Book contents
- From Ritual to God in the Ancient Near East
- From Ritual to God in the Ancient Near East
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction: Interpreting Religious Materiality in the Ancient Near East
- Part I In the Name of the Spirits
- Part II For the Glory of the Gods
- 3 Constructing Cosmotheism
- 4 Imagining the Divine
- Part III A New Era
- Conclusions
- References
- Index
4 - Imagining the Divine
Consecrating and Venerating Cultic Images in the Ancient Near East
from Part II - For the Glory of the Gods
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 May 2024
Book contents
- From Ritual to God in the Ancient Near East
- From Ritual to God in the Ancient Near East
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction: Interpreting Religious Materiality in the Ancient Near East
- Part I In the Name of the Spirits
- Part II For the Glory of the Gods
- 3 Constructing Cosmotheism
- 4 Imagining the Divine
- Part III A New Era
- Conclusions
- References
- Index
Summary
It is the physical representation of the divinity (i.e., the statue or the iconic representation) that become central for developing forms of religious beliefs among ancient Mesopotamian societies, because the deity was considered present through his/her iconic representation.
This chapter will therefore investigate the importance of the materiality of the divine essence through its representation in statues and other forms of visual depiction in ancient Mesopotamia.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- From Ritual to God in the Ancient Near EastTracing the Origins of Religion, pp. 121 - 162Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2024