THE RELIGIOUS SYMBOLISM OF WATER IN THE MYTHOLOGIES OF THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST: FROM MYTH-CRITICISM TO MYTH-ANALYSIS

Authors

  • Marcus Throup

Abstract

This paper seeks to investigate water as a religious symbol in the mythologies of the Ancient Near East, with emphasis on the bidimensionality and intrinsic ambiguity of water within the symbological dimension. The approach proposed is descriptive and bibliographical, finding support in the comparative myth-critical method of Mircea Eliade, which has been advanced and developed in the ‘hermeneutic symbolism’ of Gilbert Durand. We have recourse, also, to myth-analysis, which seeks to situate in their sociological context the results obtained in myth-criticism. The general objective here is to demonstrate how socio-cultural factors influence the construction of religious thought in its mythic dimension, i.e. mythopoeisis.

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Published

2016-12-22

How to Cite

THROUP, Marcus. THE RELIGIOUS SYMBOLISM OF WATER IN THE MYTHOLOGIES OF THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST: FROM MYTH-CRITICISM TO MYTH-ANALYSIS. Religare, [S. l.], v. 8, n. 2, 2016. Disponível em: https://periodicos.ufpb.br/index.php/religare/article/view/12502. Acesso em: 16 aug. 2026.

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Section

Artigos Internacionais