Babylonian religion facts for kids
Babylonian religion was the way people in ancient Babylonia worshipped their gods. Their amazing stories about gods and heroes, called myths, were written on clay tablets. These tablets used a special writing system called cuneiform. Many Babylonian myths were similar to those from the older Sumerian religion. They were often written in the Sumerian language or Akkadian language. Sometimes, old Sumerian stories were translated into Akkadian, but the names of the gods might change.
Some ancient stories found in the Tanakh (a collection of Jewish texts) might have been inspired by these old myths from the Near East.
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Babylonian Myths and the Universe
Babylonian myths were greatly shaped by the Sumerian religion. These stories were carved onto clay tablets using cuneiform writing. The myths were usually written in either the Sumerian language or the Akkadian language. Some Babylonian texts were even translations of older Sumerian stories into Akkadian. However, the names of some gods were sometimes changed in the Babylonian versions.
Many Babylonian gods, myths, and religious writings were unique to their culture. For example, the god Marduk became the most important god in their stories. He took the place of an older god named Enlil. The Enûma Eliš is a famous Babylonian story about how the world was created. It is an original Babylonian work, not a translation.
Important Religious Festivals
Ancient clay tablets from the Neo-Babylonian Empire tell us about special festivals. These celebrations marked the New Year. The festival started on the first day of the Babylonian month called Nisannu. This is around April or May in our modern calendar. This festival celebrated the re-creation of the Earth. It was based on the story of creation where Marduk was the main hero, as told in the Enûma Eliš.
The Power of God Statues
In Babylonian religion, taking care of and worshipping statues of gods was very important. People believed that the gods lived in their statues inside temples. They also believed the gods lived in the natural world, like in rivers or the sky. There was a special ceremony where the mouths of the god statues were washed. This ceremony started a long time ago, during the Old Babylonian period.
If a god's statue was stolen or destroyed, it was seen as losing the god's help and protection. During the Neo-Babylonian period, a prince named Marduk-apla-iddina II ran away to the swamps. He took the statues of Babylon's gods with him. He did this to save them from the armies of Sennacherib from Assyria.
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See also
In Spanish: Religión babilónica para niños
