A fascinating, if harrowing, history of witches (and the patriarchy). It really makes me wonder about how those societies in the 6-4th millenniums BCE would have been.
Wow ! Fascinating topic and as I read this I keep coming back to the question, when did this switch happen, and why it seems suddenly that society flipped to patriarchy but to the demonisation of woman? It feels like any changing of the guard, when a new power takes over, they need to loosen the bonds and legacy of the previous and so they either decimate them or demonise them
Thank you for the thoughtful comment!! 🙏 To be honest, my essay is not a great overview of the topic, I think I’m missing many pieces. 🙈
I think the shift happened slowly. My look into witches here covers 3 millennia - with a more noticeable shift happening in the 1st and 2nd millennium BCE, in terms of the examples I used for women’s status + link to witches (or rather witchcraft accusations) - so, in Mesopotamia at least, it seems it started around that time…
And yeah, I totally know what you mean about the changing of the guard… I think when the change from villages➡️cities came, life for those city-dwellers changed quite a bit in so many ways, and it happened over time & generations…with kind of perpetual(?) conflict in the background, like city-states warring with each other, and several cultures rising and falling… so women’s status was affected by all that too. I’m rambling, but I guess what I mean is it’s hard to pinpoint all the reasons or even methods of the shift there, and the reasons probably varied each time to suit the purpose sought… but yeah, it’s bleak for sure.
I might do a deep dive in the future that’s more zeroed in on gender specifically, there’s a lot to it and I definitely need to find out more 🙈🫠
Yeah! Ita a huge tangle of threads to pull apart to try and locate how it began and when and why. But as you’ve astutely pointed out, pretty much all primary sources and secondary of what we have of “history” is just that, with the emphasis on HIS, all written by men and then when these texts were initially discovered they were first interpreted and translated by men until at least 19th century when we had the emergence of some female scholars but the feminine voice is lacking and what accounts we have of women mentioned in scriptures or ancient texts are all through the perception of a male voice. I’ve been leaning personally more towards the oral traditions like folklore to expand my view a bit and of course early shamanism more likely originated through women. I recently discovered the work of author, historian Max Dashu. She has a youtube channel too and I find her compilation of work and resources amazing! I think you’d enjoy her research
Agh, I was all set to start this comment with "I really enjoyed this article" until the last account. Utterly harrowing and sobering way to ground the genuine horror and reality of such accusations. That aside, it's a really enjoyable piece! I think the shift in gender imbalance mirrors what is going on in Greece around the same time, (Jake Stratton-Kent touches on this in his excellent Geosophia which you might enjoy) specifically concerning the role the Goes holds. It appears to be (and again, no expert) that this shift occurs during the rise of the city/polis. Progress eh? Thanks so much for sharing this!
Thank you so much!! Yes, exactly, the accusation itself is absolutely horrifying - especially if you’re a woman of lesser means than your accuser, as I’m implying Marat-Ishtar and Meptum very probably were, based on the (scant) details of their account. When belief, gender, and status/class mix and collide in law, there’s a big opportunity for scapegoating and abuse; I tend to assume the worst in accusers when the price to be paid is so extreme (one’s life and property.)
I will definitely check out Stratton-Kent, thank you for mentioning! I’m no expert either, but yeah, definitely when we get to the size of city-states all sorts of wonderful and horrible “innovations” (both) start appearing. “Progress” seems to always be a double-edged sword, if nothing else. Not sure our brains have caught up to living in societies on that kind of scale, still.
Yay!! Another Mesopotamia-person 😍 Helloooooooooooooooo
(Being an Assyriologist I'm gonna be the looming shadow fact checking everything on this account from now on eheheheh..... just kidding meeting another Mesopotamia-nerd always feels like meeting another Dane out in the world, cause, you know, there's practically none of us so it's always special teehee)
And really nice piece! It takes patience trying to even remotely immerse oneself in the confusing maze of Mesopotamian magic and witchcraft, and which of the many kinds of exorcist-doctor-priest does what, and so on, so really, cudos!
YESSS hi hi hello!!!! All I saw was “Assyriologist” and I metaphorically ran to subscribe 🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️ - been looking for real assyriologist accounts on here since I arrived - was seriously losing all hope til today!! Going to be reading thru all of your writings this weekend 👏
Pleaaaaase if you feel so inclined, fact-check anything and everything lol! It’s so darn hard doing self-study in this field, I welcome any & all pearls of wisdom and fact you ever feel offering 😆🙏🙌
And thank you! Definitely hard to get a handle on, I’m still reading in the topic and probably always will (I mean, it’s like a catnip topic! So fascinating 🎉)
Yea I notice I also haven't found any other Assyriologists in here yet (there MUST be at least one more somewhere... right?... right?)
