Thorkild Jacobsen

Abstract: The above work is in large measure a recapitulation of theories and interpretations propounded by Jacobsen in earlier writings— in particular, The intellectual adventure of ancient man (ed. H. Frankfort and others, Chicago, 1946), and those articles on religious topics collected in Toward the image of Tammuz (ed. W. L. Moran, Harvard, 1970). In the latter volume are to be found jacobsen's analysis of Dumuzi and his cult (pp. 52-71, 73-101; for a critique see B. Alster, Dumuzi's dream, Copenhagen, 1972, 10-12), the proposal to distinguish between ' transitive' and ' intransitive ' deities in the early Sumerian pantheon (pp. 1-15), and the attempt to characterize certain periods of Mesopotamian religious history in terms of key ' metaphors ' (pp. 39-46). These and other issues are treated again in the present work (in passages, verbatim), but without the detailed annotation of most of Jacobsen's earlier presentations. In many respects it is hard to judge what readership is envisaged for The treasures of darkness. The Assyriologist will regret the lack of annotation, especially in those many instances in which, without comment, Jacobsen's interpretation departs strikingly from the customary. The general reader is likely to regret the absence of historical introduction, maps, and glossary, and the fact that references to texts discussed are usually to cuneiform publications rather than to accessible editions or translations. The sub-title proclaims the book to be ' A history of Mesopotamian religion '. While it is true that the ' history of religion ' may mean different things to scholars in different disciplines (see, for example, M. Eliade and J. M. Kitagawa (ed.), The history of religions: essays in methodology, Chicago, 1959), Jacobsen's interpretation of the term is singular. He compares the task of the historian of religion to that of the literary historian and argues that it is incumbent on both to select for discussion only what the historian judges to be the highest achieve-