Morality

There was a moral aspect to Babylonian religion for it was generally believed that good behavior, which included worship of and offerings to the gods, would win divine favor although some, as noted above in the discussion of wisdom literature, questioned this idea. Many of the gods did not behave in a very upright or sober manner, however, and there is the intriguing case of the goddess Ishtar who tried to seduce Gilgamesh. The hero rejected her erotic advances, denouncing her for the evil fate that she had inflicted upon all her previous lovers.