Adapa and the Food of Life — R.W. Rogers — The Babylonian myth of Adapa, who was granted wisdom but denied eternal life, translated by R.W. Rogers from cuneiform tablets.
Ancient Fragments — I.P. Cory — Isaac Preston Cory's Ancient Fragments — the preserved writings of Sanchuniathon (Phoenician cosmogony), Berossus (Chaldean history), Manetho (Egyptian dynasties), and other ancient authors surviving only in Greek quotation. The primary source collection for ancient Near Eastern religions as known through classical intermediaries.
Hymn to Babylon — A newly discovered Babylonian hymn praising Marduk, the Esagil temple, and the city of Babylon — celebrating its people as protectors of orphans, liberators of prisoners, and welcomers of foreigners.
Introduction to Mesopotamian Religion — An introduction to the sacred literature of ancient Mesopotamia — its gods, its scribes, its clay tablets, and the civilisation that first wrote the world into being.
Ishtar and Izdubar — Leonidas Le Cenci Hamilton — Leonidas Le Cenci Hamilton's 1884 Victorian poetic rendering of the Gilgamesh saga, among the first English translations of the Babylonian epic.
Myths of Babylonia and Assyria — Donald Mackenzie — Donald Mackenzie's 1915 survey of Babylonian and Assyrian mythology, religion, history, and culture, from the dawn of Sumerian civilization through the fall of the empires.
Sumerian Mythology — Samuel Noah Kramer — Samuel Noah Kramer's foundational study of Sumerian mythology, presenting translations and analysis of the oldest literary texts in the world.
The Chaldean Account of the Deluge — George Smith — George Smith's 1873 paper announcing the discovery of the Babylonian flood narrative from the cuneiform tablets of Nineveh, a landmark in Near Eastern archaeology.
The Code of Hammurabi — L.W. King — The earliest known written legal code, composed about 1780 B.C.E. by Hammurabi of Babylon, translated by L.W. King.
The Epic of Gilgamish — R. Campbell Thompson — R. Campbell Thompson's 1928 translation of the Epic of Gilgamish, rendered into English hexameters from a fresh collation of the cuneiform tablets in the British Museum.
The Lament for Ur — The Lament for Ur — the great Sumerian dirge for the destruction of the city of Ur by the Elamites, composed circa 2000 BCE. Translated from Sumerian.
The Letter of Ilum-ma — An Old Babylonian personal letter from a man in fear to his friend, asking Shamash whether he should die or live. From Sippar-Amnanum, circa 1800 BCE.
The Report of Balasi — A Neo-Assyrian astronomical report from the court scholar Balasi to the king, interpreting celestial omens concerning Mars, Saturn, the Moon, and the Raven. Seventh century BCE.
The Second Letter of Ilum-ma — A second Old Babylonian letter from Ilum-ma to his friends, pleading for counsel and safe passage to Sippar. From Sippar-Amnanum, circa 1800 BCE.
The Seven Evil Spirits — R.C. Thompson — Babylonian incantation texts describing the Seven Evil Spirits, translated by R.C. Thompson from cuneiform tablets.
The Seven Tablets of Creation — L.W. King — L.W. King's authoritative 1902 edition of the Enuma Elish, the Babylonian creation myth, with introduction and related texts from cuneiform tablets in the British Museum.
Looking for the Tianmu translations? [Click here!](/way-of-tianmu/translations)