Leiden University Student Repository

Dijkstra, Erwin (2018)

The Ambiguity of Forests: An Assessment of the Role of Forests in Mesopotamian Narratives Compared to Anatolia and the Levant

Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)

The role of the wilderness and its constituent elements, such as forests, in mythology and religion and the impact thereof on daily life – ancient and modern – has retained scholarly interest since the dawn of Assyriology. This thesis will try to further our knowledge in that regard as I will examine what role forests played in Mesopotamian myths, folk tales and other narratives. Furthermore I will compare the findings from the flat treeless land between the Euphrates and the Tigris with their counterparts from the more forested realms of Anatolia and the Levant, in order to establish if the proximity of forests influenced the role they played in the aforementioned narratives. If successful, we can assume that this endeavour gives us a broader insight in ancient Mesopotamian thought, concerning the wilderness in general and forests in particular.

Comparative Research

Forests

Liminal Places/Liminality

Primary Sources

Assyriology

Hittitology

Biblical Philology

Levantine Philology

Author

Dijkstra, Erwin

Note

An introduction to narrative comparative research and an overview of primary literary sources for the role of forests in myths and other narratives from Mesopotamia, Anatolia and the Levant.

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

Assyriology

Supervisors

Waal, Willemijn J.I.
Waerzeggers, C.

ECTS Credits

20

Language

en