Alla or Alla-gula was a
Mesopotamian god associated with the
underworld
The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld.
...
. He functioned as the
sukkal
Sukkal (conventionally translated from Sumerian as "vizier") was a term which could denote both a type of official and a class of deities in ancient Mesopotamia. The historical sukkals were responsible for overseeing the execution of various com ...
(attendant deity) of
Ningishzida
Ningishzida ( Sumerian: DNIN.G̃IŠ.ZID.DA, possible meaning "Lord f theGood Tree") was a Mesopotamian deity of vegetation, the underworld and sometimes war. He was commonly associated with snakes. Like Dumuzi, he was believed to spend a part ...
, and most likely was a dying god similar to
Dumuzi and
Damu
The Department of Dramatic Theatre (, abbreviated DAMU) is one of three departments at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (alongside the Film and TV school and the Department of Music). The academy was opened in 1945 immediately after th ...
, but his character is not well known otherwise. It is known that the settlement Esagi was his cult center, but its location is presently unknown.
Name and character
Alla's name was written in
cuneiform
Cuneiform is a Logogram, logo-Syllabary, syllabic writing system that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Near East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. Cuneiform script ...
either syllabically (''
dAl-la'' or ''
dAl-lá'') or
logographically (
dNAGAR). It might be related to or a pun on the
Sumerian word ''al'', "
hoe". A variant form, Alla-gula, "Alla the great", is also attested. Additionally, the god list ''
An = Anum
''An = Anum'', also known as the Great God List, is the longest preserved Mesopotamian god list, a type of lexical list cataloging the deities worshiped in the Ancient Near East, chiefly in modern Iraq. While god lists are already known from the ...
'' indicates that he could be referred to with the
Sumerian epithet
An epithet (, ), also a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleima ...
Lugal-sapar, "lord of the
net".
The character of Alla is poorly understood, but it is agreed that he was associated with the underworld. He belonged to the circle of deities connected with
Ninazu
Ninazu (; DNIN.A.SU">sup>DNIN.A.SU"lord healer") was a Mesopotamian god of the underworld. He was also associated with snakes and vegetation, and with time acquired the character of a warrior god. He was frequently associated with Ereshkigal, e ...
and
Ningishzida
Ningishzida ( Sumerian: DNIN.G̃IŠ.ZID.DA, possible meaning "Lord f theGood Tree") was a Mesopotamian deity of vegetation, the underworld and sometimes war. He was commonly associated with snakes. Like Dumuzi, he was believed to spend a part ...
, and functioned as the
sukkal
Sukkal (conventionally translated from Sumerian as "vizier") was a term which could denote both a type of official and a class of deities in ancient Mesopotamia. The historical sukkals were responsible for overseeing the execution of various com ...
(divine attendant) of the latter. He is also well attested as one of the dying gods mentioned in lamentations, and on this basis it has been argued he was viewed as comparable to better known
Dumuzi. According to
Wilfred G. Lambert, a single
Old Babylonian
Old Babylonian may refer to:
*the period of the First Babylonian dynasty (20th to 16th centuries BC)
*the historical stage of the Akkadian language
Akkadian ( ; )John Huehnergard & Christopher Woods, "Akkadian and Eblaite", ''The Cambridge Enc ...
text seemingly outright equates them with each other. Comparisons with
Damu
The Department of Dramatic Theatre (, abbreviated DAMU) is one of three departments at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (alongside the Film and TV school and the Department of Music). The academy was opened in 1945 immediately after th ...
have also been made in modern literature.
In art, Alla was depicted as a bald beardless man, and known representations do not wear the horned crown associated with divinity in Mesopotamian art. Frans Wiggermann argues that he was additionally portrayed holding a staff, well attested as a badge of office of the sukkal.
Alla and Allatum
Wilfred G. Lambert proposed in 1980 that the goddess
Allatum was the
Akkadian feminine counterpart of Alla. However, in 1989 Gernot Wilhelm noted that no plausible Akkadian
etymology
Etymology ( ) is the study of the origin and evolution of words—including their constituent units of sound and meaning—across time. In the 21st century a subfield within linguistics, etymology has become a more rigorously scientific study. ...
has been proposed for her name, and the most likely possibility is that it was simply a variant spelling of Allani, the
Hurrian goddess of the dead, whose name is related to the
Hurrian
The Hurrians (; ; also called Hari, Khurrites, Hourri, Churri, Hurri) were a people who inhabited the Ancient Near East during the Bronze Age. They spoke the Hurro-Urartian language, Hurrian language, and lived throughout northern Syria (region) ...
word ''allai'', mistress. This view has been accepted by Tonia Sharlach and Alfonso Archi in subsequent studies of this goddess . Sharlach entirely rules out a connection between Alla and Allatum/Allani based on their different roles and origin.
