BABYLONIAN

MYTHOLOGY AND
FOLKLORE
Babylonian Mythology
OVERVIEW

Babylonian mythology refers to the religious beliefs and

stories of the ancient Mesopotamian civilization, specifically
centered around the city of Babylon.

Mesopotamia, located in modern-day Iraq, was one of the

earliest cradles of civilization, and its mythology has had a
significant impact on the development of religious and
cultural ideas.

The mythology of the Babylonians was polytheistic, meaning

they worshipped multiple gods and goddesses who played
important roles in their understanding of the world.
Babylonian Mythology
OVERVIEW

Ancient Mesopotamia, often referred to as the "Cradle of

Civilization," was home to several great civilizations,
including the Sumerians, Akkadians, and Babylonians.

Babylonian mythology developed around the 18th century

BCE and continued to evolve over the following centuries.

Mesopotamian civilization existed for well over 3,000 years,

from the formation of the first cities at the end of the fourth
millennium B.C. to the early years of the Roman empire.
During this period, religion was a major factor influencing
behavior, political decision making, and material culture.
deities
of Babylon
THE DEITIES OF BABYLON WERE WORSHIPPED IN
ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA, PARTICULARLY DURING
THE TIME OF THE BABYLONIAN EMPIRE, WHICH
SPANNED FROM THE 18TH TO THE 6TH CENTURY
BCE. THE BABYLONIANS HAD A RICH AND COMPLEX
RELIGIOUS SYSTEM, AND THEIR PANTHEON
CONSISTED OF NUMEROUS GODS AND GODDESSES
WHO HELD SIGNIFICANT ROLES IN VARIOUS
ASPECTS OF LIFE.
 Babylonian Deities
Possessing powers greater than that of humans, many gods were associated with astral
phenomena such as the sun, moon, and stars, others with the forces of nature such as winds
and fresh and ocean waters, yet others with real animals—lions, bulls, wild oxen—and imagined
creatures such as fire-spitting dragons.

As supreme figures, the gods were transcendent and awesome, but unlike most modern
conceptions of the divine, they were distant. Feared and admired rather than loved, the great
gods were revered and praised as masters. They could display kindness, but were also fickle
and at times, as explained in mythology, poor decision makers, which explains why humans
suffer such hardships in life.

Babylonian Mythology and Folkllore

Babylonian Deities
Cuneiform tablets as early as the third millennium indicate that the gods were
associated with cities. Each community worshipped its city’s patron deity in the
main temple.

The sky god An and his daughter Inanna were worshipped at Uruk; Enlil, the god of
earth, at Nippur; and Enki, lord of the subterranean freshwaters, at Eridu. This
association of city with deity was celebrated in both ritual and myth.

A city’s political strength could be measured by the prominence of its deity in the
hierarchy of the gods. Babylon, a minor city in the third millennium, had become an
important military presence by the Old Babylonian period, and its patron deity,
noted in a mid-third millennium text from Abu-Salabikh as ranking near the bottom
of the gods, rose to become the head of the pantheon when Babylon ascended to
military supremacy in the late second millennium.

Babylonian Mythology and Folkllore

 An/Anu: The Supreme Mesopotamian God
Babylonian Gods and 1 An was considered the supreme god of their pantheon and the father of many
other Mesopotamian deities. Divine personification of the sky. An was also
listed as one of the three gods involved with creating the universe, and he was
widely revered as the ultimate authority figure in Mesopotamian culture.
Goddesses

Enki/Ea: Wisest of the Mesopotamian Gods

2 the Mesopotamian god of water and wisdom. Enki was also credited with
making the first humans out of clay and he was believed to have created the
Tigris and Euphrates rivers out of his semen. In addition to being the god of
water and wisdom, Enki was associated with trickery, magic, and fertility.

