RLB23 Ancient Near Eastern Religions

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2008
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
PhDr. Dalibor Papoušek, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
prof. PhDr. Dušan Lužný, Dr.
Department for the Study of Religions – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Lucie Čelková
Timetable
Fri 17. 10. 11:40–13:15 zruseno D22, Fri 14. 11. 11:40–13:15 zruseno D22, Fri 12. 12. 11:40–13:15 zruseno D22
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 50 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/50, only registered: 0/50
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The course outlines main religious systems of the ancient Near East - religions of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Syria-Palestine. Starting with their general characteristics, it provides a survey of their mythological background, structure of the pantheons and the most important ritual practices.
Main objectives of the course:
At the end of this course, the students should:
- be familiar with the basic factual knowledge of the religions of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia and Syria-Palestine;
- be familiar with the basic terminology used in the study of the ancient Near Eastern religions;
- have the capacity of critical analyzing of basic literary and archaeological sources connected with the topic;
- deeper understand the typological category of ancient religions, including their specific features in the Near East.
Syllabus
  • (0) Introduction to the course. (1) General characteristics of ancient religions. (2) Egypt I: Annu cosmogony and the mythical establishment of the Egyptian state. (3) Egypt II: The conception of Re and the Theban triad. (4) Egypt III: Osiris' cycle and the conception of death. (5) Class discussion I: Akhenaten's Great Hymn to the Aten. (6) Mesopotamia I: Survey of Mesopotamian pantheons. (7) Mesopotamia II: Ritual life. (8) Class discussion II: Enuma eliš. (9) Syria-Palestine I: Survey of Canaanite pantheons, transformations of deities. (10) Syria-Palestine II: Ritual life. (11) Class discussion III: Baal's cycle. (12) Final test.
Literature
  • Heller, Jan. Starověká náboženství: Náboženské systémy starého Egypta, Mezopotámie a Kenaanu. 2. vyd. Praha: ÚCN - Kalich, 1988.
  • BOTTÉRO, Jean. Nejstarší náboženství Mezopotámie. Translated by Jiří Prosecký. Vyd. 1. Praha: Academia, 2005, 287 s. ISBN 8020013482. info
  • DAVID, A. Rosalie. Náboženství a magie starověkého Egypta. Translated by Hana Vymazalová. 1. vyd. v českém jazyce. Praha: BB art, 2002, 485 s. ISBN 8073416980. info
  • Religions of the ancient world : a guide. Edited by Sarah Iles Johnston. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2004, xvii, 697. ISBN 0674015177. info
  • Der Alte Orient : Geschichte und Kultur des alten Vorderasien. Edited by Barthel Hrouda - Jean Bottéro. München: C. Bertelsmann, 2003, 463 s. ISBN 3809415707. info
Assessment methods
Contents of the semester:
Lectures, class discussions, final test.
Requirements for the colloquium:
(a) active participation in class discussions;
(b) written commentaries in given sources;
(c) final written test.
Language of instruction
Czech
Follow-Up Courses
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course is taught annually.
Information on course enrolment limitations: Zápis mimo religionistiku je podmíněn souhlasem vyučujícího.
Listed among pre-requisites of other courses
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2004, Spring 2006, Spring 2008, Autumn 2009, Spring 2011, Autumn 2011, Autumn 2012, Autumn 2013, Autumn 2016, Spring 2019.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2008, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/autumn2008/RLB23