Ceremonies, Feasts and Festivities in Ancient Mesopotamia and the Mediterranean World

Performance and Participation: Proceedings of the 11th Melammu Workshop, Barcelona, 29-31 January 2020

edited by Rocio Da Riva, Ana Arroyo and Celine Debourse

Book cover: Ceremonies, Feasts and Festivities in Ancient Mesopotamia and the Mediterranean World

Extent: 301 pages

Publisher: Zaphon

Subjects: Ancient Near East, Religious Studies

Series: Melammu Workshops and Monographs

Series volume number: 7

Language: English

Hardback (Published)

(December 2022)

ISBN: 9783963271885

Price: $99.00

In stock

PDF (Published)

(December 2022)

ISBN: 9783963271892

Price: $99.00

The articles published in the present volume deal with different aspects of ancient religion and religious events. However, each provides the reader with a broad picture of how various societies and their members cope with their relationship to the gods through collective events.


The articles published in the present volume deal with different aspects of ancient religion and religious events. They encompass several regions and periods, from ancient Greece and Rome to the Near East and Egypt. Some compare two cultures by searching for affinities in the performance of a particular practice or by investigating the possible forerunners of certain traditions, while others focus on specific localities at a particular time. Some contributions explore the relationship between religious practices and the state, whether by analysing the role of the king in ceremonies, the process of recording different deities in state archives, or even the historical context of specific celebrations. Others focus on practices carried out by anonymous persons or seek to understand the interface between religious celebrations and ordinary people. However, each provides the reader with a broad picture of how various societies and their members cope with their relationship to the gods through collective events.

Rocio Da Riva / Ana Arroyo / Celine Debourse: Introduction Ana Arroyo: Hittite Open-Air Cult Places and their Relation to the Community During Festivals Mary R. Bachvarova: Greco-Anatolian Identity-Making in the Milesian Molpoi-procession Celine Debourse: The New Year Festival in Seleucid Babylon: A Historical Assessment Sebastian Fink: Neo-Assyrian Victory Celebrations: A Spectacle for the People Tawny L. Holm: Sacrifice and Feasting in Papyrus Amherst 63 Mait Koiv: Hera at Argos: Sanctuaries, Festivals, Myths and Stately Power Jaume Llop-Radua: Gods in the Archival and Other Middle Assyrian Texts: An Overview Alice Mouton: Weapons and Divine Symbols: Expressing the King's Legitimacy during Hittite Cultic Festivals Ian Rutherford: Religious Travel and Pilgrimage in Mesopotamia and Anatolia: Problems of Evidence and Typology Kostas Vlassopoulos: Slaves and Rituals in Ancient Societies Index

  • Edited by Ana Arroyo
  • Edited by Rocio Da Riva
  • Edited by Celine Debourse