History Main / MesopotamianMonstrosity

* ''Manga/AnatoliaStory'' follows a girl named Yuri who is summoned from modern-day Japan to the Hittite Empire of the past in order to be used as a sacrifice by a sorceress queen, but the prince of the empire saves her by declaring her to be the war goddess Ishtar. Almost the whole story takes place in either the Hittite Empire or in Egypt, with Yuri's struggle in adapting to the culture being only part of her troubles.

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In a pinch, an ancient supernatural menace can also come from somewhere else in UsefulNotes/TheMiddleEast, especially [[Myth/CanaaniteMythology the Levant]] (which drew some cultural influence from Mesopotamia, as well as from UsefulNotes/AncientEgypt and the Hittites). It helps that Literature/TheBible mentions both Mesopotamian and Levantine kingdoms among the various foes of UsefulNotes/{{Israel}} and Judah, meaning that (like the NephariousPharaoh) this trope can overlap with BiblicalBadGuy.

Mesopotamian mythology has remained relatively obscure, but the relative lack of knowledge about it has actually worked in its favor in modern pop culture, allowing it to serve as a ripe opportunity for an original GeniusBonus or FramingDevice, in contrast to the more frequently-used and so over-familiar references to Classical and Egyptian mythologies. It is especially common to have demons or other supernatural beings have an origin from this civilization; the sheer archaic weirdness of their original descriptions (along with some massive ValuesDissonance) makes them suitably uncanny for the purpose. Such uses serve as a modern alternative to the use of [[CurseOfThePharaoh Egyptian spirits]] or demons, which was extremely common in the early 20th century.

In a pinch, an ancient supernatural menace can also come from somewhere else in UsefulNotes/TheMiddleEast, especially [[Myth/CanaaniteMythology the Levant]] (which drew some cultural influence from Mesopotamia, as well as from UsefulNotes/AncientEgypt and the Hittites). It helps that Literature/TheBible mentions both Mesopotamian and Levantine kingdoms among the various foes of UsefulNotes/{{Israel}} and Judah, meaning that this trope can overlap with BiblicalBadGuy.

In a pinch, an otherworldly menace can also come from somewhere else in UsefulNotes/TheMiddleEast, especially [[Myth/CanaaniteMythology the Levant]] (which drew some cultural influence from Mesopotamia, as well as from UsefulNotes/AncientEgypt and the Hittites). It helps that Literature/TheBible mentions both Mesopotamian and Levantine kingdoms among the various foes of UsefulNotes/{{Israel}} and Judah, meaning that this trope can overlap with BiblicalBadGuy.

** Numerous {{demon lords|AndArchdevils}} take their names from Mesopotamian Mythology, such as [[SeaMonster Dagon]], [[FeatheredFiend Pazuzu]], [[RiddlingSphinx Areshkagal]], [[MonsterProgenitor Lamashtu]], [[WarIsHell Nergal]] and [[TheArchmage Abraxas]].

In a pinch, an otherworldly menace can also come from somewhere else in UsefulNotes/TheMiddleEast, including [[Myth/CanaaniteMythology the Levant]] (which drew some cultural influence from Mesopotamia, as well as from UsefulNotes/AncientEgypt and the Hittites). It helps that Literature/TheBible mentions both Mesopotamian and Levantine kingdoms among the various foes of UsefulNotes/{{Israel}} and Judah, meaning that this trope can overlap with BiblicalBadGuy.

* In ''Literature/TheShadowOverInnsmouth'' by Creator/HPLovecraft, the deity worshiped by the monstrous FishPeople is referred to by the name of Dagon, a Myth/{{Canaanite|Mythology}} deity sometimes interpreted as being a merperson or otherwise related to fish. Various other writers working on the Franchise/CthulhuMythos have expanded on this reference.

* Another Canaanite variant appears in ''Literature/GoodOmens'', with Crowley's alias "Nanny Ashtoreth" derived from the Phoenician version of the Mesopotamian goddess Ishtar.

* In "Literature/TheShadowOverInnsmouth" by Creator/HPLovecraft, the deity worshiped by the monstrous FishPeople is referred to by the name of Dagon, a Myth/{{Canaanite|Mythology}} deity sometimes interpreted as being a merperson or otherwise related to fish. Various other writers working on the Franchise/CthulhuMythos have expanded on this reference.

* In "Literature/TheShadowOverInnsmouth" by Creator/HPLovecraft, the deity worshiped by the monstrous FishPeople is referred to by the name of Dagon, a UsefulNotes/{{Canaanite|Mythology}} deity sometimes interpreted as being a merperson or otherwise related to fish. Various other writers working on the Franchise/CthulhuMythos have expanded on this reference.

In a pinch, an otherworldly menace can also come from somewhere else in UsefulNotes/TheMiddleEast, including [[Myth/CanaaniteMythology the Levant]] (which drew some cultural influence from Mesopotamia, as well as from UsefulNotes/AncientEgypt and the Hittites). It helps that UsefulNotes/TheBible mentions both Mesopotamian and Levantine kingdoms among the various foes of UsefulNotes/{{Israel}} and Judah, meaning that this trope can overlap with BiblicalBadGuy.

