Mesopotamia Part 13

Ancient Mesopotamian religion

Contents

1 Ancient Mesopotamian religion 1

1.1 Reconstruction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.2.1 Eect of Assyrian religious beliefs on its political structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2.2 Later Mesopotamian history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.3 Mythology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.3.1 Deities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.4 Cultic practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.4.1 Public devotions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.4.2 Private devotions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.5 Morality, virtue and sin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.6 Afterlife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.7 Eschatology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.8 Historical study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.8.1 Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.8.2 Panbabylonism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.9 Continuing inuence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.9.1 Popular culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.9.2 New religious movements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.9.3 Biblical eschatology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.10 Fringe theories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.11 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.12 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.13 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.14 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

2 Religions of the ancient Near East 11

2.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.2 Mesopotamia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.2.1 Astrology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.2.2 Ethic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.2.3 Demonology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.3 Greater Iran . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

i
ii CONTENTS

2.4 Egypt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.5 Levant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.6 Anatolia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.7 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.7.1 General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.7.2 Canaan and Ugarit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.8 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.9 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.10 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

3 Sumerian religion 16
3.1 Worship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
3.1.1 Written Cuneiform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
3.1.2 Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
3.1.3 The Priesthood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
3.1.4 Ceremony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
3.2 Cosmology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
3.2.1 Creation story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
3.3 Deities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
3.4 Earliest deities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
3.4.1 Pantheon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
3.5 Legacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
3.5.1 Akkadians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
3.5.2 Babylonians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
3.5.3 Hurrians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
3.5.4 Parallels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
3.6 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
3.7 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
3.8 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

4 Babylonian religion 20
4.1 Mythology and cosmology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
4.2 Religious festivals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
4.3 Importance of idols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
4.4 Inuence on Abrahamic religions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
4.5 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
4.6 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
4.7 Further reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

5 List of Mesopotamian deities 22

5.1 Major Deities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
5.2 Minor deities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
CONTENTS iii

5.3 Primordial beings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

5.4 Demigods and Heroes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
5.5 Spirits and demons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
5.6 Legendary beasts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
5.7 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

6 Mesopotamian prayer 26
6.1 Prayers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
6.2 Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
6.2.1 Incantation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
6.2.2 Gottesbriefe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
6.2.3 Ikribus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
6.2.4 Royal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
6.2.5 Hymns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
6.2.6 ig . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
6.2.7 Namburbi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
6.3 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
6.4 Citations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
6.5 Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
6.6 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
6.6.1 Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
6.6.2 Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
6.6.3 Content license . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Chapter 1

Ancient Mesopotamian religion

worship of forces of nature as providers of sustenance.

In the 3rd millennium BCE objects of worship were per-
sonied and became an expansive cast of divinities with
particular functions. The last stages of Mesopotamian
polytheism, which developed in the 2nd and 1st mil-
lenniums, introduced greater emphasis on personal reli-
gion and structured the gods into a monarchical hierarchy
with the national god being the head of the pantheon.[1]
Mesopotamian religion nally declined with the spread
of Iranian religions during the Achaemenid Empire and
with the Christianization of Mesopotamia.

1.1 Reconstruction

As with most dead religions, many aspects of the com-

mon practices and intricacies of the doctrine have been
lost and forgotten over time. Fortunately, much of the
information and knowledge has survived, and great work
has been done by historians and scientists, with the help
of religious scholars and translators, to re-construct a
working knowledge of the religious history, customs,
and the role these beliefs played in everyday life in
Sumer, Akkad, Assyria and Babylonia during this time.
Mesopotamian religion is thought to have been an inu-
ence on subsequent religions throughout the world, in-
cluding Canaanite, Aramean, and ancient Greek.
Mesopotamian religion was polytheistic, worshipping
over 2,100 dierent deities,[2] many of which were as-
sociated with a specic city or state within Mesopotamia
The god Marduk and his dragon Muuu such as Sumer, Akkad, Assyria, Assur, Nineveh, Ur,
Uruk, Mari and Babylon. Some of the most signicant
Mesopotamian religion refers to the religious beliefs and of these deities were Anu, Enki, Enlil, Ishtar (Astarte),
practices of the civilizations of ancient Mesopotamia. Ashur, Shamash, Shulmanu, Tammuz, Adad/Hadad, Sin
The religious development of Mesopotamia and (Nanna), Kur, Dagan, Ninurta, Nisroch, Nergal, Tiamat,
Mesopotamian culture in general was not particularly Bel and Marduk.
inuenced by the movements of the various peoples into Mesopotamian religion has the oldest body of recorded
and throughout the area. Rather, Mesopotamian religion literature of any religious tradition. What is known
was a consistent and coherent tradition which adapted about Mesopotamian religion comes from archaeological
to the internal needs of its adherents over millenia of evidence uncovered in the region, particularly literary
development.[1] sources, which are usually written in cuneiform script on
The earliest undercurrents of Mesopotamian religious clay tablets and which describe both mythology and cultic
thought date to the 4th millennium BCE, and involved the practices. Other artifacts can also be useful when recon-

1
2 CHAPTER 1. ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIAN RELIGION

structing Mesopotamian religion. As is common with early wheeled vehicles, astronomy, astrology, written
most ancient civilizations, the objects made of the most code of law, organised medicine, advanced agriculture
durable and precious materials, and thus more likely to and architecture, and the calendar. They created the rst
survive, were associated with religious beliefs and prac- city-states such as Uruk, Ur, Lagash, Isin, Kish, Umma,
tices. This has prompted one scholar to make the claim Eridu, Adab, Akshak, Sippar, Nippur and Larsa, each of
that the Mesopotamians entire existence was infused by them ruled by an ens. The Sumerians remained largely
their religiosity, just about everything they have passed dominant in this synthesised culture, however, until the
on to us can be used as a source of knowledge about rise of the Akkadian Empire under Sargon of Akkad circa
their religion.[3] While Mesopotamian religion died out 2335 BCE, which united all of Mesopotamia under one
by approximately 400 CE, it has still had an inuence ruler.[4]
on the modern world, predominantly because many bib-
There was increasing syncretism between the Sumerian
lical stories that are today found in Judaism, Christianity, and Akkadian cultures and deities, with the Akkadians
Islam and Mandaeism were possibly based upon earlier
typically preferring to worship fewer deities but elevat-
Mesopotamian myths, in particular that of the creation ing them to greater positions of power. Circa 2335 BCE,
myth, the Garden of Eden, the ood myth, the Tower of Sargon of Akkad conquered all of Mesopotamia, uniting
Babel and gures such as Nimrod and Lilith. It has also its inhabitants into the worlds rst empire and spread-
inspired various contemporary Neo-pagan groups. ing its domination into ancient Iran, the Levant, Anatolia,
Canaan and the Arabian Peninsula. The Akkadian Em-
pire endured for two centuries before collapsing due to
1.2 History economic decline, internal strife and attacks from the
north east by the Gutian people.
See also: Sumerian religion and Babylonian religion Following a brief Sumerian revival with the Third Dy-
In the fourth millennium BCE, the rst evidence for what nasty of Ur, Mesopotamia broke up into a number of
Akkadian states. Assyria asserted itself in the north circa
2100 BCE in the Old Assyrian Empire and southern
Mesopotamia fragmented into a number of kingdoms, the
largest being Isin, Larsa and Eshnunna.
In 1894 BCE the initially minor city-state of Babylon was
founded in the south by invading West Semitic-speaking
Amorites. It was rarely ruled by native dynasties through-
out its history.
Some time after this period, the Sumerians disappeared,
becoming wholly absorbed into the Akkadian-speaking
population.
Assyrian kings are attested from the late 25th century
BCE and dominated northern Mesopotamia and parts of
Anatolia and northeast Syria.
Overview map of ancient Mesopotamia. Circa 1750 BCE, the Amorite ruler of Babylon, King
Hammurabi, conquered much of Mesopotamia, but this
is recognisably Mesopotamian religion can be seen with empire collapsed after his death, and Babylonia was re-
the invention in Mesopotamia of writing circa 3500 BCE. duced to the small state it had been upon its founding. The
Amorite dynasty was deposed in 1595 BCE after attacks
The people of Mesopotamia originally consisted of two from mountain-dwelling people known as the Kassites
groups, Akkadian speakers (later divided into the Assyri- from the Zagros Mountains, who went on to rule Babylon
ans and Babylonians) and the people of Sumer, who spoke for over 500 years.
a language isolate. These peoples were members of var-
ious city-states and small kingdoms. The Sumerians left Assyria, having been the dominant power in the region
the rst records, although it is not known if they migrated with the Old Assyrian Empire between the 20th and 18th
into the area in prehistory or whether they were its orig- centuries BCE before the rise of Hammurabi, once more
inal inhabitants. They resided in southern Mesopotamia, became a major power with the Middle Assyrian Em-
which was known as Sumer (and later, Babylonia), and pire (13911050 BCE). Assyria defeated the Hittites and
had considerable inuence on the Akkadian speakers and Mitanni, and its growing power forced the New Kingdom
their culture. Akkadian names rst appear in the king of Egypt to withdraw from the Near East. The Middle
lists of these states circa 2800 BCE. Assyrian Empire at its height stretched from the Caucasus
to modern Bahrain and from Cyprus to western Iran.
The Sumerians were advanced: as well as inventing
writing, they also invented early forms of mathematics, The Neo-Assyrian Empire (911605 BCE) was the most
1.2. HISTORY
dominant power on earth and the largest empire the
world had yet seen between the 10th century BCE and
the late 7th century BCE, with an empire stretching
from Cyprus in the west to central Iran in the east,
and from the Caucasus in the north to Nubia, Egypt
and the Arabian Peninsula in the south, facilitating the
spread of Mesopotamian culture and religion far and
wide under emperors such as Ashurbanipal, Tukulti-
Ninurta II, Tiglath-Pileser III, Shalmaneser IV, Sargon II,
Sennacherib and Esarhaddon. During the Neo-Assyrian
Empire, Mesopotamian Aramaic became the lingua
franca of the empire, and also Mesopotamia proper. The
last written records in Akkadian were astrological texts
dating from 78 CE discovered in Assyria.
The empire fell between 612 BCE and 605 BCE after a
period of severe internal civil war in Assyria which soon
spread to Babylonia, leaving Mesopotamia in a state of
chaos. A weakened Assyria was then subject to com-
bined attacks by a coalition of Babylonians, Chaldeans,
Medes, Scythians, Persians and Cimmerians beginning in
616 BC. These were led by Nabopolassar of Babylon and
Cyaxares of Media and Persia. Nineveh was sacked in
612 BCE, Harran fell in 608 BCE, Carchemish in 605
BCE, and nal traces of Assyrian imperial administration
disappeared from Dr-Katlimmu by 599 BCE.
Babylon had a brief late owering of power and inu-
ence, initially under the migrant Chaldean dynasty, which
took over much of the empire formerly held by their
northern kinsmen. However, the last king of Babylo-
nia, Nabonidus of Assyria, paid little attention to pol-
itics, preferring to worship the lunar deity Sin, leaving
day-to-day rule to his son Belshazzar. This and the fact
that the Persians and Medes to the east were growing in
power now that the might of Assyria that had held them in
vassalage for centuries was gone, spelt the death knell for
native Mesopotamian power. The Achaemenid Empire
conquered the Neo-Babylonian Empire in 539 BCE, after
which the Chaldeans disappeared from history, although
Mesopotamian people, culture and religion continued to
endure after this.
1.2.1 Eect of Assyrian religious beliefs on Achaemenid Empire (539-332 BCE), then ruled by
its political structure Cyrus the Great. This brought to an end over 3,000
Like many nations in Mesopotamian history, Assyria was
originally, to a great extent, an oligarchy rather than a
monarchy. Authority was considered to lie with the
city, and the polity had three main centres of power
an assembly of elders, a hereditary ruler, and an eponym.
The ruler presided over the assembly and carried out its
decisions. He was not referred to with the usual Akkadian
term for king, arrum; that was instead reserved for the
citys patron deity Ashur, of whom the ruler was the high
priest. The ruler himself was only designated as steward
of Assur (iiak Assur), where the term for steward is a
borrowing from Sumerian ens. The third centre of power
3
was the eponym (limmum), who gave the year his name,
similarly to the eponymous archon and Roman consuls of
classical antiquity. He was annually elected by lot and
was responsible for the economic administration of the
city, which included the power to detain people and con-
scate property. The institution of the eponym as well as
the formula iiak Assur lingered on as ceremonial ves-
tiges of this early system throughout the history of the
Assyrian monarchy.[5]
Religion in the Neo-Assyrian Empire
The religion of the Neo-Assyrian Empire centered
around the Assyrian king as the king of their lands as well.
However, kingship at the time was linked very closely
with the idea of divine mandate.[6] The Assyrian king,
while not being a god himself, was acknowledged as the
chief servant of the chief god, Ashur. In this manner, the
kings authority was seen as absolute so long as the high
priest reassured the peoples that the gods, or in the case
of the henotheistic Assyrians, the God, was pleased with
the current ruler.[6] For the Assyrians who lived in Assur
and the surrounding lands, this system was the norm. For
the conquered peoples, however, it was novel, particu-
larly to the people of smaller city-states. In time, Ashur
was promoted from being the local deity of Assur to the
overlord of the vast Assyrian domain, which spread from
the Caucasus and Armenia in the north to Egypt, Nubia
and the Arabian Peninsula in the south, and from Cyprus
and the eastern Mediterranean Sea in the west to central
Iran in the east.[6] Assur, the patron deity of the city of
Assur from the late Bronze Age, was in constant rivalry
with the patron deity of Babylon, Marduk. Worship was
conducted in his name throughout the lands dominated by
the Assyrians. With the worship of Assur across much of
the Fertile Crescent, the Assyrian king could command
the loyalty of his fellow servants of Assur.
1.2.2 Later Mesopotamian history
In 539 BCE, Mesopotamia was conquered by the
years of Semitic Mesopotamian dominance of the Near
East. The Persians maintained and did not interfere in
the native culture and religion and Assyria and Babylon
continued to exist as entities (although Chaldea and the
Chaldeans disappeared), and Assyria was strong enough
to launch major rebellions against Persia in 522 and 482
BCE. During this period the Syriac language and Syriac
script evolved in Assyria.
Then, two centuries later in 330 BCE the Macedonian
Greek emperor Alexander the Great overthrew the Per-
sians and took control of Mesopotamia itself. After
Alexanders death increased Hellenistic inuence was
brought to the region by the Seleucid Empire.[7] Assyria
4 CHAPTER 1. ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIAN RELIGION

