GODS WITH FACES: A VIEW FROM SUMERIAN, AKKADIAN, HITTITE, OLD TESTAMENT AND EARLY GREEK LITERATURE
GODS WITH FACES: A VIEW FROM SUMERIAN, AKKADIAN, HITTITE, OLD TESTAMENT AND EARLY GREEK LITERATURE

Summary/Abstract: This article compares the symbolic and other meanings of divine faces across ancient cultures. It explores how they are portrayed in terms of fierceness, kindness, eroticism, and power, and how these portrayals influence human-divine interactions, such as looking at the face of a god, which may be beneficial or dangerous. In Mesopotamian texts there is a greater richness in the use of faces than in Homer, though in him and the Homeric Hymns they can feature at significant moments. In the Old Testament, face-to-face meetings are a crucial feature in the establishment of the Israelites as a powerful nation.

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