passions
attributed to the gods of Babylonia in Herodotus be of early date or
not is uncertain--a late period, when the religion began to
degenerate, would seem to be the more probable.

The adoration of sacred objects.

It is probable that objects belonging to or dedicated to deities were
not originally worshipped--they were held as divine in consequence of
their being possessed or used by a deity, like the bow of Merodach,
placed in the heavens as a constellation, etc. The cities where the
gods dwelt on earth, their temples, their couches, the chariot of the
sun in his temple-cities, and everything existing in connection with
their worship, were in all probability regarded as divine simply in so
far as they belonged to a god. Sacrifices offered to them, and
invocations made to them, were in all likelihood regarded as having
been made to the deity himself, the possessions of the divinity being,
in the minds of the Babylonians, pervaded with his spirit. In the case
of rivers, these were divine as being the children and offspring of
Enki (Aa or Ea), the god of the ocean.

Holy places.

In a country which was originally divided into many small states, each
having its own deities, and, to a certain extent, its own religious
system, holy places were naturally numerous. As the spot where they
placed Paradise, Babylonia was itself a holy place, but in all
probability this idea is late, and only came into existence after the
legends of the creation and the rise of Merodach to the kingship of
heaven had become elaborated into one homogeneous whole.

An interesting list.

One of the most interesting documents referring to the holy places of
Babylonia is a tiny tablet found at Nineveh, and preserved in the
British Museum. This text begins with the word Tiawthu "the sea," and
goes on to enumerate, in turn, Tilmun (identified with the island of
Bahrein in the Persian Gulf); Engurra (the Abyss, the abode of Enki or
Ea), with numerous temples and shrines, including "the holy house,"
"the temple of the seer of heaven and earth," "the abode of
Zer-panitum," consort of Merodach, "the throne of the holy place," "the
temple of the region of Hades," "the supreme temple of life," "the
temple of the ear of the corn-deity," with many others, the whole list
containing what may be regarded as the chief sanctuaries of the land,
to the number of thirty-one. Num