“Between the Mouth of the Two Rivers”. The Agency of Water, Springs, Rivers and Trees in ancient Mesopotamian Cosmology and Religion

Abstract

This contribution offers an anthropological view of holy waters, springs, sacred rivers, and
trees in the ancient Mesopotamian religious framework. Water is omnipresent in Mesopotamian
myths and rituals, particularly in association with the cosmic Apsû, the primeval
source of all waters. The pristine waters flow out through springs in the mountains and form
the flowing bodies of rivers. For the Babylonians and Assyrians, rivers and watercourses
were sacred and cosmic entities, often worshipped as deities. The Tigris and the Euphrates
particularly appeared as river deities, with life-giving, motherly, healing, and judging roles.
This essay considers the interrelationships between the Apsû, springs and sacred rivers, and
the associated sacred trees, mountains and anthropomorphic deities, to shed new light onto
ancient Mesopotamian notions about nature, religion, and the cosmos.