Ancient Mesopotamian Gods

Similar to Egyptians, Mesopotamians were polytheists and their gods created the natural phenomena. However, the temple in each city-state mainly worshipped a local god and was the central power in the city. The Mesopotamians ascribed human’s appearance and characteristics to represent their deities. The presence of the cult image in the temple indicated the presence of the deity in the city. Each cult image of the local god was placed in the city’s largest and most sophisticated sanctuary. For instance, the cult image of Marduk–Babylon’s city deity–resided in the Esagila temple. Mesopotamians believed the shrine of the Esagila temple was the heart of the universe. According to the inscriptions in the Steinplatten, the cult statue, the walls and the ceilings of the sanctuary were plated in gold. In practice of the daily ritual, the servants or priests of the temple cleansed and dressed the cult statue in new clothes. Since the priests directly served the patron city god, they were respected by common people. Additionally, the inscriptions from king Neriglissar’s cylinder revealed that he was submissive to the gods and thus the king’s power was shared to the priests and the local government. Local government governed the city and controlled the economy on behalf of the city’s god. Consequently, the cult’s control over the economy and society was limited inside the city-state.

There were many ways that the Ancient Egyptian society and the Mesopotamian society were similar yet at the same time they were very different. Egyptians and Sumerians agreed on religion in a sense that both cultures were polytheistic. However, the relationships between the gods and goddesses were different between the Sumerians and Egyptians. This essay will discuss those differences in culture, religion and the viewpoints on death and afterlife.

The Egyptians believed that their pharaohs were the reincarnation of the sun god Re, the chief god who held the most power of all of the gods. This was believed because the pharaohs had immense power, governed huge areas of lands, and controlled vast resources such as gold and slaves. The pharaohs also elevated their status by building huge structures to the gods that seemed to transcend their earthly life, such as the pyramids and temples. The pharaohs used ordinary Egyptians to build the pyramids, not slaves, because the Egyptians wanted to please the god king so they would be guaranteed a place in the afterlife. The pharaohs also conquered thousands of square miles of land through military victories which seemed almost impossible for mere mortals. Similarly, the Mesopotamian kings were believed to be the sons of gods. The god the kings were related to depended on the city state’s main god, which was usually Anu. The king was also the chief priest which continued the relationship, keeping them close to the gods. The kings took on massive public works projects as well as military conquests which further cemented this belief. Because of the importance of the gods to these societies, their leaders were raised to a “godly” status as a reflection of their significance and as a result of their many accomplishments, which also gave the people a more tangible connection to the gods.

Mesopotamian and Egyptian religions shared two key similarities: polytheism and priestly authority. The religions in Mesopotamia and

Ancient Egyptians referred to their king as pharaoh. Document 3 explains that they believed that pharaoh is a god that controls everything and has an absolute power that nobody can came close to. According to document 6 the Sumerians and Akkadians practice polytheism, the worship of many gods. They believed that keeping the gods happy will be the key of their own happiness and prosperity but, if the gods were angry, they might bring suffering and disaster.the sumerians built temples that called ziggurats, they believed that the temples linked earth with the heavens and linked people with gods.

Known as one of the earliest civilizations, Mesopotamia and Egypt both share set amounts of similarities along with a share of striking distinctions. Environmentally, these two civilizations were formed in similar surroundings, yet their weather patterns show distinctions. Politically, both governments derived from a monarch, yet their laws and punishments distinguished the two’s court systems. Economically, they both shared prosperous success in similar manners. Socially, although the two lands followed a hierarchy, the value of women contrasted. Culturally, they both believed in a higher order of creation; however, their views of them were polar opposites. Intellectually, these two societies developed skilled abilities and creations that

Just as each culture built unique places of worship as was their style of worship unique. In the Mesopotamian religion there were well over 3000 gods and goddesses. Each city had its own patron god who was in charge of that city. It was also believed that each person had his own lesser god who would appeal with the greater gods on his own account. At the upper part of the Mesopotamian pantheon sits An, the Lord of heaven and Enlil, Lord of the earth. These two gods had a sour attitude towards the human beings. It was Enki, god of sweet waters, magic and wisdom, that was humanity's friend. The Mesopotamians also had an interesting view on doing evil and evil acts. They never blamed themselves; instead it was all put on a demon taking over the person's body. So instead of punishing the individuals for their crimes, the Mesopotamians would try to exorcise them. People wore amulets or charms to try to keep the evil demons away. If they performed a ritual fault or accident, such as touching a cursed person, it could invoke the wrath of the gods and that was when a person's personal god would have to defend you before the greater gods (Garber, 204).

