Citation

Leick G. Religion Compass 2008; 2(2): 119-133.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1749-8171.2008.00063.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

In ancient Near Eastern thought, religion permeated all aspects of life. Sexual desire was considered a divine force that ensured the continuity of generations, of gods, of humans, and all other animate beings. The article looks at archaeological evidence and current interpretations of material culture from the prehistoric periods, beginning with the Neolithic, and in more detail, the epigraphic sources written in cuneiform from Mesopotamia. Topics such as the ideology of kingship, sacred and divine marriage, myths concerning the love affairs of deities, the goddess Inanna, as well as notions of the sacred, ritual purity and death are considered in the light of texts from the mid-third to the mid-first millennium bc.