The Sumero-Akkadian Pantheons mos Important Gods

Although, the Sumero-Akkadian Pantheon was made up of almost two thousand different gods and goddesses there were six major deities known throughout Mesopotamia. These gods were each the chief deities of main cities. However, with time their influence spread throughout other cities. Most of these gods represented the major elements of nature. Following are some examples: An, deity of Uruk, was the god of the sky, Nanna, deity of Ur, was the moon god, and Ea, deity of Eridu, was god of both water and wisdom. (33) There were also some â€Å"lesser deities† who did not deal with aspects of nature, but still had a great impact on that time. One such example was Ishtar, the goddesses and queen of love and fertility who provided women with their†¦show more content†¦Among these conquering invaders were the warriors of Aryan or Indo-European and later the Dorians and their allies. Therefore, the Greek pantheon of deities was developed through a combination of gods and goddesses contributed by each invader. To illustrate, the Indo-European conquers were responsible for the creation of: Zeus, sky god, Demeter, earth mother, and Hestia, virgin goddesses. Other important Greek gods have rather unclear origins for example; Apollo possibly came from Ionia and Aphrodite from either Cyprus or Cythera. (40) 5/ The role of Zeus/Jupiter in Greece and Rome. The god of the sky was known to the Greeks as Zeus, and to the Romans as Jupiter. In Greece he was known as the great sky father he was associated with mountain tops; and therefore, acquired the title Zeus of Olympus along with other similar titles throughout Greece. Zeus’s role sometimes changed and evolved and he would even assume and take over other more mundane duties belonging to the minor gods. For example, at times he was also the god of fertility, guardian god, and deity of the underworld. Despite this he was normally known as the Cloud Compeller and the Rainmaker armed with his thunderbolt to both control the weather and punish wicked men. (41) Jupiter’s role in Rome was similar to that of Greece; however, he seems to have had a greater role in