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The First Ghosts: Most Ancient of Legacies
Ghosts - the spirits of the dead - have walked by our side since time immemorial.
In The First Ghosts, author Irving Finkel looks at ghosts from a standpoint quite different to that of most spectral literature. Drawing on evidence from the very earliest pre-human archaeology and the very earliest writing and literature, Finkel suggests that belief in and experience of ghosts emerges as a central component of humanity since its inception.
334 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 11, 2021
216 people are currently reading
1401 people want to read
About the author
Irving Finkel
34 books217 followersIrving Leonard Finkel, Ph.D. (Assyriology, University of Birmingham, 1976; B.A., Ancient
New Eastern Studies, University of Birmingham, 1969), is a British philologist and Assyriologist. He has served as Assistant Keeper in the Department of Western Asiatic Antiquities at the British Museum since 1979. As such, he is the curator in charge of cuneiform inscriptions on tablets of clay from ancient Mesopotamia, of which the Middle East Department has the largest collection—some 130,000 pieces—of any modern museum. He also is an author of fiction for children, and in 2007 co-founded The Great Diary Project.
New Eastern Studies, University of Birmingham, 1969), is a British philologist and Assyriologist. He has served as Assistant Keeper in the Department of Western Asiatic Antiquities at the British Museum since 1979. As such, he is the curator in charge of cuneiform inscriptions on tablets of clay from ancient Mesopotamia, of which the Middle East Department has the largest collection—some 130,000 pieces—of any modern museum. He also is an author of fiction for children, and in 2007 co-founded The Great Diary Project.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews
May 7, 2024
What kind of ghost stories were told in ancient times? That's the question this book tries to answer, breathing new life into those ghost stories of old. This book looks at all the actual physical evidence we have of people describing ghosts in our ancient history. This is an archeological ghost hunt done right.
We start with burying rituals from early Neanderthals and Homo Sapiens. This is done to show us that people have believed that something survives after death for a very long time, long before mankind first started writing about ghosts. We then turn our attention to the oldest clay tablet describing what can be seen as a ghost. There are basically several versions of the Babylonian Flood Story. Though this one in particular – the Atra-Hasis, an 18th-century BC Akkadian epic - speaks of the creation of the human spirit. When a person dies, their flesh and blood returns to clay but their etemmu (spirit) lives on.
We get to read about how ghosts were part of everyday life in ancient times and many were treated with sympathy and respect. We learn how people in ancient times classified their ghosts. The book goes into great detail regarding this. It ranges from good ghosts to evil ghosts, with a lot of them in between. But also the various ways of how they dealt with ghosts, with for example incantations used by Sumerian priests. But also protective amulets and their magical anti-ghost words. After which, the book spends most of its time discussing and analyzing the big ancient stories that involve ghosts or the afterlife, like the Gilgamesh epic and The Underworld Vision of an Assyrian Prince.
When reading this book, it feels like you’re sitting in front of a cozy fire. A friendly grandfatherly figure slowly but passionately tells you all about his lifelong passion for archeology, showing you how fascinating history can be if you open yourself up to it. On one hand, this is a fairly relaxing reading experience with a wealth of fascinating ancient stories and anecdotes with a lot of interesting details. On the other hand, it’s a very slow and long ride that does require you to take your time and pay attention if you want to enjoy it for what it is and soak up all that fascinating ancient knowledge it has to offer.
Learning more about these ancient civilizations by itself is very interesting. Though looking for ghosts in their writing adds something new to the topic and gives this book just that little extra touch. It’s a new way of looking at those ancient civilizations, a fresh and interesting perspective. And that’s something that does elevate the book for me. It can be a bit of a dry and academical book, but it’s an easily accessible academical read. So don’t be afraid to try it if you want to give it a shot.
We start with burying rituals from early Neanderthals and Homo Sapiens. This is done to show us that people have believed that something survives after death for a very long time, long before mankind first started writing about ghosts. We then turn our attention to the oldest clay tablet describing what can be seen as a ghost. There are basically several versions of the Babylonian Flood Story. Though this one in particular – the Atra-Hasis, an 18th-century BC Akkadian epic - speaks of the creation of the human spirit. When a person dies, their flesh and blood returns to clay but their etemmu (spirit) lives on.
We get to read about how ghosts were part of everyday life in ancient times and many were treated with sympathy and respect. We learn how people in ancient times classified their ghosts. The book goes into great detail regarding this. It ranges from good ghosts to evil ghosts, with a lot of them in between. But also the various ways of how they dealt with ghosts, with for example incantations used by Sumerian priests. But also protective amulets and their magical anti-ghost words. After which, the book spends most of its time discussing and analyzing the big ancient stories that involve ghosts or the afterlife, like the Gilgamesh epic and The Underworld Vision of an Assyrian Prince.
