Remains of the Anu Ziggurat at Uruk.During the Ur III Period (2112 – 2004 BC), the massive Whi

Remains of the Anu Ziggurat at Uruk.During the Ur III Period (2112 – 2004 BC), the massive White Templewas built atop this structure.  Covered in gypsum plaster thatreflected the sunlight, the temple could be seen from a greatdistance.The Sumerians believed that the gods had formed order out of chaos,and that it was their role to be co-workers with the gods to makesure that chaos didn’t return.  Religion was fully integrated intopeople’s lives, and it informed the government and social structureof Sumer.The Eridu Genesis was composed c. 2300 BC, and found in the ruins ofEridu.  It is the earliest version of the Great Flood myth, which waslater retold in the Atrahasis, the Epic of Gilgamesh, and thebiblical book of Genesis.In this tale, the gods destroyed all of humanity in a flood, exceptfor one man, Ziusudra.  Enki, the god of water and wisdom, toldZiusudra to build an ark and rescue two of every animal.After the flood, the gods relented.  They decided to control thehuman population and limit their annoying tendencies, and they didthis by introducing death and disease.  This re-established order,and set a limit to human ambition.The gods expected humans to use their lives to maintain order.  Thisincluded finding a way to work together.  The Sumerians had patrondeities for their cities, and there was intermittent rivalry andconflict, but the gods expected them to set this aside in theinterests of the common good.Sumer depended on irrigation for its existence and wellbeing. Irrigation is a complex process that requires communal efford andorganization – canals must be dug and kept in constant repair, andwater must be distributed equally.Because of this, a stronger power than the individual landowner orsingle community was needed.  This led to the growth of governmentalinstitutions and the rise of the Sumerian city-state. -- source link
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