Myths of the Fertile Crescent series
Mesopotamian mythology
Ancient Arabian mythology
Ancient Levantine mythology
Names of God in the Hebrew Bible
Mesopotamian religion
Yezidic religion
Pre-Islamic Arabian gods
Ēl, Ilāh "God" Bēl, Baʕl, Bēl-Šamīn Aglibol al-Lāt, al-'Ilāhat Astarte Atargatis (Syrian) Ištar, Athtar Beltis? Bes (Egypto-Arabic) Manāt Manaf Nergal	Nabū, Nebo Orotalt Qawm Sīn, Nanna-Suen Shams, Samas ʕUzzā Wadd Yaghūth Yarhibol/Malakbel astral & local deities demons
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The Religions of the Ancient Near East were mostly polytheistic, with some early examples of emerging Henotheism (Akhenaton, early Judaism). Especially the Luwian pantheon exerted a strong influence on Ancient Greece, see Greek Paganism, while the religion of Elam influenced the Zoroastrianism of the Achaemenid empire. Overview map of the Ancient Near East The term Ancient Near East or Ancient Orient encompasses the early civilizations predating Classical Antiquity in the region roughly corresponding to that described by the modern term Middle East (Egypt, Iraq, Turkey), during the time roughly spanning the Bronze Age from the rise... Polytheism is belief in, or worship of, multiple gods or divinities. ... Henotheism (Greek heis theos one god) is a term coined by Max Müller, to mean devotion to a single God while accepting the existence of other gods. ... Bust of Pharaoh Akhenaten. ... Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people. ... Luwian (sometimes spelled Luwiyan) is an Anatolian language known in three forms: (1) Cuneiform Luwian, (2) Hieroglyphic-Luwian and (3), the somewhat later Lycian. ... Ancient Greece is the period in Greek history which lasted for around one thousand years and ended with the rise of Christianity. ... See Ancient Greek religion and Greek reconstructionism. ... Elam (Persian: ایلام) is one of the most ancient civilizations on record. ... Zoroastrianism is the name of the religion and philosophy based on the teachings ascribed to the prophet Zoroaster (Zarathushtra, Zartosht). ... Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Dynasty was a dynasty in the ancient Persian Empire, including Cyrus II the Great, Darius I and Xerxes I. At the height of their power, the Achaemenid rulers of Persia ruled over territories roughly emcompassing some parts of todays Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon...

Overview/Disambiguation

There were many different cultures in the Ancient Near East with different languages, different cultures, different religions, and differing mythologies.

The religion of Ancient Mesopotamians (Sumer, Akkad, Assyria, Elam) is treated under Mesopotamian mythology. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Sumer (or Shumer, Egyptian Sangar, Bib. ... Akkad (or Agade) was a city and its region of northern Mesopotamia, situated on the left bank of the Euphrates, between Sippar and Kish (located in present-day Iraq, ca. ... Assyrian Empire Assyria in earliest historical times referred to a region on the Upper Tigris river, named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur. ... Elam (Persian: ایلام) is one of the most ancient civilizations on record. ... This article is in need of attention. ...

For the religion of Ancient Egypt, see Egyptian mythology. Khafres Pyramid (4th dynasty) and Great Sphinx of Giza (c. ... Egyptian mythology or Egyptian religion is the succession of tentative beliefs held by the people of Egypt for over three thousand years, prior to major exposure to Christianity and Islam. ...

The early Hittite religion bore traits descended from Proto-Indo-European religion, but the later Hittite religions becomes more and more assimilated to Assyria. The Proto-Indo-Europeans are the hypothetical speakers of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European language, a prehistoric people of the Chalcolithic and early Bronze Age. ...

The religion of the ancient Minoans. Ancient Greek religion, Greek Mythology. The Mystery religions of Hellenism were influenced by Egyptian mythology. The Minoans were an ancient pre-Hellenic civilization on what is now Crete (in the Mediterranean), during the Bronze Age, prior to classical Greek culture. ... Greek religion encompasses the collection of beliefs and rituals practiced in Ancient Greece in form of cult practices, thus the practical counterpart of Greek mythology. ... // Greek mythology consists in part of a large collection of narratives that explain the origins of the world and detail the lives and adventures of a wide variety of gods, goddesses, heroes, and heroines. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Hellenistic period of Greek history was the period between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the annexation of the Greek peninsula and islands by Rome in 146 BC. Although the establishment of Roman rule did not break the continuity of Hellenistic society and culture, which...

