Can anyone recommend some good books on myths and legends of middle eastern cultures? I'm not looking for a particular culture at this point, so anything for mesopotamian, persian, arabic, etc. societies would be great.
That's a 4 volume set - and a good one. You can find anything from a couple hundred page paperback with just a few of the several dozens of stories, to lavisly illustrated multivolue tomes that contain more than just the actual canon. Most public libraries have some edition or another.
I suppose I should have mentioned I've been looking at The Thousand and One Nights and Old Testament stuff all ready. Those were the only two sources I knew of.
Thanks for the other suggestions. I'm going to hit up my local library and check them out. I'd gladly listen to anymore recommendations you had.
As a reference, I have a copy of A Dictionary of Ancient Near Eastern Mythology by Gwendolyn Leick. Lots of little snippets and a fairly long bibliography.
The price seems steep, though, as it's not a big book. I suppose it's published for use as a textbook in universities. I got a remaindered copy for $15 Canadian (about $12 US)
Good recommendation - Stephanie Dalley was one of my instructors at University. The other, who sadly died recently and untimely, is the co-author is this equally useful book: