Download or read book Esther's Revenge at Susa written by Stephanie Dalley and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2007-11-29 with total page 279 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The names of the chief characters in the biblical Book of Esther are those of Mesopotamian deities. Stephanie Dalley argues that the narrative reflects real events in seventh-century Assyria which were `explained' soon after they occurred in a mythologizing cuneiform text and linked to religious festivals comparable to the Jewish rites of Purim.