Name: Franz Jero Mae C.

Duldulao Date: November 23, 2022

Year/Section/ strand: ABM 12- ST. MARGARET

ANCIENT RITES/RITUALS OF MESOPOTAMIAN CIVILIZATION

Religion significantly influenced behavior, political decision-making, and material culture
during this period. With this, we cannot disagree that Mesopotamians had many theologies and
practices, especially in their belief, prayers, and way of worshipping. Over millennia of evolution,
Mesopotamian religion was a stable and cohesive tradition that responded to the internal
requirements of its believers.

Mesopotamian religion was polytheistic, with believers worshiping a variety of significant

gods as well as thousands of minor gods. They believed in and respected all the deities. The three
significant gods were Enki, the deity of wisdom and magic; An, the sky god; and Enlil, the god of
earth, storms, agriculture, and fate. Thus, Mesopotamians believed that the universe had come
through a series of cosmic births and that the gods substantially affected their lives. Furthermore,
they thought the gods could bring good health, wealth, illnesses, and disasters. With that, people
believed that they had enormous powers.

Each city worshiped its god. A massive temple or ziggurat dedicated to a god stood in the
heart of the town. This was where the priests would dwell and perform sacrifices. Some ziggurats
were enormous, reached incredible heights, and resembled step pyramids with flat tops. Moreover,
Mesopotamians were expected to regularly worship their chosen deities and honor them with
sacrifices, hymns, and incense offerings. It is claimed that reverence attracts favor, that sacrifice
extends life, and that prayer atones sin.

Mesopotamia prayers are "praise to god followed by request." Prayers are classified as
follows: First, incantation prayers, where tribe ritual specialists were expected to execute chants to
follow specified texts containing additional health-related incantation texts. Second is the
gottesbriefe, often known as letter prayers or petition prayers, which may be translated as God's
letters or letters for/to/about God. It was mainly in the form of pleas for sickness relief and
deliverance of personal longevity. The third is the ikribus, which was conducted for divining. The
following is royal, which was dedicated to several deities. This form of prayer was not intended to
seek compassion and salvation. The fifth is hymns, which are reformations of earlier topos or
themes. Next, igû which are laments that might be either complaints or emotions of regret or
sorrow. Lastly is Namburbi; it is conducted during namburbi rites, which were performed firstly to
counteract a dreadful fate predicted by a prophecy and to oppose witchcraft.

Correspondingly, ordinary Mesopotamians worshipped and visited their temples with

offerings, such as animals, to sacrifice to please their gods. They honor their chosen deities with
sacrifices, hymns, and incense offerings. Temples served as cultural, religious, and political
headquarters. They left behind statues in a position of worship, which would pray continually to the
gods on their behalf. These statues show that the Mesopotamians clasped their hands together when
praying.

Furthermore, individuals and groups still worship and believe in various gods in modern
times. Just like the Mesopotamians who worshiped various gods because they believed their deities
would provide them with psychological and economic support, people in modern times also believe
in that. Belief in different divine creatures, most of whom must be worshipped, and warded off with
appropriate ceremonies, is widespread in human civilizations. Today, polytheism is noted for being
part of Hinduism, Mahayana Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, and Shintoism, as well as modern
tribal religions in Africa and the Americas. People who practice polytheistic religions may worship
all gods equally, group gods into hierarchical structures, or worship only some of the gods. Even
though some people are not polytheistic, they believe in the power of their god. It provides a lot
more than simply an understanding of where they are in the world in relation to the afterlife. Thus,
 the belief is that each of us varies and drifts in many diverse traditions that we practice and are a
part of each and every civilization.

REFERENCES:

Spar. (2009, April). Mesopotamian Deities. Retrieved November 23, 2022, from
https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/deit/hd_deit.htm

Ducksters. (2022). Ancient Mesopotamia: Religion and Gods. Ducksters. Retrieved from
https://www.ducksters.com/history/mesopotamia/religion_gods.php

Editors, H. (2019, September 30). Mesopotamia. HISTORY. Retrieved November 23, 2022, from
https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-middle-east/mesopotamia

Mesopotamian prayer. (2022, November 19). In Wikipedia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesopotamian_prayer

Hays, J. (2008). RITUALS, CULTS, PRAYERS AND WORSHIP IN MESOPOTAMIA | Facts and Details.
RITUALS, CULTS, PRAYERS AND WORSHIP IN MESOPOTAMIA | Facts and Details. Retrieved November
23, 2022, from https://factsanddetails.com/world/cat56/sub402/entry-
6061.html#:~:text=Individual%20Mesopotamians%20were%20supposed%20to,and%20prayer%20atones%20for
%20guilt.%E2%80%9D

Polytheism | Definition, Examples, Religions, & Facts. (2022, October 28). Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved
November 23, 2022, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/polytheism

Ferguson, & Kowalczyk. (2021, August 17). https://study.com/learn/lesson/polytheism-religion-examples.html.

Polytheism: Then and Now. Retrieved November 23, 2022, from https://study.com/learn/lesson/polytheism-
religion-examples.html

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clearly all the necessary incomplete in some was not well done, it The research paper
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Total 20