Saturday, October 3, 2009

Mesopotamia Mythology

Many hear of the Ancient Greek gods and the gods of Ancient Egypt but few know anything about the gods of Mesopotamia. This could be due to the lost of artifacts and documents pertaining to mesopotamian culture through out time creating a variation in mythological stories told. Regardless of the reason, I thought looking into the mythology of ancient Mesopotamia could be interesting. I specifically looked at three gods, Anu, Ea and Enlil, also known as the Triads. Although they were important gods in the region there is little information on them. Mythology tells a lot about a cultures past. I figured since I did not know much about Mesopotamia, their mythology would let me in on some of their past beliefs. Mesopotamia mythology is a combination of Assyrian, Babylonian, Akkadian, and Sumerian myths, as well as myths from surrounding areas. As a result, many gods are known by more than one name. The same is true for Anu, Ea, and Enlil.

The first of the Triad consists of Anu. He is the sky god, father of all gods, evil spirits, kings and the yearly calendar. Depending on where the myth is told, Anu consort is Antu, who is also the mother of Ea and Enlil, the two other gods of the triad. Antu was later replaced by Ishtar, the goddess of love, sex, fertility and war. The second god, Ea is the god of water and wisdom.The acts of writing, craft, magic and farming are associated with Ea. He sometimes may be depicted as half goat, half fish. The last of the Triad is Enlil, known for his short temper. He is the god of land and earth; He is the keeper of men's fate.

Like many civilizations of their time, these people used mythology to understand their environments. Although their mythology is not as well known as the ancient Greeks and Egyptians, it still played an essential role in developing an understanding of the culture of Mesopotamia.




http://www.gods-heros-myth.com/godpages/ea.html
http://www.pantheon.org/articles/a/anu.html

No comments:

Post a Comment