Reading Creation Myths Economically in Ancient Mesopotamia and Israel

Eric J. Harvey (Stanford University)

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English

Cambridge University Press
04 September 2025

Ancient history: to c 500 CE; Archaeology by period & region; Political economy; Economic history

Series: Elements in Ancient and Pre-modern Economies

Summary
Details

Creation myths in the ancient Middle East served, among other things, as works of political economy, justifying and naturalizing materially intensive ritual practices and their entanglements with broader economic processes and institutions. These rituals were organized according to a common ideology of divine service, which portrayed the gods as an aristocratic leisure class whose material needs were provided by human beings. Resources for divine service were extracted from the productive sectors of society and channeled inward to the temple and palace institutions, where they served to satiate the gods and support their human servants. This Element examines various forms of the economics of divine service, and how they were supported in a selection of myths – Atraḫasis, Enki and Ninmaḫ, and Enūma Eliš from Mesopotamia and the story of the Garden of Eden from the southern Levant (Israel).

By: Eric J. Harvey (Stanford University)
Imprint: Cambridge University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
ISBN: 9781009559911
ISBN 10: 1009559915
Series: Elements in Ancient and Pre-modern Economies
Pages: 88
Publication Date: 04 September 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active