When reading this book, it feels like you’re sitting in front of a cozy fire. A friendly grandfatherly figure slowly but passionately tells you all about his lifelong passion for archeology, showing you how fascinating history can be if you open yourself up to it. On one hand, this is a fairly relaxing reading experience with a wealth of fascinating ancient stories and anecdotes with a lot of interesting details. On the other hand, it’s a very slow and long ride that does require you to take your time and pay attention if you want to enjoy it for what it is and soak up all that fascinating ancient knowledge it has to offer.
Learning more about these ancient civilizations by itself is very interesting. Though looking for ghosts in their writing adds something new to the topic and gives this book just that little extra touch. It’s a new way of looking at those ancient civilizations, a fresh and interesting perspective. And that’s something that does elevate the book for me. It can be a bit of a dry and academical book, but it’s an easily accessible academical read. So don’t be afraid to try it if you want to give it a shot.
September 7, 2022
3.5 stars.
This is a strange book for me to review. It took me a long time to get through, and my inability to be truly excited and engaged with the text is what dragged the rating from a potential 4 star.
It’s incredibly detailed, but sometimes to a fault. It teeters between being accessible and then alienating in its detail. For example,
“It must have been an earlier copy of this same Babylonian necromantic grimoire from which the spell and a ritual in K2779, later taken to Nineveh, where excerpted. The number of this Babylonian tablet is BM36703.” (p.235)
This is just one example of many, but for me, details like this are better suited to a footnote than the main body of text, as it broke the reading flow considerably and dragged me out of feeling like I was reading an accessible book into a technical one. There were pictures of these tablets, but they around p.163. Again, it just felt like a really clunky narrative construction that I felt was alienating from the experience of being submerged in the discussion and almost made it too clinical.
More times than not, I found myself questioning why certain points existed in a main body of text rather than a footnote, and I mean large portions of chapters would have been better suited to simplified footnotes (in my opinion).
Perhaps the writing wasn’t for me, but I certainly wasn’t captivated by the author as others were, which is a shame, but I can’t fault the research conducted for this book, nor can I fault the organisation of it.
This is a strange book for me to review. It took me a long time to get through, and my inability to be truly excited and engaged with the text is what dragged the rating from a potential 4 star.
It’s incredibly detailed, but sometimes to a fault. It teeters between being accessible and then alienating in its detail. For example,
“It must have been an earlier copy of this same Babylonian necromantic grimoire from which the spell and a ritual in K2779, later taken to Nineveh, where excerpted. The number of this Babylonian tablet is BM36703.” (p.235)
This is just one example of many, but for me, details like this are better suited to a footnote than the main body of text, as it broke the reading flow considerably and dragged me out of feeling like I was reading an accessible book into a technical one. There were pictures of these tablets, but they around p.163. Again, it just felt like a really clunky narrative construction that I felt was alienating from the experience of being submerged in the discussion and almost made it too clinical.
More times than not, I found myself questioning why certain points existed in a main body of text rather than a footnote, and I mean large portions of chapters would have been better suited to simplified footnotes (in my opinion).
Perhaps the writing wasn’t for me, but I certainly wasn’t captivated by the author as others were, which is a shame, but I can’t fault the research conducted for this book, nor can I fault the organisation of it.
December 23, 2021
I'm currently writing a paper on the discrepancy between Mesopotamian Bronze Age grave goods and the literary depiction of the afterlife, and this book was very informative as a starting point. The geographical exploration of Sumerian vs Akkadian afterlife was unique and was even mapped out. Irving Finkel's take on an omen text's relation to Ishtar's descent into the netherworld was also incredible, although I wish the Akkadian was expounded upon so we could see what manipulation was involved when reinterpreting the omen. Very cool!
August 6, 2022
Fascinating, mind blowing, erudite and wry, I both enjoyed this and found that it has changed my view of life, as only the very best books do. Very detailed, which occasionally became a bit confusing, but not really one to read in bed (as I did), better to savour it at the desk or kitchen table, whilst considering how much and how little has changed over 4000 years.
August 15, 2022
I first became aware of Irving Finkel a few years back through the British Museum's spectacular YouTube series. Although I've watched several of his lectures since that time, I'm afraid this is the first of his books which I've read - a sad mistake on my part that I shall soon rectify.
"The First Ghosts" is a deeply informative look at an important aspect of Mesopotamiam civilization. It examines the the way in which people might interact (willingly or not) with the ghosts of the dead and the impact that this had on their lives. It also explores those professionals who were called upon to deal with ghosts on a regular basis, as well as looks at views on the netherworld.
And did I mention that it's fun? Finkle is one of those rare academics (and I write this as an academic myself; though one who is a novice in this field) who can write deeply informative prose while still having a sense of humor. His writing seems to embody that very British quality that is oft times called 'glibbness.' More than once I found myself sending snippets which I (at least) found to be funny and interesting at the same time.
