Rituals of the Diviner (Bibliotheca Mesopotamica)

Divination constitutes a major aspect of Mesopotamian civilization. A major branch thereof was liver divination (extispicy), the examination of the entrails of sacrificial sheep, from whose abnormalities predictions were derived. The book, The Ritual of the Diviner, examines the evolution of extispicy from its empirical beginnings to its systematized, stereotyped form which we know from the omen series, as well as the principles of prognostication which helped the diviner arrive at his predictions. With the help of published and unpublished materials from the extensive omen literature the book demonstrates the paramount role played in extispicy by the opposition between the right and the lieft, known to us from classical antiquity as that between pars familiaris and pars hostilis. The veracity of the conclusions arrived at concerning these principles is demonstrated by means of an analysis of reports of autopsies of sacrificial sheep prepared by the diviners, known as extispicy reports. 145 page hard cover including index.