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Purification, Defilement, and Privilege? An Example from the Hemerological and Menological Corpus

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Abstract

This paper discusses the purity instructions found in the Lying Down Menology, the latest addition to the corpus of hemerological and menological literature from Babylonia and Assyria. After briefly describing the nature of this text and its instructions for incubation rituals, the discussion will focus on purity in this context, establishing that the dirtiness prescribed in some of the instructions relates to other negative aspects incorporated in the ritual, such as eating malodorous foods. Finally, I will argue that the use of luxury products in this ritual suggests that only the wealthy members of the upper social classes could adhere to the instructions of the Lying Down Menology throughout all twelve months of the year.


Open access | Peer reviewed

Presentato: 18 Luglio 2024 | Accettato: 02 Ottobre 2024 | Pubblicato 19 Dicembre 2024 | Lingua: en

Keywords Incubation • Hemerologies and menologies • Calendar • Scented oils • RItual instructions • Anointment

Copyright © 2024 Aino Hätinen. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/KASKAL/5235-1939/2024/01/011