Each Sumerian city-state was dedicated to a patron deity, and this deity’s temple––called the ziggurat––was the city’s most important building. The rulers of each city-state performed a hybrid role that was part priest and part king. Using these details, what can you infer about the importance of religion in traditional Sumerian life?
The Sumerians were probably the first to write down their beliefs, which were the inspiration for much of later Mesopotamian mythology, religion, and astrology. Sumerians believed that the universe consisted of a flat disk enclosed by a tin dome.