and Babylonia later became provinces under the Parthian

Empire (Athura and province of Babylonia), Rome
(province of Assyria) and Sassanid Empire (province of
Asuristan). Babylonia was dissolved as an entity during
the Parthian Empire, though Assyria endured.
During the Parthian Empire there was a major revival in
Assyria (known as Athura and Assuristan) between the
2nd century BCE and 4th century AD,[8] with temples
once more being dedicated to gods such as Ashur, Sin,
Shamash and Ishtar in independent Neo Assyrian states
such as Assur, Adiabene, Osroene, Beth Garmai and Beth
Nuhadra.[9][10]
With the Christianization of mesopotamia in the 1st cen-
tury CE the independent Assyrian states of Adiabene,
Osroene, Assur, Hatra, Beth Nuhadra and Beth Gar-
mai were largely ruled by converts to Christianity and
Judaism. Gnostic sects such as Sabianism and the still
extant Mandeanism also became popular, though na-
tive religions still existed among the populace, gods
such as Ashur and Sin were still worshiped until
the 4th century CE in Assyria. In the 3rd century
CE another native Mesopotamian religion ourished,
Manicheanism, which incorporated elements of Chris-
tianity, Judaism, Buddhism, and Zoroastrianism, as well
as local Mesopotamian elements.[11]

1.3 Mythology
There are no specic written records explaining
Mesopotamian religious cosmology that survive to us
today. Nonetheless, modern scholars have examined
various accounts, and created what is believed to be an
at least partially accurate depiction of Mesopotamian
cosmology.[12] In the Epic of Creation, dated to 1200
BCE, it explains that the god Marduk killed the mother
goddess Tiamat and used half her body to create the
earth, and the other half to create both the paradise of
am and the netherworld of iritu.[13] A document from Representation of the Goddess Ishtar, winged and wearing a ver-
a similar period stated that the universe was a spheroid, sion of the horned cap of divinity. Detail of the so-called Ishtar
with three levels of am, where the gods dwelt, and vase, early 2nd millennium BCE (Louvre AO 17000)[15]
where the stars existed, above the three levels of earth
below it.[14]
god Marduk was associated with Babylon.[17] Though the
1.3.1 Deities full number of gods and goddesses found in Mesopotamia
is not known, K. Tallqvist, in his Akkadische Gtterepi-
Further information: List of Mesopotamian deities theta (1938) counted around two thousand four hundred
Mesopotamian religion was polytheistic, thereby accept- that we now know about, most of which had Sumerian
ing the existence of many dierent deities, both male names. In the Sumerian language, the gods were referred
and female, though it was also henotheistic,[16] with cer- to as dingir, while in the Akkadian language they were
tain gods being viewed as superior to others by their spe- known as ilu and it seems that there was syncreticism be-
cic devotees. These devotees were often from a par- tween the gods worshipped by the two groups, adopting
ticular city or city-state that held that deity as its patron one anothers deities.[2]
deity, for instance the god Enki was often associated The Mesopotamian gods bore many similarities with hu-
with the city of Eridu, the god Ashur with Assur and mans, and were anthropomorphic, thereby having hu-
Assyria, Enlil with Nippur, Ishtar with Arbela, and the manoid form. Similarly, they often acted like humans,
1.4. CULTIC PRACTICE 5

