In Mesopotamian society, priests and priestesses were equals to the king in power and honor. They were mediators between the gods and the people. Ordinary Mesopotamians looked to the priesthood to gain the favor of the gods, especially the patron god or goddess of their city. Priests and priestesses had many duties and responsibilities but in exchange they received respect, honor and creature comforts.
Each city was organized around the god’s temple, which was a complex of buildings including the temple proper, chambers for the priests and priestesses, workshops, storage areas and public areas. A temple had two chief administrators. One, the en or chief priest, oversaw all sacred and religious duties of all the priests and priestesses. His …show more content…
Temples were not only places of religion, but of commercial activity as well. Temples ran long distance trade networks, owned a third of the land and provided employment to much of the city’s inhabitants. The secular chief administrator was called the sanga in Sumer and shangu in Akkad.
The sanga supervised all of the temples’ businesses. Temples at times employed thousands of weavers to turn the wool collected from the temple’s sheep into lengths of cloth. Each temple had a household staff that provided culinary and housekeeping services for the priesthood. Temples employed accountants, scribes, guards, butchers, messengers, artisans and seamstresses. Temples cared for orphans and charity wards; they also held numerous slaves who worked in a variety of capacities. A temple complex functioned as small city within the city.
Young people who wanted to be a priest or priestess had to be perfect in body and come from a good family. Young boys who showed talent in the scribe schools often became priests. Girls who wanted to be priestesses also went through the literacy education given to boys, the only girls who did. The training to become a priest or priestess was arduous and difficult, but the rewards were great. In general, priests served a male god and priestesses a goddess, though some priestesses worked in the temples of male
Each city was organized around the god’s temple, which was a complex of buildings including the temple proper, chambers for the priests and priestesses, workshops, storage areas and public areas. A temple had two chief administrators. One, the en or chief priest, oversaw all sacred and religious duties of all the priests and priestesses. His …show more content…
Temples were not only places of religion, but of commercial activity as well. Temples ran long distance trade networks, owned a third of the land and provided employment to much of the city’s inhabitants. The secular chief administrator was called the sanga in Sumer and shangu in Akkad.
The sanga supervised all of the temples’ businesses. Temples at times employed thousands of weavers to turn the wool collected from the temple’s sheep into lengths of cloth. Each temple had a household staff that provided culinary and housekeeping services for the priesthood. Temples employed accountants, scribes, guards, butchers, messengers, artisans and seamstresses. Temples cared for orphans and charity wards; they also held numerous slaves who worked in a variety of capacities. A temple complex functioned as small city within the city.
Young people who wanted to be a priest or priestess had to be perfect in body and come from a good family. Young boys who showed talent in the scribe schools often became priests. Girls who wanted to be priestesses also went through the literacy education given to boys, the only girls who did. The training to become a priest or priestess was arduous and difficult, but the rewards were great. In general, priests served a male god and priestesses a goddess, though some priestesses worked in the temples of male