Personal Hygiene or Cultic Purity? Analysis of Cleansing Acts in Hemerologies of the First Millennium BC

Kikuchi, Saki (2024): Personal Hygiene or Cultic Purity? Analysis of Cleansing Acts in Hemerologies of the First Millennium BC. In: Kaskal : Rivista di Storia, Ambienti e Culture del Vicino Oriente Antico, Vol. 1: pp. 147-157

Abstract

This paper discusses hygiene practices in ancient Mesopotamia through an analysis of hemerologies from the first millennium BC. Hemerologies are calendrical works that offer insights into daily life by providing instructions for various activities, including cleansing acts. By examining the relationship of the cleansing instructions to other instructions within hemerologies, analysing Akkadian terminologies used to describe cleansing acts, and investigating the associations of the assigned dates with the dates of cultic events in the monthly and annual cults, the study aims to determine whether the cleansing and purification instructions are motivated by a hygiene or health problem, or intended to ensure cultic purity.

• Item Type: Journal article
• Keywords: Cleansing practices; Daily life; Hemerology; Hygiene; Purity
• Faculties: History and Art History > Department of History > Ancient History; Cultural Studies > Department of Ancient and Modern Cultures > Assyriology and Hethitology
• Subjects: 900 History and geography > 930 History of ancient world (to ca. 499)
• ISSN: 2036-5845
• Language: English