This is an amazing work and I can't suggest it enough for those interested in Mesopotamia, the History of Magic and, of course, ghosts.
"The First Ghosts" is a deeply informative look at an important aspect of Mesopotamiam civilization. It examines the the way in which people might interact (willingly or not) with the ghosts of the dead and the impact that this had on their lives. It also explores those professionals who were called upon to deal with ghosts on a regular basis, as well as looks at views on the netherworld.
And did I mention that it's fun? Finkle is one of those rare academics (and I write this as an academic myself; though one who is a novice in this field) who can write deeply informative prose while still having a sense of humor. His writing seems to embody that very British quality that is oft times called 'glibbness.' More than once I found myself sending snippets which I (at least) found to be funny and interesting at the same time.
This is an amazing work and I can't suggest it enough for those interested in Mesopotamia, the History of Magic and, of course, ghosts.
January 26, 2022
Wonderfully readable, scholarly, and even humorous. Finkel provides a much needed reminder that our ancestors--like five to seven millennia ago--weren't crude and ignorant savages, but had sophisticated cultures and belief systems that provided many of the seed beliefs for Judeo-Christian religious traditions. Well worth the read, and you don't need to interpret cuneiform to enjoy it!
July 4, 2022
Irving Finkle is always a delight, but then again I will watch his lectures anytime so I’m biased. With chapters titled things like “The Delicate Art of Necromancy” and anything Gilgamesh it can’t go wrong for me though. His narration is also great, and the other two voice actors reading the quotes from the tablets was good.
The one reservation I have is that it’s a lot to take in, and since I listen to audiobooks while doing chores and stuff I sometimes lost track of what was being said, in particular for the earlier chapters listing spells and divinations. Also, I sometimes lost track when the cuneiform tablets was quoted and there were parts missing from the tablets and that might be easier to read instead of listening to? But that is mostly on me and I think I will enjoy listening to it again in the future.
The one reservation I have is that it’s a lot to take in, and since I listen to audiobooks while doing chores and stuff I sometimes lost track of what was being said, in particular for the earlier chapters listing spells and divinations. Also, I sometimes lost track when the cuneiform tablets was quoted and there were parts missing from the tablets and that might be easier to read instead of listening to? But that is mostly on me and I think I will enjoy listening to it again in the future.
August 27, 2024
This was a lovely and interesting audiobook about how ghosts first appeared in human texts, and all of the super weird rituals and things like that people would partake in to hopefully not be haunted/cursed. Eventually I’ll probably listen to this again!
June 20, 2025
The First Ghosts is a thorough evaluation and discussion of beliefs about ghosts and the afterlife in the early cuneiform area, meaning primarily Ancient Sumer and Assyria. The author uses a combination of written sources and insights from archaeology, though with an emphasis on the former. There is a good discussion of the differences between texts written as practical guidance (such as manuals on how to summon or exorcise a ghost) and more literary accounts, including how the netherworld is portrayed in big classics such as The Epic of Gilgamesh. The book is written in an academic but also witty tone, which I think adds a nice touch of humour to the reading experience. I did find that some chapters felt a bit disorganised at times, but I am inclined to consider that a natural consequence of working with very fragmentary material. Overall, The First Ghosts is an interesting and informative book on a fascinating subject, covering ancient cultures which are often overlooked outside of academia.
June 25, 2024
An interesting subject occasionally ruined by the writing style of the author. Some examples will suffice: "This would all make sense if That Woman both deterred ghostly attention as a moving prophylactic device and, simultaneously, was thought to absorb the evil into herself, like certain anti-mosquito devices" or "The great mass of unstoppable utukk u demonic elements that troubled the human race, however, came up freely from the Netherworld and were reluctantly sent back to the Netherworld by the magic powers of exorcists, where they regrouped, recharged their batteries and received instructions for new forays like fighter-pilot units" or "Ur-Namma reminds me, in this composition, of Al Capone".
July 11, 2025
I had a good deal of fun with this one. The thesis is simple: belief in and experiences of ghosts has been around for as long as we have records of humanity, giving us ample reason to believe they are rooted in true history (whatever lens we interpret it through). The evidence is in fact overwhelming to this end, and the justification for this thesis does a great job of anchoring it in actual historical data and good logical process. It's a fascinating romp through the pages of the ancient world, and a real and fair challenge to the materialist who desires to reduce the world to something we can readily control. Even if you don't draw the precise conclusions the author does (I myself take a slightly different path, albeit in a similarly spirited direciton), this is a studious and strong example of how good science and good history can awaken us to the reality of the spirit.
October 1, 2024
What a great nonfiction book to start Fall off with. While the beginning of this book is rather slow, it firmly ramps up with each consecutive chapter, leading to a profound and touching Conclusion. The topic of ghosts in the ancient world is an easy sell but this book keeps you interested for the whole time!
