Questions tagged [babylonian]

Questions pertaining to Babylonian mythology, religion...

8 questions
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Why are the domains of sexuality and fertility commonly associated with battle & war?

For example, Semitic Astarte/Babylonian Ishtar, Hittite Shaushka, Slavic Radegast, Irish Anann, etc. In studying mythology and folklore, I can't help but notice that violence and sex are often associated and I can't help but suspect that there's a…
6
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Did the inhabitants of the ancient Near East believe in an ocean in the sky?

An ocean in the sky shows up quite a lot in depictions, for example Psalms 148:4: Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens! But finding good evidence for it in Egyptian and Mesopotamian mythology, etc is hard. It does…
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Which 'Sea' does Tiamat represent, and why did she turn into a serpent?

There are many sources that mentioned about her being related to the sea, even the salt sea. Tiamat is the Mesopotamian goddess associated with primordial chaos and the salt sea best known from the Babylonian epic Enuma Elish. - ancient.eu In the…
Nate M.
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Which Mesopotamian gods had sacred numbers?

In ancient Mesopotamian cuneiform, there were a few different ways of writing a deity's name. You could spell it out, you could write one of their divine purviews, or you could use a "sacred number". If you wanted to talk about the sun-god Shamash,…
Draconis
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Book recommendations for Sumerian ME decrees

What are some reasonably well-informed scholarly studies (books, book-chapters, articles) on the Sumerian godly decrees ME, preferably containing the latest archeological evidence and interpetation? I'm interested in the worldview the MEs reveal, as…
exp8j
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Why was Marduk made ruler before his victory?

Babylonian In the begining of Babylonian mythology, their is a war between the older generation of gods and the newer generation. Apsu and Tiamat's descendents became an unruly crowd. Eventually Apsu, in his frustration and inability to sleep with…
Andrew Johnson
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Babylonian, Sumerian or Mesopotamian

I was looking up the Babylonian creation myth(didn't find it) and clicked on one of their gods, Ereshkigal, Queen of the underworld, or Kur. The page says she is from Mesopotamian Mythology and the underworld is of Sumerian Mythology. The picture to…
Andrew Johnson
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Did the Babylonians, Norse Vikings, Japanese or Greeks have a concept of a soulmate?

Soulmates or true love are common themes in stories, movies/tv shows and such. I was just wondering if it had any roots from ancient times. I limit my question to these four Mythologies in tags, but other cultures may be accepted as an answer.
Andrew Johnson
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