Sumerian Religion

Sumerian religion was practiced by the Sumerians, the first literate civilization in recorded history, located in ancient Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) .

The Sumerians viewed their divinities as responsible for all aspects of the natural and social orders.

Historical Context

Initially, Sumerian city-states were ruled by theocratic priests before kingship emerged, with priests maintaining significant influence.

It was the duty of Sumerian priests to work in the temple which, in addition to caring for their gods, would also organize the state. It was their job to take in all the goods from the peripheral territories of the city-state, to take care of long-distance trade, and also oversee building projects — and pay workers no less — dealing with all the affairs of state.

It was only later, with the descent of kingship, that priests began to shift into a slightly different role (training future scribes, for example, and still doing all they did before) maintain significant public influence.

Early temples were simple structures, evolving into ziggurats, which were tall, pyramidal temples.

Sumerian Cosmology

Creation Myths

The Sumerians believed in a cosmic birth narrative, where the universe originated from primordial waters, with key deities like Nammu, Ki, and An involved in creation.

Humans were created by AnKi or Enki, the son of An and Ki .

The afterlife was perceived as Kur, a dark underworld ruled by Ereshkigal, where all souls went regardless of their earthly behaviour .

Major Sumerian Deities

[Read Full Article: Major Gods and Goddesses of Sumer]

The gods and goddesses of Sumerian Religion were the archetype of the ancient pantheons that existed in the region for thousands of years. A few of these key deities are:

• An — God of the heavens.
• Enlil — God of wind and storm, chief deity.
• Enki — God of water, science, technology, and culture.
• Inanna — Goddess of love and war, prominent in many myths.
• Utu — God of the Sun.

The Sumerian pantheon influenced later Mesopotamian religions, including those of the Akkadians and Babylonians .

Worship Practices

Cuneiform writing eventually became used for religion, and is the reason why we know about Sumerian Religion in the detail that we do. The gods were spoken of in the legends the Sumerians recorded on clay tablets, pressed into wet clay, which become extremely durable when fired.

Cuneiform writing was initially used for record-keeping. That is how it was invented around 3100 BCE. It took centuries for the language to involve, and for the scribal community became an institution, to eventually include religious texts in their corpus. Until then their religion would have been oral, which in those days was more trustworthy.

Temples served as cultural and political centers until military kings emerged around 2500 BC .

Afterlife Beliefs

The Sumerian afterlife was bleak, with souls in Kur living a shadowy existence .

Rituals included pouring libations into graves to provide for the deceased .

The Legacy of Sumerian Religion

Sumerian Religion had a massive impact on religion and culture in the Near East. Nearly every religion that has descended in the land since to the modern-day has been influenced by Sumerian Religion.

The myths and legends of Sumerian Religion appear to have been shared by the Semitic Akkadian people, the ancestors of the Jews. After Akkadian conquest of Sumer, we see the usage of the new Semitic language for the names of the gods.

Through the Sumerian and Akkadian ancestors, who were the first documented practitioners of these ancient ways, religion, and mythology, they were passed on to the Babylonians, Assyrians, and Hebrews in a form. We also see extensive parallels within Greek Religion as well, and Vedic, and Norse …

Elements of Sumerian beliefs can be seen in all later cultures. This includes relatively extensive parallels between accounts from Sumerian Religion and the Hebrew Bible which extends this connection to all of the Abrahamic Religions (including Christianity and Islam as well).