The Ritual
Ananya Sri Ram – USA
Akitu Festival: A Celebration of New Beginnings in Ancient Mesopotamia
There are little anecdotes in a calendar I have. The most recent one is about a ritual called “The Trial of the King” that supposedly took place in ancient Mesopotamia during the Akitu festival. The festival was to appease the gods and for the ruler to show humility. (It must be noted that I could find anything that mentions whether this was historically true, parts of the anecdote don’t seem to fit, but the sentiment is something to reflect upon.)