requiring food and drink, as well as drinking alcohol 1.4.1 Public devotions
and subsequently suering the eects of drunkenness,[18]
but were thought to have a higher degree of perfec-
tion than common men. They were thought to be more Each Mesopotamian city was home to a deity, and each
powerful, all-seeing and all-knowing, unfathomable, and, of the prominent deities was the patron of a city, and all
above all, immortal. One of their prominent features known temples were located in cities, though there may
was a terrifying brightness (melammu) which surrounded have been shrines in the suburbs.[26] The temple itself was
them, producing an immediate reaction of awe and rev- constructed of mud brick in the form of a ziggurat, which
erence among men.[19] In many cases, the various deities rose to the sky in a series of stairstep stages. Its signi-
were family relations of one another, a trait found in cance and symbolism have been the subject of much dis-
many other polytheistic religions.[20] The historian J. Bot-cussion, but most regard the tower as a kind of staircase
tro was of the opinion that the gods were not viewed or ladder for the god to descend from and ascend to the
mystically, but were instead seen as high-up masters heavens, though there are signs which point towards an
who had to be obeyed and feared, as opposed to loved actual cult having been practiced in the upper temple, so
and adored.[21] Nonetheless, many Mesopotamians, of all the entire temple may have been regarded as a giant al-
classes, had names that were devoted to a certain deity; tar. Other theories treat the tower as an image of the cos-
this practice appeared to have begun in the third mil- mic mountain where a dying and rising god lay buried.
lennium BCE among the Sumerians, but also was later Some temples, such as the temple of Enki in Eridu con-
adopted by the Akkadians as well.[22] tained a holy tree (kiskanu) in a holy grove, which was the
central point of various rites performed by the king, who
Initially, the pantheon was not ordered, but later functioned as a master gardener.[27]
Mesopotamian theologians came up with the concept of
ranking the deities in order of importance. A Sumerian Mesopotamian temples were originally built to serve as
list of around 560 deities that did this was uncovered dwelling places for the god, who was thought to reside
at Fra and Tell Ab albkh and dated to circa 2600 and hold [28] court on earth for the good of the city and
BCE, ranking ve primary deities as being of particular kingdom. His presence was symbolized by an image of
importance. [23] the god in a separate room. The gods presence within the
image seems to have been thought of in a very concrete
One of the most important of these early Mesopotamian way, as instruments for the presence of the deity.[29] This
deities was the god Enlil, who was originally a Sumerian is evident from the poem How Erra Wrecked the World,
divinity viewed as a king of the gods and a controller of in which Erra deceived the god Marduk into leaving his
the world, who was later adopted by the Akkadians. An- cult statue.[30] Once constructed, idols were consecrated
other was the Sumerian god An, who served a similar role through special nocturnal rituals where they were given
to Enlil and became known as Anu among the Akkadi- life, and their mouth was opened (pet p) and washed
ans. The Sumerian god Enki was later also adopted by (mes p) so they could see and eat.[27] If the deity ap-
the Akkadians, initially under his original name, and later proved, it would accept the image and agree to inhabit
as a. Similarly the Sumerian moon god Nanna became it. These images were also entertained, and sometime es-
the Akkadian Sn while the Sumerian sun god Utu be- corted on hunting expeditions. In order to service the
came the Akkadian Shamash. One of the most notable gods, the temple was equipped with a household with
goddesses was the Sumerian sex and war deity Inanna. kitchens and kitchenware, sleeping rooms with beds and
With the later rise to power of the Babylonians in the 18th side rooms for the deitys family, as well as a courtyard
century BCE, the king, Hammurabi, declared Marduk, a with a basin and water for cleansing visitors, as well as a
deity who before then had not been of signicant impor- stable for the gods chariot and draft animals.[31]
tance, to a position of supremacy alongside Anu and Enlil
in southern Mesopotamia.[24] Generally, the gods well-being was maintained through
service, or work (dullu). The image was dressed and
Perhaps the most signicant legend to survive from served banquets twice a day. It is not known how the god
Mesopotamian religion is the Epic of Gilgamesh, which was thought to consume the food, but a curtain was drawn
tells the story of the heroic king Gilgamesh and his wild before the table while he or she ate, just as the king
friend Enkidu, and the formers search for immortality himself was not allowed to be seen by the masses while
which is entwined with all the gods and their approval. he ate. Occasionally, the king shared in these meals, and
the priests may have had some share in the oerings as
well. Incense was also burned before the image, because
1.4 Cultic practice it was thought that the gods enjoyed the smell. Sacricial
meals were also set out regularly, with a sacricial ani-
mal seen as a replacement (phu) or substitute (dinnu)
"Enlil! his authority is far-reaching; his word is sublime for a man, and it was considered that the anger of the
and holy. His decisions are unalterable; he decides fate gods or demons was then directed towards the sacricial
forever! His eyes scrutinize the entire world!" animal. Additionally, certain days required extra sacri-
A prayer to the god Enlil.[25] ces and ceremonies for certain gods, and every day was
6 CHAPTER 1. ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIAN RELIGION
sacred to a particular god.[32]
The king was thought, in theory, to be the religious leader
(enu or ang) of the cult and exercised a large num-
ber of duties within the temple, with a large number of
specialists whose task was to mediate between men and
gods:[33] a supervising or watchman priest (egallu),
priests for individual purication against demons and ma-
gicians (ipu), priests for the purication of the tem-
ple (mamau), priests to appease the wrath of the gods
with song and music (kal), as well as female singers
(nru), male singers (zammeru), craftsmen (mr um-
mni), swordbearers (n pari), masters of divination
(br), penitents ('ilu), and others.[34]
1.4.2 Private devotions
Besides the worship of the gods at public rituals, indi-
viduals also paid homage to a personal deity. As with
other deities, the personal gods changed over time and lit-
tle is known about early practice as they are rarely named
or described. In the mid-third millennium BCE, some
rulers regarded a particular god or gods as being their
personal protector. In the second millennium BCE, per-
sonal gods began to function more on behalf of the com-
mon man,[35] with whom he had a close, personal rela-
tionship, maintained through prayer and maintenance of
his gods statue.[36] A number of written prayers have sur-
vived from ancient Mesopotamia, each of which typically
exalt the god that they are describing above all others.[37]
The historian J. Bottro stated that these poems display
extreme reverence, profound devotion, [and] the unar-
guable emotion that the supernatural evoked in the hearts
of those ancient believers but that they showed a people
who were scared of their gods rather than openly cele-
brating them.[21] They were thought to oer good luck,
success, and protection from disease and demons,[35] and
ones place and success in society was thought to depend
on his personal deity, including the development of his
certain talents and even his personality. This was even
taken to the point that everything he experienced was con-
sidered a reection of what was happening to his personal
god.[36] When a man neglected his god, it was assumed
that the demons were free to inict him, and when he
revered his god, that god was like a shepherd who seeks
food for him.[38]
There was a strong belief in demons in Mesopotamia,
and private individuals, like the temple priests, also par-
ticipated in incantations (iptu) to ward them o.[39] Al-
though there was no collective term for these beings either
in Sumerian or Akkadian, they were merely described
as harmful or dangerous beings or forces, and they were
used as a logical way to explain the existence of evil in the
world.[40] They were thought to be countless in number,
and were thought to even attack the gods as well. Besides
demons, there were also spirits of the dead, (etimmu) who
could also cause mischief. Amulets were occasionally
used, and sometimes a special priest or exorcist (ipu
or mamau) was required. Incantations and ceremonies
were also used to cure diseases which were also thought
to be associated with demonic activity, sometimes mak-
ing use of sympathetic magic.[41] Sometimes an attempt
was made to capture a demon by making an image of it,
placing it above the head of a sick person, then destroy-
ing the image, which the demon was somehow likely to
inhabit. Images of protecting spirits were also made and
placed at gates to ward o disaster.[42]
Divination was also employed by private individuals, with
the assumption that the gods have already determined the
destinies of men and these destinies could be ascertained
through observing omens and through rituals (e.g., casting
lots).[42] It was believed that the gods expressed their will
through words (amatu) and commandments (qibitu)
which were not necessarily spoken, but were thought to
manifest in the unfolding routine of events and things.[43]
There were countless ways to divine the future, such as
observing oil dropped into a cup of water (lecanomancy),
observing the entrails of sacricial animals (extispicy),
observation of the behavior of birds (augury) and observ-
ing celestial and meteorological phenomena (astrology),
as well as through interpretation of dreams. Often inter-
pretation of these phenomena required the need for two
classes of priests: askers (sa'ilu) and observer (baru), and
also sometimes a lower class of ecstatic seer (mahhu) that
was also associated with witchcraft.[44]
1.5 Morality, virtue and sin
Do not return evil to the man who disputes with you,
requite with kindness your evil-doer, maintain justice to
your enemy... Let not your heart be induced to do evil...
Give food to eat, beer to drink, the one begging for alms
honor, clothe; in this a mans god takes pleasure, it is
pleasing to Shamash, who will repay him with favour. Be
helpful, do good
Incantation from the urpu series.[45]
Although ancient paganism tended to focus more on duty
and ritual than morality, a number of general moral
virtues can be gleaned from surviving prayers and myths.
It was believed that man originated as a divine act of cre-
ation, and the gods were believed to be the source of life,
and held power over sickness and health, as well as the
destinies of men. Personal names show that each child
was considered a gift from divinity.[46] Man was believed
to have been created to serve the gods, or perhaps wait on
them: the god is lord (belu) and man is servant or slave
(ardu), and was to fear (puluhtu) the gods and have the
appropriate attitude towards them. Duties seem to have
been primarily of a cultic and ritual nature,[47] although
some prayers express a positive psychological relation-
ship, or a sort of conversion experience in regard to a
god.[48] Generally the reward to mankind is described as
success and long life.[46]
1.7. ESCHATOLOGY
Every man also had duties to his fellow man which had
some religious character, particularly the kings duties to
his subjects. It was thought that one of the reasons the
gods gave power to the king was to exercise justice and
righteousness,[49] described as maru and kettu, literally
straightness, rightness, rmness, truth[50] Examples of
this include not alienating and causing dissension between
friends and relatives, setting innocent prisoners free, be-
ing truthful, being honest in trade, respecting boundary
lines and property rights, and not putting on airs with sub-
ordinates. Some of these guidelines are found in the sec-
ond tablet of the urpu incantation series.[45]
Sin, on the other hand, was expressed by the words
hitu (mistake, false step), annu or arnu (rebellion), and
qillatu (sin or curse),[45] with strong emphasis on the
idea of rebellion, sometimes with the idea that sin is
mans wishing to live on his own terms (ina raman-
isu). Sin also was described as anything which incited
the wrath of the gods. Punishment came through sick-
ness or misfortune,[48] which inevitably lead to the com-
mon reference to unknown sins, or the idea that one
can transgress a divine prohibition without knowing it
psalms of lamentation rarely mention concrete sins. This
idea of retribution was also applied to the nation and his-
tory as a whole. A number of examples of Mesopotamian
literature show how war and natural disasters were treated
as punishment from the gods, and how kings were used
as a tool for deliverance.[51]
In spite of some similarities in sin and forgiveness,[1]
when compared with traditional Abrahamic morality,
Mesopotamian religion and culture were highly sexual-
ized, particularly in Babylon, where free sexual expres-
sion was viewed as one of the natural benets of civi-
lized lifesame gender attraction, transgender individ-
uals, and male and female prostitution were tolerated,
and in some cases considered sacred. The worship of
Inanna/Ishtar, which was prevalent in Mesopotamia could
involve wild, frenzied dancing and bloody ritual celebra-
tions of social and physical abnormality. It was believed
that nothing is prohibited to Inanna, and that by depict-
ing transgressions of normal human social and physical
limitations, including traditional gender denition, one
could cross over from the conscious everyday world into
the trance world of spiritual ecstasy.[52]
1.6 Afterlife
The ancient Mesopotamians believed in an afterlife that smaller groups, stating that:
was a land below our world. It was this land, known al-
ternately as Arall, Ganzer or Irkallu, the latter of which
meant Great Below, that it was believed everyone went
to after death, irrespective of social status or the ac-
tions performed during life.[53] Unlike Christian Hell, the
Mesopotamians considered the underworld neither a pun-
ishment nor a reward.[54] Nevertheless, the condition of
the dead was hardly considered the same as the life pre-
7
viously enjoyed on earth: they were considered merely
weak and powerless ghosts. The myth of Ishtars descent
into the underworld relates that dust is their food and clay
their nourishment, they see no light, where they dwell in
darkness. Stories such as the Adapa myth resignedly re-
late that, due to a blunder, all men must die and that true
everlasting life is the sole property of the gods.[19]
1.7 Eschatology
There are no known Mesopotamian tales about the end
of the world, although it has been speculated that they
believed that this would eventually occur. This is largely
because Berossus wrote that the Mesopotamians believed
the world to last twelve times twelve sars"; with a sar
being 3,600 years, this would indicate that at least some
of the Mesopotamians believed that the Earth would only
last 518,400 years. Berossus does not report what was
thought to follow this event, however.[55]
1.8 Historical study
1.8.1 Challenges
The modern study of Mesopotamia (Assyriology) is still a
fairly young science, beginning only in the middle of the
Nineteenth century,[56] and the study of Mesopotamian
religion can be a complex and dicult subject because,
by nature, their religion was governed only by usage,
not by any ocial decision,[57] and by nature it was nei-
ther dogmatic nor systematic. Deities, characters, and
their actions within myths changed in character and im-
portance over time, and occasionally depicted dierent,
sometimes even contrasting images or concepts. This
is further complicated by the fact that scholars are not
entirely certain what role religious texts played in the
Mesopotamian world.[58]
For many decades, some scholars of the Ancient Near
East argued that it was impossible to dene there as be-
ing a singular Mesopotamian religion, with Leo Oppen-
heim (1964) stating that a systematic presentation of
Mesopotamian religion cannot and should not be writ-
ten. "[59] Others, like Jean Bottro, the author of Reli-
gion in Ancient Mesopotamia, disagreed, believing that it
would be too complicated to divide the religion into many
Should we dwell on a certain social or cul-
tural category: the ocial religion, " the pri-
vate religion, " the religion of the educated...
Should we emphasise a certain city or province:
Ebla, Mari, Assyria? Should we concentrate
on a certain period in time: the Seleucid, the
Achaemenid, the Chaldean, the Neo-Assyrian,
8 CHAPTER 1. ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIAN RELIGION
the Kassite, the Old Babylonian, the Neo-
Sumerian, or the Old Akkadian period? Since,
contrary to what some would imprudently lead
us to believe, there were no distinct religions
but only successive states of the same religious
system... such an approach would be exces-
sive, even pointless.[60]
1.8.2 Panbabylonism
Main article: Panbabylonism
According to Panbabylonism, a school of thought
founded by Hugo Winckler and held in the early 20th
century among primarily German Assyriologists, there
was a common cultural system extending over the An-
cient Near East which was overwhelmingly inuenced by
the Babylonians. According to this theory the religions of
the Near East were rooted in Babylonian astral science-
including the Hebrew Bible and Judaism. This theory of
a Babylonian-derived Bible originated from the discovery
of a stele in the acropolis of Susa bearing a Babylonian
ood myth with many similarities to the ood of Gen-
esis, the Epic of Gilgamesh. However the Flood story
appears in almost every culture around the world, includ-
ing cultures that never had contact with Mesopotamia.
The fundamental tenets of Panbabylonism were eventu-
ally dismissed as pseudoscientic,[61] however Assyriol-
ogists and biblical scholars recognize the inuence of
Babylonian mythology on Jewish mythology and other
Near Eastern mythologies, albeit indirect. Indeed, sim-
ilarities between both religious traditions may draw from
even older sources.[62]
1.9 Continuing inuence
1.9.1 Popular culture
Mesopotamian religion, culture, history and mythology
has inuenced some forms of music. As well as tradi-
tional Syriac folk music, many heavy metal bands have
named themselves after Mesopotamian gods and histori-
cal gures, including the partly Assyrian band Melechesh.
1.9.2 New religious movements
Various new religious movements in the 20th and 21st
centuries have been founded that venerate some of the
deities found in ancient Mesopotamian religion, includ-
ing various strains of neopaganism that have adopted the
worship of the historical Mesopotamian gods.
1.9.3 Biblical eschatology
In the New Testament book of Revelation, Babylonian re-
ligion is associated with religious apostasy of the highest
order, the archetype of a political/religious system heav-
ily tied to global commerce, and it is depicted as a system
which, according to the author, continued to hold sway
in the rst century CE, eventually to be utterly annihi-
lated. According to some interpretations, this is believed
to refer to the Roman Empire,[63] but according to other
interpretations, this system remains extant in the world
until the Second Coming.[64][65][66]
Revelation 17:5: And upon her forehead was
a name written, mystery, Babylon the great, the
mother of harlots and abominations of the earth,
Revelation 18:9: The kings of the earth who com-
mitted fornication and lived luxuriously with her will
weep and lament for her, when they see the smoke
of her burning, standing at a distance for fear of her
torment, saying, 'Alas, alas that great city Babylon,
that mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has
come.' And the merchants of the earth shall weep
and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their mer-
chandise any more...
1.10 Fringe theories
The unusual and apparently physical closeness of gods to
men in these stories has prompted various speculations
including Julian Jaynes's theory of the bicameral mind
and Zecharia Sitchin's ancient astronauts theory. While
rejected in scholarship, such speculations have inuenced
many science ction stories and movies.
1.11 See also
Sumerian religion
Babylonian religion
Mesopotamian prayer
1.12 Notes
[1] Encyclopedia Brittanica: Mesopotamian religion
[2] Bottro (2001:45)
[3] Bottro (2001:2122)
[4] Bottro (2001:79)
[5] Larsen, Mogens Trolle (2000). The old Assyrian city-
state. In Hansen, Mogens Herman. A comparative study
of thirty city-state cultures: an investigation / conducted by
the Copenhagen Polis Centre. pp. 7789.
1.12. NOTES 9

