Berossus

Berossus (/bəˈrɒsəs/) or Berosus (/bəˈrsəs/; Ancient Greek: Βηρωσσος, romanizedBērōssos; possibly derived from Late Babylonian: 𒁹𒀭𒂗𒉺𒇻𒋙𒉡, romanized: Bēl-reʾû-šunu, lit.'Bel is his shepherd')[1][2] was a Hellenistic-era Babylonian writer, a priest of Bel Marduk[3] and astronomer who wrote in the Koine Greek language, and who was active at the beginning of the 3rd century BC. His original works, including his Babyloniaca, have been lost but fragmentarily survive in some quotations, especially in the writings of the fourth-century Christian writer Eusebius.[4]

Berossus has recently been identified with Bēl-reʾû-šunu, a high priest of the temple Esagila Temple mentioned in a document from 258 BC.[5]

  1. ^ "Bel-reʾušunu [1] (PN)". Bilinguals in Late Mesopotamian Scholarship. Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus. Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.
  2. ^ The suggestion was made by Heinrich Zimmern; cf. Lehmann-Haupt, "Neue Studien zu Berossos" Klio 22 (1929:29)
  3. ^ Seneca Nat. Questiones III.29: "Berosus, qui Belum interpretatus est...", "Berossus, who expounded the doctrine of Bel/Marduk" (interpretatus) as rendered by W. G. Lambert, "Berossus and Babylonian Eschatology" Iraq, 38.2 (Autumn 1976:171-173) p. 172.
  4. ^ Talon 2001, p. 270–274.
  5. ^ Bach 2013, p. 157–162.

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