Enlil: The Great Mountain

a Mesopotamian deity of wind, air, earth, and storms. the Mesopotamians

3 viewed Enlil as a god of both destruction and creation, as they believed that
this deity was primarily responsible for natural disasters and catastrophes. As
an authoritative deity, Enlil was said to confer kingship on ordained rulers.
Mesopotamian kings who wanted to legitimize their reign did so by claiming the
blessing of Enlil.
 Marduk: King of the Gods
4 Scholars believe that Marduk may have originated as an agricultural deity
who was worshipped as the patron of the city of Babylon. He was the
Babylonian Gods and
National God of Babylonia. A central role of Marduk’s was to maintain
universal balance so he was viewed as a god of both creation and
destruction.
Goddesses

Ishtar/Inanna: Queen of the Universe

5 Mesopotamian goddess of love, sex, and war. Corresponding to primary
roles, Ishtar was associated with fertility and politics. However, Ishtar’s
sphere of influence extended beyond her main aspects, as she was also
perceived as a divine administrator of justice.

Shamash/Utu: The All-Seeing

the Mesopotamian god of the sun. Similar to the Greek god Apollo, it was
6 believed that Shamash pulled the sun across the sky each day. Because of this,
the Mesopotamians believed that Shamash saw everything that happened on
the ground, and so this god also became associated with truth and justice. As a
result, Shamash was the primary god of justice in the Mesopotamian pantheon
as well. Shamash was the twin brother of Ishtar, the goddess of love and war.
 Nanna/Sin: God of the Moon

7 Listed as the son of Enlil and is married to Ningal, the goddess of fertility and
reeds. Referred to as “Sin” in some texts, this god was one of the oldest deities
Babylonian Gods and
in their pantheon. In addition to his primary role as a lunar deity, Nanna was
believed to have the ability to see the future and to control the destinies of
mortals. As a result, this god was heavily associated with magic and rituals. In
particular, Nanna was linked to divination, astrology, and omens.
Goddesses

8 Dumuzid/Tammuz: Protector of Shepherds

the protector of shepherds and the consort of goddess Ishtar/Inanna. Belief in

Dumuzid goes as far back as ancient Sumer and he was celebrated and
worshipped in Uruk. Mesopotamians believed that Dumuzid caused the change
of seasons.

Ninhursag: Mother of the Gods

9 She is described as being the mother of gods and men and was worshipped as
a deity of nurture and fertility. Ninhursag also started off as a local goddess in
one of the Sumerian cities, and was believed to be the wife of Enki, the god of
wisdom. Ninhursag was linked with the uterus and an umbilical cord symbolizing
her role as a mother goddess.
 Nergal/Erra/Irra : God of Agriculture
Babylonian Gods and 10 He was associated with death, destruction, and war. He was compared to the
power of the scorching sun in the afternoon that stops plants from growing and
burns the earth. In Babylon, Nergal was known as Erra or Irra. He was a
dominant, intimidating figure that held a large mace and was adorned with long
robes. He was considered to be the son of Enlil or Ninhursag.
Goddesses

11 Ereshkigal : Queen of the Night

an ancient goddess that ruled the underworld. Her main purpose was to
separate the world of the living and the dead and ensure that the two worlds
never crossed paths.

Nabu: Divine Librarian

12 old Babylonian god of wisdom, writing, learning, and prophecies. He was also
associated with agriculture and harvests and was called the “Announcer”
which hints towards his prophetic knowledge of all things. He is the maintainer
of divine knowledge and records in the library of gods.
 BABYLONIAN CULTURE
The Babylonian civilization was one of the most important civilizations in the ancient
world. They developed and improved upon the knowledge and achievements of the
earlier Sumerian civilization. The Babylonians excelled in various fields, including
cuneiform writing, mathematics, astronomy, and city planning

The Babylonian society was characterized by a form of primitive democracy that

disappeared during the reign of Hammurabi. Class divisions became more prominent,
with the emergence of the liberal and pro classes, as well as the presence of slaves

The city of Babylon, located on the River Euphrates in southern Mesopotamia (modern-
day Iraq), played a significant role in the history of the region. It rose to prominence under
the rule of Hammurabi, who united a large state and established a famous code of laws
known as the Hammurabi code
MESOPOTAMIAN COSMOLOGY
This sort of democracy seems to have been applied to the Mesopotamia idea of the
Universe.

• Among the influences affecting the view of the world was that Nature was
unpredictable: rivers could suddenly rise and destroy crops, there could be torrential
rains that washed everything away, or strong winds, or scorching heat.

• All these were seen as gods with wills and personalities of their own.

• To bring order to the cosmos required the command of some more powerful god.

