Religion and Humanity in Mesopotamian Myth and Epic

Legendary heroes
In Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta, the king Enmerkar is able to benefit from divine wisdom owing 
to his special relationship with the goddess Inanna. Enmerkar’s “cleverness” is crucial for his 
success in the poem, but it also shows the cultural superiority of Sumer, which gives literary 
representation to the moral, physical, intellectual, and technical benefits of civilization.
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The 
bond between king, deities, and the success and superiority of the city is also central to the plot of 
the Sumerian epic Enmerkar and Ensukheshdanna. In this story, two rival kings fight for the divine 
favor of the goddess Inanna. Their contest culminates in a battle of wizardry fought by two 
human proxies, with the wise woman Sagburu (on the side of Enmerkar) defeating the sorcerer 
representing the rival king.
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 The battle of wizardry shows the two opponents conjuring various 
animals, with the sorcerer’s animals no match for those of Sagburu; the actual fighting in this 
epic occurs through the animal proxies. The victory of Sumer’s white magic over the black magic 
of Aratta shows its moral superiority, and the focus on food supply shows the critical nature of 
divine favor.
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The wise woman expresses her surprise at the audacity of the sorcerer, who had 
been using his magic against a city whose fate was determined by the gods. In both epics, the 
king’s rule over his people and territory is clearly dependent upon the favor of the divine.
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The heroic king Lugalbanda is the recipient of divine healing in Lugalbanda and the Mountain Cave. 
The prayers of Lugalbanda are shown to be effective in gaining the support of the primary deities 
Utu, Inanna, and Nanna (the Sumerian moon god), and Lugalbanda’s religious piety is shown in 
his prayers and sacrifices of thanksgiving. In the Sumerian epic Lugalbanda and the Anzud Bird, 
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