Mesopotamia

Sumerian Religion

   Sumer was a polytheistic civilization, meaning that they believed that there were many gods that existed.  These gods represented natural phenomena, and were created to explain things that the people did not understand, (thunder, lightning, earthquakes, etc...).  The Sumerians believed that the human race was created to please the gods, who were often abusive and unfair.  Certain rituals and sacrifices had to be carried out to please the deities.  Notice in the picture below how the God-King is so much larger than the people.  This emphasizes how much more powerful and important the gods were than the humans.    

 

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Sumerian God-King
     Each Sumerian city-state had its own god to worship.  The three major gods were Enki (Water God), Ki (Earth God), Enlil (God of Air), and An (God of Heavan).  Temples called Ziggurats were built to house and honor the gods.  They were the most important and most prominent buildings in the city-states.  Ziggurats were huge, stepped towers that had tall walls surrounding them, the most crucial section of the building.  The Preists and Priestesses were the only ones allowed inside.      

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Ziggurat of Ur