Sumerian Religion and Environment
The Epic of Gilgamesh is the greatest heroic tale of the peoples of Ancient Mesopotamia—the Sumerians, Babylonians, and Assyrians. The text provides a very deep understanding of Sumerian religious beliefs and worldviews. This essay will prove, using the Epic of Gilgamesh as an example, that the Sumerian religion and myths were filled with dangers because the Sumerians lived in a harsh and unpredictable environment.
The most important aspect of the environment in which the Sumerians lived was its unpredictability. Mesopotamia is a dry and hot location between two seasonally flooding rivers: the Tigris and Euphrates (Bentley and Ziegler 66). Although this region was well suited for an agricultural society, the two rivers were prone to unexpected and violent floods. Additionally, aside from the river valleys, the rest of Mesopotamia was an inhospitable desert. Thus, the Sumerians lived in an unpredictable and volatile environment, which may have affected their worldview.
Divine Retribution and Human Hubris
The impact of the unpredictable world that the Sumerians lived in on their religion is seen in the first chapter of the Epic. In it, the demigod Gilgamesh, whose power comes from the gods, is filled with pride and tasks every man and woman in his domain to follow his every whim. This has made the god Anu punish him by creating Enkidu, a creature whose power rivals that of Gilgamesh (Sandars 2). This shows that due to the tumultuous nature of the world that the Sumerians lived in, they made their gods match what they needed to solve a problem they had created.
Moreover, this chapter highlights the Sumerians’ fear of the unknown. In the text, when Enkidu was created, he did nothing but graze on the steppes with other wildlife. However, when hunters encountered him, they ran back to Uruk in fear, although Enkidu was not hostile toward them (Sandars 2). It shows that due to the dangers that the people in that region frequently faced, they learned to be cautious of things they did not understand, even if they posed no danger.
The Epic shows the impulsive nature of the gods in the fifth chapter, called “The Story of the Flood.” In it, a wise man tells Gilgamesh the story of the flood that the gods created to exterminate the human race, as they have become too numerous. When the plan came into motion, the only person to survive was Ut-napishtim, who was warned by the god Ea and had built a ship to escape the storm (Bentley and Ziegler 71). Later, the gods realized that with no humans left, there would be no one to give them prayers and offer them sacrifices, and thus, they allowed Ut-napishtim and his family to start humankind anew (Sandars 25). This shows that, just like the unstable nature of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, the Sumerian gods act according to their whims and impulses.
Religious Worldview Reflecting Environmental Instability
The Epic of Gilgamesh shows how the Sumerians viewed the world around them and how that shaped their religion. The region in which they lived was a harsh desert landscape, and the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers were unstable, leading to constant floods. This is reflected in their religion, where the gods were uncaring towards the common man and led by emotions and impulses. Moreover, the lives of common Sumerians are brightly shown, with their fear of the unknown, their inability to affect their environment, and the whims of the gods. To summarize, the Epic reflects the unstable and unforgiving environment that the Sumerians lived in and the whimsical nature of their pantheon.
Works Cited
Sandars, Nancy. The Epic of Gilgamesh. Penguin Books, 1960.
Bentley, Jerry, and Herbert Ziegler. Traditions & Encounters: A Global Perspective on the Past. 5th ed., McGraw-Hill Education, 2010.