This author is so deeply personable and chatty with the audience - which is my preferred way to learn new topics or revisit favorite ones. The tone is familiar and humorous and I love authors who clearly just love humanity and all our eccentricities.
This author is so deeply personable and chatty with the audience - which is my preferred way to learn new topics or revisit favorite ones. The tone is familiar and humorous and I love authors who clearly just love humanity and all our eccentricities.
February 1, 2024
Why do we believe in ghosts? What do ancient texts tell us about the beginning of that belief? How are ancient tales and myths of gods related to stories of ghosts. Fascinating insight in our superstition or are they real? Loved it!
June 17, 2025
4.25 or 4.5 stars
Yeah, nothing like waiting literally several months to write a review. This book is fun, interesting, a bit heavy going at times, and has many LOL lines due to what was written by the original writers on their cuneiform tablets, due to the author's commentary on the tablets, and due to his delivery (the audiobook is narrated by the author, Dr Finkel). Dr F does occasionally do some snorting and lip smacking (And who likes either of those? Not me.), but he also rolls his Rrrrs and has some other amusing vocal tics.
Recommended!
Yeah, nothing like waiting literally several months to write a review. This book is fun, interesting, a bit heavy going at times, and has many LOL lines due to what was written by the original writers on their cuneiform tablets, due to the author's commentary on the tablets, and due to his delivery (the audiobook is narrated by the author, Dr Finkel). Dr F does occasionally do some snorting and lip smacking (And who likes either of those? Not me.), but he also rolls his Rrrrs and has some other amusing vocal tics.
Recommended!
January 24, 2023
A joyous read, Dr Finkel wears his erudition lightly. He treats the reader as an equal and his enthusiasm is contagious. I loved this book.
March 10, 2024
Far more academic than I had expected, but really interesting.
I did not like the two additional narrators who read the ancient texts. The male narrator sounds like the guy who read The Lord of the Rings, which kept distracting me because I expected hobbits and elves. The female narrator was way too loud compared to the main narrator and I had to be constantly adjusting the volume.
I did not like the two additional narrators who read the ancient texts. The male narrator sounds like the guy who read The Lord of the Rings, which kept distracting me because I expected hobbits and elves. The female narrator was way too loud compared to the main narrator and I had to be constantly adjusting the volume.
June 27, 2024
Very interesting! I may get a physical copy.
March 1, 2025
Fascinating book looking at the history of belief in ghosts, the practices of dealing with them, and the views of the netherworld ranging from the earliest Sumerian records through early Judaism.
April 1, 2025
An in depth and scholarly look at the origins of ghosts. Fascinating and well written if a little heavy going in places.
October 26, 2022
Very readable, as you'd expect from Irving Finkel. He has a peculiar way of making the very distant seem very near, which is probably what makes him such a good communicator of history.
August 15, 2023
This book is about the first written ghost lore, dating to about 3400 BC, from the Sumerians, Babylonians, and Assyrians. It talks about how ghosts were part of life then and also discusses how the belief in them has never gone away, tho ideas about them have changed.
February 26, 2023
I love this book. It’s both informative and funny. I would like to hang out with Mr. Finkle.
February 8, 2023
The First Ghosts written by Irving Finkel discusses the translated ancient scripts, from the Mesopotamians, the earliest humans which was in the Middle East and their attitudes & beliefs regarding ghosts. I heard about the book because I listened to a radio interview conducted by Richard Fidler. I can honestly say that it was one of the most interesting interviews he's done. But unfortunately, his information hasn't worked well in written format. I think I got more out of Richard sifting through and clarifying it all through conversation. The format is dry but also simplistic as though he's got a wealth of knowledge but tried to tame it down for the layperson. It's just lists of omens without any beautiful writing to tie it all together. From the way he spoke I thought the writing would be lyrical. Mr Finkel sounds like a really interesting, eccentric guy but I haven't enjoyed his writing here.
September 14, 2024
In this way we conclude our study of the first ghosts,
and how they arrived.
They have been here ever since.
A rich dive into the ghostworld, mythology, folk belief, burial rites and ghost-related practice of Ancient Mesopotamia, which Irving Finkel writes with grippingly infectious enthusiasm and a rare laid back tone of familiarity both with millenia-old history and its scholarship. You really see him as the magnetic curator with his beard full of whimsy as he delights over the minutia of library indexing in King Ashurbanipal's library.
February 7, 2022
Just the right blend of entertaining informativeness for my non academic self. Also liked the narrator's voice with his pleasant light dry British accent. That voice helped make this book a good choice before sleep as he could soothe me gently into it.
It was a bonus to realize that this narrator was actually the author of the book. Makes me think he'd be an interesting lecturer. Though maybe not if If I'm already sleepy.
It was a bonus to realize that this narrator was actually the author of the book. Makes me think he'd be an interesting lecturer. Though maybe not if If I'm already sleepy.
