- The people of Mesopotamia were Polytheistic, which
meant they believed in many gods.
- The people worshiped in a ziggurat. Why did they build the ziggurat so high? Let's find out...
- They believed that in order to have good things happen, they needed to please the gods.
Well, here we are back at the top of the ziggurat. I hope you learned a few of the gods and goddesses of Mesopotamia.
Remember, polytheistic means "belief in many gods."
Special Thanks to the British Museum for all the great info!
Wow! We are really high up in the air!
The people of Mesopotamia built the ziggurat so high because they believed the gods lived in the sky and they tried to get as close to the sky as possible.
- Now, let's learn about some of the gods and goddesses...
Adad
-god of storms
-symbol: the Lightning fork
Ninhursag
-mother of the gods
Dumuzi
-god of the harvest
-god of the underworld
Ninhurta
-god of war
-often holding a bow/arrow and
sickle sword
Ereshkigal
-goddess of the underworld
Ashur
-principle Assyrian god
Ellil
-main city is Nippur
-so powerful, other gods couldn't
even look at him so he is only shown
as a horned cap.
Pazuzu
-protects humans against evil
- He has a human body with the feet and claws of an eagle, and the head of a monster.
Marduk
-city god of Babylon
-Marduk's symbols are a spade and the Mushhushshu snake-dragon.
Ea
-god of fresh water
-He is a god of wisdom, farming, building, magic and arts and crafts. Ea appears as a bearded man surrounded by flowing water.
-Ea's symbols are the goat-fish and a sceptre with a ram's head
Nabu
-god of scribes, writing, and wisdom
-The symbol of Nabu is a wedge, which stands for either a cuneiform sign or a stylus.
Anzu
-bird with a lion head.
-flaps his wings with such force
that whirlwinds and storms are created
Mushhushshu
-a snake-dragon
-protects the gods
-name means "furious snake"
Anu
-god of the sky
-he is the supreme ruler
of all the gods
-his symbol is a horned cap