholarship. His popularisations met stiff criticism in professional journals, but his continued appeal among theory hobbyists is summed up by a reviewer of The Problem of Atlantis (1924) in The Geographical Journal: "Mr. Spence is an industrious writer, and, even if he fails to convince, has done service in marshalling the evidence and has produced an entertaining volume which is well worth reading." Nevertheless, he seems to have had some influence upon the ideas of controversial author Immanuel Velikovsky, and as his books have come into the public domain, they have been successfully reprinted and some have been scanned for the Internet.
Spence's 1940 book Occult Causes of the Present War seems to have been the first book in the field of Nazi occultism.
Over his long career, he published more than forty books, many of which remain in print to this day.
After graduating from Edinburgh University he pursued a career in journalism. He was an editor at The Scotsman 1899-1906, editor of The Edinburgh Magazine for a year, 1904–05, then an editor at The British Weekly, 1906-09. In this time his interest was sparked in the myth and folklore of Mexico and Central America, resulting in his popularisation of the Mayan Popul Vuh, the sacred book of the Quiché Mayas (1908). He compiled A Dictionary of Mythology (1910 and numerous additional volumes).
Spence was an ardent Scottish nationalist, He was the founder of the Scottish National Movement which later merged to form the National Party of Scotland and which in turn merged to form the Scottish National Party. He unsuccessfully contested a parliamentary seat for Midlothian and Peebles Northern at a by-election in 1929.
He also wrote poetry in English and Scots. His Collected Poems were published in 1953. He investigated Scottish folklore and wrote about Brythonic rites and traditions in Mysteries of Celtic Britain (1905). In this book, Spence theorized that the original Britons were descendants of a people that migrated from Northwest Africa and were probably related to the Berbers and the Basques.
Spence's researches into the mythology and culture of the New World, together with his examination of the cultures of western Europe and north-west Africa, led him almost inevitably to the question of Atlantis. During the 1920s he published a series of books which sought to rescue the topic from the occultists who had more or less brought it into disrepute. These works, amongst which were The Problem of Atlantis (1924) and History of Atlantis (1927), continued the line of research inaugurated by Ignatius Donnelly and looked at the lost island as a Bronze Age civilization, that formed a cultural link with the New World, which he invoked through examples he found of striking parallels between the early civilizations of the Old and New Worlds.
Spence's erudition and the width of his reading, his industry and imagination were all impressive; yet the conclusions he reached, avoiding peer-reviewed journals, have been almost universally rejected by mainstream scholarship. His popularisations met stiff criticism in professional journals, but his continued appeal among theory hobbyists is summed up by a reviewer of The Problem of Atlantis (1924) in The Geographical Journal: "Mr. Spence is an industrious writer, and, even if he fails to convince, has done service in marshalling the evidence and has produced an entertaining volume which is well worth reading." Nevertheless, he seems to have had some influence upon the ideas of controversial author Immanuel Velikovsky, and as his books have come into the public domain, they have been successfully reprinted and some have been scanned for the Internet.
Spence's 1940 book Occult Causes of the Present War seems to have been the first book in the field of Nazi occultism.
Over his long career, he published more than forty books, many of which remain in print to this day.
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June 19, 2021Lewis Spence is long winded and prone to including long tangents.
What frivolous conent he includes are cross-comparisons with other religions and myths, massive historical recounts, as well as diatribes on how likely a story is to be true or legend.
Rarely is this book what it claims to be: myths and legends.
What frivolous conent he includes are cross-comparisons with other religions and myths, massive historical recounts, as well as diatribes on how likely a story is to be true or legend.
Rarely is this book what it claims to be: myths and legends.
August 10, 2015
This book was incredible. It started out by telling me all about the gods I needed to know about, all mentioning their evolution through history while telling their story, and then telling me about parallels in the area and the culture and history of the people. The comparative mythology part was quite a fun read as it did cover most things that one would like it to have done.
Indeed parts of the book are outdated, or proven to be different, or lacking in source, such as the part about the Zoroastrians, but this can all be forgiven due to the book's age. I did enjoy the author's comparisons with American culture as was provided, but I wish I knew more about them!
Overall I can say with clear conscience that this book was an absolutely fantastic read and I recommend it to all lovers of mythology and Assyriology.
Indeed parts of the book are outdated, or proven to be different, or lacking in source, such as the part about the Zoroastrians, but this can all be forgiven due to the book's age. I did enjoy the author's comparisons with American culture as was provided, but I wish I knew more about them!
Overall I can say with clear conscience that this book was an absolutely fantastic read and I recommend it to all lovers of mythology and Assyriology.
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April 29, 2018The first thing that struck me about this book is that it's really beautifully written. A lot of older books are written with such pomp and language no longer in use that they are quite dense, but the text here is clear but lyrical.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews