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The Divine Love Lyrics is a thematically cohesive collection of approximately 50 cuneiform texts from the 1st millennium BCE, originating in Assyria and Babylonia. These texts are connected to religious ceremonies in Babylon that revolved around the city’s principal deities: Marduk, his wife Zarpanitu, and his lover, Ištar of Babylon. Long recognized as a significant corpus in Assyriology, particularly through the pioneering work of W. G. Lambert, the Divine Love Lyrics have often been referenced in discussions of love, sexuality, and ritual in Mesopotamian culture. Yet, despite their importance, no comprehensive edition or detailed study of these complex and often enigmatic texts has been undertaken—until now.
This book aims to fill that gap. By expanding the known corpus, clarifying its structure and themes, and providing a meticulous edition and translation of each tablet, it offers a thorough philological foundation for future research. The study deepens our understanding of this fascinating yet challenging body of texts, shedding new light on their literary, religious, and cultural significance within the later phases of ancient Mesopotamia.
This book aims to fill that gap. By expanding the known corpus, clarifying its structure and themes, and providing a meticulous edition and translation of each tablet, it offers a thorough philological foundation for future research. The study deepens our understanding of this fascinating yet challenging body of texts, shedding new light on their literary, religious, and cultural significance within the later phases of ancient Mesopotamia.
Price: $145.00
Pages: 330
Publisher: Brill
Imprint: Brill
Series: Cuneiform Monographs
Publication Date:
09 October 2025
ISBN: 9789004741584
Format: Hardcover
Rocío Da Riva, Ph.D. (Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, 2001), is a professor of Prehistory in the Department of History and Archaeology of the University of Barcelona. She has published extensively (monographs, chapters of books and articles) on Babylonian temples, their economy and their festivals, on Babylonian history, historiography and royal inscriptions, and on Akkadian literature.
Nathan Wasserman, Ph.D. (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1993), is a professor of Assyriology at the Institute of Archaeology in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His research focuses on Akkadian literary texts, with particular interest in areas such as myths, hymns, rituals, wisdom and amorous literature, and magical texts. He has published several monographs on these subjects, as well as a recent book on Old Babylonian political history (Brill).
Nathan Wasserman, Ph.D. (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1993), is a professor of Assyriology at the Institute of Archaeology in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His research focuses on Akkadian literary texts, with particular interest in areas such as myths, hymns, rituals, wisdom and amorous literature, and magical texts. He has published several monographs on these subjects, as well as a recent book on Old Babylonian political history (Brill).