Mesopotamian Mythology (Sumer, Akkad, Babylon, Assyria) Mesopotamian mythology, among the world’s oldest, emerged in ancient Iraq’s river valleys. The Epic of Gilgamesh—humanity’s earliest known literary work—explores mortality, friendship, and the quest for immortality. Creation myths like Enuma Elish describe cosmic battles: Marduk slays Tiamat (chaos) to form the world. Gods were capricious and demanded constant appeasement through temples (ziggurats) and rituals. Humans existed to serve deities, not for salvation. Key figures include Inanna (goddess of love/war), Enki (god of wisdom), and Ishtar. Flood narratives predate Genesis, showing shared ancient motifs. Myths justified kingship (divine mandate) and explained agriculture, storms, and disease. Written in cuneiform on clay tablets, these stories influenced Hebrew and Greek traditions. Though empires rose and fell, their mythic frameworks shaped Near Eastern thought for millennia. Today, they reveal how early urban societies grappled with nature’s unpredictability and the fragility of human achievement—echoing timeless questions about meaning in a transient world.
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