The Twenty-One “Poultices”

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to publish a third version of the ancient Babylonian myth of the Twenty-one “Poultices”, and to comment on the mythological content of all three, while leaving details of the strictly medical aspects to others. The two hitherto known versions of this myth are both preserved on Late Assyrian tablets from Assur: LKA 146, the whole of which is relevant, and BAM 313, of which only part is of direct concern. The tablet published here for the first time, BM 33999, is of Late Babylonian date, probably from Babylon, and is now in the British Museum, by kind permission of whose Trustees it is available.“Poultices” (mêlu) were a common form of Babylonian medicine. A number of drugs, usually between two and four, were combined and then applied to a person's body with the aid of a leather strap or pouch. When specified, the neck is always the part of the body involved, and the Chicago Assyrian Dictionary (sub voce) assumes that this was always the case, but perhaps it would be wise to leave the question open for the present.