Meet the absentee gods and nefarious spirits of ancient Mesopotamia

Ancient Mesopotamians believed that a deity was assigned to every person at birth. It’s a fine sentiment, except that these deities were, like the people they were tasked with protecting, fickle creatures who couldn’t always be relied upon. And, in their moments of abdication, there was a variety of demons interested in seizing the opportunity to disrupt and disturb their lives. In this short video from the British Museum, the Assyriologist Irving Finkel details several stone carvings to explore the complex web of unseen deities, sprites and ghosts that ancient Mesopotamians believed could affect their lives, and which reflected the very real anxieties and dangers of their time. For more from the always-entertaining Finkel, watch his lecture on cuneiform writing.