This article examines changes in the images of kingship in Sumerian literature, particularly in the hymns, myths, and narratives of the late third and early second millennia bc. It investigates whether ancient Mesopotamian kings were able to influence and model intellectual activity in order to maintain and support their political rule. The analysis reveals that royal hymns and other literary texts, such as the Sumerian Gilgameš tales and the narratives surrounding Enmerkar and Lugalbanda, the legendary kings of Uruk, disseminated an 'ideal' image of the king as a centre of social and cosmic order.

The idea that any living human being could be worshipped like a god may appear to some people unfathomable or sacrilegious. This is related to how the distinction between humans and god(s) is perceived in a given cultural context; divinity is a concept that has been understood very differently throughout history. This is not a new point but remains all too often underappreciated when discussing the blurring of lines between human and god as evidenced in the deification of kings. In ancient Mesopotamia, one of the oldest high civilizations in the world, it was a short‐lived but nevertheless interesting phenomenon. The first instances of royal deification occur in the third millennium bce during times of political expansion and centralization. Whether this worship continued into the second millennium bce is still a matter of contention, yet Mesopotamian kings always maintained a close proximity to the divine to legitimize and bolster their power.

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The enigmatic Sumerian term M E designates a key concept in Sumerian religion and culture. It has often been translated as “divine ordinance,” “divine power,” or the like and is thought to denote the divine power inherent in any key aspect of human civilization.