afterlife

   Unlike Christians, Muslims, and members of some ancient Greek and Roman mystery religions, most ancient Mesopotamians did not envision an afterlife in which the good are rewarded and the wicked are punished. Nonetheless, the concept of immortality was clearly fascinating and appealing to the Sumerians, the Babylonians, and other peoples who inhabited Mesopotamia. This is revealed in the ancient literature of the region, notably in the Epic of Gilgamesh and the story Adapa. The title characters of these works expend considerable time and energy searching for the secrets of eternal life. However, these works also show that the gods consistently deny humans the gift of immortality. In Gilgamesh's tale, the boatman Siduri warns the hero:

   No man walks on the deadly night sea as Shamash [god of the Sun] does. Shamash is the only one who can. When [a] mortal takes a step, quick he sinks, and just as quick comes death. ... O Mighty King, remember now that only gods stay in eternal watch. Humans come, then go; that is the way fate decreed on the Tablets of

   Destiny. So someday you will depart, but till that distant day sing, and dance, eat your fill of warm cooked food and cool jugs of beer. Cherish the children your love gave life. Bathe away life's dirt in warm drawn waters. Pass the time in joy with your chosen wife. On the Tablets of Destiny it is decreed for you to enjoy short pleasures for your short days. (Epic ofGil-gamesh 10.2-3)

   Nevertheless, some ancient Mesopotamian texts mention a place where human souls might go following death. And evidence suggests that many people believed in its existence. Called variously the Land of the Dead, Great Earth, or the Land of No Return, it was ruled by the goddess Ereshkigal and the god Nergal, who lived in a palace made of the semiprecious stone lapis lazuli. Outside of that palace, the Land of No Return seems to have resembled the Plain of Asphodel in the Greco-Roman Underworld - a dismal, gray, uninviting place where souls simply existed, experiencing neither suffering nor joy, neither reward nor punishment. One surviving text describes it as "the house whose entrants are bereft of [lack] light, where dust is their sustenance and clay their food. They see no light but dwell in darkness." It was thought that ghosts of the dead could return to Earth on certain occasions, especially during a celebration known as "the return of the dead," held in the month of Abu (July/August). Any ghosts who harassed the living during these visits were punished by the Sun god, Shamash, who presided over a court in the Land of No Return. After the spirits were honored in the festival, they had to return to their dreary abode in the nether world.

   Considering how uninviting the afterlife seemed to be, it is not surprising that most Mesopotamians were taught that they should make the best of their earthly lives since there was little if anything to look forward to after death. Thus, leading a decent, honest, constructive life was a common goal, not because of the rewards it might bring later, but because it was the will of the gods, who supposedly knew what was best for humanity.

   See also: Epic of Gilgamesh; religion