Marvel Studios’ Eternals (2021) is the first major film to feature some characters speaking in Babylonian, a language of ancient Iraq that died out over two thousand years ago. Translations into the long-dead language were provided by Assyriologist Dr Martin Worthington, from Trinity College Dublin, and author of the book Teach Yourself Complete Babylonian.
"Ancient languages have always seemed to me to glitter with a special brand of magic. As a child they fascinated me from the moment I clapped eyes on Egyptian hieroglyphs, and later I went on to discover that these are just the tip of an iceberg. Thanks to over a century of scholarly work, we have built up a very good understanding of the structures and vocabulary of Babylonian as well as other languages of the ancient Middle East, such as Sumerian and Hittite. With patience and dedication, it is to some extent possible to ‘think in’ these ancient languages."
Dr Martin Worthington is pictured in the Library of Trinity College Dublin reading a Sumerian cuneiform tablet, which uses the same wedge-shaped script as Babylonian. The Library holds nine cuneiform tablets, which date from c. 2100 BC onwards, and derive from the ancient region of Mesopotamia.
Dr Worthington, Al-Maktoum Associate Professor in Middle Eastern Studies, specialises in the languages and civilisations of ancient Mesopotamia, including those of the Babylonians, Assyrians and Sumerians. This region of the world, which includes present-day Iraq and parts of Iran, Turkey and Syria, is often referred to as the “cradle of civilisation”.
"I’m so pleased these translations were done by someone at Trinity College Dublin – the alma mater of Edward Hincks, the Irish Clergyman who through utter brilliance first deciphered Babylonian cuneiform back in the nineteenth century.”