January 21, 2023
The book is a blast! Irving somehow manages to merge his adventurous spirit with that of an ancient mesopotamian ghost buster, delivering a book that is way too engaging for an academic literature, yet thrilling just as a Pirates of the Caribbean movie and its amazing. Like a Tardis it transports you back to the everyday lives of ancient Assyrians reading between the lines of the written documents.
So lets start from the very begining. The book is more towards the popular science category, as it goes straight to the action rather than trying to spend 50-60 pages formulating its subject of study. At the same time, it does feel like a high-academic piece as this subject is way too close to us - ghosts. Is there an adult in the world that never encountered ghosts whether directly or in a fictional manner, it seems (just like he states) ghosts have always been around. Thus, there is no need to go around and fight meaningless definitions while the actual material on site is so rich! Sooner rather than later, he does go in this direction, trying to differentiate ghosts from demons and other evil manace but he does so in such as playful fashion, a casual philosophy student would not event understand that what we are dealing with! The enriching perspective taken, the paradigm of the people living within those ages, is enhanced by the etymological hunt, rather than transformed into a burden that the discipline of language could simply get rid of to "enlighten" us with the true meaning of the words used. I've never ever read something that academicly honest, without all the academic burden.
Why's that, you may ask, and you would be asking a fare question. I believe a huge reason for that is the richness of source material. The incorporation of all those rich examples of spells, incantations, rituals, literature of these so close yet so vastly different people - the inhabitants of the land between the rivers, makes it so that you don't have to agree with the old wizard. As if you are his companion on this long journey to the lands of ancient Assyria, you have eyes on your own, you have mind on your own. You may reach different conclusions than the old man due to the clear separation of historical data and his own assumptions filling the gaps. You may ask your own questions and search for the answers within the provided source material and that by itself is very satisfying.
One example of that was that when I was reading the book I thought way too much about why people cared about the ghosts and what was the place of the ghosts within the human world. While Irving provides his explanation that it was always like that and those ghosts were very real, inescapable manace people needed to deal with them on a daily basis, my personal interpretation was different. It seemed to me that ghosts became restless when people treated them unfairly. As if there was a whole moral compass embedded in those exorcist rituals - how not to treat people, because if you treat them like that - be sure they will come back and haunt you. And the book allowed me to look into this thesis of mine, test it on to all of those rituals, saved spells, and ways people perceived the Netherworld.
Overall, I believe the book is an absolute masterpiece and everyone slightly interested in old stories, ghost stories, or historical anthropology of Ancient Mesopotamia, should pick it up and allow themselves to be ammused.
So lets start from the very begining. The book is more towards the popular science category, as it goes straight to the action rather than trying to spend 50-60 pages formulating its subject of study. At the same time, it does feel like a high-academic piece as this subject is way too close to us - ghosts. Is there an adult in the world that never encountered ghosts whether directly or in a fictional manner, it seems (just like he states) ghosts have always been around. Thus, there is no need to go around and fight meaningless definitions while the actual material on site is so rich! Sooner rather than later, he does go in this direction, trying to differentiate ghosts from demons and other evil manace but he does so in such as playful fashion, a casual philosophy student would not event understand that what we are dealing with! The enriching perspective taken, the paradigm of the people living within those ages, is enhanced by the etymological hunt, rather than transformed into a burden that the discipline of language could simply get rid of to "enlighten" us with the true meaning of the words used. I've never ever read something that academicly honest, without all the academic burden.
Why's that, you may ask, and you would be asking a fare question. I believe a huge reason for that is the richness of source material. The incorporation of all those rich examples of spells, incantations, rituals, literature of these so close yet so vastly different people - the inhabitants of the land between the rivers, makes it so that you don't have to agree with the old wizard. As if you are his companion on this long journey to the lands of ancient Assyria, you have eyes on your own, you have mind on your own. You may reach different conclusions than the old man due to the clear separation of historical data and his own assumptions filling the gaps. You may ask your own questions and search for the answers within the provided source material and that by itself is very satisfying.
One example of that was that when I was reading the book I thought way too much about why people cared about the ghosts and what was the place of the ghosts within the human world. While Irving provides his explanation that it was always like that and those ghosts were very real, inescapable manace people needed to deal with them on a daily basis, my personal interpretation was different. It seemed to me that ghosts became restless when people treated them unfairly. As if there was a whole moral compass embedded in those exorcist rituals - how not to treat people, because if you treat them like that - be sure they will come back and haunt you. And the book allowed me to look into this thesis of mine, test it on to all of those rituals, saved spells, and ways people perceived the Netherworld.
Overall, I believe the book is an absolute masterpiece and everyone slightly interested in old stories, ghost stories, or historical anthropology of Ancient Mesopotamia, should pick it up and allow themselves to be ammused.
