Jealous gods and chosen people the mythology of the Middle East - Leeming, David Adams (Oxford University Press, 2004)
Master and use copy. Digital master created according to Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials, Version 1. Digital Library Federation, December 2002
Includes bibliographical references (p. 133-138) and index
Part 1: Historical background: Prehistory ; Bronze Age ; Iron Age ; Jews, Christians, and Muslims -- Part 2: Mythologies: Mythology of prehistory ; Mythology of Mesopotamia ; Mythology of Egypt ; Mythology of Anatolia ; Mythology of the Western Semites ; Mythology of Arabia and the Muslims
Scholar Leeming offers the first comprehensive narrative study of the mythology of the Middle East, that tumultuous region that was the cradle of civilization. Leeming begins with a brief history, followed by an in-depth discussion of the mythology of the region, ranging from prehistoric figures such as the mother goddess of Catal Huyuk to Mesopotamian gods such as Marduk and mythic heroes such as Gilgamesh, to the pantheon of Egyptian mythology. He also explores the mythology of the three great monotheistic religions of the region: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In a provocative epilogue, Leeming notes that fundamentalists in the area's three religions today all see their way as the only way, forgetting that myths represent truths that are spiritual and philosophical, not historical events that can be used to justify acts of violence.--From publisher description