The religious attitude of a particular community, therefore, must have
been largely dependent on its needs and experiences. The food supply
was a first consideration. At Eridu, as we have seen, it was assured
by devotion to Ea and obedience to his commands as an instructor.
Elsewhere it might happen, however, that Ea's gifts were restricted or
withheld by an obstructing force--the raging storm god, or the
parching, pestilence-bringing deity of the sun. It was necessary,
therefore, for the people to win the favour of the god or goddess who
seemed most powerful, and was accordingly considered to be the
greatest in a particular district. A rain god presided over the
destinies of one community, and a god of disease and death over
another; a third exalted the war god, no doubt because raids were
frequent and the city owed its strength and prosperity to its battles
and conquests. The reputation won by a particular god throughout
Babylonia would depend greatly on the achievements of his worshippers
and the progress of the city civilization over which he presided.
Bel-Enlil's fame as a war deity was probably due to the political
supremacy of his city of Nippur; and there was probably good reason
for attributing to the sun god a pronounced administrative and legal
character; he may have controlled the destinies of exceedingly well
organized communities in which law and order and authority were held
in high esteem.

In accounting for the rise of distinctive and rival city deities, we
should also consider the influence of divergent conceptions regarding
the origin of life in mingled communities. Each foreign element in a
community had its own intellectual life and immemorial tribal
traditions, which reflected ancient habits of life and perpetuated the
doctrines of eponymous ancestors. Among the agricultural classes, the