The Mesopotamian cities and nations (including Sumer, Assyria, Babylon, and many others) are one of the oldest known major civilizations in the history of mankind, and had a [[Myth/MesopotamianMythology mythology]] as grand as any other, including the oldest of all surviving heroic epics, ''Literature/TheEpicOfGilgamesh''. However, unlike with many other ancient civilizations, knowledge about Mesopotamia's culture almost completely died out until its rediscovery by archaeologists the mid-19th century. This gap led to the many centuries of Mesopotamian mythology having far less cultural impact than its later successors, such as Myth/{{Classical|Mythology}} and Myth/EgyptianMythology.

* In "Literature/TheShadowOverInnsmouth" by Creator/HPLovecraft, the deity worshiped by the monstrous FishPeople is referred to by the name of Dagon, a Mesopotamian deity sometimes interpreted as being a merperson or otherwise related to fish. Various other writers working on the Franchise/CthulhuMythos have expanded on this reference.

The Mesopotamian cities and nations (including the Sumerians, Assyrians, Babylonians, and many others) are one of the oldest known major civilizations in the history of mankind, and had a [[Myth/MesopotamianMythology mythology]] as grand as any other, including the oldest of all surviving heroic epics, ''Literature/TheEpicOfGilgamesh''. However, unlike with many other ancient civilizations, knowledge about Mesopotamia's culture almost completely died out until its rediscovery by archaeologists the mid-19th century. This gap led to the many centuries of Mesopotamian mythology having far less cultural impact than its later successors, such as Myth/{{Classical|Mythology}} and Myth/EgyptianMythology.

* ''[[Franchise/{{Alien}} The Alien Franchise'': Long before descending into misanthropy, the Engineers influenced the development of and were worshipped by many human cultures in antiquity. Mesopotamia was one such civilisation, and it is implied that cuneiform derives from the Engineers' writing system.

* ''Franchise/{{Alien}}'': Long before descending into misanthropy, the Engineers influenced the development of and were worshipped by many human cultures in antiquity. Mesopotamia was one such civilisation, and it is implied that cuneiform derives from the Engineers' writing system.

* ''Franchise/{{Alien}}'': Long before descending into misanthropy, the Engineers influenced the development of and got worshipped by many human cultures in antiquity. Mesopotamia was one such civilisation as its implied that cuneiform derives from the Engineers' writing system.

* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', most of the gods of the Western Continent are named after Mesopotamian gods, a few examples being Tiamat and Nergal. The few we know about are GodsOfEvil, and it's implied that the whole pantheon might be as well, since the whole continent is a WretchedHive ruled by an EvilOverlord. The whole continent is also ArabianNightsDays-themed, so it fits the setting as well.

* In one story of ''ComicBook/TheSandman'', Morpheus (who frequently gets to deal with deities, who after all originate in his realm of dreams) has brief dealings with the Babylonian goddess Ishtar, who has been reduced to dancing in a modern strip club. Where else could a rather dark sex-goddess find mass worship?

The Mesopotamian civilizations (including the Sumerians, Assyrians, Babylonians, and many others) are one of the oldest known major civilizations in the history of mankind, and had a [[Myth/MesopotamianMythology mythology]] as grand as any other, including the oldest of all surviving heroic epics, ''Literature/TheEpicOfGilgamesh''. However, unlike with many other ancient civilizations, knowledge about Mesopotamia's culture almost completely died out until its rediscovery by archaeologists the mid-19th century. This gap led to the many centuries of Mesopotamian mythology having far less cultural impact than its later successors, such as Myth/{{Classical|Mythology}} and Myth/EgyptianMythology.

The Mesopotamian civilization (including the Sumerians, Babylonians, and Hittites) is one of the oldest known major civilizations in the history of mankind, and had a [[Myth/MesopotamianMythology mythology]] as grand as any other, including the oldest of all surviving heroic epics, ''Literature/TheEpicOfGilgamesh''. However, unlike with many other ancient civilizations, knowledge about Mesopotamia's culture almost completely died out until its rediscovery by archaeologists the mid-19th century. This gap led to the many centuries of Mesopotamian mythology having far less cultural impact than its later successors, such as Myth/{{Classical|Mythology}} and Myth/EgyptianMythology.

* ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'': The Worldbreaker series of skins is based on Mesopotamian mythology.

** ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'': The Worldbreaker series of skins is based on Mesopotamian mythology.

* ''Film/Ghostbusters1984'': Gozer is an interdimensional being who was worshiped by the Sumerians (not Babylonians) as a god when it and its minions first appeared on Earth.

* Myth/{{Lilith}}: It has been suggested that the Jewish/Christian myth of Lilith originated in the demonic ''lilitu'' of Mesopotamian legend. If so (and this isn’t certain), this is an unusual medieval instance of the trope.