religions Article The Animated Temple and Its Agency in the Urban Life of the City in Ancient Mesopotamia Beate Pongratz-Leisten, NYU, ISAW Beate Pongratz-Leisten Institute for the Study of the Ancient World (ISAW), New York University, New York, NY 10028, USA; [email protected] Abstract: 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. Keywords: temple; divinity; community; agency “Arbela, O Arbela, heaven without equal, Arbela! ... Arbela, temple of reason and Citation: Pongratz-Leisten, Beate. 1 2021. The Animated Temple and Its counsel!” (Livingstone 1989, no. 8). This Neo-Assyrian salute to the city of Arbela stands Agency in the Urban Life of the City at the end of a long history of texts that ponder the origin of temples and cities and their in Ancient Mesopotamia Beate role in the cosmic plan. Glorifying the city, it conflates it with both the divine realm and Pongratz-Leisten, NYU, ISAW. the temple in terms of agency in a manner that is typical of the ancient world view and Religions 12: 638. https://doi.org/ that appears as a leitmotif in literary texts, economic texts, prayers, and incantations as late 10.3390/rel12080638 as the Hellenistic period, as can be seen in one of the prayers addressed to Marduk during the New Year Festival: Academic Editors: Sharon Steadman, Be forgiving to your city, Babylon, Nicola Laneri and Marica Cassis Grant mercy to your temple, Esagila, Received: 25 June 2021 With your exalted word, lord of the great gods, Accepted: 4 August 2021 May light be set (again) before the citizens of Babylon. (Linssen 2004, pp. 219, Published: 13 August 2021 228, ll. 246–49) The archaeological design as well as the economic and religious functions of the Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral temple have received much attention in scholarship (Fales 2013, with bibliography), as with regard to jurisdictional claims in has the description of the temple in literary texts (Löhnert 2013, with bibliography). In published maps and institutional affil- ancient Mesopotamia, the functions of the temple were manifold. It could operate as iations. an administrative center, as reflected in the name of the Nabû Temple in Assur (Assur Directory, George 1992, pp. 178–79, ll. 158–59); as a center of learning, as attested by the libraries and the administrative archives of the Nabû Temple in Kalkhu (Villard 2019), Dur Sharru-ken, and Babylon; as a place of jurisdiction, as indicated by the ceremonial names, Copyright: © 2021 by the author. hymns, and the Codex Hammurabi;2 as a center for healing, as in the case of the Gula Temple Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. at Isin; and as an economic institution, as indicated in both textual and archaeological This article is an open access article sources. All these functions involved numerous and diverse personnel and generated distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons interaction with the surrounding world, thereby turning the temple into the center of urban Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// life. Because the temple fulfilled all these functions in addition to housing the divinity, 3 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ it acquired agency in its own right. Thus, temple, city, and divinity could merge into 4.0/). Religions 2021, 12, 638. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12080638 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/religions Religions 2021, 12, x FOR PEER REVIEW 2 of 12 Religions 2021, 12, 638 2 of 11 quired agency in its own right.3 Thus, temple, city, and divinity could merge into con- concertedcerted action. action. It is Itthis is aspect this aspect of the of temple the temple that lies that at lies the atcenter the centerof the following of the following consid- considerations.erations. 1.1. TheThe TempleTemple as as Mirror Mirror of of Domestic Domestic Life Life InIn ancient ancient Mesopotamian Mesopotamian scripts, scripts, the the Sumerian Sumerian sign sign read read as asé éand and in in Akkadian Akkadian as asb b¯ıtuītu meansmeans “house,” “house,” “household,” “household,” “family,” “family,” or or “dynasty.” “dynasty.” It isIt alsois also used used to denoteto denote a temple, a temple, as inas the in the ceremonial ceremonial term termé.sag. é.sag.íla,íla, that that is, is, “house/temple “house/temple whose whose top top is is high” high” ( George(George 1993 1993,, ekallum p.p. 139,139, no.no. 967),967), andand inin thethe Sumerian Sumerian term term for for palace palaceé .gal/Akkadiané.gal/Akkadian ekallum oror “large“large house or palace.” Early Mesopotamian temples may originally have resembled the reed house or palace.” Early Mesopotamian temples may originally have resembled the reed huts typical of the marshes in Southern Mesopotamia (Figure1). huts typical of the marshes in Southern Mesopotamia (Figure 1). FigureFigure 1. 