Lilinah's Pagan Links Library, Room One:

Ancient Near Eastern and Mediterranean Sites at Museums, Universities, and Cultural Organizations

When you see this icon: - it means i especially recommend this site.

Links Updated and noted. Also, some Textual/descriptive updates which are not noted, 27 March 2002
considering how long it's been since i updated these links, it's amazing how few sites have actually disappeared, although a few have moved.

Updated, Redesigned, and Reorganized, 22 February 1999

1. Bibliographies of Ritual in the Ancient Near East and in Graeco-Roman Cultures, as well as great links to Ancient Near Eastern sites on the Web , a complex set of links to scholarly and personal web site covering ancient history. Very extensive and interesting, by Prof. K.C. Hanson.
   This excellent site appears to be no longer on-line anywhere.

2. flectere si nequeo superos acheronta mouebo, several fascinating pages of bibliographies on ancient magic, by John-Gabriel Bodard, PhD student
3. Magic in Antiquity explores Greco-Egyptian magical papyri, Mesopotamian demon-trap bowls, & mystical gems from the Hellenistic Near East at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. This 1996 exhibit was curated by Gideon Bohak.
4. ABZU: Guide to Resources for the Study of the Ancient Near East at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. Perhaps the major ANE resource on the Web. If you go up the directory-tree, you'll find a tour of the museum, complete with optional QuickTime experiences.
5. A Bequest Unearthed, Phoenicia THE BEST site on the history and culture of Phoenicia, by Salim Khalaf, a Lebanese man living in America.
6. Trade at Ugarit In the 13th Century BCE, by Farras Abdelnour, an electrical engineer of Near Eastern origin with a strong interest in the Ancient Near East. Take a look at his other pages of ancient wisdom.
7. The Omphalos is a site that brings together Hellenic Neo-Pagans. The site owner's own pages are excellent, well-researched and deep. There are links to member's pages and other resources.
8. Biblioteca Arcana has great Neo-Pagan Greek and Pythagorean material, another favorite site.

1. ABZU: Ancient Near Eastern sources at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. If you go up the directory-tree, you'll find a tour of the museum, complete with optional QuickTime experiences.
2. What's New in Abzu is the place to check if you've already been to ABZU.
3. Selections from Ancient Near Eastern Texts, a book edited by James B. Pritchard, including bits of the Ginsberg translation of the Myth of Baal. Hosted by Boston University.
4. Ancient History Sourcebook: The Ancient Near East and Egypt, hosted by Fordham University. This site contains links to actual ancient texts and other historical resources on-line.

5. The Egyptian Gods, list of Egyptian deities with brief descriptions, because the Social Science Data Lab at the University of Colarado at Boulder named its Unix machines after them. [Text .]

6. Classics and Mediterranean Archaeology Home Page, a collection of links to internet resources of interest to classicists and Mediterranean archaeologists. At the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.
7. Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World, a collection of maps from ancient Greece and Rome, which include areas of Africa and Western Asia.

8. The Prehistoric Archaeology of the Aegean, an on-line course, hosted by Dartmouth University.
9. flectere si nequeo superos acheronta mouebo: Magic Bibliographies and Resources , several fascinating pages of bibliographies on ancient magic, by John-Gabriel Bodard, Ph.D. student researching ancient Greek perceptions of magic.
10. Florida International University Libraries Internet Resources for the Study of Ancient Polytheistic Religions, a set of links to other websites.
11. Religion in the Ancient Near East, a subset of The Virtual Religion Index at Rutgers University Religion Department.
12. Medicine in Ancient Mesopotamia, hosted by the University of Indiana.
13. Ancient Medicine/Medicina Antiqua, the study of Greco-Roman medicine and medical thought from Mycenaean times until the fall of the Roman Empire, hosted by a private academy.
14. Bibliography of Women in the Ancient Near East, maintained by Terry Wilfong at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.
15. Women in the Ancient Near East, a syllabus from T. Wilfong's course at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.
16. Women in Classical Mythology, from Princeton University.
17. DIOTIMA: Women & Gender in the Ancient World, especially Greece and Rome, a major internet resource, now hosted by The Stoa Consortium for electronic publication of scholarship in the humanities.

1. The Phoenician Exhibit at the Palazzo Grassi, in Italy, has useful maps and some Phoenician art. It documents the 1988 exhibit I Fenici organized by famed scholar Sabatino Moscati.
2. Magic in Antiquity explores Greco-Egyptian magical papyri, Mesopotamian demon-trap bowls, & mystical gems from the Hellenistic Near East at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. This 1996 exhibit was curated by Gideon Bohak.
3. Canaan and Ancient Israel, an exhibit that explores the identities of these peoples in pre-historical times through the material remains that they have left behind at The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.
   The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology has some amazing on-line exhibits on modern as well as ancient topics. Be sure to look at them, too.
4. The Semitic Museum, founded in 1889, is the home of Harvard's Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations and a collection of over 40,000 Near Eastern archaeological artifacts. Be sure to check out the Ashkelon excavations for photos from the largest known Canaanite seaport.
5. The Reuben and Edith Hecht Museum at the University of Haifa in Israel has archaeological items and modern art. Take a look at the rather small Phoenicians on the Northern Coast of Israel on-line exhibit, which includes photos of some really lovely goddess statues (i'm sure the actual museum gallery is exceptional), as well as a selection of other archaeological remains.
6. The Israel Museum has some interesting finds
, including Archaeology at the Israel Museum. It's interesting how they skirt the issue of Paganism in the land of Israel... Also, look through their previous exhibitions for more archaeological remains.
7. The Michale C. Carlos Museum at Emory University has collections of Ancient Near Eastern and Egyptian art as well as other interesting newer collections and exhibits.
8. The University of Michigan Papyrus Collection at Ann Arbor, includes exhibits on-line.
9. Exploring Ancient World Cultures Image Index: The Near East, at Evansville Indiana Univerity, links to photographs on the web.

