Assistant Lecturer: Samar Abbas Abdul Kareem, Master of Ancient Archeology
The oldest cuneiform texts, in addition to lists of the names of the gods, indicate the extent of the faith of the people of Mesopotamia and their spiritual attachment to the gods. Therefore, they made statues of them that were depicted at a size larger than the normal size of a human, and the features were exaggerated. They are distinguished by large eyes and ears to indicate wisdom and foresight. Each city had its own god. In it, sometimes some gods are preferred over others, and their status is elevated, revered, and exalted when one of these cities rises in status and exalts itself. The statues of the gods were also distinguished by clothes with pleats, horned crowns were placed for them, and temples, festivals, prayers, hymns, rituals, religious rituals, and food banquets were established for them. Religion in Mesopotamia was characterized by the principle of analogy, that is, likening gods to humans and attributing all human characteristics to the gods. They eat, drink, rejoice, grieve, marry, and are similar in terms of form, organs, emotions, and all physical and spiritual attributes, but they are distinguished by the quality of immortality. It had a headquarter in the sky and headquarters on earth, which were temples, and human servants were dedicated to Take care of it. The oldest ancient Iraqi myths mention that man was created to worship and serve the gods. After the gods decided to divide the universe among themselves, some of the gods became dissatisfied with the daily chores, and the great gods Anu, Enlil, and Enki decided. To create humans who were created to bear the burden of work and fatigue for the gods, so it is his duty to gain the approval of the god, and the opposite of that arouses the anger and discontent of the gods, which leads to the infliction of the most severe punishments, diseases, disasters, evils, and calamities on humans, which may be in the form of epidemics, floods, strong winds, and other punishments that lead to their annihilation. and end their existence.
Keywords:negative aspects, the goddess Ishtar, the god Anu, the god Enlil, religious beliefs