• Bringing order to the cosmos also required the gods all to be participants in a sort of
cosmic state.
ANC IEN T
M YT HS
 The Enuma Elish
The Enuma Elish (which are the first two words of the epic and
mean simply “When on high”) is the creation myth of ancient
Mesopotamia.

It is thought to have been written between 1900 and 1500 BC

during the time of the Babylonian King Hammurabi. It was
discovered in the ancient Royal Library of Ashurbanipal at
Nineveh (current day Mosul, Iraq) in 1849.

The main character in these tablets is Marduk, who is sometimes

referred to in ancient documents as Bel. He is seen as the most
powerful of the Babylonian gods
The Enuma Elish
 The Enuma Elish
Written by an unknown poet at an undetermined date—possibly in the 14th century BCE—the epic begins
with the universe as a watery chaos with no sky or land. The sea, personified by the goddess Tiamat, and
the sweet waters underground, identified as the god Apsu, mingle their waters together. In their midst the
gods are born. The first pair, Lahmu and Lahamu, represent the powers in silt; the next, Anshar and Kishar,
those in the horizon. Anshar and Kishar produce the sky god Anu, who in turn fathers the god Ea, also
known as Nudimmud or Enki.

The younger gods were full of vitality and often had rowdy gatherings, and the elder gods, Apsu and
Tiamat, were upset by their noise. With his page Mummu, Apsu plots to kill the younger gods, which
enrages Tiamat. Ea, however, recites a spell that causes Apsu to fall into a deep sleep and kills him. Ea then
erects shrines for himself and the other gods on the body of Apsu and lives there with his wife, Damkina.
Marduk is born of their union and grows to be a majestic and powerful figure. Tiamat, however, is furious
about the death of Apsu and gives birth to a host of dragons and monsters. She then leads them and other
gods to battle. Marduk kills her and cuts her body in two, using one half to create earth and the other half
to create heaven. The remainder of the story deals with Marduk’s organization of the cosmos, his creation
of human beings, and his assigning to the gods their various cosmic offices and tasks.
the myth of adapa
The Myth of Adapa (also known as Adapa and the Food of Life) is the Mesopotamian
story of the Fall of Man in that it explains why human beings are mortal. The god of
wisdom, Ea, creates the first man, Adapa, and endows him with great intelligence and
wisdom but not with immortality, and when immortality is offered Adapa by the great god
Anu, Ea tricks Adapa into refusing the gift.
the myth of adapa
The myth relates that Adapa, in spite of his possession of all wisdom, was not given
immortality. One day, while he was fishing, the south wind blew so violently that he was
thrown into the sea. In his rage he broke the wings of the south wind, which then ceased
to blow. Anu (Sumerian: An), the sky god, summoned him before his gates to account for
his behaviour, but Ea cautioned him not to touch the bread and water that would be
offered him. When Adapa came before Anu, the two heavenly doorkeepers Tammuz and
Ningishzida interceded for him and explained to Anu that as Adapa had been endowed
with omniscience he needed only immortality to become a god. Anu, in a change of heart,
then offered Adapa the bread and water of eternal life, which he refused to take. Thus
mankind remained mortal. The legend is preserved among the cuneiform tablets
discovered during the 19th century in Ashurbanipal’s library at Nineveh.
the role of myths
in babylonian
society
Babylonian mythology played a crucial role in the society of ancient
Mesopotamia, serving as a foundation for religious beliefs, cultural
practices, and social structures. The myths provided explanations for
the origins of the world, the nature of divinity, and the purpose of
human existence. They offered a framework through which the
Babylonians understood their place in the cosmos and their
relationship with the divine.

Moreover, the myths served as a source of moral and ethical

guidance, imparting lessons on virtues, societal norms, and proper
conduct. They were instrumental in shaping religious rituals,
festivals, and ceremonies, fostering a sense of communal identity
and reinforcing social cohesion. The gods and goddesses portrayed
in the myths were not distant deities but active participants in
human affairs, influencing various aspects of daily life.

Thus, Babylonian mythology was a fundamental element of

Babylonian society, providing a cultural and spiritual compass that
guided the beliefs, behaviors, and institutions of ancient
Mesopotamia.