![]() ![]() Toward the end of the Sumerian civilization, ziggurats became the preferred temple structure for Mesopotamian religious centers. In the early dynastic period, temples developed raised terraces and multiple rooms. In the Sumerian city-states, temple complexes originally were small, elevated one-room structures. Early Sumerian cuneiform was used primarily as a record-keeping tool it was not until the late early dynastic period that religious writings first became prevalent as temple praise hymns and as a form of “incantation” called the nam-šub (prefix + “to cast”). These tablets were also made of stone clay or stone, and they used a small pick to make the symbols. Sumerian myths were passed down through the oral tradition until the invention of writing (the earliest myth discovered so far, the Epic of Gilgamesh, is Sumerian and is written on a series of fractured clay tablets). Statuette of a Sumerian worshipper from the Early Dynastic Period, ca. In later times, Ereshkigal was believed to rule alongside her husband Nergal, the god of death. Heaven was reserved exclusively for deities and, upon their deaths, all mortals’ spirits, regardless of their behavior while alive, were believed to go to Kur, a cold, dark cavern deep beneath the earth, which was ruled by the goddess Ereshkigal and where the only food available was dry dust. Humans were believed to have been created by Enki, the son of An and Nammu. Enlil separated heaven from earth and claimed the earth as his domain. ![]() First, Nammu, the primeval waters, gave birth to An (the sky) and Ki (the earth), who mated together and produced a son named Enlil. ![]() The Sumerians believed that the universe had come into being through a series of cosmic births. Towards the end of Sumerian civilization, these temples developed into ziggurats-tall, pyramidal structures with sanctuaries at the tops. In early times, Sumerian temples were simple, one-room structures, sometimes built on elevated platforms. Later, this role was supplanted by kings, but priests continued to exert great influence on Sumerian society. The Sumerians regarded their divinities as responsible for all matters pertaining to the natural and social orders.īefore the beginning of kingship in Sumer, the city-states were effectively ruled by theocratic priests and religious officials. Sumerian religion was the religion practiced and adhered to by the people of Sumer, the first literate civilization of ancient Mesopotamia. ![]()
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