Gwendolyn Leick (born 1951) is an Austrian British historian and
Assyriologist
Assyriology (from Greek , ''Assyriā''; and , ''-logia'') is the archaeological, anthropological, and linguistic study of Assyria and the rest of ancient Mesopotamia (a region that encompassed what is now modern Iraq, northeastern Syria, southea ...
who has written multiple books and encyclopedias in English about ancient
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...
.
Life
She was born on 25 February 1951 in Oberaichwald, Austria to her parents Reginald and Herta Leick. Her father was a physician and her mother was a social worker.
Leick immigrated from Austria to the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
when she was twenty-five. She says that she was "lured by the British Museum and the cosmopolitan life in London." She married her husband Charlemagne Kanon on 31 July 2001. She has two sons: George Sebastian Howell and Joseph Ibrahim Leick.
Leick took up Olympic weightlifting at the age of 52 and is a three-time world champion. She was the subject of a documentary, ''Gwendolyn'' (2017), directed by Ruth Kaaserer, which followed Leick during her preparations for the 2012 European Masters Weightlifting Championships in Azerbaijan.
Career
She completed her D.Phil. at Karl Franzens University in 1977 (thesis titled "Die akkadischen Fluchformeln des 3. und 2. Jahrtausends"). Leick has stated that she chose to study Assyriology, because she "thought it was a difficult, arcane, and somewhat esoteric subject which would not lead to a normal career." After discovering that she "was not particularly gifted to do
epigraphical
Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...
work", she devoted her career towards "communicat ngand transmit ngthe results of Assyriological scholarship to a wider audience, to make the field more accessible." To this end, she has written numerous encyclopedic dictionaries, which she regards as "the most user-friendly, concise, and straightforward way to access information on matters concerning the ancient Near East."
She has briefly worked as a cultural tour guide.
Bibliography
Despite her Austrian origins, all but one of her books are written in English, which she has described as "the most accommodating, rich, and ecumenical of modern languages which allows so many people, regardless of their original language, to find a worldwide audience." Her notable books include:
* ''A Dictionary of Ancient Near Eastern Architecture'' (published by
Routledge
Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law ...
1988)
* ''A Dictionary of Ancient Near Eastern Mythology'' (published by Routledge 1991; 2nd edition published 1999)
* ''Sex and Eroticism in Mesopotamian Literature'' (published 1994 by Routledge)
* ''Who's Who in the Ancient Near East'' (published 1999 by Routledge)
* ''Mesopotamia: The Invention of the City'' (published 2002 by
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a British publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Scarecrow Press)
* ''The Babylonians: An Introduction'' (published 2003 by Routledge)
* General editor of ''The Babylonian World'' (published 2006 by Routledge)
* ''Tombs of the Great Leaders: A Contemporary Guide''
* ''Gertrude, Mabel, May: An ABC of Gertrude Stein's Love Triangle'' (published 2019 by Grey Suit Editions UK)
* ''Franckstraße 31'' (published 2021 by Edition Korrespondenzen)
* ''Franckstrasse 31'' (published 2022 by Greysuit Editions UK)
* ''In der Eselgrube'' (published 2022 by Edition Korrespondenzen)