10. The Museum of Classical Archaeology at Cambridge University in the U.K., includes an absolutely wonderful modern reconstruction of how an ancient Greek sculpture would have been painted.
11. The Hechingen-Stein Roman Open-Air Museum in Germany, a restored Roman villa, now with re-creators on site during its season! (the museum is closed in the winter)

1. The Edinburgh University Ras Shamra Project has information about the ancient Canaanite city of Ugarit.
2. Ugaritic course: main pagein the Department of Theology, University of Durham, includes a course outline, on-line notes and exercises, a bibliography, and on-line resources and links .
3. Ras Shamra/Ugarit, a brief page summarizing information about the site and the 20th c. excavations.
4. Ugarit and the Bible @ Quartz Hill School of Theology, discussion of the similarities in Ugaritic and Biblical literature.
5. Material Culture of the Ancient Canaanites, Israelites and Related Peoples: An Information DataBase from Excavations., an archeological resource with photographs and texts. Hosted by Boston University.
6. At the Lebanese American Association website: The Ancient Phoenicians and The Levant under Roman rule.
7. The Phoenician Exhibit at the Palazzo Grassi, in Italy, has useful maps and some Phoenician art. It documents the 1988 exhibit I Fenici organized by famed scholar Sabatino Moscati.

1. The Scholar's Source/Eisenbraun's, a major publisher and distributor of books on the Ancient Near East. The web site is not easy to search, although they're redesigning, so order a catalog...
2. The American Schools of Oriental Research, commonly referred to as ASOR, publishes one of the major scholarly journals on the Near East.
3. The American Oriental Society, commonly referred to as AOS, publishes another of the major scholarly journals on the Near East, hosted by the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.
4. LEVANT "is the annual of the Council for British Research in the Levant (formerly the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem and the British Institute at Amman for Archaeology and History). It is a fully refereed journal, devoted primarily to the archaeology of Palestine, Transjordan, Syria and Lebanon but the range of cognate disciplines and the geographical coverage is interpreted more widely." This site has a list of their publications, essential for the scholarly study of Canaan, and for achieving some understanding of the culture.
5. Biblical Archaeology Society, publishers of Biblical Archaeology Review, a less scholarly journal than those above, but more accessible to the lay reader. Read articles by scholars duking it out, read nasty letters by Christian fundamentalists disappointed that the articles are actually scholarly and not always in support of Christian Biblical fundamentalist - and just remember, "fundament" means "buttocks"... A worthwhile magazine to which to subscribe. Also publishes "Bible Review" and "Archaeology Odyssey".

1. The Atrium had a comprehensive set of links, including "This Day in Ancient History", news articles, and much more. David Meadows maintains this page, a great resource for students, scholars, and amateurs of the Ancient Mediterranean World. But it looks like David has been busy elsewhere - the site doesn't appear to have been updated since about 9 months after i put this link on line... Still has interesting information, but "The Ancient World on Television" is waaay out of date.
2. A History of Writing the oldest of which began in the Near East. A great source for information on a wide range of writing systems from around the world.
3. Sumerian Beer how Fritz Maytag, owner of Anchor Steam Brewery in San Francisco, followed the ancient cuneiform recipe, complete with hymns to Ninkasi, the Goddess of Beer.
4. Al Mashriq - The Levant, packed with information about the past and present of the Levant,a great resource.
   Archaeology of the Levant has sections on Baalbak, Beirut, Saida, and Tyre.
   Images from the past, historical photographs and illustrations, including from the Bonfils family.
   Costumes of the Levant from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
5. Tour'n Lebanon, a collection of e-zines about Lebanon, past and present, with some nice photographs of Lebanon and archaeological items.
6. The Lebanese American Association for more information about modern Lebanon and the Lebanese community in America.
7. Fertile Crescent Home Page, many pages about the many countries in the Fertile Crescent, including Syria and Lebanon.
8. Encyclopaedia of the Orient
9. Ancient/Classical History - Discussion Groups/Email Lists - Net Links, a collection of mailing lists whose topics concern the Ancient world, as About.com (formerly the Mining Company).

1. Argos Search Engine, a limited area search engine on the Web designed to cover the ancient and medieval worlds. Hosted by Indiana University - Evansville.

2. Perseus Project Home Page, a growing digital library of primary texts from Ancient Greece and Rome.

3. Thesaurus Linguae Graecae, an electronic data base of ancient Greek literature from Homer (8th century B.C.) to 600 A.D. with historiographical, lexicographical and scholiastic texts from the period between 600 and 1453 A.D.