Sex and eroticism in Mesopotamian literature / Gwendolyn Leick.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Leick, Gwendolyn, 1951-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Erotic literature, Sumerian--History and criticism.

Erotic literature, Sumerian.

Erotic literature, Assyro-Babylonian--History and criticism.

Erotic literature, Assyro-Babylonian.

Sex in literature.

Sex customs--Iraq--History.

Sex customs.

Erotica--Iraq--History.

Erotica.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (331 p.)

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Routledge, 1994.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Sex and Eroticism in Mesopotamian Literature is a new contribution to current debates about sex and eroticism. It gives an insight into Mesopotamian attitudes to sexuality by examining the oldest preserved written evidence on the subject - the Sumero-Akkadian cuneiform sources - which were written between the 21st and the 5th centuries B.C. Using these long-neglected and often astonishing data, Gwendolyn Leick is able to anlayse Mesopotamian views of prostitution, love magic and deviant sexual behaviour as well as more general issues of sexuality and gender. This fascinating book sheds light on the sexual culture of one of the earliest literate civilisations.

Contents:

Front Cover; Sex and Eroticism in Mesopotamian Literature; Copyright Page; Contents; List of plates; Preface; Acknowledgements; Notes for non-Assyriologist readers; Abbreviations; Chronological chart; Map; Introduction; Part I:The Sumero-Akkadian tradition of the third andearly second millennia; 1. The Cosmological Articulation of Sexuality; 2. Masculine Sexuality in Sumerian Literature; 3. Enki and Ninhursaga: A Myth of Male Lust?; 4. From Adolescence to Maturity: The Myth of Enlil and Ninlil; 5. Phallicism in Sumerian Literature; 6. Femininity and Eroticism in Sumerian Literature

7. The Bridal Songs8. Inanna and Her Brother; 9. Inanna Rejoicing in Her Vulva; 10. 'My Consort, Maid Inanna, Lady, Voluptuousness of Heaven and Earth'; 11. 'Words of Seduction': Courtly Love Poetry; 12. The Rites of Divine Love; 13. L'amour Libre or Sacred Prostitution?; 14. Liminal Sexuality: Eunuchs, Homosexuals and the Common Prostitute; Part II: Sources from the later second and first millennia; 15. Eroticism in Akkadian Literature; 16. Ballads, Hymns and Dialogues: Akkadian Love Poetry; 17. Love Magic and Potency Incantations; 18. Problematic Aspects of Sexuality: Sin and Pollution

19. Witches, Demons and the Ambivalence of Love20. The Articulation of Sexual Jealousy; 21. Love and Eros in Akkadian Narrative Literature; Glossary; Notes; Bibliography; Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 299-310) and index.

Description based on metadata supplied by the publisher and other sources.

ISBN:

0-203-46275-0

1-280-32281-0

0-585-44873-6

0-203-41428-4

9780203414286

OCLC:

647380392