Mesopotamian

Religion

Practices

Mrs. Reynolds

December 15, 2015

Period 4/5 A- Days

SAMPLE RESEARCH PAPER

Just like all of your topics have essential questions that MUST BE ANSWERED, so does this one… Here they are:
Mesopotamian Religion and Practices:
  • Research 3 different gods or goddesses the Egyptians worshipped. For each:
  1. What was the god’s/ goddesses’ name?
  2. What did he or she look like?
  3. What responsibilities did the god have?
  • Research a religious practice/ceremony that Egyptians practiced. Be sure to:
  1. Describe the practice/ ceremony in detail.
  2. Tell when and where d the practice or ceremony took place.
  3. Any other interesting facts you would like to include related to this topic.

Mesopotamians were a polytheistic. This meant that they believed in many gods. In this paper, you will learn quite a bit about 3 different Mesopotamian gods. Also, the Mesopotamian priests conducted different religious practices or ceremonies. You will also learn about one of these as well.

One of the gods in Mesopotamia was Marduk, who was the Babylonian god of magic. Marduk had an animal symbol, which was a snake dragon. More or less, its neck and head resembled a snake, and the rest of its body resembled a dragon. The actual god Marduk was represented as a man with a very long beard, and he wore clothes typical of a Mesopotamian king, which included what looked like a red robe, and a taller hat. In his hand, he carried a sword. According to the website Ancient Mesopotamian Gods and Goddesses, Marduk created the world. The website says, “In this narrative, the god Marduk battles the goddessTiamat, the deified ocean, often seen to represent a female principle, whereas Marduk stands for the male principle. Marduk is victorious, kills Tiamat, and creates the world from her body.” ( He was considered the most supreme God of all the gods of Babylon.

A second god of Mesopotamia was Anu. Anu was a Sumerian god. Perhaps what is most interesting about Anu is that there are no known pictures representing this god, so I cannot describe what he looks like! He is the sky god, and is the supreme ruler of all the gods. He is in charge of the Bull of Heaven, which it was believed that he sometimes sent this bull to earth to avenge the gods by attacking people who had done them wrong ( It was also believed that he chose different kings, and that his decisions could never be reversed. This is according to the website Ancient Gods and Goddesses of Mesopotamia.

A third god of Mesopotamia was Ninurta, or the god of war. He can be seen carrying a bow and arrow, as well as a sword. Also, according to Ninurta “is sometimes shown running on the back of a monster with a lion's body and scorpion's tail, which is chasing after a lion monster with a bird's wings, feet and tail.” Of all the people of Mesopotamia, the Assyrians held him in highest regard. This shouldn’t surprise us, as we all know that the Assyrians were known for being the fiercest of warriors.

Perhaps the most well known religious practice in Mesopotamia was the building of a ziggurat. Ziggurats were huge temples that were built in the center of each city-state. These buildings were built to honor that city-state’s god or goddess. According to they were built of mud bricks, and were 3 to 7 stories tall. Furthermore, the Mesopotamians viewed them as a link between the heavens and the earth. Everyone in the city state was expected to bring offerings to the ziggurat so that the priest could then offer these things up to the god. They believed that such offerings would make the god or goddess happy, and bring good fortune to the people of that city-state.

Here are a few interesting facts related to ziggurats. According to there is a ziggurat named Etemenanki. Translated, this word means “The Foundation of Heaven and Earth.” This is pretty cool because it reinforces the belief that the ziggurat was built tall to connect heaven and earth. Also, many ziggurats had a kitchen towards the bottom of it. Most historians believed this was to prepare the food offerings for the gods ( Lastly, the name ziggurat can be loosely translate to mean “to be high.” ( Makes sense, huh?

Mesopotamians believed in many gods and goddesses. This paper only told you about three of them. There are SO MANY MORE. Many times, Mesopotamians honored these gods by building these huge structures called ziggurats!