The Myth of the Servant: A New Tale of Kingship from the Ancient Near East
Why do so many of the ancient world’s most famous kings share the same unlikely origin story? The answer may lie in a mythical template first forged in Mesopotamia.
Royal Illness in the Bible and the Ancient Near East
The Exodus from Egypt was a foundational event for the Israelites. But where exactly did they cross the ‘Red Sea’? Scholars have debated this question for centuries, as have ma
Trees and Power in Aegean Art
Every society has symbols of leadership, and in a surprising number of Mediterranean and Near Eastern societies these are trees. A look at tiny examples of Aegean art gives some hi