The Sumerian Deities Religion - 1634 Words

I chose to do my research paper on the Sumerian Deities because Religion has always seemed to be such an interesting topic in my opinion. I find it fascinating to learn how an ancient civilization can build itself from the ground up, establish a form of writing, its own language, and also its own religion. Ancient Mesopotamia was home of some of the world’s earliest cities and the place where writing was first invented. Our knowledge of the civilization of ancient Mesopotamia is constantly expanding. Sumerian written history can be dated back to 5300-4100 BC, however the historical remains seems to remain obscure up until the Early Dynastic Period III. After the Sumerian Civilization was established, grew, and expanded greatly, various†¦show more content†¦Nammu is the goddess who has given birth to the great gods. It is she who has the idea of creating mankind, and she goes to wake up Enki, who is asleep in the Apsu, so that he may set the process going. Anu is the sky god. He is the supreme ruler of all the gods. His symbol is the horned cap. Mesopotamian myths tell the story of how the earth was separated from heaven at the beginning of time. In these myths, heaven becomes Anu s home. Anu controls shooting stars, called kishru. Anu is also in charge of the Bull of Heaven who can be sent to earth to avenge the gods. Although Anu is an important Mesopotamian god, there are no known pictures of him. Ki is likely to be the original name of the earth goddess, whose name mo re often appears as Ninhursag (queen of the mountains), Ninmah (the exalted lady), or Nintu (the lady who gave birth). Most often she is considered Enlil s sister, but in some traditions she is his spouse instead. She was born, possibly as a unified cosmic mountain with An, from Nammu and shortly thereafter, their union produced Enlil. In the early days, as Ki, she was separated from heaven (An) and carried off by Enlil. It seems likely that she and An were the progenitors of most of the gods. She later unites with Enlil and with the assistance of Enki they produce the world s plant and animal life. Enki is one of the three most powerful gods in the Mesopotamian pantheon, alongShow MoreRelatedAncient Civilization And Modern Day Iraq And Kuwait Essay1279 Words   |  6 PagesAncient Sumerian Civilization The ancient civilization of Sumer was located in modern-day Iraq and Kuwait, and is believed to have begun around 6000 B.C. It is considered ‘The cradle of civilization’ by most historians, because it’s where the first elaborate urban societies appeared. Sumerians were polytheistic, and had a pantheon consisting of many gods and goddesses, who were anthropomorphic superhumans. The Sumerians held a unique view of creation, the afterlife, and worship. They contributedRead MoreThe Origins Of Our Cities1726 Words   |  7 Pagescause effect relationship in the development of these cities. The first cities were developed and formed near bodies of water and fertile areas of the region. For example, I wanted to do some research on the Sumerian civilization around the fertile crescent and how the ancient Sumerian deities, the Anunnaki, played a part in influencing their way of life and their formation of their cities/communities. My interest started from my own curiosity of how people from the past all have similar storiesRead MoreThe Discovery of Ebla and The Relations Between Mesopotamia and Syria1742 Words   |  7 Pagesconducting relations between early North-West Syria and Upper Mesopotamia (Matthiae 1976, 112). Due to these active relations with other cities it was stimulated to absorb cultural elements from the Sumerian and Mesopotamian worlds (Matthiae 1980a, 161). Ebla’s political structure, language, religion and art all reflect evidence of intensive cross-cultural relations and our analysis of these reveals the extensive network active in the Near East in the 3rd millennium BCE. The first question thatRead MoreModern Day Iraq And Kuwait1107 Words   |  5 Pagesquite a lot of worshipping to do, right? Well, it was a reality for many people for centuries in the Mesopotamian area (most of modern day Iraq and Kuwait.) The ancient Mesopotamian religion had over 2,000 gods, but only one was at the head of them all. Well, three. Maybe four depending on who you ask. Mesopotamian religion lasted centuries, and during those times the circumstances changed. The flux in power between city-states led to a change in head god each time. These gods all came with differentRead MoreThe Contributions of Ancient Civilizations to History Essay855 Words   |  4 PagesMesopotamia, known as Sumer. The Sumerians invented the first writing known as Cuneiform. We are left with tens of thousands of written records on many aspects of the Sumerians, the most notable of these being the Epic of Gilgamesh. This is an account of a legendary Sumerian King, the first ever of its kind. The Sumerians are also responsible for inventing the wheel. Originally used to make pottery, but later being used on donkey driven carts and chariots. The Sumerians also invented a method of dividingRead MoreFrom The Norton Anthology Of World Literature Book The Epic Of Gilgamesh 865 Words   |  4 PagesThose Meddling Gods Through the sampling of readings from The Norton Anthology of World Literature book, one could come to the realization that in a majority of those stories, the deities seem to influence or even control the outcomes of the heroes, often in a negative manner. In the first epic, Gilgamesh encounters the gods at various times, and in The Iliad, the gods manipulate the Greeks and the Trojans for their own desires and wants. Two understand how the gods influenced our hero, GilgameshRead MoreCivilization Of Mesopotamia Civilization996 Words   |  4 Pagesknown as Thales. this is a clear indication that education was highly valued in the region. There as many schools as the temples across the region and learning used to take place. Among the disciplines taught were medicine, law, religion, astrology and writing. from a religion perspective, there were over 1,000 in the region. The Mesopotamians believed that the land possessed by demons and spirits and that they were co-workers with the gods. According to them, they believed that the beginning of theRead MoreCompare and Contrast Judaism and Buddhism Essay647 Words   |  3 PagesCompare and Contrast Judaism and Buddhism One of the most early religions are Judaism and Buddhism. Both Judaism and Buddhism have lots of differences beliefs and practices and only few similarities. Judaism was started in 2000 B.C.E, led by Abraham. Buddhism was started in 560 B.C.E, by Siddhartha Gautama. Both religions have different point of view. Buddhism don’t believe in deity and Judaism believe in deity. Buddhism are just followers of Gautama and Judaism believe in Yahweh (the GodRead MoreEgypt And Mesopotamia Similarities1368 Words   |  6 PagesMesopotamia had unique religions, writing systems, literature, scientific achievements, art, and intricate architecture. The Egyptians and the Mesopotamians both had unique ways of worshiping, and going about their own religion. Both believed in deities, and both were polytheistic. Polytheistic is the belief of â€Å"many gods and goddesses †¦ and often competed with one another†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (10). The differences were vast among the two religions, but both were the beginning of organized religion. Both being a mixtureRead MoreThe General History Of Ancient Mesopotamia1247 Words   |  5 Pages101: The general history of ancient Mesopotamia: people groups, culture, and religion Situated in the Tigris Euphrates valley was the property of Mesopotamia. It was here that the first cities in the world were founded between 4000 - 3500 BC from the Sumerian people. They developed their very own belief system, using various goddesses and gods. They developed rites and spiritual practices for worshiping these strong deities. Their daily lives were also much different than those of the last hunter gatherer