July 17, 2024
It only glances at the Big Questions -- how far back can we trace a belief in spirits and the afterlife, and what are people actually experiencing when they see and hear ghosts? -- but Finkel does a definitive (for a nonacademic reader) job explaining how the first restless spirits of which we have any written record operated and were dealt with.
The ancient world, apparently, had ghosts the way we have mosquitoes: annoyances to be endured until the infestation became too distracting, scary or dangerous, which was the point where professionals were called in. In those days, much like now, ghosts dwelled in the netherworld, which Mesopotamians envisioned as far underground, but would return to plague the living when provoked: if they had not been properly buried, had not received the customary tribute from their descendants (including food and cool water, the latter poured down a pipe in the householder's yard, to supplement their postmortem diet of sand and clay) or had other unfinished business.
Exorcists were kept busy from the Sumerian era to Assyria and Babylonia, from what cuneiform records (including instruction manuals) tell us. Sometimes a particular spirit was actually wanted aboveground, to answer questions or provide a prophecy. The job of summoning it -- perhaps to speak via the departed's own skull, brought to the seance -- was dangerous work, partly because the shades may have resented the intrusion (think of Samuel's annoyance at being conjured by the Witch of Endor for Saul's benefit).
Finkel recounts epic poetry (from Gilgamesh on) describing the realm of the dead, but notes that literary treatments of gods and the afterlife didn't necessarily reflect everyday beliefs and practices. He likes to keep the tone light, which leads to some unnecessary jokes and unfortunate puns ("These four very focused omens deal with a family ghost's entering a person's ear, always something to be afeared of"). He has idiosyncratic explanations for some puzzling words and phrases, and despite being an accomplished scholar, cites Wikipedia a couple of times in the footnotes. His explanations of wordplay in cuneiform went pretty far over my head, and he says the Endor tale is authentic because (I'll paraphrase) it feels like something that would have happened. But he also offers fascinating asides (elements of Egyptian myth in Mesopotamian accounts of the gods, for example), and explains a fair amount of first-millennium BCE history in trying to pin down the circumstances under which a poem about an Assyrian prince's visit to the underworld was written.
As for the Big Questions: He notes that the evidence of burial with grave goods, possibly beginning with the Neanderthals, implies that some part of an individual survives death -- and is going somewhere. And he rejects the irritating idea that ancient reports of supernatural activity should be interpreted as metaphors, or symbols, or attempts to capture something ineffable: "The cynical process of second-guessing the meaning of evidence from antiquity serves no one ... the voices that cried out about their ghosts, argued with them and battled against them over nearly three millennia of texts in cuneiform must be taken at face value and hearkened to." A sentiment to warm a neurologist's heart, and to remind people that Julian Jaynes, whether his conclusions were right or wrong, was also one of the rare scholars to do ancient people the courtesy of taking them seriously.
The ancient world, apparently, had ghosts the way we have mosquitoes: annoyances to be endured until the infestation became too distracting, scary or dangerous, which was the point where professionals were called in. In those days, much like now, ghosts dwelled in the netherworld, which Mesopotamians envisioned as far underground, but would return to plague the living when provoked: if they had not been properly buried, had not received the customary tribute from their descendants (including food and cool water, the latter poured down a pipe in the householder's yard, to supplement their postmortem diet of sand and clay) or had other unfinished business.
Exorcists were kept busy from the Sumerian era to Assyria and Babylonia, from what cuneiform records (including instruction manuals) tell us. Sometimes a particular spirit was actually wanted aboveground, to answer questions or provide a prophecy. The job of summoning it -- perhaps to speak via the departed's own skull, brought to the seance -- was dangerous work, partly because the shades may have resented the intrusion (think of Samuel's annoyance at being conjured by the Witch of Endor for Saul's benefit).
Finkel recounts epic poetry (from Gilgamesh on) describing the realm of the dead, but notes that literary treatments of gods and the afterlife didn't necessarily reflect everyday beliefs and practices. He likes to keep the tone light, which leads to some unnecessary jokes and unfortunate puns ("These four very focused omens deal with a family ghost's entering a person's ear, always something to be afeared of"). He has idiosyncratic explanations for some puzzling words and phrases, and despite being an accomplished scholar, cites Wikipedia a couple of times in the footnotes. His explanations of wordplay in cuneiform went pretty far over my head, and he says the Endor tale is authentic because (I'll paraphrase) it feels like something that would have happened. But he also offers fascinating asides (elements of Egyptian myth in Mesopotamian accounts of the gods, for example), and explains a fair amount of first-millennium BCE history in trying to pin down the circumstances under which a poem about an Assyrian prince's visit to the underworld was written.
