Food for the Temples

Mann considered ideology a form of major power for the formation of societies. Ideology gave people a reason for why things were the way they were and could force the members to perform actions they wouldn’t normally in a peaceful way. Therefore, it is no surprise about the amount of work that was put in to maintain the temple. The Babylonians regarded ideology in a way that almost undermined the living citizens.

After creating a statue for a god, it was placed in a temple, taken care of by priests and others who work for the temple. However, “the bulk of the deities’ upkeep in the temples was food.” (182) Daily, the temples were served four meals and on special occasions, even more. Under Nebuchadenezzar II, Ishtar’s statue received “the equivalent of the basic food ration for 100 people.” (183) The amount of resources being put in for just idols could have been used for other ventures to help the citizens. But the Babylonians must have thought pleasing the gods would eventually lead to a better society and lives for the people.

However, the food was not all going to waste, as the deities were able to eat the food “in a symbolic fashion” and the rest the erib biti and some prebendaries were able to eat. This was a privilege though, so in this way even the food system at the temple reflected some sort of hierarchy.