Sumerian Mythology and Its Spread

Year 2025, Volume: 7 Issue: 1, 69 - 98, 30.06.2025

Burcu Akgül

https://doi.org/10.52735/bellek.1707608

Abstract

EXTENDED SUMMARY
The Sumerians, who are thought to have arrived in Mesopotamia, the fertile lands irrigated by the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, which was the land of Sumer according to the Sumerians, in 4000 BC, were a civilization that had reached a high level of culture.
The Sumerians, who had a systematic understanding of religion, developed myths that we can call the expression of faith with Gods, Goddesses and extraordinary figures. Many definitions have been made for mythology. While some views say that myths are the religious views of people, others think the opposite. Myths can reflect a historical event and tell it by turning it into a story. Mythology emerged in periods when the boundary between reality and unreality could not be drawn. In other words, myths exist wherever there are people.
The Sumerians played the leading role in the meeting of mythology with writing. The Sumerians also left us the first examples of written myths. The texts were written on clay tablets in cuneiform. The tablets they wrote could have been the bedside books of that period. We have learned from these ancient people about many subjects, from the creation of the universe, its organization, the creation of man to social rules, trade, agriculture, writing and literature. Texts written in cuneiform include prayers, hymns, prophecies and mythological stories. Mythological stories in the Sumerians also included moral lessons that reinforced social rules. Even the authority of the king was based on a divine foundation. Kings were seen as representatives of the Gods on earth. Order was provided in society and people followed the rules through mythology. The Sumerians founded the Sumerian City States. The Sumerians influenced later states throughout history with their advanced city structures, agricultural techniques, writing systems and understanding of law. They gave a protective God to each city they founded. According to Sumerian mythology, gods and goddesses were the protectors of the cosmic order in nature and represented different aspects of social life. In the Sumerian belief system, everything from the functioning of the universe to the cycle of nature, from human life to death was associated with gods. The wrath of the gods was associated with drought, war, epidemics and natural disasters. The seven great gods who determined fate were at the center of the Sumerian pantheon. In Sumerian mythology, there are hundreds of gods other than the main gods. However, some of these gods stood out.

Each of the Sumerian cities was the center of one or more gods. The Sumerians built Ziggurats to please the gods and gain their support. These temples were considered the homes of the gods on earth. Each city and community gave priority to certain gods according to their needs. For example, Uruk was the sacred city of Inanna and Nippur was the sacred city of Enlil.
Sumerian mythology consists of stories about the creation of the universe, the duties of the gods, the formation of natural events and the place of man in the universe. According to the creation myth, it is said that the world was initially formed from chaotic waters. It is one of the famous myths that describe the order created by the gods. Sumerian creation myths reveal their cosmological understanding and the roles of the gods in this process. These stories later emerged in Babylonian and Assyrian mythology.
Myths are the basis of cultural transmission. They also ask universal questions about human nature. For example, they deal with universal themes such as life, death, wisdom, power and love. Sumerian mythology has had an indirect, if not direct, influence on not only the period but also on today's literature, cinema and popular culture. The Epic of Gilgamesh, considered the world's oldest literary text, has inspired many works today.
There are four interconnected sections in this study. In the first section of our study, we tried to introduce the Sumerian civilization in general terms. In this section, we introduced the Sumerian civilization in terms of who the Sumerians were, their forms of government, the formation of city-states, the invention of writing, economic activities, etc. In our second section, we introduced the gods in the Sumerian pantheon. In the third section, we discussed the subject of mythology and gave examples from Sumerian mythology. In the fourth section, we discussed the reflections of the Mesopotamian belief system on the Babylonian civilization and the similarities of myths and gods. We tried to explain the mythological influences of Mesopotamian societies by giving examples
Thanks to mythology, we can watch what the people who lived at that time thought and experienced centuries ago, like a movie. Thank you, ancient community, Sumerians.

Keywords

Mesopotamia , Mythology , Sümerians , God , Babylon

Sümer Mitolojisi ve Yayılım Alanı

Abstract

ÖZET
Fırat ve Dicle nehirlerinin suladığı verimli topraklar, Sümerlilere göre ise Sümer Ülkesi olan Mezopotamya’ya MÖ 4000’li yıllarda geldikleri düşünülen Sümerler yüksek bir kültür seviyesine ulaşmış bir uygarlıktır.
Sümerler Sümer Kent Devletlerini kurmuşlardır. Sümerler, gelişmiş kent yapıları, ileri tarım teknikleri, yazı sistemleri ve hukuk anlayışı ile tarih boyunca kendinden sonra gelen devletleri etkilemişlerdir. Kurdukları her şehre koruyucu bir Tanrı vermişlerdir. Sistematikleştirdikleri bir din anlayışı olan Sümerliler Tanrıları, Tanrıçaları ve olağanüstü figürleri ile inancın ifadesi diyebileceğimiz mitler gelişmiştir. Mitolojinin birçok tanımı vardır. Bazı görüşler mitlerin insanın dini görüşü olduğunu söyleseler de bazıları ise bunun tam tersi olduğunu düşünmektedir. Mitler tarihsel bir olayı yansıtabilir onu öyküleştirerek anlatabilir. Gerçek ve gerçek olmayan arasındaki sınırın çizilemediği o zamanlarda mitoloji ortaya çıkmıştır. Yani insanın var olduğu her yerde mitoslar da vardır.
Mitoloji sayesinde yüzyıllar boyu insanlar neler düşünmüş, hangi aşmalardan geçmiş bir film gibi önümüze sermektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler: Mezopotamya, Mitoloji, Sümerler, Tanrı, Babil

Keywords

Mezopotamya , Mitoloji , Sümerler , Tanrı , Babil

Ethical Statement

“Sümer Mitolojisi ve Yayılım Alanı” konulu makalemin tasarımı, hazırlanması ve araştırmaların yapılması sürecinde bilgiler akademik kurallara ve etik ilkelere uygun olarak toparlanıp sunulduğunu beyan ederim. Söz konusu kural ve ilkelerin gereği olarak makalede yararlandığım kaynakların tamamına uygun bir şekilde atıfta bulunarak referans gösterdiğimi bildiririm.

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