As for the Big Questions: He notes that the evidence of burial with grave goods, possibly beginning with the Neanderthals, implies that some part of an individual survives death -- and is going somewhere. And he rejects the irritating idea that ancient reports of supernatural activity should be interpreted as metaphors, or symbols, or attempts to capture something ineffable: "The cynical process of second-guessing the meaning of evidence from antiquity serves no one ... the voices that cried out about their ghosts, argued with them and battled against them over nearly three millennia of texts in cuneiform must be taken at face value and hearkened to." A sentiment to warm a neurologist's heart, and to remind people that Julian Jaynes, whether his conclusions were right or wrong, was also one of the rare scholars to do ancient people the courtesy of taking them seriously.
February 13, 2022
Um mergulho profundo na longevidade das tradições ligadas à morte, que nos leva aos tempos por demasiado tempo esquecidos da Suméria e Assíria. A descoberta, a partir do século XIX, dos vestígios escritos por entre as ruínas que polvilham os países que hoje ficam nos territórios do antigo crescente fértil, revelou-nos civilizações, mas mais do que isso, um profundo humanismo. Os milhares de tabuinhas de barro com inscrições em cuneiforme são na larga maioria dos casos meros documentos administrativos, mas só isso já nos dá uma profunda apreciação daqueles seres humanos que, há milénios, viveram e reclamaram contra clientes e fornecedores.
Saber que um dos textos mais fascinantes da humanidade, o Épico de Gilgamesh, esteve perdido durante milénios (embora tenha deixado algumas marcas na mitologia bíblica), e que está continuamente a ser reconstituído através dos fragmentos cuneiformes que vão sendo descobertos e decifrados, é assombroso. Especialmente ao perceber que os vestígios desse texto - e, como o livro nos mostra, de outras lendas, mitos e histórias, nos chegaram através de auxiliares didáticos. Numa sociedade onde só uns poucos liam e escreviam, a literatura servia para suavizar o ato de aprender a ler e escrever.
Finkel, um dos maiores especialistas nas línguas e cultura assíria e suméria (entre outras vertentes, é especialista nos jogos que divertiam estes nossos muito longínquos antepassados), leva-nos numa viagem de descoberta das tradições e mitos sobre os espíritos. É um mergulho no passado profundo. As visões antigas sobre a morte, o espírito, o destino após a morte são dissecadas em várias vertentes. Se o mito, recordado pelos textos literários ou mitos de divindades, é um dos pilares, o outro pilar são os registos e lista de hábitos e costumes, especialmente das artes divinatórias e exorcistas.
A crença em fantasmas e espíritos atravessa milénios e culturas, como Finkel bem demonstra. Mesmo que as concepções de vida e de pós-morte sejam profundamente diferentes. Os sumérios não tinham o conceito de infernos, essa delirante invenção da mitologia judaico-cristã para assustar as mentes incautas, mas a vida defunta nos seus submundos dependia muito do respeito dos vivos, da forma como estes honravam a memória dos seus mortos. Algo que é tão profundamente humano que nos liga à mais remota antiguidade e os grupos de hominídeos que nos antecederam. E sim, os antigos sumérios e assírios também tinham de lidar com fantasmagorias e aparições, embora não os temessem, os vissem mais como irritações no dia a dia.
A partir do fascínio pela ideia dos espíritos e fantasmas, Irving Finkel traz-nos a sua imensa erudição sobre a vida de culturas há muito extintas, quase esquecidas, soterradas pela poeira dos desertos do médio oriente.
Saber que um dos textos mais fascinantes da humanidade, o Épico de Gilgamesh, esteve perdido durante milénios (embora tenha deixado algumas marcas na mitologia bíblica), e que está continuamente a ser reconstituído através dos fragmentos cuneiformes que vão sendo descobertos e decifrados, é assombroso. Especialmente ao perceber que os vestígios desse texto - e, como o livro nos mostra, de outras lendas, mitos e histórias, nos chegaram através de auxiliares didáticos. Numa sociedade onde só uns poucos liam e escreviam, a literatura servia para suavizar o ato de aprender a ler e escrever.
Finkel, um dos maiores especialistas nas línguas e cultura assíria e suméria (entre outras vertentes, é especialista nos jogos que divertiam estes nossos muito longínquos antepassados), leva-nos numa viagem de descoberta das tradições e mitos sobre os espíritos. É um mergulho no passado profundo. As visões antigas sobre a morte, o espírito, o destino após a morte são dissecadas em várias vertentes. Se o mito, recordado pelos textos literários ou mitos de divindades, é um dos pilares, o outro pilar são os registos e lista de hábitos e costumes, especialmente das artes divinatórias e exorcistas.
A crença em fantasmas e espíritos atravessa milénios e culturas, como Finkel bem demonstra. Mesmo que as concepções de vida e de pós-morte sejam profundamente diferentes. Os sumérios não tinham o conceito de infernos, essa delirante invenção da mitologia judaico-cristã para assustar as mentes incautas, mas a vida defunta nos seus submundos dependia muito do respeito dos vivos, da forma como estes honravam a memória dos seus mortos. Algo que é tão profundamente humano que nos liga à mais remota antiguidade e os grupos de hominídeos que nos antecederam. E sim, os antigos sumérios e assírios também tinham de lidar com fantasmagorias e aparições, embora não os temessem, os vissem mais como irritações no dia a dia.
