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Abstract
Three kinds of sources: Personal names, diĝir-ša3-dab(5)-ba prayers (prayers addressed to the personal gods) and dialogues between a Man and his God give us a privileged access to private piety in Mesopotamia. The personal gods have a protective function similar to the protective spirits (šēdu and lamassu) but are said also to create (banû or walādu) man. Man’s relationship to his personal gods is one of parent-to-child and not one of king-to-subject as is the case with the national gods. Appeasing the anger of the personal gods requires the accomplishment of penitential rituals like ilī ul īdi “My god, I did not know”, magical rituals and dream omens. In these texts Man shows a sense of guilt and expects the compassion of his personal gods. The Mesopotamian culture does not show a preponderance of shame over guilt. We try to show the originality of the Mesopotamian concept of person.