In the House of Dust
Plagues! Fires! Floods! Welcome to 2020 BCE. Thankfully, exorcists, amulets, and incantations abound in ancient Mesopotamia. In this episode we explore magic and medicine in some of the oldest surviving texts in the world. When the gods themselves attack, who can save us?
Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben, featuring the voice talents of Gregg Adams, Kiernan Angley, and Jack Krause and original music by Purple Planet.
Music
Purple Planet - Fallen Angels
Purple Planet - Heavenly Waters
Purple Planet - Constricted
Purple Planet - Possessed Doll
Purple Planet - Last Stand
Purple Planet - Deadlock
Purple Planet - Botanic
Purple Planet - Sense of Loss
Purple Planet - Shadowlands
Sources
Primary
The Epic of Gilgamesh. Edited and translated by N. K. Sandars. London: Penguin Boooks, 1972.
Secondary
Abusch, Tzvi. Mesopotamian Witchcraft: Toward a History and Understanding of Babylonian Witchcraft Beliefs and Literature. Ancient Magic and Divination 5. Leiden: Brill, 2002.
Borger, Rykle. “Die Weihe eines Enlil-Priesters.” Bibliotheca Orientalis 30 (1973): 162-176.
Geller, Markham J. Evil Demons: Canonical Uttukū lemnūtu Incantations. State Archives of Assyria Cuneiform Texts 5. Helsinki: The Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project, 2007.
Myhrman, David W. “Die Labartu-Texte: Babylonische Beschwörungsformeln nebst Zauberverfahren gegen die Dämonin Labartu.” Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und Vorderasiatische Archäologie 16 (1902): 141-200.
Schwemer, Daniel. “Empowering the Patient: The Opening Section of the Ritual Maqlû.” In Pax Hethitica: Studies on the Hittites and Their Neighbours in Honor of Itamar Singer. Edited by Yoram Cohen, Amir Gilan, and Jared L. Miller, 311-339. Studien zu de Bogazköy-Texten 51. Wiesbaden: Harrasovitz, 2010.
Schwemer, Daniel. “The Ancient Near East.” In The Cambridge History of Magic and Witchcraft in the West: From Antiquity to the Present. Edited by David J Sollins, S. J, 17-51. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015.
Versnel, Henk. “Some Reflections on the Relationship Magic-Religion.” Numen 38. No. 2 (1991): 177-197.
