Ancient Sumeria was positioned between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in an area that is now modern day Iraq however it also expanded its territory out into what is now Kuwait bordering the Persian gulf.
The Sumerian culture was ruled over by kings who were advised by priests, in the early days of the kingdom these advisors were said to be Apkallu - supernatural beings on lone from the Gods but in later history after the time of king Gilgamesh they were humans, they would likely have been the head scribes of the builder cults responsible for writting the history, mythology and laws of the land alongside planning out the expanse of borders of the cities and towns of Sumer.
In ancient Sumerian culture there are a number of interesting religious festivals and observances many of these relate to a lunar calander. During the lunar month Sumerians were given six days of resting where they would take part in games and entertainments alongside three days of pure rest and three days of lunar festivities.
The biggest celebration in the Sumerian world was during December and lasted twelve days in celebration of the new year termed “Zagmuk” it celebrated Marduks victory over Tiamat/Nammu which like this festival was said to last twelve days. In some variations Marduk is slain by Tiamat/Nammu on the winter solstice and resurrected on the spring equinox. It was customary for the Sumerian king to play the role of Marduk in ritual and ceremonial re-enactments that accompanied the feasting. The king in the role of Marduk would be freed from the underworld by his son playing the role of the scribe God Nabu. On the tenth day of the ceremony the king would perform the ritual of sacred marriage or Hieros Gamos (known as “Hasadu” in Sumeria) with a high priestess from the temple of Ishtar acting in the role of a Hierodule (Sacred prostitute) this priestess would have been from the specialist class of “Naditum” which symbolised that she was either entierly celibate or had sworn an oath not to bare children in her role during the Hieros Gamos ritual the priestess was known as the “Entu” she would usually invoke the Goddess Ishtar just as the king had invoked the God Marduk (or sometimes Tammuz) although the pair might instead invoke Anu and Ki in any case the merging of the fertile earth represented by Ishtar or Ki with the water of the sky represented by Marduk or Anu was thought to being fertility to the land invoking rainfall so that crops might grow and rejuvinating the entire cosmos just as the primordial forces before them had done. The human hosts involved were seen as vessels for the divine union of the God forms they assumed and it was necissary for a king to confirm his right to rule by partaking in these rituals. These rituals involved the copulation of the king and the priestess and may have initially been public they were later confined to a sacred and specially prepared bridal chamber where in a room above them the statues of the deities they were embodying were placed in a bed together. If an eclipse fell during any of the twelve days of the festival it was considered a bad omen and the king may be replaced with another man who agrees to perform the ritual taking on any misfortune that might occur as a result. On the last day of the festival the king would be anointed in sacred herbs and sacrificed so that he might fight at Marduks side, in later traditions a stand in (usually a criminal was used instead). It was considered a good omen of the fertility of the land if the Entu priestess became pregnant as a result of the union and a bad omen if she remained barren. In later history the priestesses of the temple of Ishtar would wear veils during the ceremony and sit in the temple where men would throw gold into their laps for the upkeep of the temple in exchange for initiation into the mysteries of sex and sexual ritual magics.
It is also interesting to note that by the time of the later Babylonian interpretation of these festivals in their own Akitu festival the king would be ceremonially stripped of his crown, scepter and jewels and humiliated and slapped by the high priest acting in the role of Marduk this strongly suggests that the builder cult priests began to rule the kings from behind the scenes in a much more dominating and obvious way than in their previous role as advisors.