The polytheistic pagan religions of ancient Canaan and the city-state of Ugarit (and perhaps nearby lands, such as Egypt) contributed to the later monotheism of Judaism, which, in turn, contributed to Christianity and allegedly Islam. Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people. ... Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centred on Jesus of Nazareth, and on his life and teachings as presented in the New Testament. ... For other uses, including people named Islam, see Islam (disambiguation). ...

Ancient Near East Pagan Cultures

• Mesopotamians, see also Mesopotamian Mythology
  • Assyrians
    • see Assyrian Paganism
    • see also Assyrian Mythology
  • Babylonians
    • see Babylonian Paganism
    • see also Babylonian mythology
  • Sumerians
    • see Sumerian Paganism
    • see also Sumerian Mythology
• Canaanites, and the cities of Ugarit and Ebla
  • see Natib Qadish
  • or see Canaanite Paganism
• Phoenicians, a daughter culture to Canaanites
  • see Phoenician Paganism
  • see also Phoenician Mythology
• Carthage, daughter colony of Phoenicia
  • see Cartheginian Paganism
  • see also Cartheginian Mythology, or Punic Paganism
• Hurrians
  • see Hurrian Paganism
  • see also Hurrian Mythology
• Hittites
  • see Hatti Paganism
  • see also Hittite mythology
• Nabateans and the city of Petra
  • see Nabatean Paganism
  • see also Nabatean Mythology
• Egyptians
  • see Kemetic Paganism
  • or see Egyptian Paganism
  • see also Egyptian Mythology
• Amorites
• Cypriots

This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article is in need of attention. ... Assyrian Empire Assyria in earliest historical times referred to a region on the Upper Tigris river, named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur. ... Babylonia, named for its capital city, Babylon, was an ancient state in the south part of Mesopotamia (in modern Iraq), combining the territories of Sumer and Akkad. ... Babylonian mythology is a set of stories depicting the activities of Babylonian deities, heroes, and mythological creatures. ... Sumer (or Shumer, Sumeria, Shinar, native ki-en-gir) formed the southern part of Mesopotamia from the time of settlement by the Sumerians until the time of Babylonia. ... Chaldean mythology is the collective name given to Sumerian, Assyrian and Babylonian mythologies, although Chaldea did not comprehend the whole territory inhabited by those peoples. ... This article is about the land called Canaan. ... Entrance to the Palace of Ugarit Ugarit (modern site Ras Shamra رأس شمرة; in Arabic) 35°35´ N; 35°45´E) was an ancient cosmopolitan port city, sited on the Mediterranean coast of northern Syria a few kilometers north of the modern city of Latakia. ... Ebla is not to be confused with Elba. ... Natib Qadish is also known as Canaanite Paganism, Canaanite Neopaganism, or Canaanite Reconstructionism. ... Natib Qadish is also known as Canaanite Paganism, Canaanite Neopaganism, or Canaanite Reconstructionism. ... Phoenicia was an ancient civilization in the north of ancient Canaan, with its heartland along the coastal plains of what is now Lebanon. ... Ruins of Carthage Carthaginian settlements in the western Mediterranean in the early 3rd century BC. The term Carthage refers both to an ancient city in North Africa — located on the eastern side of Lake Tunis across from the center of modern Tunis in Tunisia — and to the civilization which developed... The Hurrians were a people of the Ancient Near East, who lived in northern Mesopotamia and areas to the immediate east and west, beginning approximately 2500 BC. They probably originated in the Caucasus and entered from the north, but this is not certain. ... Relief of Suppiluliuma II, last known king of the Hittite Empire The Hittites were an ancient people who spoke an Indo-European language, and established a kingdom centered at Hattusa (Hittite URU) in north-central Anatolia from the 18th century BC. In the 14th century BC, the Hittite empire was... Heavily influenced by Mesopotamian mythology, the religion of the Hittites and Luwians retains noticeable Indo-European elements, for example Tarhun the god of thunder, and his conflict with the serpent Illuyanka. ... Petra, the Nabataean capital The Nabataeans were a trading people of ancient Arabia, whose oasis settlements in the time of Josephus gave the name of Nabatene to the borderland between Syria and Arabia, from the Euphrates to the Red Sea. ... The Treasury at Petra Petra (from petra, rock in Greek; Arabic: البتراء, al-Bitrā) is an archaeological site in Jordan, lying in a basin among the mountains which form the eastern flank of Wadi Araba, the great valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. ... Egyptian mythology or Egyptian religion is the succession of tentative beliefs held by the people of Egypt for over three thousand years, prior to major exposure to Christianity and Islam. ... Amorite (Hebrew ’emōrî, Egyptian Amar, Akkadian Amurrū (corresponding to Sumerian MAR.TU or Martu) refers to a Semitic people who occupied the middle Euphrates area from the second half of the third millennium BC and also appear in the Tanakh. ...

