Name: ______Date:______Pd.______#:______
Sumerian Religion
Essential Question: What makes Mesopotamian culture unique?
Objective: Describe Mesopotamian religious beliefs and practices
Define the following words:
Pantheon: A set of gods (a pantheon comprising a group of living beings, human in form, but immortal and possessing superhuman powers – meaning “a set made up of human-like beings that don’t die and have supernatural powers”)
Immortal: Undying
Deities: Another word for “gods”
Ziggurats: Large tiered buildings at the center of cities that were made to honor that city’s patron god (the godly ruler/protector of the city). Only priests were allowed in the highest tier, but other worshippers were allowed lower and the bottom levels were made up of office spaces and shops that many people went into.
Answer the following questions about Sumerian religious beliefs and practices:
- Who were the most important Sumerian gods?
An – heaven
Enlil – air
Enki – water
Ninhursag/Ki – earth
- What did the Sumerians believe their gods looked like?
Most looked like humans but were depicted with features that related to their “realm” or “specialty”
- How were the gods different than humans?
They did not die and possessed superhuman powers – such as the power to control natural forces if they so desired
- How did the Sumerians believe that humans were created?
Sumerians believed that the gods created humans out of clay, for the purpose of supplying the gods with food, drink, and shelter. In this way, the gods could do as they pleased while someone else worked for them
- What was the Me, and why did they believe it was created?
A set of universal and unchangeable rules and laws that all beings must obey
- What natural phenomenon (occurrence) does the story of Dumuzi and Inanna explain?
The autumnal equinox – when the climate revitalizes plant/animal life and makes the land more fertile
- What were some of the things the Sumerians believed the gods controlled?
See above; also other natural elements and even human inventions like rivers, mountains, plains, cities, fields, farms, axes, plows, and even bricks
- What is the purpose of human life according to Sumerian religion?
To serve the gods – see above
- Did the Sumerians believe in an afterlife, and if so, what did they think it was like?
Yes – they believed that all human spirits went to the “netherworld”, where life was actually more difficult than it was on earth (after all, they believed humans were created with the sole purpose of being servants to gods who weren’t always nice…)