Editing Dream interpretation (section)

===Early civilizations===
[[File:Tablet V of the Epic of Gligamesh.JPG|thumb|The ancient [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] ''[[Epic of Gilgamesh]]'' (''Tablet V pictured'') contains numerous examples of dream interpretation.<ref name="BlackGreen1992"/>]]

The ancient [[Sumer]]ians in [[Mesopotamia]] have left evidence of dream interpretation dating back to at least 3100 BC in Mesopotamia.<ref name="Seligman">Seligman, K. (1948), ''Magic, Supernaturalism and Religion''. New York: Random House</ref><ref name="BlackGreen1992"/> Throughout Mesopotamian history, dreams were always held to be extremely important for [[divination]]<ref name="BlackGreen1992"/><ref name="Oppenheim">Oppenheim, L.A. (1966). ''Mantic Dreams in the Ancient Near East'' in G. E. Von Grunebaum & R. Caillois (Eds.), ''The Dream and Human Societies'' (pp. 341–350). London, England: Cambridge University Press.</ref> and Mesopotamian kings paid close attention to them.<ref name="BlackGreen1992"/><ref name="Seligman"/> [[Gudea]], the king of the Sumerian city-state of [[Lagash]] (reigned {{circa}} 2144–2124 BC), rebuilt the temple of [[Ningirsu]] as the result of a dream in which he was told to do so.<ref name="BlackGreen1992"/> The standard [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] ''[[Epic of Gilgamesh]]'' contains numerous accounts of the prophetic power of dreams.<ref name="BlackGreen1992">{{cite book|last1=Black|first1=Jeremy|first2=Anthony|last2=Green|title=Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia: An Illustrated Dictionary|location=Austin, Texas|publisher=University of Texas Press|year=1992|isbn=0714117056|pages=71–72, 89–90}}</ref><ref>Thompson, R. (1930) ''The Epic of Gilgamesh.'' Oxford: Oxford University Press.</ref><ref>George, A. trans. (2003) The Babylonian Gilgamesh Epic: Critical Edition and Cuneiform Texts. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.</ref> First, [[Gilgamesh]] himself has two dreams foretelling the arrival of [[Enkidu]].<ref name="BlackGreen1992"/> In one of these dreams, Gilgamesh sees an axe fall from the sky. The people gather around it in admiration and worship. Gilgamesh throws the axe in front of his mother [[Ninsun]] and then embraces it like a wife. Ninsun interprets the dream to mean that someone powerful will soon appear. Gilgamesh will struggle with him and try to overpower him, but he will not succeed. Eventually, they will become close friends and accomplish great things. She concludes, "That you embraced him like a wife means he will never forsake you. Thus your dream is solved."<ref>Oppenheim, A. (1956) The interpretation of dreams in the ancient Near East with a translation of an Assyrian dreambook. ''Transactions of the American Philosophical Society,'' 46(3): 179–373. p. 247.</ref> Later in the epic, Enkidu dreams about the heroes' encounter with the giant [[Humbaba]].<ref name="BlackGreen1992"/> Dreams were also sometimes seen as a means of seeing into other worlds<ref name="BlackGreen1992"/> and it was thought that the soul, or some part of it, moved out of the body of the sleeping person and actually visited the places and persons the dreamer saw in his or her sleep.<ref name=":2">Caillois, R. (1966). ''Logical and Philosophical Problems of the Dream''. In G.E. Von Grunebaum & R. Caillos (Eds.), ''The Dream and Human Societies''(pp. 23–52). London, England: Cambridge University Press.</ref> In Tablet VII of the epic, Enkidu recounts to Gilgamesh a dream in which he saw the gods [[Anu]], [[Enlil]], and [[Shamash]] condemn him to death.<ref name="BlackGreen1992"/> He also has a dream in which he visits the [[Kur|Underworld]].<ref name="BlackGreen1992"/>

The [[Assyria]]n king [[Ashurnasirpal II]] (reigned 883–859 BC) built a temple to Mamu, possibly the god of dreams, at [[Imgur-Enlil]], near [[Kalhu]].<ref name="BlackGreen1992"/> The later Assyrian king [[Ashurbanipal]] (reigned 668–{{circa}} 627 BC) had a dream during a desperate military situation in which his divine patron, the goddess [[Inanna|Ishtar]], appeared to him and promised that she would lead him to victory.<ref name="BlackGreen1992"/> The [[Babylonia]]ns and Assyrians divided dreams into "good," which were sent by the gods, and "bad," sent by demons.<ref name="Oppenheim"/> A surviving collection of dream omens entitled ''[[Iškar Zaqīqu]]'' records various dream scenarios as well as [[Prognosis|prognostications]] of what will happen to the person who experiences each dream, apparently based on previous cases.<ref name="BlackGreen1992"/><ref>Nils P. Heessel : ''Divinatorische Texte I : ... oneiromantische Omina''. Harrassowitz Verlag, 2007.</ref> Some list different possible outcomes, based on occasions in which people experienced similar dreams with different results.<ref name="BlackGreen1992"/> Dream scenarios mentioned include a variety of daily work events, journeys to different locations, family matters, [[Human sexual activity|sex act]]s, and encounters with human individuals, animals, and deities.<ref name="BlackGreen1992"/>
[[File:Tissot Joseph Interprets Pharaoh's Dream.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Joseph Interprets Pharaoh's Dream (watercolor circa 1896–1902 by James Tissot)]]

In [[ancient Egypt]], priests acted as dream interpreters. [[Hieroglyph]]ics depicting dreams and their interpretations are evident. Dreams have been held in considerable importance through history by most cultures.