Reading Qs 11

  • Due No Due Date
  • Points 5
  • Submitting a text entry box or a file upload

Van der Toorn, “The Cult of the Ancestors: A Historical Focus of Identity”

  1. For a Mesopotamian family, what would sharing a meal with someone, anointing them, or unveiling and reveiling a bride signify? (42-45)
  2. What is “the cult of the ancestors”?
  3. How did the interlunium (day of the dark moon) impact the cult of the ancestors?
  4. In addition to offering food, what else must be done as part of the kispu ritual? (52-53)
  5. Where did the dead sleep in some texts?
  6. What could friendly family ghosts do for you? (62 and following)

 

JoAnn Scurlock, “Ghosts in the Ancient Near East: Weak or Powerful?”

  1. While in the underworld, what is the normal condition of the dead? (81)
  2. There are both positive and negative reasons why people might feed the dead. What are they?
  3. How would the Mesopotamians normally describe ghosts?
  4. Scurlock has an interesting perspective on why model grave goods and images could be used in the ancient world. What does she say? What do you think of this? (85-87)
  5. How often did the dead need to be fed? If you kept your ancestors fed, how could they assist you? If you don’t feed them, what happens? (90 and following) Notice that Scurlock and van der Toorn frame this rather differently.
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