Common threads

There are broad practices that these paths often hold in common:

• Purification and Cleansing
• Offerings, Sacrifices, and Libations
• Large Pantheons
• Religion tied to State/Government
• Use of Differing Forms of Divination
• Use of Magic, Incantation, Charms, and Amulets

Purification and cleansing

Many Ancient Near East religions believed that in order to approach the Deities, one needed to perform rites of purification. These rites often included, but are not limited to:

• Washing with water
  • Hands
  • Face
  • Feet
  • Any combination of the above
  • Bathing
• Anointing with Oil
  • Usually olive oil
  • Sometimes oil was mixed with herbs and resins, such as myrrh
  • Sometimes sand was used to help scour away dirt
• Purification through the use of incense smoke
• Purification through performance of incantation and/or magic

Offerings, sacrifices, and libations

• Offerings
  • Can be food items:
    • Grain, bread
    • Seasonal fruits, vegetables, herbs
  • Can be material offerings
    • Precious metals, gems, semi-precious stones, art
    • Cloth, clothing
• Sacrifices
  • In ancient times, animals were sacrificed to the Deities. The meat from these sacrifices often fed the priests, sometimes the elite of society, and sometimes the widows and orphans.
  • In modern days, our “animal sacrifice” only consists of making an offering of meat that we cook for a meal.
• Libations
  • Offerings of a liquid nature
  • Usually includes:
    • Oil, usually olive oil
    • Wine
    • Beer
    • Fruit juice
    • Sometimes milk, but only in the mornings when it is fresh
    • Sometimes water
    • Sometimes herb-flavored or herb-scented water, such as herbal “teas”

Sacrifice (from a Middle English verb meaning to make sacred, from Old French, from Latin sacrificium : sacer, sacred; sacred + facere, to make) is commonly known as the practice of offering food, or the lives of animals or people to the gods, as an act of propitiation or worship. ... Marcus Aurelius and members of the Imperial family offer sacrifice in gratitude for success against Germanic tribes: contemporary bas-relief, Capitoline Museum, Rome Sacrifice (from a Middle English verb meaning to make sacred, from Old French, from Latin sacrificium : sacer, sacred; sacred + facere, to make) is commonly known as the... Libation scene, Greek red figure cup, c. ...

Large pantheons

See above “List of Cultures” for each culture’s mythology. Often, because such great diversity, and religious tolerance, in such a small area of the world, some cultures would adopt Deities from other cultures.

Religions tied to governments

Often, in the Ancient Near East, city-states and sometimes even empires, would have a particular official state religion. This means that the state would provide funds and resources for one particular religion. The state holidays celebrated would be for that religion, and the temples constructed would be for that particular pantheon. If a person was a “foreigner,” her/his religion and religious practices were generally tolerated. Also, in the course of military or economic expansion, oftentimes the god or gods of a newly conquered or tributary area would be adopted into the conqueror's pantheon, almost always in a position subservient to the primary god or gods of the conquerors.

Forms of Divination

These can include: This article is about the religious practice of divination. ...

• Apantomancy: seeing animals
• Cleromancy: drawing lots
• Icthyomancy: watching fish behavior
• Ophiomancy: watching snake behavior
• Hepatomancy, or Hepatoscopy: observing the liver of an animal
• Nephomancy: cloud-watching
• Orniscopy or Ornithomancy: watching birds in flight
• Capnomancy: watching smoke
• Oneiromancy: divination through dreams
• And other forms….

Apantomancy is divination by seeing animals. ... Cleromancy, sortilege, casting lots or casting bones is a form of divination in which an outcome is determined by random means, such as the rolling of a die. ... Hepatoscopy is a form of divination using the internal organs of sacrificed animals, specifically the liver. ... Aeromancy (from Greek aero, air, and manteia, divination) is divination conducted by interpreting atmospheric conditions. ... Ornithomancy is the practice of Ancient Greek augury of birds. ... Pyromancy (from Greek pyros, fire, and manteia, divination) is the art of divination by means of Greek society, virgins at the Temple of Athena in Athens regularly practiced pyromancy. ... Oneiromancy is a form of divination by the analysis and interpretation of dreams. ... Dreaming is the subjective experience of imaginary images, sounds/voices, thoughts or sensations during sleep, usually involuntarily. ...

