The Animated Temple and Its Agency in the Urban Life of the City in Ancient Mesopotamia Beate Pongratz-Leisten, NYU, ISAW

In ancient Mesopotamia, the functions of the temple were manifold. It could operate as an administrative center, as a center of learning, as a place of jurisdiction, as a center for healing, and as an economic institution, as indicated in both textual and archaeological sources. All these functions...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Religions
Main Author: Pongratz-Leisten, Beate (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: MDPI 2021
In: Religions
Further subjects:B Agency
B Temple
B Divinity
B Community
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Summary:In ancient Mesopotamia, the functions of the temple were manifold. It could operate as an administrative center, as a center of learning, as a place of jurisdiction, as a center for healing, and as an economic institution, as indicated in both textual and archaeological sources. All these functions involved numerous and diverse personnel and generated interaction with the surrounding world, thereby turning the temple into the center of urban life. Because the temple fulfilled all these functions in addition to housing the divinity, it acquired agency in its own right. Thus, temple, city, and divinity could merge into concerted action. It is this aspect of the temple that lies at the center of the following considerations.
ISSN:2077-1444
Contains:Enthalten in: Religions
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.3390/rel12080638