Myths of the Sumerians

This book invites you to lift the millennia-old veil of mystery over the life and beliefs of the legendary Sumerians, who lived, as we all remember from school, in the "cradle of civilization" — between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. You will learn what the civilization of the inhabitants of Mesopotamia was like, understand how Sumer, Babylonia, Akkad, and Assyria are connected, get acquainted with the pantheon and bestiary of Sumerian mythology, and one of the oldest literary works of humanity — the "Epic of Gilgamesh." You will encounter thrilling, dangerous, and mysterious stories about the dual goddess of love and war Inanna, about personified fate appearing as the demon of death Namtaru, about the land of the dead, from which there is no return and where the god Nergal and the goddess Ereshkigal reign, about terrifying demons and vampires, and about kind protective spirits — the winged bulls shedu, the most recognizable symbol of Ancient Mesopotamia.