Ancient Sumer: The ancient Sumerians believed in many gods - many, many gods. They believed that everything that happened to them - be it good or bad - was the result of a god's pleasure or displeasure.  Much of their daily life was spent seeking ways to please and appease their gods. In spite of all their efforts, many of their gods remained gloomy anyway.  Ancient Babylon: The ancient Babylonians, who took over the land between two rivers many years after the Sumerians had disappeared, had a different language than the ancient Sumerians, but they believed in most of the same gods. If possible, the ancient Babylonian gods behaved in a manner even more gloomy than before. To the Sumerians, Marduk was an important god. To the Babylonians, Marduk was the most important (and most gloomy) god of all.  Learn more about the gloomy gods of the ancient Mesopotamian people at the famous and fabulous British Museum. Gods & Demons (British Museum)  How Marduk Became King of All the Gods (one version) Babylonian - The Big Myth, Creation Story (another version, narrated)  Religion - Ziggurats & Gods  Ziggurats Free presentations in PowerPoint format  To learn more about Ancient Mesopotamia, click on Gilgamesh