Worship
Alla is attested chiefly in sources from the
Ur III
The Third Dynasty of Ur or Ur III was a Sumerian dynasty based in the city of Ur in the 22nd and 21st centuries BC (middle chronology). For a short period they were the preeminent power in Mesopotamia and their realm is sometimes referred to by ...
and
Old Babylonian
Old Babylonian may refer to:
*the period of the First Babylonian dynasty (20th to 16th centuries BC)
*the historical stage of the Akkadian language
Akkadian ( ; )John Huehnergard & Christopher Woods, "Akkadian and Eblaite", ''The Cambridge Enc ...
periods. The settlement Esagi is identified as his cult center in texts pertaining to dying deities, but its location is unknown. There is evidence that he was worshiped in Gišbanda, the cult center of Ningishzida, and it is possible a statue of him was located in the temple of that god in
Lagash
Lagash (; cuneiform: LAGAŠKI; Sumerian language, Sumerian: ''Lagaš'') was an ancient city-state located northwest of the junction of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and east of Uruk, about east of the modern town of Al-Shatrah, Iraq. Lagash ( ...
as well. He was also venerated in Ur, where he appears in offering lists alongside
Ninazu
Ninazu (; DNIN.A.SU">sup>DNIN.A.SU"lord healer") was a Mesopotamian god of the underworld. He was also associated with snakes and vegetation, and with time acquired the character of a warrior god. He was frequently associated with Ereshkigal, e ...
,
Ningirida,
Ningishzida
Ningishzida ( Sumerian: DNIN.G̃IŠ.ZID.DA, possible meaning "Lord f theGood Tree") was a Mesopotamian deity of vegetation, the underworld and sometimes war. He was commonly associated with snakes. Like Dumuzi, he was believed to spend a part ...
,
Azimua and
Ninpumuna. Additionally, the worship of "Alla-gula" is well attested in sources from
Nippur
Nippur (Sumerian language, Sumerian: ''Nibru'', often logogram, logographically recorded as , EN.LÍLKI, "Enlil City;"I. E. S. Edwards, C. J. Gadd, N. G. L. Hammond, ''The Cambridge Ancient History: Prolegomena & Prehistory'': Vol. 1, Part 1, Ca ...
from the Ur III period pertaining to the activities of queen
Shulgi-simti.
Late sources
In a
bilingual
Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...
myth (
tablet KAR 4 and duplicates), mankind is created from the blood of a plurality of deities referred to with the logogram
dNAGAR, variously interpreted as either Alla or Lamga in modern literature. According to Wilfred G. Lambert based on context the later option is implausible as the reading relies on the explanation
lam-ga dNAGAR =
d30 in a
lexical list, which refers to a name of the moon god
Sin
In religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law or a law of the deities. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered ...
. notes that the account resembles the scene in ''
Atrahasis
''Atra-Hasis'' () is an 18th-century BC Akkadian epic, recorded in various versions on clay tablets and named for one of its protagonists, the priest Atra-Hasis ('exceedingly wise'). The narrative has four focal points: An organisation of allie ...
'' where the blood of ''
dW-e(-i-la)'' is used instead. Selena Wisnom points out Alla is also the name applied to the god in the Standard Babylonian version of ''Atrahasis'', replacing Wê known from Old Babylonian copies. She suggests that in this context his name was understood as a pun on the word ''al'', "hoe", referencing his role as a worker. On this basis she argues that a parallel exists between Alla and
Qingu, whose name might be derived from the word ''kiĝ
2'', "to work", and who in the ''
Enūma Eliš
' ( Akkadian Cuneiform: , also spelled "Enuma Elish"), meaning "When on High", is a Babylonian creation myth ( named after its opening words) from the late 2nd millennium BCE and the only complete surviving account of ancient near eastern cosmol ...
'' is similarly killed after rebelling in order to provide blood needed for the creation for mankind. However, she stresses Qingu cannot be considered a direct equivalent of Alla and Wê, as he plays a more active role as an antagonist in the narrative before being killed.
In late sources, Alla is also attested in lists of so-called "seven conquered Enlils" alongside figures such as
Mummu and
Alalu. In this context, the
theonym
A theonym (from Greek (), 'god', attached to (), ) is a proper name of a deity.
Theonymy, the study of divine proper names, is a branch of onomastics, the study of the etymology, history, and use of proper names. Theonymy helps develop an und ...
Enlil
Enlil, later known as Elil and Ellil, is an List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian god associated with wind, air, earth, and storms. He is first attested as the chief deity of the Sumerian pantheon, but he was later worshipped by t ...
is used as a generic label. The deities designated as "conquered Enlils" were associated with
Enmesharra
Enmesharra ( , "Lord of all ''Me (mythology), me''s") was a List of Mesopotamian deities, Mesopotamian god associated with the Ancient Mesopotamian underworld, underworld. He was regarded as a member of an old generation of deities, and as such ...
.
Notes
References
Bibliography
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{{refend
Mesopotamian gods
Mesopotamian underworld
Underworld gods
Killed deities