Submitted by Spectre on
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The ancient Mesopotamians believed that the world was populated by powerful demons—semi-divine spirits—that affected many aspects of human life.
Sometimes these demons were identified with natural phenomena, such as winds or thunderstorms, but they could also represent the devastating illnesses that afflicted the population. Men and women, unable to understand the cause of diseases, viewed them as supernatural attacks or punishment from the gods and looked for ways to cure or counteract them.