There is no definite statement on the subject in the texts, but it seems that the Babylonians and Akkadians thought that any good or virtuous actions performed in this world were rewarded by long life and prosperity in this world, and not by a life of bliss in the next. Therefore they made the most of their life in this world, and thought with sorrow of the time when they would be obliged to leave the "warm precincts of the cheerful day." But every man wished to be properly buried in the earth, for it was believed that the spirit of the unburied man wandered about the village by night, eating whatever it could find to satisfy its hunger, and drinking dirty water to slake its thirst. The Underworld must therefore have provided food and drink for the spirits of the dead which dwelt there.
- from page 180, Babylonian Life and History