1.Seal Seal impressionimpression depicting depicting rows rows of of cattle cattle and and reed reed huts huts (Adapted (Adapted from from ref. ref. (Hamilton (Hamilton 1967 , Figure1967, Figure 1)). 1)). MudbrickMudbrick architecturearchitecture evolved evolved during during the the seventh seventh millennium millennium BCE, BCE, and and the the earliest earliest remainsremains of of temple temple structures structures of of the the Chalcolithic Chalcolith Periodic Period have have come come to lightto light in Mesopotamia. in Mesopota- Duringmia. During the fourth the fourth millennium, millennium, their their ground grou plannd plan started started resembling resembling that that of a of tripartite a tripar- housetite house with with a large a centrallarge central room “runningroom “runni theng width the ofwidth the building of the building with rows with of smallerrows of roomsmaller on room both on sides” both orsides” “a courtyard or “a courtyard house house with anwith open an open courtyard courtyard and roomsand rooms on all on sides”all sides” (Figure (Figure2)(Roaf 2) (Roaf 1995 1995,, p. 426). p. 426). The The resemblance resemblance of of the the temple temple to to the the house house reflects reflects thethe ancientancient notionnotion ofof thethetemple temple asas a a household household oror socio-economic socio-economic unitunit thatthat engages engages inin productiveproductive andand commercialcommercial activitiesactivities similarsimilar toto those those of of any any secular secular household household or or palace palace (Postgate(Postgate 1992 1992,, p. p. 115; 115; Fales Fales 2013 2013).). InIn thethe fourthfourth millenniummillennium BCE,BCE, templestemples asas wellwell asas theirtheir storagestorage facilitiesfacilities andand work-work- shopsshops werewere oftenoften elaborately decorated with with niches niches and and set set on on raised raised platforms platforms bound bound by byenclosures enclosures that that separated separated them them from from residenti residentialal areas areas and and thus thus established established them them as the as themost most prominent prominent points points of the of city. the As city. Mario As MarioFales observes, Fales observes, “the temple “the with temple its withreligious its religiousannexes annexes(from ziggurats (from ziggurats to cultic tocourtyards cultic courtyards to chapels, to chapels,etc.), and etc.), its attendant and its attendant adminis- administrativetrative structures structures (storerooms, (storerooms, granaries, granaries, workshops, workshops, etc.), and etc.),even andits gardens even its could gardens rep- couldresent represent a fundamental a fundamental determining determining agent for agent the topographical for the topographical layout of layout the city, of theat times city, ateven times overshadowing even overshadowing the palace the or palace competing or competing on an equal on an footing equal footingwith it and with other it and civilian other civilianof military of military establishments” establishments” (Fales 2013, (Fales p. 2013 91)., p.The 91). temple The temple itself contained itself contained one or one more or morecellae cellae with with a raised a raised platform platform for for accommoda accommodatingting the the divinity divinity (represented(represented byby his/her his/her statue),statue), who,who, accordingaccording toto thethe iconographyiconography ofof laterlater cylindercylinder sealsseals (Figure(Figure3 ),3), we we should should 4 probablyprobably imagine imagine seated seated on on a a throne. throne.4 Later directories of temple names,5 which survive primarily from the first millennium BCE, as well as ritual texts and offering lists reveal that temples housed many divinities. To some extent, these represented the “family” and retinue of the patron deity, whose court was modeled on those of human rulers, and also included minor deities of the local pantheon.6 The perception of divinity and the pantheon as sociomorphic (Pongratz-Leisten, forthcoming b) and the fact that the materiality and operation of the temple mirrored the human way of life lay the groundwork for investigating the conflation of temple, divinity, and city as promoted in the texts of ancient Mesopotamia. ReligionsReligions 20212021, 12, 12, x, 638FOR PEER REVIEW 3 of3 of12 11 Religions 2021, 12, x FOR PEER REVIEW 3 of 12 (a)( a) (b()b ) FigureFigureFigure 2. 2. ( a2.()a (Courtyard)a Courtyard) Courtyard House House House (after (after (after Roaf Roaf Roaf 1995, 1995 1995, 426, 426426 Figure FigureFigure 3e); 3e);3e); ((b ((()b bTripartite)) Tripartite Tripartite Temple Temple Temple (White (White (White Temple) Temple) Temple) of of ofthe the the Uruk Uruk Uruk Period PeriodPeriod (after Roaf 1995, 430 Figure 7).