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Babylonian religion is the religious practice ofBabylonia. Babylonia's mythology was largely influenced by itsSumerian counterparts and was written on clay tablets inscribed with thecuneiform script derived from Sumerian cuneiform. The myths were usually either written inSumerian orAkkadian. Some Babylonian texts were translations into Akkadian from Sumerian of earlier texts, but the names of some deities were changed.[1]
Babylonian myths were greatly influenced by theSumerian religion. Sometimes they were written on clay tablets inscribed with thecuneiform script derived fromSumerian cuneiform. The myths were usually either written in theSumerian orAkkadian language. Some Babylonian texts were even translations into Akkadian from the Sumerian language of earlier texts, although the names of some deities were changed in Babylonian texts.[2]
Many Babylonian deities, myths, and religious writings are singular to that culture; for example, the uniquely Babylonian deity,Marduk, replacedEnlil as the head of the mythological pantheon. TheEnûma Eliš, acreation mythepic was an original Babylonian work. In it,Apsu andTiamat created "the elements of the world", but fought for various reasons, with Tiamat winning but being slaughtered along with her army by Marduk.[3] Marduk became the first king within Tiamat's split body, which created the earth and sky, and founded Babylon.[3]
Tablet fragments from theNeo-Babylonian period describe a series of festival days celebrating the New Year. The Festival began on the first day of the first Babylonian month, Nisannu, roughly corresponding to April/May in theGregorian calendar. This festival celebrated the re-creation of the Earth, drawing from theMarduk-centered creation story described in theEnûma Eliš.[4]
In Babylonian religion, theritual care and worship of thestatues of deities were consideredsacred; the gods lived simultaneously in their statues in temples and in the natural forces they embodied.[citation needed]
The pillaging or destruction of idols was considered to be a loss of divine patronage; during the Neo-Babylonian period, the Chaldean princeMarduk-apla-iddina II fled into the southern marshes of Mesopotamia with the statues of Babylon's gods to save them from the armies ofSennacherib of Assyria.[5]
Babylonia mainly focused on the godMarduk, who is thenational god of the Babylonian empire. However, there were also other gods that were worshipped. These are the seven deities:
At various times, a single god in Babylonian cities was assigned a primary "special duty" for each city, such as being "the god of earth and the air" or "the god of the sky", and seen as the god with the most influence in that city by far.[6]
