Die Kunst Des Betens

Annette Zgoll examines Akkadian "Handerhebungsgebete" (shu-ila) directed to the goddess Ishtar. Her study comprises editions of Ishtar 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 10, 23, and 31, including transliterations, translations and commentaries. These prayers are thoroughly analysed regarding their rhetoric, their style, and their grammar. Special attention is payed to the theology that can be reconstructed out of the texts with emphasis on the interaction of the praying individual and the goddess to whom the prayers are directed. The study is supplemented by the edition of fragmentary prayers to Ishtar.