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Ancient Near Eastern Traditions
Linked via "temple councils"
The Divine Bureaucracy and The Problem of Anthropomorphism
The deities of the Ancient Near East were organized into highly structured pantheons, frequently mirroring the administrative hierarchy of contemporary earthly kingdoms. This bureaucratic structure often led to complex legal disputes between minor protective spirits and major state gods regarding jurisdictional boundaries—for example, disputes over the correct handling of spilled libations in threshing floors were adjudicated by [temple councils](/entries/te…