Full citation – Référence complète:
Đukić, Z., Stubičar, R. “Postojanje religijskog identiteta u akadskoj civilizaciji na primjeru akadskih književnih djela”. Živa Antika / Antiquité Vivante 74.1-2 (2024), pp. 35–58.

DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.47054/ZIVA24741-2035dj

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Summary. – This paper will, through literary-historical analysis of Akkadian literary works, try to find and present elements with the help of which the existence of religious identity throughout the Akkadian civilization can be confirmed. Looking at the ancient written sources, those elements that show the interconnectedness of the mentioned works and the existence of a common identity that permeates them, that makes them interconnected and part of a whole, will be singled out. The essential literary works for this paper will be The Epic of Gilgamesh, The Atrahasis Epic and The Eridu Genesis (The Sumerian Creation Myth). Other notable poems or written stories which will be of use throughout this paper include the stories of Enki and Ninmah, Enuma Elish and Descent of Ishtar to the Netherworld. With the help of these and other Akkadian literary works and sources, the Authors intend to validate their hypothesis that common religious beliefs resulted in the creation of a mutual identity which encompassed the area of ancient Akkad and Mesopotamia as a whole.
When studying the Akkadian civilization, one cannot speak with certainty about the existence of a national or ethnic identity, since at that time the concepts of nations and ethnicity had not yet been formed, as opposed to that, people in the third and second millennium BC identified themselves as members of the same group based on what was close and understandable to them. This is precisely why, in those ancient times, identification took place on the basis of the person of the ruler, religion, language or customs. For this reason, in this paper, through the reading of Akkadian literary works, those elements that are directly related to the religious practice of the Akkadian civilization will be singled out (prayers to the gods, invocation of the gods, communication with the gods, stories about the gods, rituals dedicated to them, temples and other religious objects which are mentioned and data on the organization of the religious structure). Special attention will be paid to those elements that played a key role to the fact that people who lived in the area of the Fertile Crescent identified each other as members of the same group via a religious connection, that is, they thought of themselves as children of the same Gods. Ancient Akkadian gods were used by later empires and rulers and that is why this paper will analyze a number of deities namely Anu, Aruru, Marduk/Bel, Ea, Adad, Shamash and Enki together with Ninmah in the search for a correlation between their religious/cultic practices and their literary depictions. After that the paper will try and find a strong correlation between different myths about the creation of man and the flood stories which will be broken down and presented as having a mutual origin story based upon older Sumerian or Akkadian roots. Next to literary depiction, ancient rituals and customs will also be of importance for this paper, namely the tradition of religious oneiromancy which was heavily used throughout Mesopotamia and is often depicted in their literary works. Next to oneiromancy, amulets where also widely used throughout Akkad and Mesopotamia which were also depicted in literary works namely in the form of live characters like Humbaba in the Epic of Gilgamesh. Finally, the paper is by form and its content divided into three main parts: a short review of the geographical location and historical circumstances that determined Akkadian literature; the central analysis of ancient Akkadian literary works which helped define the basis of their religious identity; a final review and synthesis of the defining traits which formed the ancient Akkadian identity based upon their religious beliefs, rites and customs.
Key words. – Akkad, Epic of Gilgamesh, Enuma Elish, Epic of Atrahasis, religious identity, religious practice, gods, Mesopotamia.