Yay! I of course focus a lot on the sort of under-studied spaces between Mesopotamian and Biblical religion and literature, but I think that's a pretty darn interesting field to occupy personally! Currently applying for a PhD in Amsterdam where I could go much further down that rabbit hole heheh 🤞
Oh I could imagine that self-study in Assyriology would be an actual feverdream of finding literature that isn't cooky and outdated, and also all the French and German ahahahahaha. Please, by all means, if you ever want directions or recommendations on literature for some purpose, hit me up!!
Seriously so excited on your behalf and a little jealous as well!!! 😂 Can’t wait to see how your future studies will show up in your dispatches, it’s a fascinating intersection to occupy indeed!
And lordy, you have no idea…. I feel like I’m constantly dodging cooks bullets while looking for more sources 💀 and I hope you don’t regret offering, because I’m very likely to take you up on that 🤣🙏 Thank you (and apologies?) well in advance lol 🥲
If I can play any part in spreading knowledge about Mesopotamia far and wide, I will take any part in it necessary, so do not be afraid to ask! If time allows it and the stars align we can do a feature or something one day too! I may also be starting a podcast.. and some other (for now) secret stuff...... I will keep you updated!
PLEASE START A PODCAST!!!! 🙌😳 Seriously there is a such a gap in podcasting on this topic as well!! It drives civilians like me mad 🫠 I don’t know how but if I can be of assistance in that endeavor I would seriously help pro bono, I too wish to spread the love of Mesopotamia to as many as possible (it’s why I’m here in the first place 😆)
Thank you so much 🙏 And oh my, likewise! 🙌
This was so interesting… please post more; I love reading your work ❤️
I’m so happy to hear and thank you so much!! Definitely, not stopping any time soon - I’m endlessly fascinated by ancient Mesopotamia ✨🤩
A fascinating, if harrowing, history of witches (and the patriarchy). It really makes me wonder about how those societies in the 6-4th millenniums BCE would have been.
Thank you! It’s a small piece, but I’m glad that came across because I agree. And, same, this is my Roman Empire haha
Wow ! Fascinating topic and as I read this I keep coming back to the question, when did this switch happen, and why it seems suddenly that society flipped to patriarchy but to the demonisation of woman? It feels like any changing of the guard, when a new power takes over, they need to loosen the bonds and legacy of the previous and so they either decimate them or demonise them
Thank you for the thoughtful comment!! 🙏 To be honest, my essay is not a great overview of the topic, I think I’m missing many pieces. 🙈
I think the shift happened slowly. My look into witches here covers 3 millennia - with a more noticeable shift happening in the 1st and 2nd millennium BCE, in terms of the examples I used for women’s status + link to witches (or rather witchcraft accusations) - so, in Mesopotamia at least, it seems it started around that time…
And yeah, I totally know what you mean about the changing of the guard… I think when the change from villages➡️cities came, life for those city-dwellers changed quite a bit in so many ways, and it happened over time & generations…with kind of perpetual(?) conflict in the background, like city-states warring with each other, and several cultures rising and falling… so women’s status was affected by all that too. I’m rambling, but I guess what I mean is it’s hard to pinpoint all the reasons or even methods of the shift there, and the reasons probably varied each time to suit the purpose sought… but yeah, it’s bleak for sure.
I might do a deep dive in the future that’s more zeroed in on gender specifically, there’s a lot to it and I definitely need to find out more 🙈🫠
Yeah! Ita a huge tangle of threads to pull apart to try and locate how it began and when and why. But as you’ve astutely pointed out, pretty much all primary sources and secondary of what we have of “history” is just that, with the emphasis on HIS, all written by men and then when these texts were initially discovered they were first interpreted and translated by men until at least 19th century when we had the emergence of some female scholars but the feminine voice is lacking and what accounts we have of women mentioned in scriptures or ancient texts are all through the perception of a male voice. I’ve been leaning personally more towards the oral traditions like folklore to expand my view a bit and of course early shamanism more likely originated through women. I recently discovered the work of author, historian Max Dashu. She has a youtube channel too and I find her compilation of work and resources amazing! I think you’d enjoy her research
100% on all! And ooooo thank you very much for the rec, I will check out her channel! 🤩🙏🙌
Agh, I was all set to start this comment with "I really enjoyed this article" until the last account. Utterly harrowing and sobering way to ground the genuine horror and reality of such accusations. That aside, it's a really enjoyable piece! I think the shift in gender imbalance mirrors what is going on in Greece around the same time, (Jake Stratton-Kent touches on this in his excellent Geosophia which you might enjoy) specifically concerning the role the Goes holds. It appears to be (and again, no expert) that this shift occurs during the rise of the city/polis. Progress eh? Thanks so much for sharing this!