The first category of culture is religion. There were several similarities between the Mesopotamians and Egyptians. The Mesopotamians and Egyptians had their own religion and beliefs. Both were polytheistic, meaning they believed in numerous gods or goddesses instead of one god or goddess. There were also several differences between the Mesopotamian and Egyptians. While the Mesopotamians and Egyptians worshiped thousands of deities, there were four main essential deities for the Mesopotamians: An, Enlil, Enki, and Ninhursaga. An was the god of heaven. Enlil was the god of wind and became the power of energy, force, and authority on the earth. Enki was the god of

When comparing cultures it would be difficult to find two that are more diverse than the Mesopotamian and Egyptian cultures. The Mesopotamian culture was filled with tension and instability while the Egyptian people maintained a stable and somewhat more content way of life. In examining these two cultures one can surmise that these differences are mainly due to the political, economic, social, religious, and geographic differences between Egypt and Mesopotamia. These factors added to the overall mentality of the people. These mentalities affected the stability of each culture, whether for the better or worse.

Out of all my other sources, Jacobsen’s book is the most general and brief. This book covers the history of Mesopotamian religion from the fourth to second millennium BCE. There is no focus on a singular deity in this work. Jacobsen identifies three key phases that the roles of Mesopotamian deities underwent: providers, rulers, and parents (Jacobsen 1976, 20). Clearly, this is reflective of broad developments that the society went through at the time – establishment of agriculture, of the state, and of the individual. When discussing gods acting as providers, Jacobsen dedicates a chapter in analyzing a long myth, dating back to the fourth millennium BCE, about how Inanna and her husband, Dumuzi, met and lived together as a divine couple (Jacobsen 1976, 25-26). Their personalities and ideas they represent are discussed here. Additionally, Jacobsen also mentions precise cities in Sumer that Inanna and Dumuzi were looked to as their main deities – these include Uruk, Bad-tibira, Umma, and Zabalam (Jacobsen 1976, 25). This is useful in providing more historical and geographical context.

Religions played an important role in both Egyptian and Sumerian civilizations. It allowed people to worship Gods who they believed to ensure good lives. However, both civilizations did not use judge morality. Sumerians believed that Gods give them good living condition rather than judge it. Sumerian religion was created from myths and ritual prayers. Sumerians were “literal servants” and obey to the Gods. They offered prayers, gifts to the gods and Gods blessed people with good condition. Gods of Sumerians were Heaven creating of day and night, The Great Above making up of the space between the sky and the earth, and The Great Below where people go after death. Like Sumerian, Egypt religion was also created from myths along with traditions.

Although Egyptians were polytheistic, they worshiped the sun god, Atum or Re, as he was the source of life. This is important because the Egyptian king took the title of “Son of Re”. The king, hence the descendant of the god, was the mother and father of all men without equal. The king akin to the living god, and his rule was law. Despite there being no laws, the words out of the king’s mouth were the law. As a king, he handles the army to protect his possessions and people.

Religion was practiced throughout Ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt. Both the Mesopotamians and Egyptians shared polytheistic beliefs. Each god was responsible for an action, but they did not consider the gods to be equal in Mesopotamian society, in order to please the gods, a sacrifice must be made to please them in order to avoid the god’s wrath. The separation of church and state did not exist in both ancient civilizations, pharaohs of Egyptian society was known to be a god on Earth, the incarnation of Horus, the falcon god. The Mesopotamian rulers were known as a representative to the gods. Although they worship to several different gods, they do have differences between the two. The idea of an afterlife, In Mesopotamia didn’t exist but for the Egyptians the idea of an afterlife was of significant importance to them, rituals were held to ensure that the body and soul would be ready for an eternal life after death. The writing systems of both the Mesopotamians and the Egyptians have many similarities. Pictographic writing, which was developed by the

Historian Jean Bottero, who is one of the most knowledgeable individuals on ancient Mesopotamian religion, believes that “their gods were not viewed mystically, who had to be obeyed and feared as opposed to loved and adored.” The city-states of Mesopotamia also had patron gods or goddesses much like the Poleis of the ancient Greek city-states. Each city would adopt a particular god or goddess who they would pray to and offer sacrifices in order to please them. They looked to all the gods with respect as their rulers but their patron god or goddess was of the utmost importance to please. They believed that all fortune, good or bad, stemmed from the deity that watched over their particular city.

First, the Mesopotamians understood the connection between gods and humans and valued civilization over nature. In Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the oldest recorded stories, Gilgamesh was made into part god. “Two thirds they made him god and one third man.” (Lualdi, 16) He was a character that had people admiring his power and was a villain of the common man. Epic of Gilgamesh also portrayed the influence a woman can have over a man and the value of civilization. After the harlot had her way with Enkidu, “he was grown weak, for wisdom was in him, and the thoughts of a man were in his heart.”