Book contents
- From Ritual to God in the Ancient Near East
- From Ritual to God in the Ancient Near East
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction: Interpreting Religious Materiality in the Ancient Near East
- Part I In the Name of the Spirits
- Part II For the Glory of the Gods
- 3 Constructing Cosmotheism
- 4 Imagining the Divine
- Part III A New Era
- Conclusions
- References
- Index
3 - Constructing Cosmotheism
Temples, Writing, and the Creation of Divine Pantheons in Ancient Mesopotamia
from Part II - For the Glory of the Gods
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 May 2024
Book contents
- From Ritual to God in the Ancient Near East
- From Ritual to God in the Ancient Near East
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction: Interpreting Religious Materiality in the Ancient Near East
- Part I In the Name of the Spirits
- Part II For the Glory of the Gods
- 3 Constructing Cosmotheism
- 4 Imagining the Divine
- Part III A New Era
- Conclusions
- References
- Index
Summary
Housing the god is one of the primary elements in constructing the religious dimension of a community and, thus, this chapter will tackle ancient Mesopotamian temple building from the fifth to the first millennia BCE. Particular attention will be given to the pivotal role played by the High Temples (i.e., the ziqqurat) in stimulating that sense of connection with “heavenly” deities.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- From Ritual to God in the Ancient Near EastTracing the Origins of Religion, pp. 81 - 120Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2024