Mesopotamian religion

Introduction
Historical development
- Cultural background
- Stages of religious development
The literary legacy: myth and epic
- Sumerian literature
  - Myths
  - Epics
- Akkadian literature
  - Myths
  - Epics
The Mesopotamian worldview as expressed in myth
- Cosmogony and cosmology
- The gods and demons
- Human origin
Institutions and practices
- City-state and national state
- Cult
- Sacred times
- Administration
- Sacred places
- The magical arts
Religious art and iconography
Conclusion

References & Edit History Related Topics

Images

Historical map showing ancient Mesopotamia with labeled locations of major archaeological and historical sites. Symbols and color codes indicate sites from the prehistoric era, Sumerian-Akkadian culture, Babylonian and Neo-Babylonian eras, Assyrian civilization, Hurrian era, late Persian, Greek, and Parthian eras, as well as marshland areas. The map covers the region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, including present-day Iraq and surrounding areas.

Stela inscribed with the Code of Hammurabi

Black and white illustration of Marduk, the chief god of Babylon, shown standing in elaborate robes and a tall crown, with a serpent-dragon at his side.

At a Glance

Mesopotamian religions summary

Related Questions

How could a Mesopotamian seek a judgment against a demon?
How did Ashur become the national god of Assyria?
How did Enkidu become Gilgamesh’s companion in the Epic of Gilgamesh?
How did Mesopotamian kings connect military victories to divine favor?
How did Mesopotamian religion influence daily life in ancient Mesopotamia?
How did Mesopotamian religious beliefs change between the third and first millennia BCE?
How did Mesopotamians use omens to learn the will of the gods?
How did Sumerian beliefs shape later Babylonian and Assyrian religion?
How did Utnapishtim survive the Mesopotamian Flood?
How did ideas about sin and forgiveness develop in later Mesopotamian religion?
How did the Assyrian version of the creation story change the role of Marduk?
How did the Enuma elish support Babylon’s political importance?
How did the Mesopotamian view of the gods change from a divine assembly to a divine monarchy?
How did the Myth of the Creation of the Hoe describe Enlil’s creation of people?
How did the flood story in the Epic of Gilgamesh compare with the story of Atrahasis?
How did the myth of Nergal and Ereshkigal explain the rule of the underworld?
How was Ea connected with fresh water, wisdom, and ritual purification?
How was Enlil connected to wind, authority, and agriculture?
How was Ishtar connected to war, love, fertility, and the planet Venus?
How were demons believed to cause disease in Mesopotamian religion?
How were dreams used as omens in ancient Mesopotamia?
How were rituals used to prevent events predicted by bad omens?
How were temples connected to the economy of Mesopotamian cities?
How were treaties between Mesopotamian states connected to the gods?
What responsibilities did Anu have in Mesopotamian religion?
What roles did scribes play in preserving Mesopotamian religious texts?
What symbols were associated with Ishtar in Mesopotamian art and worship?
Which ancient peoples practiced Mesopotamian religion?
Which languages were used for Mesopotamian religious literature?
Why did Adapa refuse the food and drink that could have made him immortal?
Why did Assyrian kings report their military campaigns to Ashur?
Why did Marduk fight Tiamat in the Enuma elish?
Why did Mesopotamians believe people needed the help of a personal god or goddess?
Why did scribal schools continue teaching Sumerian after Akkadian became the spoken language?
Why was Nippur important in the worship of Enlil?
Why was the Enuma elish recited during the Babylonian New Year festival?
Why were Inanna and Ishtar identified with each other?

Philosophy & Religion Ancient Religions & Mythology

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External Websites

World History Encyclopedia - Mesopotamian Religion
The Met - Mesopotamian Deities
Digital Commons at George Fox University - The Origins of Social Justice in the Ancient Mesopotamian Religious Traditions (PDF)

Mesopotamian religion

Written by

Thorkild Jacobsen

Professor of Assyriology, Harvard University, 1962–74. Author of The Sumerian Kinglist; "Mesopotamia" in The Intellectual History of Ancient Man; and others.

Thorkild Jacobsen

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

Britannica Editors

History

Mesopotamian religion, beliefs and practices of the Sumerians and Akkadians, and their successors, the Babylonians and Assyrians, who inhabited ancient Mesopotamia (now in Iraq) in the millennia before the Christian era. These religious beliefs and practices form a single stream of tradition. Sumerian in origin, Mesopotamian religion was added to and subtly modified by the Akkadians (Semites who emigrated into Mesopotamia from the west at the end of the 4th millennium bce), whose own beliefs...

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