Magic, incantations, charms, and amulets

Magic/magick and sorcery are the influencing of events, objects, people and physical phenomena by mystical or paranormal means. ... An incantation is the words spoken during a ritual. ... Look up charm in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... An amulet from the Black Pullet grimoire An amulet (from Latin amuletum, meaning A means of protection) or a talisman (from Arabic tilasm, ultimately from Greek telesma or from the Greek word talein wich means to initiate into the mysteries. ...

Neopagan movements

• Federation of Damanhur
• Natib Qadish or Canaanite Paganism
• Judeo-Paganism
• Hellenic polytheism
• Mithraism

The Federation Of Damanhur, often called simply Damanhur, is a commune and spiritual community situated in the Piedmont region of northern Italy about 30 miles north of the city of Turin. ... Natib Qadish is also known as Canaanite Paganism, Canaanite Neopaganism, or Canaanite Reconstructionism. ... Natib Qadish is also known as Canaanite Paganism, Canaanite Neopaganism, or Canaanite Reconstructionism. ... The factual accuracy of this article is disputed. ... Hellenic polytheism refers to a polytheistic religion honoring the gods of the ancient Greek pantheon. ... Mithra and the Bull: This fresco from the Mithraeum at Marino, Italy (3rd century) shows the tauroctony and the celestial lining of Mithras cape Mithraism (Persian:آيين مهر Āyīn-e Mehr) was an ancient mystery religion prominent from the 1st century BCE to the 5th century CE. It was based on...

See also

• Polytheism
• Paganism
• Henotheism
• Walter Burkert

Polytheism is belief in, or worship of, multiple gods or divinities. ... Paganism (from Latin paganus, meaning a country dweller or civilian) is a blanket term which has come to connote a broad set of spiritual or religious beliefs and practices of natural or polytheistic religions, as opposed to the Abrahamic monotheistic religions. ... Henotheism (Greek heis theos one god) is a term coined by Max Müller, to mean devotion to a single God while accepting the existence of other gods. ... Walter Burkert (born Neuendettelsau (Bavaria), February 2, 1931), the most eminent living scholar of Greek myth and cult, is an emeritus professor of classics at the University of Zurich, Switzerland who has also taught in the United Kingdom and the United States. ...

Further reading

• Ancient Near East, general information:
  • Gordon, Cyrus. The Ancient Near East, 3rd Edition, Revised. W. W. Norton and Company, Inc., New York, 1965.
  • Pritchard, James B., editor. The Ancient Near East: An Anthology of Texts and Pictures. Princeton University Press, New Jersey, 1958.
  • Pritchard, James B., editor. The Ancient Near East, Volume II: A New Anthology of Texts and Pictures. Princeton University Press, New Jersey, 1975.
  • Jack Sasson et al., eds., Civilizations of the Ancient Near East. Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1995.

• Canaan and Ugarit
  • Pardee, Dennis. Ritual and Cult at Ugarit. Society of Biblical Literature, Atlanta, Georgia. 2002.
  • Parker, Simon B., ed. Ugaritic Narrative Poetry. Society of Biblical Literature, U.S.A., 1997.
  • Smith, Mark S. The Ugaritic Baal Cycle, Volume I: Introduction with Text, Translation and Commentary of KTU 1.1-1.2. E.J. Brill, Leiden, the Netherlands, 1994.

• Mesopotamia

External links

• ASOR (American Schools of Oriental Research), Boston University

• University of Michigan. Traditions of Magic in Late Antiquity

Canaan and Ugarit

• The Edinburgh Ras Shamra Project

• Canaanite/Ugaritic Mythology FAQ, ver. 1.2 by Chris Siren

• Canaan and Ancient Israel by the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.

The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology is a small, but very high quality museum in West Philadelphia. ...

Phoenicia

• A Bequest Unearthed Phoenicia and the Phoenicians by Salim George Khalat.

Neopagan reconstructionism

• Paganism of Mesopotamian Cultures
  • Babylonian Magick. by Ross Caldwell

• Kemetic (Egyptian) Paganism
  • The House of Netjer Kemetic Orthodox Faith (Kemetic/Egyptian Paganism)

• Natib Qadish (Canaanite Paganism)
  • Community Discussion Board for Natib Qadish Canaanite Paganism and Ancient Near East Paganism
  • Qadash Kinahnu, Canaanite-Phoenician Paganism, by Lilinah Biti-Anat
  • Natib Qadish, Canaanite Paganism by Tess Dawson
  • Canaanite Paganism Discussion Group
  • Umatu-wa-Marzichu Canaanite Pagan Ritual Community

• Hellenic Paganism
  • The Stele, Homepage of The Omphalos Hellenic/Greek Paganism