[6] Bertman, Stephen (2005). Handbook to Life in Ancient [38] Dhorme, P. (1910). La Religion Assyro-Babylonienne.
Mesopotamia. New York: Oxford UP. p. 66. Paris. p. 199.

[7] Bottro (2001:1718) [39] Ringgren (1974: 89)

[8] ^ Crone & Cook 1977, p. 55 [40] Bottro (2001:63)

[9] Curtis, John (November 2003). The Achaemenid Pe- [41] Ringgren (1974: 9091)
riod in Northern Iraq (PDF). Larchologie de lempire
achmnide (Paris, France [42] Ringgren (1974: 9293)

[10] Crone & Cook 1977, p. 55 [43] Bottro (2001:92)

[11] Widengren, Geo (1946). Mesopotamian elements [44] Ringgren (1974: 9395)
in Manichaeism (King and Saviour II): Studies in
Manichaean, Mandaean, and Syrian-gnostic religion. [45] Ringgren (1974:113115)
Lundequistska bokhandeln. [46] Ringgren (1974:108)
[12] Bottro (2001:7778) [47] Ringgren (1974:111112)
[13] Bottro (2001:79) [48] Ringgren (1974:116)
[14] Bottro (2001:80)
[49] Ringgren (1974:110)
[15] Jeremy Black; Anthony Green (1992). Gods, Demons,
[50] Ringgren (1974:112)
and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia: An Illustrated Dic-
tionary. p. 144. ISBN 0-292-70794-0. [51] Ringgren (1974:118)
[16] Bottro (2001:41) [52] Meador (2000:164)
[17] Bottro (2001:53) [53] Bottro (2001:108)
[18] Bottro (2001:6466) [54] Choksi, M. Ancient Mesopotamian Beliefs in the After-
life. Ancient History Encyclopedia. Ancient History En-
[19] Ringgren (1974: 50)
cyclopedia. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
[20] Bottro (2001:50)
[55] Bottro (2001:95)
[21] Bottro (2001:37)
[56] Scheider (2011: 128)
[22] Bottro (2001:39)
[57] Bottero (2001: 47)
[23] Bottro (2001:4849)
[58] Schneider (2011:3839)
[24] Bottro (2001:54)
[59] Bottro (2001:26)
[25] Bottro (2001:3031)
[60] Bottro (2001:27)
[26] Schneider (2011: 39)
[61] The Freudian Orient: Early Psychoanalysis, Anti-Semitic
[27] Ringgren (1974:78) Challenge, and the Vicissitudes of Orientalist Discourse

[28] Schneider (2001: 66) [62] R. Herbert, PhD. (SeptemberOctober 2013). Creation,
Flood, and Covenant - In the Bible and Before. The Sab-
[29] Ringgren (1974:77) bath Sentinel. pp. 1920.

[30] Bottro (2001:65) [63] Keener, Craig S. (1993). The IVP Bible Background Com-
mentary, New Testament. Downers Grove, Illinois: Inter-
[31] Schneider (2011:68) varsity Press. p. 806.
[32] Ringgren (1974: 8182) [64] Clarke, Adam. Commentary and Critical Notes. 3.
Nashville, Tennessee: Abingdon Press. p. 1045.
[33] Ringgren (1974: 79)
[65] Jamieson, Rev. Robert; Fausset, Rev. A. R.; Brown,
[34] Ringgren (1974:80)
Rev. David. Commentary, Critical and Explanatory of
[35] Schneider (2011: 59) The Whole Bible. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan
Publishing House. p. 591.
[36] Bottro (2001:91)
[66] Barker, Kenneth L.; Kohlenberger, John (1994). The NIV
[37] Bottro (2001:2930) Bible Commentary. 2. p. 1209.
10 CHAPTER 1. ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIAN RELIGION

1.13 References
Bottro, Jean (2001). Religion in Ancient
Mesopotamia. Chicago: University of Chicago
Press. ISBN 978-0226067179.

Bottro, Jean (2001b). Everyday Life In Ancient

Mesopotamia. JHU Press. ISBN 978-0801868641.

Chavalas, Mark W. (2003). Mesopotamia and the

Bible. Continuum International Publishing Group.
ISBN 978-0-567-08231-2.

Davies, Owen (2009). Grimoires: A History of

Magic Books. New York: Oxford University Press.

Moorey, Peter Roger Stuart (1991). A Century

of Biblical Archaeology. Westminster John Knox
Press. ISBN 978-0-664-25392-9..
Schneider, Tammi (2011). An Introduction To
Ancient Mesopotamian Religion. Grand Rapids:
William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.

Ringgren, Helmer (1974). Religions of The Ancient

Near East, Translated by John Sturdy. Philadelphia:
The Westminster Press.
Meador, Betty De Shong (2000). Inanna, Lady of
Largest Heart. Austin: University of Texas Press.

1.14 External links

Ancient Mesopotamian Gods and Goddesses
Comprehensive list of Mesopotamian gods (Ancient
History Encyclopedia)
Chapter 2

Religions of the ancient Near East

The religions of the ancient Near East were mostly
polytheistic, with some early examples of primi-
tive monolatry (Mardukites), Ashurism and Monism
(Atenism). Some scholars believe that the similarities
between these religions indicate that the religions are re-
lated, a belief known as patternism.[1]
Many religions of the ancient near East and their o-
shoots can be traced to Proto-Semitic religion. Other
religions in the ancient Near East include Ancient Egyp-
tian religion, the Luwian and Hittite religions of Asia Mi-
nor and the Sumerian religion of ancient Mesopotamia.
Oshoots of Proto-Semitic religion include Assyro-
Babylonian religion, Canaanite religion, and Arabian re-
ligion. Judaism is a development of Canaanite religion,
both Indo-European and Semitic religions inuenced the
ancient Greek religion, and Zoroastrianism was a prod-
uct of ancient Indo-Iranian religion. In turn these re-
ligious traditions strongly inuenced the later monothe-
istic religions of Christianity, Mandeanism, Sabianism,
Gnosticism, Islam, and Manicheanism, which inherited
their monotheism from Judaism and Zoroastrianism.
2.1 Overview
The Levant (Canaan, Ugarit, Ebla, Mitanni):
Canaanite religion, Judaism
Anatolia (the Hittite Empire, Assuwa, Arzawa):
Hittite mythology, Hurrian mythology
The Caucasus and the Armenian Highland (Urartu)
Ancient Iran (Elam, Media, Persia): Zoroastrianism
Cyprus, Crete (Minoan civilization): Minoan reli-
gion
The earliest sources, from c. 2500 BC, allow glimpses of
Sumerian mythology and Egyptian religion.
The early Hittite religion bore traits descended from
Proto-Indo-European religion, but the later Hittite re-
ligions became more and more assimilated to Semitic
Assyria.
Ancient Greek religion was strongly inuenced by ancient
Near Eastern mythology, but is usually not included in
the term. The Mystery religions of Hellenism were again
consciously connected with Egyptian religion.
There are broad practices that these religions often hold
in common:

The history of the ancient Near East spans more than two Purication and cleansing rituals
millennia, from the Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age,
in the region now known as the Middle East, centered Sacrices (plant and animal sacrice, libations,
on the Fertile Crescent. There was much cultural con- rarely, but prominently in mythology, human sac-
tact, so that it is justied to summarize the whole region rice)
under a single term, but that does not mean, of course,
that each historical period and each region should not be Polytheism (Though Egypt and Greece were
looked at individually for a detailed description. This ar- Henotheistic societies)
ticle will attempt to outline the common traits of ancient
State (city-state)sponsored religions (theocracy)
Near Eastern religions, and refer to sub-articles for in-
depth descriptions. Sacred prostitution
The ancient Near East includes the following subregions:
Divination

Mesopotamia (Sumer, Assyria, Babylonia and Magic (invocations, conjurings and Talismans)
Akkad): Assyro-Babylonian religion, Sumerian re-
ligion, Mesopotamian mythology Typically, ancient Near Eastern religions were centered
on theocracies, with a dominating regional cult of the god
Ancient Egypt: Ancient Egyptian religion of a city-state. There were also super-regional mythemes

