Calendar of Events for the month of:
All presenters will speak during the midday break for ariston (lunch).
The theme for this month is renewal.
Day 8: Nigsummulugal of Mari will talk about the twelve day Babylonian new year festival. At the end of the old year, the Babylonians purify themselves of past evil, renew their strength, and find a substitute who can cover for their sins. To avoid making the king that substitute, the Babylonian king is stripped of his insignia, swears to Marduk that he has done nothing against the god's will, and is reinvested as king. A criminal is chosen to take the place of the king in the reinaction of the Creation Epic. After this mock king is honored in a celebration, he is killed in place of the real king. The mock king then battles darkness at Marduk's side in the underworld. The people celebrate Marduk's victory over chaos with tremendous parades filled with masqueraders and great wagons. Regattas sail on the Euphrates and mock battles are held to symbolize the forces of the gods against the powers of darkness and chaos. Wooden images of Marduk's opponent are burned in great bonfires and gifts are exchanged.
Day 15: Endymion of Troas will discuss legends of renewal. The Akkadian Tammuz (Sumerian Damuzi) is a symbol of death and rebirth. Tammuz died during the hot summer and was lamented by his wife, Ishtar. Ishtar journeyed to the underworld, ruled by her sister, Ereshkigal, to bring her husband back to the land of the living. After many trials, she was able to bring him back and the land became fertile again. Some of these story elements appear in other myths as well. Persephone (Roman Proserpina) was a daughter of Zeus and Demeter. While gathering flowers with her friends, the Oceanids, she was abducted by Hades. Demeter wandered the earth, looking for her. Helios, the Sun, told her what had happened. Zeus then sent Hermes to force Hades to release Persephone, but by then she had eaten some pomegranate seeds. Persephone was allowed to return to the land of the living for two thirds of the year. The land becomes infertile during the remaining one third of the year, when Persephone is in Hades. The Assyrian goddess Gula, like Persephone, was known as a physician and ruled over death and resurrection. The Egyptians have different myths of renewal. Khepri, symbolized by the scarab, is associated with renewal, rebirth, and resurrection. Khepri renews the Sun every day and rolls it across the sky and sees it safely through the otherworld after sunset.
Day 22: On this day, the Berean Players will perform a version of The Drama of Osiris. Osiris was betrayed and dismembered by Seth. Osiris' wife, Isis, and her sister, Nephthys, wandered the earth gathering up pieces of Osiris. Osiris was eventually resurrected and made whole again.
Sources:
Ancient Greek Literature, K. J. Dover (ed.), New York: Oxford University Press, 1980.
Classical Drama: Greek and Roman, Meyer Reinhold, New York: Barron's Educational Series, Inc., 1959.
Daughters of Isis: Women of Ancient Egypt, Joyce Tyldesley, New York: Penguin Books, 1994, 1995.
Hypatia's Heritage: A History of Women in Science from Antiquity through the Nineteenth Century, Boston: Beacon Press, 1986.
Norton Book of Classical Literature, Bernard Knox (ed.), New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 1993.
Penguin Encyclopedia of Ancient Civilizations, Arthur Cotterell (ed.), New York: Penguin Books, 1980, 1988.
Women in Ancient Egypt, Gay Robins, London: British Museum Press, 1993.
Return to The Library Meeting Room
Return to the main room of the Bibliotheke of Berea.