First Religion

Sumer: Religion

The Sumerians practiced anthropomorphic polytheism. Anthropomorphic polytheism refers to the belief in deities possessing supernatural powers and taking human forms. Well-known Greek mythology is the epitome of anthropomorphic polytheism, where gods like Zeus and Poseidon take a human form but still control supernatural powers that humans cannot possibly restrain.

The belief in deities taking human-form enabled Sumerian city-states rulers to classify themselves as gods who came down to earth with the divine right to rule others. Religion was an excellent tool for Sumerians kings and royal members to use to justify the social hierarchy as a divine mandate. Alongside the “god” on the throne, priests and temple officials were also granted power and authority over the city.

Sumerian mythology has numerous gods and goddesses, with the core pantheon consisting of seven major deities: An, Enlil, Enki, Ninhursag, Nanna, Utu, and Ishtar. Sumerian mythology acts as a foundation of many other myths and legends that emerged in and around Mesopotamia. In particular, Greek mythology shares many relevant elements with Sumerian mythology, from the core pantheon system, the story of Prometheus, songs of demigod heroes, and to even the goddess Aphrodite herself, who originated from Ishtar, the goddess of love and sky.   

Each Sumerian city-state had its own gods as an embodiment of the city, and they often went to war with other city-states under the banner of their respective gods.

The Sumerians built particular temples called ziggurats to glorify their deities. “Ziggurat” means ‘mountain peak’ or ‘pinnacle’ in ancient Assyrian. Sumerians believed that a ziggurat connected themselves with the gods, so they built stairs to reach the top of the ziggurat to be closer to the gods. A ziggurat’s height and size represented how strong the city was, and kings and aristocrats of ancient Sumer hoped to reflect their power and glory by expanding their respective ziggurats.

According to Herodotus, an ancient Greek historian in the Achaemenid Persian Empire, there was a shrine at the top of a ziggurat where priests held a ritual ceremony. Sumerians brought many offerings such as food and cloth to the ziggurat, but no one except priests and royal family members were permitted to enter, for it was an earthly house designed only for gods and their earthly representatives to reside.

However, a ziggurat was not a mere place dedicated only for religious purposes. Besides religion, ziggurats also acted as a political, economic, and educational center of the city with schools, workshops, courts, and other major facilities surrounding it. Scribes from Sumerians schools often gained permission to go to the base of a ziggurat to practice their scribal art. Ziggurats were also where the world’s first astronomers went to observe celestial bodies.   

Formation of Sumerian Universe

An-Ki is what Sumerians called their world as. An represents heaven, or the god of sky. Ki represents earth, or goddess of Earth. Sumerian called their world as heaven-earth. Their world was mainly divided into two parts: Earth and Heaven. Heaven was resided by the Sumerian god and goddess including the core pantheon. Earth was the world of mortals. Kings of Sumerian civilization was often regarded as god in mortal world. Apotheosis helped Sumerian kings to validate their rules. Underworld, which was technically part of the earth, was resided with chthonic deities including Ereshkigal, the dread queen of underworld and ruler of other chthonic gods.

Some famous deities were:

• An, the god of the sky, the creator. Occupies the Equatorial sky
• Enlil, the god of the wind, the chief. Occupies the Northern sky.
• Enki, the god of the water, magic, and art. Occupies the Southern sky
• Ninjursag, the goddess of the birth.
• Nanna, the god of the moon
• Utu, the god of the sun
• Ereshkigal, the goddess of the underworld

Many deities are present in the list, but Inanna (Ishtar) was the special goddess who was especially beloved by ancient Sumerians. She is the prototype of Aphrodite in Greek mythology. She is the goddess of love, sex, and war. She was also the one who led souls of earth to underworld where her sister Ereshkigal ruled.