11
12
and deities, such as the God Tammuz and the descent to
the underworld.
Divinations:
Apantomancy: seeing animals
Cleromancy: drawing lots
Hepatoscopy: observing the liver of an animal
Nephomancy: cloud-watching
Ornithomancy: watching birds in ight
Capnomancy: divination through smoke
Oneiromancy: divination through dreams
2.2 Mesopotamia
Main article: Ancient Mesopotamian religion
Further information: Sumerian religion
Impression of the cylinder seal of aamer, patesi (High Priest)
of Sin at Ikun-Sin, c. 2400 BC
2.2.1 Astrology
Identication of the gods and goddesses with heavenly
bodiesplanets, stars, the sun and the moonand to as-
signing the seats of all the deities in the Heavens is found
in Assyro-Babylonian religion.
The personication of the two great luminariesthe sun
and the moonwas the rst step in the unfolding of this
system, and this was followed by placing the other deities
where Shamash and Sin had their seats. This process,
which reached its culmination in the post-Hammurabic
period, led to identifying the planet Venus with Ishtar,
Jupiter with Marduk, Mars with Nergal, Mercury with
Nabu, and Saturn with Ninurta.
The system represents a harmonious combination of two
factors, one of popular origin, the other the outcome
of speculation in the schools attached to the temples of
Babylonia. The popular factor is the belief in the inu-
ence exerted by the movements of the heavenly bodies
CHAPTER 2. RELIGIONS OF THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST
on occurrences on eartha belief naturally suggested by
the dependence of life, vegetation and guidance upon the
two great luminaries. Starting with this belief the Priests
and Priestesses built up the theory of the close corre-
spondence between occurrences on earth and phenom-
ena in the Heavens. The Heavens presenting a constant
change even to the supercial observer, the conclusion
was drawn of a connection between the changes and the
ever-changing movement in the fate of individuals and of
nature as well as in the appearance of nature.
To read the signs of the heavens was therefore to under-
stand the meaning of occurrences on Earth, and with this
accomplished, it was also possible to foretell what events
were portended by the position and relationship to one
another of the sun, the moon, the planets and certain
stars. Myths that symbolized changes in season or oc-
currences in nature were projected on the heavens, which
were mapped out to correspond to the divisions of the
earth.
All the gods, demons and spirits had their places assigned
to them in the heavens, and facts, including such as fell
within the domain of political history, were interpreted
in terms of astral theology. So completely did this system
in the course of time sway mens minds that the cults and
sects, from being an expression of animistic beliefs, took
on the color derived from the astral interpretation of
occurrences and doctrines. It left its trace in incantations,
omens and hymns and gave birth to astronomy, which was
assiduously cultivated because a knowledge of the heav-
ens was the very foundation of the system of belief un-
folded by the priests of Babylonia and Assyria.
As an illustration of the manner in which the doctrines of
the religion were made to conform to the all-pervading
astral theory, it will be sucient to refer to the modica-
tion undergone in this process of the view developed in
a very early period which apportioned the control of the
universe among the three gods Anu, Enlil and Ea. Dis-
associating these Gods from all local connections, Anu
became the power presiding over the Heavens, to Enlil
was assigned the earth and the atmosphere immediately
above it, while Ea ruled over the deep. With the transfer
of all the Gods to the heavens, and under the inuence of
the doctrine of the correspondence between the heavens
and the earth, Anu, Enlil and Ea became the three ways
(as they are called) on the heavens.
The ways appear in this instance to have been the desig-
nation of the ecliptic circle, which was divided into three
sections or zonesa northern, a middle and a southern
zone, Anu being assigned to the rst, Enlil to the sec-
ond, and Ea to the third zone. The astral theology of the
Babylonian-Assyrian religion, while thus bearing the ear-
marks of a system devised by the priests, succeeded in
assimilating the beliefs which represented the earlier at-
tempts to systematize the more popular aspects of the re-
ligion, and in this way a unication of diverse elements
was secured that led to interpreting the contents and the
2.3. GREATER IRAN
form of the religion in terms of the astral-theological sys- In Assyrian and Babylonian mythology the seven evil
tem.
2.2.2 Ethic
On the ethical sides, the religion of Babylonia more par-
ticularly, and to a less extent that of Assyria, advances
to noticeable conceptions of the qualities associated with
the Gods and Goddesses and of the duties imposed on
man. Shamash, the Sun-God, was invested with justice
as his chief trait, Marduk is portrayed as full of mercy and
kindness, and Ea is in general the protector of mankind,
a father who takes them under his protection. The Gods,
to be sure, are easily aroused to anger, and in some of
them the dire aspects predominated, but the view be-
comes more and more pronounced that there is some
cause always for the divine wrath. Though, in accounting
for the anger of the Gods, no sharp distinction is made
between moral oences and a ritualistic oversight or ne-
glect, yet the stress laid in the hymns and prayers, as well
as in the elaborate atonement ritual prescribed in order to
appease the anger of the Gods, on the need of being clean
and pure in the sight of the higher powers, the inculcation
of a proper aspect of humility, and above all the need of
confessing ones guilt and sins without any reserveall
this bears testimony to the strength which the ethical fac-
tor acquired in the domain of the Religion.
This factor appears to less advantage in the unfolding of
the views concerning life after death. Throughout all pe-
riods of Babylonian-Assyrian history, the conception pre-
vailed of a large dark cavern below the earth, not far from
the Apsuthe fresh water abyss encircling and owing
underneath the earthin which all the dead were gath-
ered and where they led a miserable existence of inac-
tivity, amid gloom and dust. Occasionally a favoured in-
dividual was permitted to escape from this general fate
and placed in a pleasant island. It would appear also that
the rulers were always singled out for divine grace, and in
the earlier periods of the history, owing to the prevailing
view that the rulers stood nearer to the Gods than other
mortals, the kings were deied after death, and in some
instances divine honours were paid to them even during
their lifetime.
2.2.3 Demonology
Main article: Mesopotamian Demon
Ancient Near Eastern religion knew an elaborate system
of benevolent, neutral and malevolent Demons (which
more resembled Greek Daemons than the Christian con-
cept of Evil Demons), and much of medicine consisted
of Exorcisms, e.g. of Lamashtu, the hermaphroditic De-
moness responsible for complications at childbirth and in-
fant deaths.
13
Demons were known as Shedu or Lamassu, meaning
Storm-Demon. They were represented in winged bull
form, derived from the colossal bulls used as protective
genii of royal palaces, the name Shed assumed also the
meaning of a propitious genius in Babylonian magical
[2]
literature.
2.3 Greater Iran
See also: Greater Iran
Ancient Iranian lands had a diversity of spiritual beliefs,
and the religions included Zoroastrianism, Mazdakism,
Manicheism, Yazdanism, Mandeanism, and others. Thus
it has been proved by clear evidence and plain reason-
ing that a powerful monarch was established in Iran long
before the Assyrian or Pishadi government. That it was
in fact, a Hindu monarchy, though any may choose to
call it Cusian, Casdean or Scythian...[3] Ancient Mitanni
is modern-day Kurdistan, and from excavations it was
discovered to have a history of Vedic practices and the
Hindu religion.
2.4 Egypt
Main article: Ancient Egyptian religion
The dominant religious rituals and beliefs of ancient
Egypt merged and developed over time. As an exam-
ple, during the New Kingdom, the Gods Ra and Amun
were syncretized into a single God, Amun-Ra.[4] Such
syncretism should be distinguished from mere groupings,
also referred to as families such as Amun, Mut, and
Khonsu. Over time, Gods took part in multiple syn-
cretic relationships, for instance, the combination of Ra
and Horus into Ra-Herakty. Similarly, Ptah, Seker, and
Osiris becamePtah-Seker-Osiris.
2.5 Levant
Main articles: Canaanite religion and Judaism
The deities worshipped in Canaanite religion during the
Late Bronze Age notably included El Elyon and his sons,
the Elohim, the goddess Anat and Hadad, the storm
god and heroic slayer of Yam. The composition of the
Hebrew Bible began centuries after the Bronze Age col-
lapse, but many of these names are still reected in Bib-
lical Hebrew, including Elohim and the title Ba'al, origi-
nally a title of Hadad, as the rival or nemesis of Yahweh.
14
2.6 Anatolia
Seated deity, late Hittite Empire (13th century BC)
Main article: Hittite mythology
Further information: Song of Kumarbi
Heavily inuenced by Mesopotamian mythology, the re-
ligion of the Hittites and Luwians retains noticeable Indo-
European elements, for example Tarhunt the God of
thunder, and his conict with the Serpent-God Illuyanka.
Tarhunt has a son, Telepinu and a daughter, Inara. Inara is
involved with the Puruli spring festival. She is a protective
Goddess (d LAMMA). Ishara is a Goddess of the oath.
2.7 Books
2.7.1 General
Gordon, Cyrus. The Ancient Near East, 3rd Edition,
Revised. W. W. Norton and Company, Inc., New
York, 1965.
James, E.O. The Ancient Gods: The History and Dif-
fusion of Religion in the Ancient Near East and the
Eastern Mediterranean, 1960.
CHAPTER 2. RELIGIONS OF THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST
Pritchard, James B., editor. The Ancient Near East:
An Anthology of Texts and Pictures. Princeton Uni-
versity Press, New Jersey, 1958.
Pritchard, James B., editor. The Ancient Near East,
Volume II: A New Anthology of Texts and Pictures.
Princeton University Press, New Jersey, 1975.
Jack Sasson et al., eds., Civilizations of the Ancient
Near East. Charles Scribners Sons, New York,
1995.
Smith, Morton, The Common Theology of the
Ancient near East, Journal of Biblical Literature
(1952).
van der Toorn, Karel (1995). Dictionary of Deities
and Demons in the Bible. New York: E.J. Brill.
ISBN 0-8028-2491-9.
Mark S. Smith, God in translation: deities in
cross-cultural discourse in the biblical world, vol.
57 of Forschungen zum Alten Testament, Mohr
Siebeck, 2008, ISBN 978-3-16-149543-4.
2.7.2 Canaan and Ugarit
Pardee, Dennis. Ritual and Cult at Ugarit. Society
of Biblical Literature, Atlanta, Georgia. 2002.
Parker, Simon B., ed. Ugaritic Narrative Poetry.
Society of Biblical Literature, U.S.A., 1997.
Smith, Mark S. The Ugaritic Baal Cycle, Volume I:
Introduction with Text, Translation and Commen-
tary of KTU 1.1-1.2. E.J. Brill, Leiden, the Nether-
lands, 1994.
2.8 See also
Ancient Near East
Kemetism (Revival of Egyptian religion)
Semitic neopaganism (Revival of Canaanite reli-
gion)
2.9 References
[1] Samuel H. Hooke (1970). The Siege Perilous: Essays in
Biblical Anthropology and Kindred Subjects. Ayer Pub-
lishing. p. 174. ISBN 0-8369-5525-0.
[2] See Delitzsch, Assyrisches Handwrterbuch. pp. 60,
253, 261, 646; Jensen, Assyr.-Babyl. Mythen und Epen,
1900, p. 453; Archibald Sayce, l.c. pp. 441, 450, 463;
Lenormant, l.c. pp. 4851.
[3] P. 107 Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal edited by
The Secretaries
2.10. EXTERNAL LINKS 15

[4] Sarah Iles Johnston, Religions of the Ancient World: A

Guide, Harvard University Press 2004, p.9

2.10 External links

Ancient Mesopotamian Gods and Goddesses, on
Oracc

Mespototamian Religion and Mesopotamian Pan-

theon on Ancient History Encyclopedia

ASOR (American Schools of Oriental Research),

Boston University

University of Michigan. Traditions of Magic in Late

Antiquity

Canaanite/Ugaritic Mythology FAQ, ver. 1.2 by

Chris Siren
Canaan and Ancient Israel by the University of
Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthro-
pology.
Chapter 3
Sumerian religion
The Sumerian religion inuenced Mesopotamian
mythology as a whole, surviving in the mythologies
and religions of the Hurrians, Akkadians, Babylonians,
Assyrians, and other culture groups.
3.1 Worship
Cuneiform temple hymn from the 19th century BCE; the hymn is
addressed to the Lugal Iddin-Dagan of Larsa
3.1.1 Written Cuneiform
Sumerian myths were passed down through the oral tra- During the Third Dynasty of Ur, the Sumerian city-state
dition until the invention of writing. Early Sumerian of Lagash was said to have had 62 lamentation priests
cuneiform was used primarily as a record-keeping tool; it
was not until the late early dynastic period that religious
writings rst became prevalent as temple praise hymns[1]
and as a form of incantation called the nam-ub (prex
+ to cast).[2]
3.1.2 Architecture
Main article: Sumerian architecture
In the Sumerian city-states, temple complexes originally
were small, elevated one-room structures. In the early
dynastic period, temples developed raised terraces and
multiple rooms. Toward the end of the Sumerian civi-
lization, Ziggurats became the preferred temple structure
for Mesopotamian religious centers.[3] Temples served
as cultural, religious, and political headquarters until ap-
proximately 2500 BCE, with the rise of military kings
known as Lu-gals (man + big)[2] after which time
the political and military leadership was often housed
in separate palace complexes. Sumer was located in
Mesopotamia. This is in the fertile crescent and between
the Tigris and Euphrates river.
3.1.3 The Priesthood
Until the advent of the lugals, Sumerian city states were
under a virtually theocratic government controlled by var-
ious En or Ens, who served as the high priests of the
cults of the city gods. (Their female equivalents were
known as Nin.) Priests were responsible for continuing
the cultural and religious traditions of their city-state, and
were viewed as mediators between humans and the cos-
mic and terrestrial forces. The priesthood resided full-
time in temple complexes, and administered matters of
state including the large irrigation processes necessary for
the civilizations survival.
3.1.4 Ceremony
16
3.3. DEITIES 17

became leader of the Sumerian pantheon. After the other

deities banished Enlil from Dilmun (the home of the
deities) for raping the air goddess Ninlil; she had a child,
Nanna, god of the moon. Nanna and Ningal gave birth to
Inanna, the goddess of war and fertility, and to Utu, god
of the sun.[5]

3.3 Deities

Sumerian Worshiper

who were accompanied by 180 vocalists and instrumen-

talists.