A partir do fascínio pela ideia dos espíritos e fantasmas, Irving Finkel traz-nos a sua imensa erudição sobre a vida de culturas há muito extintas, quase esquecidas, soterradas pela poeira dos desertos do médio oriente.
July 13, 2023
Fascinating! Dr. Irving Finkel is the British Museum Curator and an expert in the Ancient Mesopotamian Civilizations. I was going to wait and post this after I finish it along with a couple other books on my collection of Ancient Egypt anthology and Akkadian Anthology, but I was reading this and I got too excited to wait to post them all together. More to come for sure. 📚 😊 Despite popular belief, ancient literature and history is enthralling, captivating, and universally relatable. Most everyone knows about the Greek and Roman Classics and I do wish everyone reads them, but I wish everyone would give more attention to Ancient Mesopotamia also. Just read the Epic of Gilgamesh for a start, which has always being a favorite of mine. Regarding The First Ghosts by Dr. Finkel (Book shown in image) is accesible to everyone. Some of the information in this book will be well known if you have listened to Dr. Finkel's youtube lectures or if you have read other books in general about the subject of burial in Ancient Civilizations; however, there are also many intriguing and unknown general details and facts of archaeological matters, like specific discoveries and what was their significance and as the title suggests, the emphasis is on examining the tablets that mention specific burial rituals and the belief and treatment of ghosts in Mesopotamian daily life. The writing in some sentences can get a little choppy but overall, it is not a difficult read at all, and it's an intriguing introductory reading for a beginner reader, and a fun refresher for an academic reader or a scholar. Also, it's a quite brief book, only 320 pages with the endnotes included.
I wouldn't recommend it easily to everyone because the subject matter is so esoteric, and I understand some people might find the repetitive nature of the context in the tablets tedious. However, I enjoyed the information and reading the excerpts from the tablets. A negative is that the only edition published is in a small paperback format. This book needed to be in a large hardcover format with glossy pages and more illustration side by side with the information given.
I wouldn't recommend it easily to everyone because the subject matter is so esoteric, and I understand some people might find the repetitive nature of the context in the tablets tedious. However, I enjoyed the information and reading the excerpts from the tablets. A negative is that the only edition published is in a small paperback format. This book needed to be in a large hardcover format with glossy pages and more illustration side by side with the information given.
February 18, 2022
An exploration of the existence of ghosts in ancient Mesopotamia. I know, right, quite niche.
Anyway, one of the best things about writing, is when you write stuff down, especially in a fairly stable way, such as, for example, on millions of clay tablets, chances are people will be able to read it in thousands of years. The Assyrians were well into writing stuff down. They wrote lists and accounts and invoices. They wrote recipes and historical treatises and copied things from Sumerian, an even older language. The Bitish Museum is (imagine!) packed with cuneiform notes about pretty much everything, including methods of dealing with ghosts, whether you want them to go away and leave you alone or give you some tips about the future. This is all very fascinating and Finkel assembles his arguments and explanations in a reasonably chatty, accessible way.
I think the main thrust of his theory is that ghosts were entirely standard normal things to the Assyrians, no one questioned whether or not they existed, and he wonders if this is in fact the natural state for humanity - that a belief that those who die might return, for various reasons, is essentially wired in to our brains. There's some very interesting stuff about the removal of mentions of ghosts from the Bible through repeated translations, and all in all, if you're interested in belief systems, or writing, or the history of the middle east, it's well worth a read.
Now I'm off to YouTube to see if I can hear someone (possible Dr Finkel himself) actually reading the language aloud.
Anyway, one of the best things about writing, is when you write stuff down, especially in a fairly stable way, such as, for example, on millions of clay tablets, chances are people will be able to read it in thousands of years. The Assyrians were well into writing stuff down. They wrote lists and accounts and invoices. They wrote recipes and historical treatises and copied things from Sumerian, an even older language. The Bitish Museum is (imagine!) packed with cuneiform notes about pretty much everything, including methods of dealing with ghosts, whether you want them to go away and leave you alone or give you some tips about the future. This is all very fascinating and Finkel assembles his arguments and explanations in a reasonably chatty, accessible way.
I think the main thrust of his theory is that ghosts were entirely standard normal things to the Assyrians, no one questioned whether or not they existed, and he wonders if this is in fact the natural state for humanity - that a belief that those who die might return, for various reasons, is essentially wired in to our brains. There's some very interesting stuff about the removal of mentions of ghosts from the Bible through repeated translations, and all in all, if you're interested in belief systems, or writing, or the history of the middle east, it's well worth a read.
Now I'm off to YouTube to see if I can hear someone (possible Dr Finkel himself) actually reading the language aloud.
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