Thespis: Ritual, Myth, and Drama in the Ancient Near East

This study demonstrates the existence of a recurring pattern of seasonal ritual drama in the extant remains of Canaanite, Hittite, Egyptian, and Hebrew literature. The essential structure of a religious ritual designed to ensure the rebirth of the dead world is traced backwards to purely functional procedures and forwards to residual survivals in hymns, psalms, and other forms of liturgical composition.

It is of interest to philologists and archaeologists, to students of the theater, and to all who have been fascinated by The Golden Bough and the many studies growing out of it that have been made of the ritual forms underlying Greek tragedy and other literature.

Most of the book consists of translations of ancient texts, with Dr. Gaster's philological and archeological annotations, and his explanations of the particular ritual and worldview upon which each text is based.