Thank you so much!! Yes, exactly, the accusation itself is absolutely horrifying - especially if you’re a woman of lesser means than your accuser, as I’m implying Marat-Ishtar and Meptum very probably were, based on the (scant) details of their account. When belief, gender, and status/class mix and collide in law, there’s a big opportunity for scapegoating and abuse; I tend to assume the worst in accusers when the price to be paid is so extreme (one’s life and property.)
I will definitely check out Stratton-Kent, thank you for mentioning! I’m no expert either, but yeah, definitely when we get to the size of city-states all sorts of wonderful and horrible “innovations” (both) start appearing. “Progress” seems to always be a double-edged sword, if nothing else. Not sure our brains have caught up to living in societies on that kind of scale, still.
Yay!! Another Mesopotamia-person 😍 Helloooooooooooooooo
(Being an Assyriologist I'm gonna be the looming shadow fact checking everything on this account from now on eheheheh..... just kidding meeting another Mesopotamia-nerd always feels like meeting another Dane out in the world, cause, you know, there's practically none of us so it's always special teehee)
And really nice piece! It takes patience trying to even remotely immerse oneself in the confusing maze of Mesopotamian magic and witchcraft, and which of the many kinds of exorcist-doctor-priest does what, and so on, so really, cudos!
YESSS hi hi hello!!!! All I saw was “Assyriologist” and I metaphorically ran to subscribe 🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️ - been looking for real assyriologist accounts on here since I arrived - was seriously losing all hope til today!! Going to be reading thru all of your writings this weekend 👏
Pleaaaaase if you feel so inclined, fact-check anything and everything lol! It’s so darn hard doing self-study in this field, I welcome any & all pearls of wisdom and fact you ever feel offering 😆🙏🙌
And thank you! Definitely hard to get a handle on, I’m still reading in the topic and probably always will (I mean, it’s like a catnip topic! So fascinating 🎉)
Also apologies for all these typos, I deleted my reply 5 times and I still missed a couple - exciteddd to find your account! Hooray🎉
Ahahaha adorable 😂
😍
Yea I notice I also haven't found any other Assyriologists in here yet (there MUST be at least one more somewhere... right?... right?)
Yay! I of course focus a lot on the sort of under-studied spaces between Mesopotamian and Biblical religion and literature, but I think that's a pretty darn interesting field to occupy personally! Currently applying for a PhD in Amsterdam where I could go much further down that rabbit hole heheh 🤞
Oh I could imagine that self-study in Assyriology would be an actual feverdream of finding literature that isn't cooky and outdated, and also all the French and German ahahahahaha. Please, by all means, if you ever want directions or recommendations on literature for some purpose, hit me up!!
Seriously so excited on your behalf and a little jealous as well!!! 😂 Can’t wait to see how your future studies will show up in your dispatches, it’s a fascinating intersection to occupy indeed!
And lordy, you have no idea…. I feel like I’m constantly dodging cooks bullets while looking for more sources 💀 and I hope you don’t regret offering, because I’m very likely to take you up on that 🤣🙏 Thank you (and apologies?) well in advance lol 🥲
*cooky 👩🍳
Thanks a lot!!
If I can play any part in spreading knowledge about Mesopotamia far and wide, I will take any part in it necessary, so do not be afraid to ask! If time allows it and the stars align we can do a feature or something one day too! I may also be starting a podcast.. and some other (for now) secret stuff...... I will keep you updated!
PLEASE START A PODCAST!!!! 🙌😳 Seriously there is a such a gap in podcasting on this topic as well!! It drives civilians like me mad 🫠 I don’t know how but if I can be of assistance in that endeavor I would seriously help pro bono, I too wish to spread the love of Mesopotamia to as many as possible (it’s why I’m here in the first place 😆)
Sick!!! Well I am very encouraged by these words hehe, I will be keeping you updated on the processes hehe