The Healing Goddess Gula: Towards an Understanding of Ancient Babylonian Medicine
Barbara Böck
Providing a comprehensive examination of the traits and areas of authority Ancient Babylonians attributed to their healing goddess, this book draws on a wide range of Sumero-Akkadian cuneiform sources, including god lists, literary compositions, lexical lists, prognostic texts, incantations, and prescriptions. Analysing the use of selected metaphors associated with the goddess, a new perspective is offered on the explanation for disease as well as the motivation for particular treatments. Special chapters deal with the cuneiform handbook on prognosis and diagnosis of diseases, medical incantations appealing to the healing goddess, and the medicinal plants attributed to her. For the first time a body of evidence for the use of simple drugs is brought together, elaborating on specific plant profiles. The result is a volume that challenges many long-held assumptions concerning the specialized cuneiform medical literature and takes a fresh look on the nature of Ancient Babylonian healing.
Thể loại:
Năm:
2013
Nhà xuát bản:
Brill Academic Publishers
Ngôn ngữ:
english
ISBN 10:
9004261451
ISBN 13:
9789004261457
Loạt:
Culture and History of the Ancient Near East 67
File:
PDF, 1.59 MB
IPFS:
,
english, 2013