About this belief system
The Babylonian religion was practiced throughout modern-day Iraq and the general near east (Mesopotamia) during antiquity. Its chief deity was Marduk.
Parent belief system
Mesopotamian Culture · PolytheisticHeads up. Babylonian Religion belongs to a parent belief system on the basis of shared myths and deities.Mesopotamian religion broadly included cultures in the ancient near east: Sumer, Akkad, Babylon, Assyria, and others. These cultures shared highly diffused customs, deities, and myths from ca. 3000 BCE - 400 CE. Many deities were diffused from one culture into another, with the result that religious beliefs were consistent and coherent. Around 400 CE, Christianity and other Abrahamic religions became more widely practiced. Mesopotamian cultures also gave rise to many chief features observed in the...
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Top myths
 |  |  |  | |
| Epic of Anzu | Hammurabi Law Code | Epic of Atrahasis | Enuma Elish | |
| Prestige myth | Prestige myth | Creation, Flood myth | Creation myth | |
| Unknown author | Hammurabi | Ipiq-Aya | Unknown author | |
| Read myth | Read myth | Read myth | Read myth | |
| More myths | ||||
Top deities
Core Babylonian mythologies
According to some traditions, the Babylonian worldview consisted of depicting the world as a flat disc surrounded by water. Beyond the water were eight regions.
"The Babylonians, on the other hand,
according to one tablet showing a map of the
world, regarded the earth as a flat disc, with the
salt sea surrounding it." [1]
This worldview was in contrast to the Sumerian one, which held a more traditional separation between heaven, Earth, and the underworld.
Babylonian myths: A-Z
- Enuma Elish Creation myth
Nuthsell
The universe was created according to the Babylonian timeline.
- Epic of Anzu Prestige myth
Nuthsell
The winged eagle-lion monster named Anzu steals the Tablet of Destinies. No other deity wants to chase him down other than Ninurta, a warrior deity known for hunting. After a failed attempt, Ninurta captures Anzu, ends his life, and recovers the Tablet of Destinies.
- Epic of Atrahasis Creation, Flood myth
Nuthsell
Sit tight. More information about this is coming soon.
Epic of Gilgamesh (OBV) Hero mythNuthsell
Sit tight. More information about this is coming soon.
- Hammurabi Law Code Prestige myth
Nuthsell
In the prologue, Hammurabi boasts about his intimacy with Marduk while giving him praise. Details about his own accomplishments are also pointed out, especially with respect to the enactment of justice in the world. Next, 282 laws are detailed. Many of them deal with divorce, taxes, medicine, theft, and familial matters. The famous phrase, "an eye for an eye," is also provided. The epilogue explains Hammurabi's authority as an arbiter of justice, as well as his divine authority.
Babylonian deities: A-Z
- Antu Babylonian
Antu was, according to some Babylonian poems, the wife of the sky deity named Anu (An).
- Atra-Hasīs Babylonian · 1 myth
Atra-Hasīs ("extra wise") was a mortal human depicted in Babylonian and Akkadian stories related to creation and the great flood in the "Epic of Atra-Hasīs" myth.
- Marduk Babylonian · 2 myths
Marduk (Akkadian: 𒀭𒀫𒌓) was a patron deity chiefly associated with ancient Babylon.
- Nabû Babylonian
Nabu was a scribal deity and the minister of Marduk. He was often associated with wisdom, writing, and depicted as a stylus.
- Tiamat Babylonian
Tiamat was a Babylonian creation deity associated with the sea (water), often in conflict with Marduk.
Cite this page
OMNIKA Foundation Contributors. "Babylonian." OMNIKA – World Mythology Index, OMNIKA Foundation, 08 Aug. 2019, omnika.org/stable/258. Accessed 18 Nov. 2024.
OMNIKA (2019, August 08). Babylonian. Retrieved from https://omnika.org/stable/258
OMNIKA Foundation Contributors. "Babylonian." Las Vegas, NV: OMNIKA Foundation. Created August 08, 2019. Accessed November 18, 2024. https://omnika.org/stable/258.
