OS 100 - The Babylonian Theodicy
Oldest Stories28 Syys 2022

OS 100 - The Babylonian Theodicy

For a Babylonian polytheist, the gods are worshipped with the explicit expectation that divine veneration will avert bad fortune and attract good fortune. Yet as long as there have been people, we have seen that sometimes bad things happen to good people, and sometimes good fortune finds bad people. Religious explorations of this are called Theodicy, and we have already see a number of Mesopotamian attempts to wrestle with this, back in Episodes 26 and 53. The genre appears to culminate in one of the most impressive technical and philosophical works of ancient Mesopotamia, in the Babylonian Theodicy. Also, after looking at the Theodicy, we compare it to another Babylonian writing from an old man who is simply miserable with life.


For more on this, check out episode 26, where we discussed the Sumerian "A Man and His God" and episode 53 where we discussed the Old Babylonian "Poem of the Righteous Sufferer", both of which are thematic precursors to this and almost certainly were at least indirect references for the author of the Babylonian Theodicy.

Tämä jakso on lisätty Podme-palveluun avoimen RSS-syötteen kautta eikä se ole Podmen omaa tuotantoa. Siksi jakso saattaa sisältää mainontaa.

Jaksot(234)

The Bottom of the Mesopotamia Iceberg

The Bottom of the Mesopotamia Iceberg

An examination of the deepest level of the Ancient Mesopotamia iceberg, commonly labeled "Theories and Speculative Ideas." The video reviews each claim against primary sources from Sumer, Akkad, Babyl...

1 Heinä 51min

Sennacherib Builds a Paradise in Nineveh

Sennacherib Builds a Paradise in Nineveh

Sennacherib is remembered as one of the most powerful kings of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, but his greatest legacy may not have been conquest. It was Nineveh: a rebuilt imperial capital of canals, garden...

17 Kesä 39min

Lachish and How an Assyrian Siege Worked

Lachish and How an Assyrian Siege Worked

Its the siege of Lachish, but also a much more wide ranging explanation of Assyrian siegecraft more generally. Including how it was recognizably modern and, in many ways, responsible for modernity.

3 Kesä 51min

Sennacherib vs Hezekiah in 701 BCE: Isaiah and the Battle of Eltekeh

Sennacherib vs Hezekiah in 701 BCE: Isaiah and the Battle of Eltekeh

In 701 BCE, Assyrian king Sennacherib launched his western campaign against Judah, bringing him into direct conflict with King Hezekiah and the political counsel of the prophet Isaiah. The decisive fi...

6 Touko 44min

Babylon Had It Coming

Babylon Had It Coming

Babylon had survived five destructions before Sennacherib tried to erase it for good. Why did Assyria's most bookish king — a man who loved Babylonian scholarship — finally flood the city and smash it...

22 Huhti 1h 3min

Sennacherib's Inheritance

Sennacherib's Inheritance

Sennacherib is remembered in the Bible as a villain, the Assyrian king who invaded Judah and stood against Jerusalem. But that reputation, like his father Sargon’s as a world conqueror, may be mislead...

8 Huhti 37min

The Doom of Sargon II

The Doom of Sargon II

This episode examines the final major campaign of Sargon II of Assyria (reigned 722–705 BCE) and the long conflict with the Chaldean ruler Marduk-apla-iddina II (Merodach-Baladan) for control of Babyl...

25 Maalis 34min

AI and History

AI and History

How does one "do" history, and can an AI do it? The answers:1. You don't "do" history, you feel it.2. AI can do the actions of history, but it can't feel it.Bonus rant: I never liked the idea that the...

18 Maalis 21min

Suosittua kategoriassa Historia

olipa-kerran-otsikko
mayday-fi
gogin-ja-janin-maailmanhistoria
mystista
tsunami
rss-ikiuni
huijarit
konginkangas
totuus-vai-salaliitto
rss-i-dont-like-mondays-2
rss-subjektiivinen-todistaja
sotaa-ja-historiaa-podi
rouva-diktaattori
rss-sattuu-sita-suomessakin
rss-historian-pitka-oppimaara
historiaa-suomeksi
paluu-historiaan
rss-peter-peter
rss-iltanuotiolla
rss-outoja-uutisia-pohjois-suomesta