Names and Locations of Cultic Daises

As already mentioned in Tintir 5, among the religious structures of Babylon were not only major temples but many small shrines (Akkadian parakku) containing a pedestal with the symbol or the statue of a deity were sprinkled throughout the entire city, offering religious venues to the wider public usually not admitted into the great sanctuaries.

The existence of these cultic daises is also attested by three texts which list their names according to location.

Names and Locations of Cultic Daises A is transmitted by two tablets, originating from Babylon or Babylonia, and following the format of the Gate Lists of Esagil, with the ceremonial name first and the explanation after, equated by a final MU-šú, i.e. "(is) its name". The shrines listed were located around major temples (e.g. the Eturkalama of Bēlet-Bābili or the Ehursagtila of Ninurta), but their sequence doesn't seem to follow a topographical order.

Names and Locations of Cultic Daises B is less preserved that the previous text, but most likely it was originally part of the same composition. In addition to parakku this list also includes ibratu, a term alluding to open-air shrines already used in Tintir 5, where 180 of them are recalled and described as dedicated to Ištar.

Names and Locations of Cultic Daises C, a small fragment from Babylon, follows the same format as its counterparts and, as can be inferred from the few preserved lines, it deals with shrines located around the Ištar Gate and the Street of the Market Gate.

Further Reading

Giulia Lentini

Giulia Lentini, 'Names and Locations of Cultic Daises', Babylonian Topographical Texts online (BTTo), BTTo, a sub-project of MOCCI, 2022 [http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/btto/Babylon/TextsrelatedtoTintir/NamesandLocationsofCulticDaises/]

 
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