3.2 Cosmology
The Sumerians envisioned the universe as a closed dome
surrounded by a primordial saltwater sea.[4] Underneath
the terrestrial earth, which formed the base of the dome,
existed an underworld and a freshwater ocean called the
Aps. The deity of the dome-shaped rmament was
named An; the earth was named Ki. First the under-
ground world was believed to be an extension of the god-
dess Ki, but later developed into the concept of Kigal.
The primordial saltwater sea was named Nammu, who
became known as Tiamat during and after the Sumerian
Renaissance.

3.2.1 Creation story Statue of a Sumerian deity, ca. 2550 and 2520 BC

Main article: Sumerian creation myth The Sumerians originally practiced a polytheistic reli-
gion, with anthropomorphic deities representing cosmic
and terrestrial forces in their world. During the middle of
According to Sumerian mythology, the gods originally the 3rd millennium BCE, Sumerian deities became more
created humans as servants for themselves, but freed them anthropocentric and were "...nature gods transformed
when they became too much to handle. into city gods. Deities such as Enki and Inanna were
The primordial union of An and Ki produced Enlil, who viewed as having been assigned their rank, power, and
18 CHAPTER 3. SUMERIAN RELIGION

knowledge from An, the heavenly deity, or Enlil, head of
the Sumerian pantheon.
This cosmological shift may have been caused by the
growing inuence of the neighboring Akkadian religion,
or as a result of increased warfare between the Sumerian
city-states; the assignment of certain powers to deities
may have mirrored the appointment of the Lugals, who
were given power and authority by the city-state and its
priesthood.[6]
Ninhursag: goddess of the earth[11]
Nanna: god of the moon; one of the patron deities
of Ur[12]
Ningal: wife of Nanna[13]
Ninlil: an air goddess and wife of Enlil; one of the
matron deities of Nippur; she was believed to reside
in the same temple as Enlil[14]

3.4 Earliest deities Ninurta: god of war, agriculture, one of the Sume-
rian wind gods; patron deity of Girsu, and one of the
patron deities of Lagash
The earliest historical records of Sumer do not go back
much further than c. 2900 BC, although it is gener-
ally agreed that Sumerian civilization started between c. Utu: god of the sun at the E-babbar temple[15] of
4500 and 4000 BC.[7] The earliest Sumerian literature Sippar
of the 3rd millennium BC identies four primary deities;
Anu, Enlil, Ninhursag and Enki. The highest order of
these earliest gods were described occasionally behaving
mischievously towards each other, but were generally in-
3.5 Legacy
volved in co-operative creative ordering.[8]
Lists of large numbers of Sumerian deities have been 3.5.1 Akkadians
found. Their order of importance and the relationships
between the deities has been examined during the study The Sumerians had an ongoing linguistic and cultural
of cuneiform tablets.[9] exchange with the Semitic Akkadian peoples in north-
ern Mesopotamia for generations prior to the usurpation
of their territories by Sargon of Akkad in 2340 BCE.
3.4.1 Pantheon Sumerian mythology and religious practices were rapidly
integrated into Arabian culture,[16] presumably blending
The majority of Sumerian deities belonged to a classi- with the original Akkadian belief systems that have been
cation called the Anunna ([ospring] of An), whereas mostly lost to history. Sumerian deities developed Akka-
seven deities, including Enlil and Inanna, belonged to a dian counterparts. Some remained virtually the same un-
group of underworld judges known as the Anunnaki til later Babylonian and Assyrian rule. The Sumerian god
([ospring] of An + Ki; alternatively, those from An, for example, developed the Akkadian counterpart
heaven (An) who came to earth (Ki)"]). During the Third Anu; the Sumerian god Enki became Ea; and the Sume-
Dynasty of Ur, the Sumerian pantheon was said to include rian gods Ninurta and Enlil remained very much the same
sixty times sixty (3600) deities.[10] in the Akkadian pantheon.
The main Sumerian deities are:

3.5.2 Babylonians
Anu: god of heaven, the rmament

Enlil: god of the air (from Lil = Air); patron deity The Amorite, Babylonians gained dominance over south-
of Nippur ern Mesopotamia by the mid-17th century BCE. During
the Old Babylonian Period, the Sumerian and Akkadian
Enki: god of freshwater, male fertility, and knowl- languages were retained for religious purposes; the ma-
edge; patron deity of Eridu jority of Sumerian mythological literature known to his-
torians today comes from the Old Babylonian Period,[1]
Ereshkigal: goddess of the underworld, Kigal or
either in the form of transcribed Sumerian texts (most no-
Irkalla
tably the Babylonian version of the Epic of Gilgamesh)
Inanna: goddess of warfare, female fertility, and or in the form of Sumerian and Akkadian inuences
sexual love; patron deity of Uruk within Babylonian mythological literature (most notably
the Enma Eli). The Sumerian-Akkadian pantheon was
Nammu was the primeval sea (Engur), who gave altered, most notably with the introduction of a new
birth to An (heaven) and Ki (earth) and the rst supreme deity, Marduk. The Sumerian goddess Inanna
deities; eventually became known as the goddess also developed the counterpart Ishtar during the Old
Tiamat Babylonian Period.
3.8. EXTERNAL LINKS
3.5.3 Hurrians
Main article: Hurrians
The Hurrians adopted the Akkadian god Anu into their
pantheon sometime no later than 1200 BCE. Other
Sumerian and Akkadian deities adapted into the Hur-
rian pantheon include Ayas, the Hurrian counterpart to
Ea; Shaushka, the Hurrian counterpart to Ishtar; and the
goddess Ninlil,[17] whose mythos had been drastically ex-
panded by the Babylonians.
3.5.4 Parallels
Some stories in Sumerian religion appear similar to sto-
ries in other Middle-Eastern religions. For example, in
the Epic of Gilgamesh, the biblical account of Noah and
the ood myth resembles some aspects of the Sume-
rian deluge myth. The Judaic underworld Sheol is very
similar in description with the Sumerian and Babylonian
Kigal, ruled by the goddess Ereshkigal and in the Baby-
lonian religion, with their introduced consort, the death
god Nergal. Sumerian scholar Samuel Noah Kramer
noted similarities between many Sumerian and Akkadian
proverbs and the later Hebrew proverbs, many of which
are featured in the Book of Proverbs.[18]
3.6 See also
Ancient Near Eastern religion
Ancient Semitic religion
Babylonian religion
Mes
Mesopotamian mythology
Sumerian literature
3.7 References
[1] Sumerian Literature. Electronic Text Corpus of Sume-
rian Literature. Retrieved 2009-06-22.
[2] The Sumerian Lexicon (PDF). John A. Halloran. Re-
trieved 2009-06-23.
[3] Inside a Sumerian Temple. The Neal A. Maxwell Insti-
tute for Religious Scholarship at Brigham Young Univer-
sity. Retrieved 2009-06-22.
[4] The Firmament and the Water Above (PDF). Westmin-
ster Theological Journal 53 (1991), 232-233. Retrieved
2010-02-20.
[5] Enlil and Ninlil. Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian
Literature. Retrieved 2009-06-22.
19
[6] Karen Rhea Nemet-Nejat, (1998). Daily Life in Ancient
Mesopotamia ", 178-179.
[7] Bertman, Stephen (2003). Handbook to life in ancient
Mesopotamia. Facts on File. p. 143. ISBN 978-0-8160-
4346-0.
[8] The Sources of the Old Testament: A Guide to the Religious
Thought of the Old Testament in Context. Continuum In-
ternational Publishing Group. 18 May 2004. pp. 29.
ISBN 978-0-567-08463-7. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
[9] God in Translation: Deities in Cross-cultural Discourse in
the Biblical World. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. 2010.
pp. 42. ISBN 978-0-8028-6433-8. Retrieved 7 May
2013.
[10] Karen Rhea Nemet-Nejat, (1998). Daily Life in Ancient
Mesopotamia, 182.
[11] Gilgamec, Enkidu and the nether world. Electronic Text
Corpus of Sumerian Literature. Retrieved 2010-02-20.
[12] A balbale to Suen (Nanna A)". Electronic Text Corpus
of Sumerian Literature. Retrieved 2010-02-20.
[13] A balbale to Nanna (Nanna B)". Electronic Text Corpus
of Sumerian Literature. Retrieved 2010-02-20.
[14] An adab to Ninlil (Ninlil A)". Electronic Text Corpus of
Sumerian Literature. Retrieved 2010-02-20.
[15] A hymn to Utu (Utu B)". Electronic Text Corpus of
Sumerian Literature. Retrieved 2010-02-20.
[16] Mesopotamia: the Sumerians. Washington State Uni-
versity. Retrieved 2009-06-22.
[17] Hurrian Mythology REF 1.2. Christopher B. Siren. Re-
trieved 2009-06-23.
[18] Samuel Noah Kramer, (1952). From the Tablets of
Sumer, 133-135.
3.8 External links
Ancient Mesopotamian Gods and Goddesses, on
Oracc
Sumerian Hymns from Cuneiform Texts in the British
Museum at Project Gutenberg (Transcription of
book from 1908)
Chapter 4

Babylonian religion

Babylonian religion is the religious practice of 4.2 Religious festivals

Babylonia. Babylonian mythology was greatly inuenced
by their Sumerian counterparts, and was written on clay
Further information: Akitu
tablets inscribed with the cuneiform script derived from
Tablet fragments from the Neo-Babylonian period de-
Sumerian cuneiform. The myths were usually either
written in Sumerian or Akkadian. Some Babylonian
texts were translations into Akkadian from the Sumerian
language of earlier texts, although the names of some
deities were changed in Babylonian texts.
Many of the stories of the Tanakh are believed to have
been based on, inuenced by, or inspired by the legendary
mythological past of the Near East.[1]

