The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria

Theophilus Goldridge PinchesArchibald Constable & Co.1906

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Word count: 25.6K words
Chapters: 6
Series: Religions Ancient and Modern

Summary

This book is a short popular academic volume written by the British Assyriologist Theophilus G. Pinches (1856–1934) for the "Religions Ancient and Modern" series. It was published in 1906 by Archibald Constable & Co. in London and runs to about 25,000 words, concise in length. Pinches worked early in his career in the Egyptian and Assyrian Department of the British Museum and later taught Assyriology at University College London and the University of Liverpool. He is known for joining broken clay tablets and for establishing the pronunciation of the name "Gilgamesh." The book begins with the religion of the Tigris and Euphrates region, noting that it was formed from the fusion of two traditions—the Sumerian-Akkadian and the Assyrian-Babylonian—and lasted roughly five thousand years. The author first introduces the sources, such as clay tablets and inscriptions, then discusses the earliest forms of religion, divine images and sacred stones, sacred sites and temple towers (including the "Tower of Babel"), and then devotes a chapter to the Babylonian creation story: the primeval waters, the gods, the rebellion of Tiawath/Tiamat, Marduk being acclaimed as god-king and defeating chaos, reordering heaven and earth, and creating humankind. He then introduces the main deities one by one—Anu, Bel, Marduk, Nabu, Shamash, Tammuz and Ishtar, Nergal, Sin, Ashur, and others—and their correspondences with the sun, moon, and stars, followed by demons, exorcistic incantations, and rituals, closing with questions of monism, dualism, monotheistic tendencies, and views of the afterlife. The book quotes extensively from translations of original clay tablets and is a classic introduction to the religion of Mesopotamia.

Editor's review

这是一本“薄而硬”的经典：一百多页的篇幅里，平奇斯以一位大英博物馆旧人的手笔，把两河流域宗教的骨架完整搭了出来。它的价值首先在史料感——作者不是转述二手结论，而是从泥板铭文、神庙记录、神名表中直接取例，读者能看到“结论是从哪块泥板来的”。其次是结构清楚：先交代人与文献，再讲创世与诸神谱系，然后落到恶魔、咒术和仪式，最后讨论一神论、二元论与来世这些大问题，正好构成一条从“材料”到“问题”的阅读路径。需要提醒的是，本书出版于1906年，部分转写与年代判断已被后来的研究修正，例如提阿玛特、马尔杜克相关文本的译读和巴比伦年代学都有更新。因此它更适合作为“学科史的入口”，而不是终极参考。但它文字平实、术语解释充分，对初次接触楔形文字宗教文献的中文读者而言，仍是一块可靠的垫脚石；搭配后来的《埃努玛·埃利什》译本和更晚近的通史阅读，效果最好。

Who it's for

A good fit for

对两河流域文明、古代宗教与神话感兴趣的入门读者
阅读《吉尔伽美什史诗》《埃努玛·埃利什》时想补充背景的人
宗教学、历史学、考古学专业学生作为英文原始文献训练材料
希望了解亚述学早期学术面貌与19世纪东方学的读者

Not a good fit for

期待最新亚述学成果与前沿争论的专业研究者
希望读到系统中文译注本或大量注释的读者
需要大量插图、地图与年表辅助的青少年读者

Reading tips

建议按目录顺序读：先读第一、二章的史料说明，再看创世与神系章节，最后读第六张的问题讨论。
遇到马尔杜克、提阿玛特、纳布等专名时，先记住书中标注的读音规则，再对照其他译本核对拼写。
把神力与天体对应（第四章末）单独做一张表，有助于理解巴比伦星象学与占卜传统。
读完后配合《埃努玛·埃利什》现代译本与较新的两河流域宗教通史，对书中过时之处做补充修正。

About the publisher

Archibald Constable & Co.

Archibald Constable & Co. is a publisher whose output touches on philosophy, religion, and works in the field of religion. Public information is limited, and the library holds only one of its books: The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria by Theophilus Goldridge Pinches. Judging from this representative title and author, the publisher takes an interest in the study of ancient Near Eastern religion and civilization, with a list oriented toward scholarly works in religious studies and aimed at readers interested in Babylonian and Assyrian religious traditions and the history of ancient religion. The available material is not yet sufficient to present a fuller picture of its publishing profile and characteristics.

Chapter 1 Introduction: The Period, Believing Peoples, and Sources of Babylonian-Assyrian Religion
Chapter 2 The Nature of Babylonian-Assyrian Religion: Inhabitants, Script and Its Evidence, Earliest Creeds, Divine Images and Sacred Objects, Holy Places, Temples and Ziggurats, the Tower of Babel
Chapter 3 The Babylonian Creation Story: Water as the First Creator, the Gods, the War with Tiamat, Marduk Becomes Creator, the Redeemer of Mankind, the Bilingual Creation Account, the Order of the God-List
Chapter 4 The Principal Deities of the Babylonians and Assyrians: Anu, Bel, Beltis, Marduk, Zerpanitum, Nabu, Tashmetum, Shamash and His Consort, Tammuz and Ishtar, Ereshkigal and Nergal, Sin or Nannara, Adad or Ramanu, Ashur, and Others; Minor Deities; Gods and Celestial Bodies
Chapter 5 Demons: Exorcism and Ritual
Chapter 6 Questions Raised by This Study: Monotheism, Dualism, Monism, and the Afterlife

FAQ

这本书的作者是谁？和贾斯特罗的同名书是一本吗？

不是。平奇斯（Theophilus G. Pinches）的《The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria》1906年由伦敦 Archibald Constable & Co. 出版，约百余页；贾斯特罗（Morris Jastrow, Jr.）1898年由波士顿 Ginn 出版的同名书长达780页，是两部不同的著作。

这本书有正式的中文译本吗？

目前未见权威出版信息显示存在通行的简体中文全译本，市面上的多为英文原版、公版电子书（如古登堡计划第2069号）或影印本。中文读者若购得标为“中文版”的版本，建议先核对译者与出版信息。

书中讲的“创世故事”与《圣经》有什么关系？

书中第三章讲述马尔杜克战胜提阿玛特、重整天地并造人的巴比伦创世叙述，第六章还讨论一神论与来世问题。作者会不时指出这些材料与《圣经》叙事的接触点，但他是从亚述学角度作比较，而非神学论证。

这本书今天读还准确吗？

大体框架仍成立，但具体转写、年代与个别译读已被后续研究修正。它更适合作为学科史和入门读物，严肃研究应参考20世纪后期以来的校勘本与新通史。

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Theophilus Goldridge Pinches Author

Theophilus Goldridge Pinches is an author about whom relatively little is known: his nationality, birth and death dates are not clearly recorded, and public information is limited, so his scholarly interests can only be inferred from his surviving work. One of his works is held here, The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria, classified under philosophy and religion, which indicates that his writing addresses the religious beliefs and pantheon of ancient Mesopotamia. Judging by its subject, Pinches focuses on the rituals, myths and conceptions of the gods preserved in cuneiform tablets, and his style is mainly introductory and organized, amounting to a religious-historical survey for general readers. Works of this kind offer some reference value for the popularization of early Assyriological knowledge and provide Chinese readers with an entry point into Babylonian and Assyrian religion.