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9781138063624

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Aaron Tugendhaft's book comes as a very welcome contribution. For he means to overturn the standard interpretation of the well-known ancient Ugaritic poem about the god Ba'al, which sees it as a myth establishing the kingship of Ba'al in heaven, bringing cosmic order by defeating the enemy deities who would disrupt it. For Tugendhaft, rather, the poem is a meditation on kingship, divine as well as human, and its limitations; it has an open ending, leaving the establishment of a firm sovereignty, whether of Ba'al or another deity, up in the air. Tugendhaft makes a compelling case, which should provoke serious discussion. Based on an insightful scrutiny of the ancient evidence, it is a case that, as he shows, is relevant on a much wider scale as well: indeed, for the very nature of myth in modern as well as ancient culture. - Peter Machinist, Harvard University, USA [a] fascinating book - Eric Schliesser, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands, Digressions & Impressions blog: http://digressionsnimpressions.typepad.com/digressionsimpressions/2017/11/on-the-first-political-philosopher-ilimilku-of-ugarit.html Not only learned but incredibly well-written - Christopher B. Hays, Fuller Theological Seminary, USA Baal and the Politics of Poetry offers a persuasive and nuanced interpretation of the Baal Cycle. Tugendhaft does an excellent job of re-embedding the Baal Cycle in its historical context with his frequent and illuminating references to administrative and diplomatic texts from the Late Bronze Age ... Tugendhaft is to be congratulated for significantly advancing the scholarship on the Baal Cycle. - Aren M. Wilson-Wright, Universitat Zurich, Switzerland, Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2018

Aaron Tugendhaft's book comes as a very welcome contribution. For he means to overturn the standard interpretation of the well-known ancient Ugaritic poem about the god Ba'al, which sees it as a myth establishing the kingship of Ba'al in heaven, bringing cosmic order by defeating the enemy deities who would disrupt it. For Tugendhaft, rather, the poem is a meditation on kingship, divine as well as human, and its limitations; it has an open ending, leaving the establishment of a firm sovereignty, whether of Ba'al or another deity, up in the air. Tugendhaft makes a compelling case, which should provoke serious discussion. Based on an insightful scrutiny of the ancient evidence, it is a case that, as he shows, is relevant on a much wider scale as well: indeed, for the very nature of myth in modern as well as ancient culture. - Peter Machinist, Harvard University, USA [a] fascinating book - Eric Schliesser, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands, Digressions & Impressions blog: http://digressionsnimpressions.typepad.com/digressionsimpressions/2017/11/on-the-first-political-philosopher-ilimilku-of-ugarit.html Not only learned but incredibly well-written - Christopher B. Hays, Fuller Theological Seminary, USA Baal and the Politics of Poetry offers a persuasive and nuanced interpretation of the Baal Cycle. Tugendhaft does an excellent job of re-embedding the Baal Cycle in its historical context with his frequent and illuminating references to administrative and diplomatic texts from the Late Bronze Age ... Tugendhaft is to be congratulated for significantly advancing the scholarship on the Baal Cycle. - Aren M. Wilson-Wright, Universitat Zurich, Switzerland, Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2018 Not only does Aaron Tugendhaft's interpretation shed considerable light on the cycle in its coherence, but the cycle itself, read in this way, makes it possible to grasp how international relations and conceptions of kinship fit together. - Christophe Lemardele, CNRS, France, Semitica et Classica 2019

Aaron Tugendhaft's book comes as a very welcome contribution. For he means to overturn the standard interpretation of the well-known ancient Ugaritic poem about the god Baal, which sees it as a myth establishing the kingship of Baal in heaven, bringing cosmic order by defeating the enemy deities who would disrupt it. For Tugendhaft, rather, the poem is a meditation on kingship, divine as well as human, and its limitations; it has an open ending, leaving the establishment of a firm sovereignty, whether of Baal or another deity, up in the air. Tugendhaft makes a compelling case, which should provoke serious discussion. Based on an insightful scrutiny of the ancient evidence, it is a case that, as he shows, is relevant on a much wider scale as well: indeed, for the very nature of myth in modern as well as ancient culture. Peter Machinist, Harvard University, USA

Aaron Tugendhaft's book comes as a very welcome contribution. For he means to overturn the standard interpretation of the well-known ancient Ugaritic poem about the god Ba'al, which sees it as a myth establishing the kingship of Ba'al in heaven, bringing cosmic order by defeating the enemy deities who would disrupt it. For Tugendhaft, rather, the poem is a meditation on kingship, divine as well as human, and its limitations; it has an open ending, leaving the establishment of a firm sovereignty, whether of Ba'al or another deity, up in the air. Tugendhaft makes a compelling case, which should provoke serious discussion. Based on an insightful scrutiny of the ancient evidence, it is a case that, as he shows, is relevant on a much wider scale as well: indeed, for the very nature of myth in modern as well as ancient culture. - Peter Machinist, Harvard University, USA [a] fascinating book - Eric Schliesser, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands, Digressions & Impressions blog: http://digressionsnimpressions.typepad.com/digressionsimpressions/2017/11/on-the-first-political-philosopher-ilimilku-of-ugarit.html Not only learned but incredibly well-written - Christopher B. Hays, Fuller Theological Seminary, USA

Aaron Tugendhaft's book comes as a very welcome contribution. For he means to overturn the standard interpretation of the well-known ancient Ugaritic poem about the god Ba'al, which sees it as a myth establishing the kingship of Ba'al in heaven, bringing cosmic order by defeating the enemy deities who would disrupt it. For Tugendhaft, rather, the poem is a meditation on kingship, divine as well as human, and its limitations; it has an open ending, leaving the establishment of a firm sovereignty, whether of Ba'al or another deity, up in the air. Tugendhaft makes a compelling case, which should provoke serious discussion. Based on an insightful scrutiny of the ancient evidence, it is a case that, as he shows, is relevant on a much wider scale as well: indeed, for the very nature of myth in modern as well as ancient culture. - Peter Machinist, Harvard University, USA [a] fascinating book - Eric Schliesser, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands, Digressions & Impressions blog: http://digressionsnimpressions.typepad.com/digressionsimpressions/2017/11/on-the-first-political-philosopher-ilimilku-of-ugarit.html Not only learned but incredibly well-written - Christopher B. Hays, Fuller Theological Seminary, USA Baal and the Politics of Poetry offers a persuasive and nuanced interpretation of the Baal Cycle. Tugendhaft does an excellent job of re-embedding the Baal Cycle in its historical context with his frequent and illuminating references to administrative and diplomatic texts from the Late Bronze Age ... Tugendhaft is to be congratulated for significantly advancing the scholarship on the Baal Cycle. - Aren M. Wilson-Wright, Universitat Zurich, Switzerland, Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2018 Not only does Aaron Tugendhaft's interpretation shed considerable light on the cycle in its coherence, but the cycle itself, read in this way, makes it possible to grasp how international relations and conceptions of kinship fit together. - Christophe Lemardele, CNRS, France, Semitica et Classica 2019 [this book] opens new ways in the research on the function of this myth and its relationship to history ... the major strength of the book remains the light that is [shone] on the scribes in Ugarit, their influence but also the practice and practice of their art or their authority. - Stephanie Anthonioz, Universite Catholique de Lille, France, Syria journal 2018

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Aaron Tugendhaft is Collegiate Assistant Professor of the Humanities and Harper Fellow in the Society of Fellows in the Liberal Arts at the University of Chicago, Illinois, USA.

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