Jake Sefchik

Mesopotamians believed that their gods defeated the forces of chaos in order to form the

world and universe. But there wasn’t a guarantee that the forces of chaos could not rise again, so

it was the people’s responsibility to provide the gods with everything they needed in order to run

the world. It was a great responsibility for the people of Mesopotamia and it inspired them.

Every year when the Tigris and Euphrates rivers flooded, the people of Mesopotamia would

reenact the battle of the gods against the forces of chaos in ritual form, and this would guarantee

the triumph of the gods over chaos for another year. Originally temples would be built at places

that the locals believed were made sacred by an intervention of the gods. This is where they

would gather to worship and settle disputes in the community. Eventually traders would start

showing up at temples to sell wares. Some temples were built on top of ziggurats. These were

mud brick towers that the Mesopotamians believed were staircases between heaven and earth, or

the connecting link between the humans and the gods. The more worshipped a god or goddess

was in the area, the bigger their temple. There would be statues of the gods and goddesses inside

of the temple, and people would place offerings around the base of the statue. It is said the god or

goddess would be daily washed, clothed, perfumed, fed, and entertained. Lavish meals would be

placed before the deity in addition to offerings of beer, wine, and water. Women played

important roles in the religious field. The high priestess would often be of royal blood.

Priestesses were allowed to marry but could not have children. This was circumnavigated by

allowing the husband to have a second wife for the sole purpose of bearing children and being a

servant to the first wife.

 I believe the Mesopotamians had good reasons for having the beliefs that they had. They

truly believed that their gods and goddesses were constantly fighting a war against the forces of

chaos, so they needed to provide as much as they could for them, so they could continue to

protect the humans. It’s very common in today’s society to worship and pray to whatever god or

goddess you believe in, so it makes perfect sense that they did it back then. They would provide

the offerings to the gods so that the gods would not have to provide for themselves, and could

continue to focus on the battle against chaos.