“Between the Mouth of the Two Rivers”

Abstract

This contribution offers an anthropological view of holy waters, springs, sacred rivers, and trees in the ancient Mesopotamian religious framework. Water is omnipresent in Mesopotamian myths and rituals, particularly in association with the cosmic Apsû, the primeval source of all waters. The pristine waters flow out through springs in the mountains and form the flowing bodies of rivers. For the Babylonians and Assyrians, rivers and watercourses were sacred and cosmic entities, often worshipped as deities. The Tigris and the Euphrates particularly appeared as river deities, with life-giving, motherly, healing, and judging roles. This essay considers the interrelationships between the Apsû, springs and sacred rivers, and the associated sacred trees, mountains and anthropomorphic deities, to shed new light onto ancient Mesopotamian notions about nature, religion, and the cosmos.