Loose Threads of Tradition: Two Late Hemerological Compilations

Abstract

Hemerologies were among the most widespread texts in ancient Mesopotamia. Known already in the Old Babylonian period, they were copied until the end of cuneiform culture, but the manuscripts often elaborate on their originals to create new, heterogeneous compositions. This paper suggests dividing hemerologies into two broad categories, according to the way they were transmitted: the first group consists of standardized texts, such as series and short manuals, which were transmitted in a more or less fixed format. The second category contains treatises composed ad hoc by combining various pieces of hemerological lore. These treatises, which are here called “hemerological compilations,” were usually short-lived and are typically preserved in only one manuscript. It will be shown that several of the most important hemerological texts known today are best described as “hemerological compilations.” In addition, two almost completely preserved tablets from Babylon are edited here for the first time. Dating to Achaemenid and Seleucid times, they represent the latest known examples of such “hemerological compilations.”