A relief image, part of the Babylonian Ishtar gate

4.1 Mythology and cosmology
Main article: Mesopotamian mythology
Further information: Enma Eli
Babylonian mythology is a set of stories depicting the ac-
tivities of Babylonian deities, heroes, and mythological
creatures. These stories served many social, political,
ceremonial purposes, and at times tried to explain natural
phenomena.
Babylonian myths were greatly inuenced by their
Sumerian counterparts, and was written on clay tablets
inscribed with the cuneiform script derived from Sume-
rian cuneiform. The myths were usually either written
in Sumerian or Akkadian. Some Babylonian texts were
even translations into Akkadian from the Sumerian lan-
guage of earlier texts, though the names of some deities
were changed in Babylonian texts.
Many Babylonian deities, myths and religious writings are
singular to that culture; for example, the uniquely Baby-
lonian deity, Marduk, replaced Enlil as the head of the
mythological pantheon. The Enma Eli, a creation myth
epic was an original Babylonian work.
scribe a series of festival days celebrating the New Year.
The Festival began on the rst day of the rst Babylonian
month, Nisannu, roughly corresponding to April/May in
the Gregorian calendar. This festival celebrated the re-
creation of the Earth, drawing from the Marduk-centered
creation story described in the Enma Eli.[2]
4.3 Importance of idols
In Babylonian religion, the ritual care and worship of the
statues of deities was considered sacred; the gods resided
simultaneously in their statues in temples and in the nat-
ural forces they embodied. An elaborate ceremony of
washing the mouths of the statues appeared sometime in
the Old Babylonian period.
The pillaging or destruction of idols was considered to
be a withdrawal of divine patronage; during the Neo-
Babylonian period, the Chaldean prince Marduk-apla-
iddina II ed into the southern marshes of Mesopotamia
with the statues of Babylons gods to save them from the
armies of Sennacherib of Assyria.[3]

20
4.7. FURTHER READING 21

4.4 Inuence on Abrahamic reli-

gions
Main article: Panbabylonism

Many of the stories of the Tanakh are believed to have

been based on, inuenced by, or inspired by the legendary
mythological past of the Near East.[4]

4.5 See also

Ancient Mesopotamian religion

Assyrian religion
Religions of the ancient Near East

Sumerian religion
Tower of Babel

Zoroastrianism

4.6 References
[1] Morris Jastrow Jr.; et al. Babylon. Jewish Encyclopedia.

[2] McIntosh, Jane R. Ancient Mesopotamia: New Perspec-

tives. ABC-CLIO, Inc: Santa Barbara, CA, 2005. p.
221

[3] McIntosh, Jane R. Ancient Mesopotamia: New Perspec-

tives. ABC-CLIO, Inc: Santa Barbara, CA, 2005. pp.
35-43

[4] Morris Jastrow Jr.; et al. Babylon. Jewish Encyclopedia.

4.7 Further reading

Renger, Johannes (1999), Babylonian and Assyr-
ian Religion, in Fahlbusch, Erwin, Encyclopedia of
Christianity, 1, Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans,
pp. 177178, ISBN 0802824137
Chapter 5
List of Mesopotamian deities
The following is a list of Mesopotamian deities.
5.1 Major Deities
Ashur or Enlil - god of air, head of the Assyrian
pantheon
Anu or An - god of heaven and the sky, lord of con-
stellations, and father of the gods
Enki or Ea - god of the Abzu, crafts, water, intelli-
gence, mischief and creation and divine ruler of the
Earth and its humans
Ereshkigal - goddess of Irkalla, the Underworld
Ishtar or Inanna - goddess of fertility, love, and war
Marduk - patron deity of Babylon who eventually
became regarded as the head of the Babylonian pan-
theon
Nabu - god of wisdom and writing
Nanshe - goddess of social justice, prophecy,fertility
and shing
Nergal - god of plague, war, and the sun in its de-
structive capacity; later husband of Ereshkigal
Ninhursag or Mami, Belet-Ili, Ki, Ninmah, Nintu,
or Aruru - earth and mother goddess
Ninlil - goddess of the air; consort of Enlil
Ninurta - champion of the gods, the epitome of
youthful vigour, and god of agriculture
Shamash or Utu - god of the sun, arbiter of justice
and patron of travellers
Sin or Nanna - god of the moon
Tammuz or Dumuzi - god of food and vegetation
22
5.2 Minor deities
This is only some of them. There are thousands.
Abu - a minor god of vegetation
Ama-arhus - Akkadian fertility goddess; later
merged into Ninhursag
Amasagnul - Akkadian fertility goddess
Amathaunta - goddess of Ocean
Amurru - god of the Amorite people
An - a goddess, possibly the female principle of Anu
Arah - the goddess of fate.
Asaruludu or Namshub - a protective deity
Ashnan - goddess of grain
Aya - a mother goddess and consort of Shamash
Azimua - a minor Sumerian goddess
Bau - dog-headed patron goddess of Lagash
Belet-Seri - recorder of the dead entering the under-
world
Birdu - an underworld god; consort of Manungal and
later syncretized with Nergal
Bunene - divine charioteer of Shamash
Damgalnuna - mother of Marduk
Damu - god of vegetation and rebirth; possibly a lo-
cal oshoot of Dumuzi
Druaga - an underworld god
Emesh - god of vegetation, created to take respon-
sibility on earth for woods, elds, sheep folds, and
stables
Enbilulu - god of rivers, canals, irrigation and farm-
ing
Endursaga - a herald god
5.2. MINOR DEITIES
Enkimdu - god of farming, canals and ditches
Enmesarra - an underworld god of the law, equated
with Nergal
Ennugi - attendant and throne-bearer of Enlil
Enshag - a minor deity born to relieve the illness of
Enki
Enten - god of vegetation, created to take responsi-
bility on earth for the fertility of ewes, goats, cows,
donkeys, birds
Erra - Akkadian god of mayhem and pestilence
Gaga - a minor deity featured in the Enma Eli
Gatumdag - a fertility goddess and tutelary mother
goddess of Lagash
Geshtu-E - minor god of intelligence
Gibil or Gerra - god of re
Gugalanna - the Great Bull of Heaven, the constel-
lation Taurus and the rst husband of Ereshkigal
Gunara - a minor god of uncertain status
Hahanu - a minor god of uncertain status
Hani - an attendant of the storm god Adad
Hayasum - a minor god of uncertain status
Hegir-Nuna - a daughter of the goddess Bau
Hendursaga - god of law
Ilabrat - attendant and minister of state to Anu
Ishum - brother of Shamash and attendant of Erra
Isimud - two-faced messenger of Enki
Itaran - god of the city of Der (Sumer)
Kabta - obscure god Lofty one of heaven
Kakka - attendant and minister of state to both Anu
and Anshar
Kingu - consort of Tiamat; killed by Marduk, who
used his blood to create mankind
Kubaba - tutelary goddess of the city of Carchemish
Kulla - god of bricks and building
Kus (god) - god of herdsmen
Lahar - god of cattle
Lugal-Irra - possibly a minor variation of Erra
Lulal - the younger son of Inanna; patron god of
Bad-tibira
23
Mamitu - goat-headed goddess of destiny, who de-
creed the fate of the new-borns
Manungal - an underworld goddess; consort of Birdu
Mammetun - Sumerian goddess of fate
Mandanu -god of divine judgment
Muati - obscure Sumerian god who became syn-
cretized with Nabu
Mushdamma - god of buildings and foundations
Nammu - a creation goddess
Nanaya - goddess personifying voluptuousness and
sensuality
Nazi - a minor deity born to relieve the illness of
Enki
Negun - a minor goddess of uncertain status
Neti - a minor underworld god; the chief gatekeeper
of the netherworld and the servant of Ereshkigal
Ngeshtin-ana - goddess of wine and cold seasons
Nibhaz - god of the Avim
Nidaba - goddess of writing, learning and the harvest
Namtar - minister of Ereshkigal
Nin-Ildu - god of carpenters
Nin-imma - goddess of the female sex organs
Ninazu - god of the underworld and healing
Nindub - god associated with the city Lagash
Ningal - goddess of reeds and consort of Nanna (Sin)
Ningikuga - goddess of reeds and marshes
Ningirama - god of magic and protector against
snakes
Ningishzida - god of the underworld
Ninkarnunna - god of barbers
Ninkasi - goddess of beer
Ninkilim - Lord Rodent god of vermin
Ninkurra - minor mother goddess
Ninmena - Sumerian mother goddess who became
syncretized with Ninhursag
Ninsar - goddess of plants
Ninshubur - Queen of the East, messenger goddess
and second-in-command to Inanna
Ninsun - Lady Wild Cow"; mother of Gilgamesh
24
Ninsutu - a minor deity born to relieve the illness of
Enki
Nintinugga - Babylonian goddess of healing
Nintulla - a minor deity born to relieve the illness of
Enki
Nu Mus Da - patron god of the lost city of Kazallu
Nunbarsegunu - goddess of barley
Nusku - god of light and re
Pabilsa - tutelary god of the city of Isin
Pap-nigin-gara - Akkadian and Babylonian god of
war, syncretized with Ninurta
Papsukkal - Akkadian messenger god
Pazuzu - son of Hanbi, and king of the demons of
the wind
Sarpanit - mother goddess and consort of Marduk
The Sebitti - a group of minor war gods
Shakka - patron god of herdsmen
Shala - goddess of war and grain
Shara - minor god of war and a son of Inanna
Sharra Itu - Sumerian fertility goddess
Shu-pa-e - astral and fertility god associated with the
planet Jupiter
Shul-utula - personal deity to Entemena, king of the
city of Eninnu
Shullat - minor god and attendant of Shamash
Shulmanu - god of the underworld, fertility and war
Shulsaga - astral goddess
Sirara - goddess of the Persian Gulf
Siris - goddess of beer
Sirsir - god of mariners and boatmen
Sirtir - goddess of sheep
Sumugan - god of the river plains
Tashmetum - consort of Nabu
Tishpak - tutelary god of the city of Eshnunna
Tutu - tutelary god of the city of Borsippa
Ua-Ildak - goddess responsible for pastures and
poplar trees
Ukur - a god of the underworld
Uttu - goddess of weaving and clothing
Wer - a storm god linked to Adad
Zaqar - messenger of Sin who relays communication
through dreams and nightmares
CHAPTER 5. LIST OF MESOPOTAMIAN DEITIES
5.3 Primordial beings
Abzu - the Ocean Below, the name for fresh water
from underground aquifers; depicted as a deity only
in the Babylonian creation epic Enma Eli
Anshar - god of the sky and male principle
Kishar - goddess of the earth and female principle
Kur - the rst dragon, born of Abzu and Ma. Also
Kur-gal, or Ki-gal the underworld
Lahamu - rst-born daughter of Abzu and Tiamat
Lahmu - rst-born son of Abzu and Tiamat; a pro-
tective and benecent deity
(Ma) -primordial goddess of the earth
Mummu - god of crafts and technical skill
Tiamat - primordial goddess of the ocean
5.4 Demigods and Heroes
Adapa - a hero who unknowingly refused the gift of
immortality
The Apkallu - seven demigods created by the god
Enki to give civilization to mankind
Gilgamesh - hero and king of Uruk; central charac-
ter in the Epic of Gilgamesh
Enkidu - hero and companion of Gilgamesh
Enmerkar - the legendary builder of the city of Uruk
Lugalbanda - second king of Uruk, who ruled for
1,200 years
Utnapishtim - hero who survived a great ood and
was granted immortality; character in the Epic of
Gilgamesh
5.5 Spirits and demons
Al, demon of night
Asag - monstrous demon whose presence makes sh
boil alive in the rivers
Asakku, evil demon(s)
The edimmu - ghosts of those who were not buried
properly
Gall, underworld demon
Hanbi or Hanpa - father of Pazuzu
5.7. SEE ALSO 25

Humbaba - guardian of the Cedar Forest

Lamashtu - a malevolent being who menaced

women during childbirth

Lil, wandering demon

Mukl r lemutti demon of headaches

Pazuzu - king of the demons of the wind; he also rep-

resented the southwestern wind, the bearer of storms
and drought
Rabisu - an evil vampiric spirit

ulak the bathroom demon, lurker in the bath-

room
Zu - divine storm-bird and the personication of the
southern wind and the thunder clouds

5.6 Legendary beasts

Battle Bison beast - one of the creatures slain by Nin-
urta

The eleven mythical monsters created by Timat in the

Epic of Creation, Enma Eli:

Bamu, Venomous Snake

Uumgallu, Great Dragon

Muma, Exalted Serpent

Muuu, Furious Snake

Lamu, the Hairy One

Ugallu, the Big Weather-Beast

Uridimmu, Mad Lion

Girtablull, Scorpion-Man
Um dabrtu, Violent Storms

Kulull, Fish-Man
Kusarikku, Bull-Man

5.7 See also

Family tree of the Babylonian gods
Chapter 6

Mesopotamian prayer

Mesopotamian prayer are the prayers of the place and relief from illness and for the deliverance of personal
era known as ancient Mesopotamia. There are nine clas- longevity.[2]
sications of poem used within Mesopotamia.

