Priesthood & Temple Office
A god's house needed a staff — high priestess, purifier, lamenter, diviner — each an office mediating heaven and earth.
The god's temple was a household staffed by many kinds of priests and officials, each with a defined office. High priests and priestesses (the en) presided; purification priests kept the cult pure; lamentation singers (gala) performed the liturgies; diviners and exorcists read signs and warded off evil. Some offices were among the most prestigious in the land — the en-priestess of the moon-god at Ur was often a king's daughter, the most famous being Enheduana, a Sargonic princess credited with great hymns. The priesthood mediated the whole transaction between gods and people: feeding, praising, purifying, and consulting the divine.
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