01:840:112 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Mesopotamia, Enkidu, Polytheism
1 Nov 2016
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Document Summary
Mesopotamia - the land between two rivers (tigris and euphrates) People believe that the first civilization of mankind existed in mesopotamia. Ancient mesopotamia is now iraq, parts of syria, and turkey. There lived many different people in mesopotamia - known as mesopotamian, assyrian, Ancient mesopotamians practiced polytheism - worshipped many gods and goddesses. The mesopotamians believed that the gods created everything and control everything in the universe. Human beings were created by gods to serve them. It is the duty of human beings to keep the gods happy - keeping the gods happy is necessary because the gods do everything in the world - protect humans, give them what they need - food, sustenance, protection. If human beings do not worship the gods then the gods can turn against them and make life impossible. Mesopotamians offered ritual sacrifices to the gods on a regular basis. Mesopotamians also built many temples and shrines to honor the gods.