6.2.3 Ikribus
6.1 Prayers
These prayers were performed for the purposes of
[8]
A denition of prayers of Mesopotamia is "praise to god divining.
followed by request" (this denition is according to T. Os- Another source shows ikrib were benedictions.[2]
hima).[1]
According to one source (Bromiley) the form of the
word, known and used to signify prayers during the 6.2.4 Royal
Mesopotamian era, is described today as u-il-l. With
regards to u-il-l, the scholars Lambert, van der Toorn The rulers (Kings of Babylonia) prayers were made to a
and Oshima posit an alternative use for the term, which variety of deities, for example Marduk (the god of Baby-
they submit is instead with reference to the way in which lonia), Nab, ama. The kings had inscribed prayers
a prayer is to be recited, not a general signier (rubric) made onto cylinders made of clay and kept within build-
for prayer itself (a notion expressed by Bromiley).[1][2] ings, in order to fulll this function. Prayers of this type
tended to not be for reason of the seeking of mercy and
u-il-l is held to refer to an act of praying, by prayer
salvation as is found in uila prayers.[9]
exhibited by either lifting of hands, to lift hands, or to lift
the hand.[3]
6.2.5 Hymns
6.2 Types By study of the prayers, it seems apparent to scholars, that
these types of prayers seem to be reformations of earlier
Prayers are divided into the following classications: topos made, for example, in a similar vein to prayers such
Incantation prayers, Ershaungas, Gottesbriefe, Ikribus, as the Prayer to the Gods of the Night.[2]
Royal, Tamitas and other queries, Hymns, ig, and
Namburbi.[2][4][5]
6.2.6 ig
6.2.1 Incantation
ig are lamentations. Lamentations are either
complaints, or expressions of grief or sorrow. Both
Tribal specialists in ritual were required to perform incan-
meanings are related (combined) within ig.[10]
tations to accompany the use of texts known, for example,
from Ugarit which are attested to contain ways to aid in
the removal of snake-venom. Ugarit is also known to have
contained additional health-related incantation texts.[6] 6.2.7 Namburbi

Prayers of this classication were performed during

6.2.2 Gottesbriefe namburbi rituals. These rituals were undertaken rstly
if an omen announced a fate that was evil, and a person
The term Gottesbriefe is literally, petition-prayers, or let- wished to counter-act the fate, and secondly to counter
ter prayers.[7] They were mostly in the form of pleas for witchcraft.[1][5][11][12]

26
6.5. SOURCES 27

6.3 See also [12] Ehud Ben Zvi review of work of S.M. Maul in
Perspectives on Biblical Hebrew: Comprising the Con-
tents of Journal of Hebrew Scriptures, Volumes 1-4
Magical texts
Gorgias Press LLC, 1 Jan 2006 (934 pages) Volume
1 of Gorgias Perspectives on Hebrew Scriptures Series
Mesopotamian divination
ISBN 1593333102 [Retrieved 2015-05-20](namburbi rit-
ual sourced at p.575)
Religion within Ancient Mesopotania

6.5 Sources
6.4 Citations
J. Hehn, Hymnen und Gebete an Marduk (published
[1] Review (2012) by Journal of Hebrew Scriptures (designa- 1905) as shown here
tion DOI:10.5508/jhs.2012.v12.r17) of. Oshima, T (au-
thor) - Babylonian Prayers to Marduk. ISBN 978-3-16-
150831-8. Retrieved 2015-05-20.

[2] G.W. Bromiley. International Standard Bible Encyclope-

dia: A-D (p.400). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1979.
Retrieved 2015-05-18.(ISBN 0802837816)

[3] Frechett, C.G. Mesopotamian Ritual-prayers of Hand-

lifting (Akkadian uillas): An Investigation of Function in
Light of the Idiomatic Meaning of the Rubric. Ugarit Ver-
lag, 2012 ISBN 978-3-86835-046-3. Retrieved 2015-05-
20.

[4] edited by A. Lenzi. - READING AKKADIAN PRAYERS

AND HYMNS An Introduction (PDF). The Society of Bib-
lical Literature 2011 (copyrighted to) ISBN 978-1-58983-
596-2. Retrieved 2015-05-18.

[5] C.O. Schroeder. - History, justice, and the agency of God:

a hermeneutical and exegetical investigation on Isaiah and
Psalms (p.178-9). BRILL, 2001 ISBN 9004119914 (236
pages) Volume 52 of Biblical interpretation series Studies
in Ancient Magic and Divination. Retrieved 2015-05-20.

[6] S I Johnston - Religions of the Ancient World: A

Guide (p.459-460) Harvard University Press, 2004 ISBN
0674015177 (697 pages) Volume 18 of Harvard Univer-
sity Press reference library [Retrieved 2015-05-16]

[7] K Takai - Old Babylonian Letter of Petition and Later

Individual Lament Prayers BiblioBazaar, 2011 ISBN
1243614951 [Retrieved 2015-05-18]

[8] F.H. Cryer - Divination in Ancient Israel and its Near

Eastern Environment: A Socio-Historical Investigation
(footnote 5 - page 197) A&C Black, 1 May 1994
ISBN 0567059634 (367 pages) The Library of Hebrew
Bible/Old Testament Studies [Retrieved 2015-05-18]

[9] T Oshima - Babylonian Prayers to Marduk (p.21-22)

Mohr Siebeck, 2011 ISBN 3161508319 (483 pages) Vol-
ume 7 of Orientalische Religionen in der Antike, ISSN
1869-0513 [Retrieved 2015-05-18]

[10] Google - search return published by Google 22:40 hrs 12-

12-2015 [Retrieved 2015-12-12]

[11] edited by T Abusch, D Schwemer. Corpus of

Mesopotamian Anti-witchcraft Rituals: Volume One.
BRILL, December 17, 2010. Retrieved 2015-05-20.
28 CHAPTER 6. MESOPOTAMIAN PRAYER

6.6 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

6.6.1 Text
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Woohookitty, Vanished user sfoi943923kjd94, RussBot, Thane, Grafen, Arthur Rubin, CWenger, SmackBot, Jagged 85, Portillo, Cat-
tus, Castanea dentata, NickPenguin, Ser Amantio di Nicolao, Solasis, NJMauthor, Myasuda, Amphipolis, Marek69, Rettetast, Beloved-
freak, Oshwah, Kiwigirl3850, Kehrbykid, Drmies, Editor2020, Nepenthes, Addbot, Matanya, DemocraticLuntz, Materialscientist,
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Discospinster, SamEV, Andrew Dalby, Microchip08, Jvol, Robert.Field, Doug Weller, Mtpaley, Storkk, JaGa, Wiae, Ronald S. Davis,
Goustien, Shoemoney2night, Askahrc, Yngvadottir, Azurfrog, Dcirovic, Donner60, ClueBot NG, Widr, BigEars42, BG19bot, Dexbot,
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Nicolao, Nick Number, Omnipaedista, Josve05a, Marcocapelle, Konveyor Belt and Whalestate
6.6. TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES 29

6.6.2 Images
File:Babylonlion.JPG Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Babylonlion.JPG License: Public domain Contrib-
utors: Own work Original artist: ?
File:Chaos_Monster_and_Sun_God.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/Chaos_Monster_and_Sun_
God.png License: Public domain Contributors: Own work Original artist: Georgelazenby
File:Commons-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg License: PD Contributors: ? Origi-
nal artist: ?
File:Cylinder_seal_lions_Louvre_MNB1167_n2.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Cylinder_seal_
lions_Louvre_MNB1167_n2.jpg License: CC BY 3.0 Contributors: Marie-Lan Nguyen (2010) Original artist: ?
File:Detail_Ishtar_gate.JPG Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Detail_Ishtar_gate.JPG License: CC-BY-
SA-3.0 Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Folder_Hexagonal_Icon.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/48/Folder_Hexagonal_Icon.svg License: Cc-by-
sa-3.0 Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:HittiteSeatedDeityAnatolia13thCenturyBCE.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/
HittiteSeatedDeityAnatolia13thCenturyBCE.jpg License: GFDL Contributors: self-made, photographed at the MET Original
artist: PHGCOM
File:Hymn_Iddin-Dagan_Louvre_AO8864.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/Hymn_Iddin-Dagan_
Louvre_AO8864.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: Marie-Lan Nguyen (User:Jastrow), own work, 2008-04-13 Original artist:
Unknown<a href='//www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4233718' title='wikidata:Q4233718'><img alt='wikidata:Q4233718' src='https://upload.
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File:Ishtar_vase_Louvre_AO17000-detail.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Ishtar_vase_Louvre_
AO17000-detail.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: Own work Original artist: Marie-Lan Nguyen
File:Khashkhamer_seal_moon_worship.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Khashkhamer_
seal_moon_worship.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: Donald A. Mackenzie, Myths of Babylonia and Assyria
(1915), p. 50 [1][2], Messrs. Mansell & Co. Original artist: Unknown<a href='//www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4233718'
title='wikidata:Q4233718'><img alt='wikidata:Q4233718' src='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/
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File:Marduk_and_pet.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Marduk_and_pet.jpg License: Public domain
Contributors: http://www.hps.cam.ac.uk/readinglists/marduk.jpg - en:Image:Marduk and pet.jpg Original artist: ?
File:Mesopotamia.PNG Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Mesopotamia.PNG License: Public domain
Contributors: Own work, via en.wikipedia.org Original artist: User:Dbachmann
File:Portal-puzzle.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/fd/Portal-puzzle.svg License: Public domain Contributors: ?
Original artist: ?
File:Question_book-new.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/99/Question_book-new.svg License: Cc-by-sa-3.0
Contributors:
Created from scratch in Adobe Illustrator. Based on Image:Question book.png created by User:Equazcion Original artist:
Tkgd2007
File:Sumerian_Worshiper.JPG Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/Sumerian_Worshiper.JPG License:
CC BY-SA 4.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg)
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Sumerio_orante_%28M.A.N._Madrid_Inv.2001-110-1%29_01.jpg License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Luis Garca (Zaqarbal), 12
March 2008. Original artist: ?

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