Mesopotamian religion refers to the religious beliefs and practices of the civilizations of ancient Mesopotamia, particularly Sumer, Akkad, Assyria and Babylonia between circa 6000 BC and 400 AD. The religious development of Mesopotamia and Mesopotamian culture in general, especially in the south, were not particularly influenced by the movements of the various peoples into and throughout the area. Rather, Mesopotamian religion was a consistent and coherent tradition, which adapted to the internal needs of its adherents over millennia of development.
Namtar was a figure in ancient Mesopotamian religion who, depending on the context, could be regarded both as a minor god and as a demon of disease. He is best attested as the sukkal of Ereshkigal, the goddess of the underworld. Like her, he was not the object of active worship, though references to it are made in literary texts, and additionally some incantations entrust him with keeping various other malevolent forces in the underworld.
In Mesopotamian mythology, Lamashtu was a female demon/monster/malevolent goddess or demigoddess who menaced women during childbirth and, if possible, kidnapped their children while they were breastfeeding. She was a daughter of the Sky God Anu.
In ancient Mesopotamian religion, Pazuzu is a personification of the southwestern wind, and held kingship over the lilu wind demons.
In Akkadian mythology the Rabisu, or possibly Rabasa, are vampiric spirits, daimons, or demons. The Rabisu are associated in mythology with the Curse of Akkad. A consistent translation of "Rabisu" is “Lingerers”. The Rabisu, whether intending malicious actions or not, linger around those who have been found wayward or to be rewarded by the deity Enlil.
Belili was a Mesopotamian goddess. This name refers both to a sister of Dumuzi known from some of the texts pertaining to his death, and to a primordial deity paired with Alala and listed in enumerations of ancestors of Anu. There is no consensus among researchers if they should be considered one and the same.
The udug, later known in Akkadian as the utukku, were an ambiguous class of demons from ancient Mesopotamian mythology. They were different from the dingir and they were generally malicious, even if a member of demons (Pazuzu) was willing to clash both with other demons and with the gods, even if he is described as a presence hostile to humans. The word is generally ambiguous and is sometimes used to refer to demons as a whole rather than a specific kind of demon. No visual representations of the udug have yet been identified, but descriptions of it ascribe to it features often given to other ancient Mesopotamian demons: a dark shadow, absence of light surrounding it, poison, and a deafening voice. The surviving ancient Mesopotamian texts giving instructions for exorcizing the evil udug are known as the Udug Hul texts. These texts emphasize the evil udug's role in causing disease and the exorcist's role in curing the disease.
An incantation, a spell, a charm, an enchantment, or a bewitchery, is a magical formula intended to trigger a magical effect on a person or objects. The formula can be spoken, sung, or chanted. An incantation can also be performed during ceremonial rituals or prayers. In the world of magic, wizards, witches, and fairies are common performers of incantations in culture and folklore.
Dingir ⟨𒀭⟩, usually transliterated DIĜIR, is a Sumerian word for 'god' or 'goddess'. Its cuneiform sign is most commonly employed as the determinative for religious names and related concepts, in which case it is not pronounced and is conventionally transliterated as a superscript ⟨d⟩, e.g. dInanna.
Belet-Seri was a Mesopotamian goddess who served as a scribe in the court of the underworld goddess Ereshkigal. She could be regarded as the Akkadian counterpart of Sumerian Geshtinanna, but the name could also function as a title of Ašratum, the wife of Amurru, or as a fully independent deity.
Hendursaga, also spelled Hendursanga or Endursaga was a Mesopotamian god. He was regarded as a divine night watchman. He was commonly associated with the goddess Nanshe. In a number of god lists, he was equated with the similar Akkadian god Ishum.
Sumerian religion was the religion practiced by the people of Sumer, the first literate civilization found in recorded history and based in ancient Mesopotamia, and what is modern day Iraq. The Sumerians widely regarded their divinities as responsible for all matters pertaining to the natural and social orders of their society.
There are many references to ghosts in ancient Mesopotamian religion – the religions of Sumer, Babylon, Assyria and other early states in Mesopotamia. Traces of these beliefs survive in the later Abrahamic religions that came to dominate the region.
A lilu or lilû is a masculine Akkadian word for a spirit or demon.
The Abzu or Apsu, also called engur, is the name for fresh water from underground aquifers which was given a religious fertilising quality in ancient near eastern cosmology, including Sumerian and Akkadian mythology. Lakes, springs, rivers, wells, and other sources of fresh water were thought to draw their water from the abzu. In Mesopotamian mythology, it is referred to as the primeval sea below the void space of the underworld (Kur) and the earth (Ma) above.
Bašmu or Bashmu was an ancient Mesopotamian mythological creature, a horned snake with two forelegs and wings. It was also the Akkadian name of the Babylonian constellation (MUL.DINGIR.MUŠ) equivalent to the Greek Hydra. The Sumerian terms ušum and muš-šà-tùr may represent differing iconographic types or different demons. It is first attested by a 22nd-century BC cylinder inscription at Gudea.
Ḫulbazizi, inscribed in cuneiform phonetically Ḫul.ba.zi.zi, “the Evil is Eradicated” or more literally "Evil (be) gone", is an ancient Mesopotamian exorcistic incantation series extant in earlier Sumerian and later Akkadian forms, the language switch taking place in the late Bronze Age, directed at every sort of evil, including a spell against everything scary that hides below one's bed at night, depicted on an amulet with the terrified subject seated upright on his bed while a small dragon emerges from beneath to be confronted by a third figure.
The ancient Mesopotamian underworld, was the lowermost part of the ancient near eastern cosmos, roughly parallel to the region known as Tartarus from early Greek cosmology. It was described as a dark, dreary cavern located deep below the ground, where inhabitants were believed to continue "a transpositional version of life on earth". The only food or drink was dry dust, but family members of the deceased would pour sacred mineral libations from the earth for them to drink. In the Sumerian underworld, it was initially believed that there was no final judgement of the deceased and the dead were neither punished nor rewarded for their deeds in life.
The Four Winds are a group of mythical figures in Mesopotamian mythology whose names and functions correspond to four cardinal directions of wind. They were both cardinal concepts as well as characters with personality, who could serve as antagonistic forces or helpful assistants in myths.
Ardat-lilî was a Mesopotamian demon. She is described as the ghost of a young woman who died without experiencing sexual fulfillment or getting married, and as a result attempts to seduce young men. She is one of the members of the category of lil demons, who were considered subjects of Pazuzu. A text placing her in the entourage of the god Erra is also known. Incantations directed against her are attested as early as in the Old Babylonian period. References to her are also known from other genres of texts.
Cunningham, Graham (2007) [1997], Deliver Me from Evil: Mesopotamian Incantations, 2500-1500 BC, Studia Pohl: Series Maior, vol. 17, Rome, Italy: Etrice Pontificio Instituto Biblico, ISBN 978-88-7653-608-3 Geller, Markham J. (2016), Healing Magic and Evil Demons: Canonical Udug-hul Incantations, Berlin, Germany: Walter de Gruyter, ISBN 978-1-5015-0015-2 Konstantopoulos, Gina (2017), "Shifting Alignments: The Dichotomy of Benevolent and Malevolent Demons in Mesopotamia", in Bhayro, Siam; Rider, Catharine (eds.), Demons and Illness from Antiquity to the Early-Modern Period, Leiden, The Netherlands and Boston, Massachusetts: Koninklijke Brill, pp. 19–38, ISBN 978-90-04-33854-8
