Johannes Haubold, Sophus Helle, Enrique Jimenez, and Selena Winsom
Enuma Elish, eds. Haubold, Helle, and others, inaugurates the groundbreaking series of the Library of Babylonian Literature. The aim of the series is to make Babylonian literature accessible to a wider audience.
The volume is in three parts. Part 1 is an introduction to the Enuma Elish which provides a general overview of the epic and highlights some of the points to be explored later in the volume. Part 2 is a transcription of the text with a translation on the facing page. Variations in translation and gaps in the material are signaled in extensive footnotes. The transcription and translation are based on the electronic Babylonian literature (eBL) platform which hosts other Akkadian texts. Part 3 consists of a selection of critical essays by leading scholars in the field. These essays offer an extensive exploration of different aspects of the epic, including its historical context; the historical and current reception of the epic; textual and gendered analysis; literary and cultural significance; intertextual resonance; diction, rhythm, and style; connection with Babylonian astronomy; major themes; and various interpretative approaches. Each essay is followed by suggestions for further reading and an extensive bibliography.
The volume is illuminating, inspiring, and breath-taking. The translation, highlighting as it does the multi-layered meanings of some of the words, is eye-opening. Each essay in the anthology deconstructs the epic, opening it up to new readings and understandings. The quality of scholarship is of the highest order with each scholar building on the work of previous scholarship and grounding his/her in-depth analysis and interpretation on historical context and the words in the text. The notes, suggestions for further reading, and extensive bibliographies are indispensable.
This brilliant, groundbreaking work will serve as an indispensable resource to those seeking to explore the literature, culture, and mythos of Mesopotamia. Very highly recommended.