Early religion appears, from archaeology of Eridu temples (Urbaid Period), to have been about sacrifices made to a kind of universally acknowledged topmost god then maybe to other gods later as more cities were built by the patron gods who were lower than the top God. The temples built in service to God and gods had men working there who used to fish and catch small animals both to sacrifice and to feed the visitors and these workers themselves in their service: so it seems from bones found around the altars and from oral and later written traditions about these times (e.g. ‘Adapa and the South Wind’). Did these men later called priests and kings ever seek to use their position to control people? It would have been documented if they did. Record management developed in Uruk around these practices. The records would show evidence if it happened that control was wielded by these men. It is not a major feature of these times. What we do find is a corruption period arising around that time but not based on the religious priests but on dreaded marauders who forced people to hide in holes dug and extremely hard to reach caves. The magic arts period coincided with this around 3200 to 3100 BC as evident from Levant archaeology such as the Nahal Mishmar finds. Tradition says it was offspring of the inventors of Chalcolithic technologies who, as sorcerers of greater-than-average size (giants), wrought havoc. Priests and kings were typically noble and well regarded in comparison. Evil people controlled society as oligarchs who were served as gods. The earliest named such person is Gilgamesh. The Epic of Gilgamesh tells how society tried in vain to stop his atrocities. He became a tyrannical demigod. Even though he was a hero later venerated like Hercules. He was not a religious leader but was an enemy of the gods whose cedar forests he destroyed.
