Laḫmu ( or , ) is a class of

apotropaic Apotropaic magic (from Greek "to ward off") or protective magic is a type of magic intended to turn away harm or evil influences, as in deflecting misfortune or averting the evil eye. Apotropaic observances may also be practiced out of superst ...

creatures from

Mesopotamian mythology Mesopotamian mythology refers to the myths, religious texts, and other literature that comes from the region of ancient Mesopotamia which is a historical region of Western Asia, situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system that occupies ...

. While the name has its origin in a Semitic language, Lahmu was present in Sumerian sources in pre- Sargonic times already.

Iconography and character

Laḫmu is depicted as a bearded man wearing a red garment (''tillû'') and usually with six curls on his head. Some texts mention a

spade A spade is a tool primarily for digging consisting of a long handle and blade, typically with the blade narrower and flatter than the common shovel. Early spades were made of riven wood or of animal bones (often shoulder blades). After the a ...

as the attribute of Lahmu. The artistic representations are sometimes called "naked hero" in literature. Lahmu were associated with water. They were generally believed to be servants of Enki/Ea (and later on of his son Marduk as well), and were described as the doorkeepers of his temple in

Eridu Eridu (Sumerian language, Sumerian: , NUN.KI/eridugki; Akkadian language, Akkadian: ''irîtu''; modern Arabic language, Arabic: Tell Abu Shahrain) is an archaeological site in southern Mesopotamia (modern Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq). Eridu was l ...

and possibly as the "guardians of the sea" known from some versions of Atra-hasis. Some texts list as many as 50 Lahmu in such roles. It's possible they were originally river spirits believed to take care of animals, both domestic and wild. Apotropaic creatures such as Lahmu weren't regarded as demonic, and in fact protected the household from demons, though myths may depict them as defeated and subsequently reformed enemies of the gods. At the same time, they weren't viewed as fully divine, as their names were rarely, if ever, preceded by the dingir sign ("divine determinative") and they do not wear horned tiaras (a symbol of divinity) in art. In apotropaic rituals Lahmu was associated with other monsters, for example Mushussu, Bashmu (a type of mythical snake), Kusarikku (bison-men associated with Shamash) or

Ugallu A panel with two divine palace guards, one of which is Ugallu. Ugallu, the "Big Weather-Beast", ( Sumerian inscribed 𒌓𒃲U4/UD.GAL-˹''la''˺, Akkadian: ''ūmu rabû'', meaning "big day"), was a lion-headed storm-demon and has the feet of a ...

As a cosmological being

In god lists a singular Lahmu sometimes appears among the ancestors of Anu, alongside a feminine counterpart ( Lahamu), following the primordial pair Duri and Dari (eternity) and other such figures and preceding

Alala Alala ( Ancient Greek: (alalá); "battle-cry" or "war-cry") was the personification of the war cry in Greek mythology. Her name derives from the onomatopoeic Greek word (alalḗ), hence the verb (alalázō), "to raise the war-cry". Greek s ...

and Belili. Assyriolgist Frans Wiggermann, who specializes in the study of origins and development of Mesopotamian apotropaic creatures and demons, assumes that this tradition had its origin in

northern Mesopotamia Upper Mesopotamia is the name used for the uplands and great outwash plain of northwestern Iraq, northeastern Syria and southeastern Turkey, in the northern Middle East. Since the early Muslim conquests of the mid-7th century, the region has been ...

. Lahmu and Lahamu aren't necessarily siblings in this context. Long lists of divine ancestors of Enlil or Anu from some god lists were at least sometimes meant to indicate that the gods worshiped by the Mesopotamians weren't the product of incestuous relationships. In Enuma Elish, compiled at a later date and relying on the aforementioned tradition, Lahmu is the first-born son of

Abzu The Abzu or Apsu ( Sumerian: ; Akkadian: ), also called (Cuneiform:, ; Sumerian: ; Akkadian: — ='water' ='deep', recorded in Greek as ), is the name for fresh water from underground aquifers which was given a religious fertilising qual ...

and

Tiamat In Mesopotamian religion, Tiamat ( akk, or , grc, Θαλάττη, Thaláttē) is a primordial goddess of the sea, mating with Abzû, the god of the groundwater, to produce younger gods. She is the symbol of the chaos of primordial crea ...

. He and his sister Laḫamu are the parents of

Anshar Anshar, also spelled Anšar ( Sumerian: , Neo-Assyrian: , meaning "whole heaven"), was a primordial god in the Babylonian creation myth Enuma Elish. His consort is Kishar which means "Whole Earth". They were the children of Lahamu and Lahmu ...

and

Kishar In the Babylonian epic Enuma Elish, Kishar ( akk, 𒆠𒊹, Kišar) is the daughter of Lahamu and Lahmu, the first children of Tiamat and Abzu. She is the female principle, sister and wife of Anshar, the male principle, and the mother of Anu. Ki ...

, parents of Anu and thus ancestors of Ea and Marduk according to this specific theogony. Both of them bestow 3 names upon Marduk after his victory. However, Lahmu - presumably of the same variety as the apotropaic rather than cosmological one - also appears among Tiamat's monsters. A fragmentary Assyrian rewrite of Enuma Elish replaced Marduk with Ashur, equated with

, with Lahmu and Lahamu replacing Ea/Enki and

Damkina Damgalnuna, also known as Damkina, was a Mesopotamian goddess regarded as the wife of the god Enki. Her character is poorly defined in known sources, though it is known that like her husband she was associated with ritual purification and that she ...

. Wilfred G. Lambert described the result as "completely superficial in that it leaves the plot in chaos by attributing Marduk's part to his great-grandfather, without making any attempt to iron out the resulting confusion."

Disproven theories

19th and early 20th century authors asserted that Lahmu represents the zodiac, parent stars, or constellations.

References

{{reflist

Sources

*Michael Jordan, ''Encyclopedia of Gods'', Kyle Cathie Limited, 2002 *Black, Jeremy and Green, Anthony, ''Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia'', University of Texas Press, Austin, 2003. Mesopotamian gods Offspring of Tiamat Characters in the Enūma Eliš