Emotion and the Body

Abstract

This chapter applies insights from cognitive linguistics and experimental research on the so-called bodily maps of emotions (also “bodily sensation maps”) to the analysis of Akkadian emotion terms and expressions, including joy/happiness, sadness/grief, fear, anger, disgust, love, and pride. The chapter focuses on the embodiment of emotions in ancient Mesopotamia, that is, the ways in which Akkadian emotion language refers or alludes to bodily sensations, physiological changes, and the behavioral expression of emotions. Drawing on a selective sample of texts that encompasses a range of genres (literary texts, royal inscriptions, letters, lexical lists) and sources from the second and first millennia BCE, this chapter provides an overview of prominent features of Akkadian emotion language and concepts as encountered both in literary and vernacular registers. It demonstrates that Akkadian emotion language is rich in expressions, metaphors, and metonymies referring to bodily aspects of emotions and that some of these metaphors and metonymies are cross-culturally very common, while others provide culturally specific variations and elaborations of recurring themes. Last, Akkadian emotion language suggests a number of similarities to the bodily sensation maps elucidated in the experiments of neuroscientists, possibly pointing to historically and transculturally stable aspects in emotional experience related to embodied feelings and physiological changes.