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Enki
Enki ( ) is the Sumerian god of water, knowledge ('' gestú''), crafts (''gašam''), and creation (''nudimmud''), and one of the Anunnaki. He was later known as Ea () or Ae p. 324, note 27. in Akkadian (Assyrian-Babylonian) religion, and is identified by some scholars with Ia in Canaanite religion. The name was rendered Aos within Greek sources (e.g. Damascius). He was originally the patron god of the city of Eridu, but later the influence of his cult spread throughout Mesopotamia and to the Canaanites, Hittites and Hurrians. He was associated with the southern band of constellations called ''stars of Ea'', but also with the constellation AŠ-IKU, ''the Field'' ( Square of Pegasus). Beginning around the second millennium BCE, he was sometimes referred to in writing by the numeric ideogram for "40", occasionally referred to as his "sacred number". The planet Mercury, associated with Babylonian '' Nabu'' (the son of Marduk) was, in Sumerian times, identified with En ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ninhursag
Ninḫursaĝ ( ''Ninḫarsang''; ), sometimes transcribed Ninursag, Ninḫarsag, or Ninḫursaĝa, also known as Damgalnuna or Ninmah, was the ancient Sumerian mother goddess of the mountains, and one of the seven great deities of Sumer. She is known earliest as a nurturing or fertility goddess. Temple hymn sources identify her as the "true and great lady of heaven" (possibly in relation to her standing on the mountain) and kings of Lagash were "nourished by Ninhursag's milk". She is the tutelary deity to several Sumerian leaders. Her best-known myths are ''Enki and Ninhursag'' describing her dealings with Enki resulting from his sexual exploits, and ''Enki and Ninmah'' a creation myth wherein the two deities compete to create humans. She is referenced or makes brief appearances in others as well, most notably as the mother of Ninurta in the Anzû Epic. Name Ninhursag means "lady of the sacred mountain" from Sumerian NIN "lady" and ḪAR.SAG̃ "sacred mountain, foothil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asalluhi
Asalluhi, also spelled as Asarluhi or Asalluhe, also known as Asaralimnuna, Asaralim, Asalim or Asarnuna was a Mesopotamian god primarily associated with the sphere of incantations and exorcism, commonly operating together with his father Enki. He is likely the same deity as Asar, who was attested starting from the third millennium BCE. During the Old Babylonian period, Asalluhi gradually became syncretized with Marduk, eventually becoming another name for Marduk. Name The name Asalluhi is written phonetically as dasal-lú-ḫi, da-sa-lu-úḫ, da-sa-lú-ḫi or da-sa-al-lú-ḫi. An offering list from Ur III Umma spells the name as dÉ.ŠÁRA-lú-ḫi. The meaning of Asar remains uncertain. Johandi offers two suggestions, that asar(re) could be a-sar-(re(d)) "swift seed" or a-ari-sar "water impregnating the field plots." dasar is attested in third millennium god lists, personal names and administrative documents, while the name Asalluhi was first attested until the Ur III per ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eridu
Eridu (; Sumerian: eridugki; Akkadian: ''irîtu'') was a Sumerian city located at Tell Abu Shahrain (), also Abu Shahrein or Tell Abu Shahrayn, an archaeological site in Lower Mesopotamia. It is located in Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq, near the modern city of Basra. Eridu is traditionally considered the earliest city in southern Mesopotamia based on the Sumerian King List. Located 24 kilometers south-southwest of the ancient site of Ur, Eridu was the southernmost of a conglomeration of Sumerian cities that grew around temples, almost in sight of one another. The city gods of Eridu were Enki and his consort Damkina. Enki, later known as Ea, was considered to have founded the city. His temple was called E-Abzu, as Enki was believed to live in Abzu, an aquifer from which all life was thought to stem. According to Sumerian temple hymns, another name for the temple of Ea/Enki was called Esira (Esirra). At nearby Ur there was a temple of Ishtar of Eridu (built by Lagash's ruler Ur- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nanshe
Nanshe ( ) was a Mesopotamian goddess in various contexts associated with the sea, marshlands, the animals inhabiting these biomes, namely bird and fish, as well as divination, dream interpretation, justice, social welfare, and certain administrative tasks. She was regarded as a daughter of Enki and sister of Ningirsu, while her husband was Nindara, who is otherwise little known. Other deities who belonged to her circle included her daughter Nin-MAR.KI, as well as Hendursaga, Dumuzi-abzu and Shul-utula. In Ur she was incorporated into the circle of Ningal, while in incantations she appears alongside Ningirima or Nammu. The oldest attestations of the worship of Nanshe come from the Uruk period. Her cult center was Tell Zurghul, known in antiquity as Nina. Another place associated with her, Sirara, was likely a sacred distrinct in this city. She was also worshiped elsewhere in the state of Lagash. Sanctuaries dedicated to her existed in its eponymous capital, as well as in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Damgalnuna
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 was believed to intercede with him on behalf of supplicants. Among the deities regarded as their children were Nanshe and Asalluhi. While the myth ''Enki and Ninhursag'' treats her as interchangeable with the goddess mentioned in its title, they were usually separate from each other. The cities of Eridu and Malgium were regarded as Damgalnuna's cult centers. She was also worshiped in other settlements, such as Nippur, Sippar and Kalhu, and possibly as early as in the third millennium BCE was incorporated into the Hurrian pantheon. She appears in a number of myths, including the Enūma Eliš, though only a single composition, ''Damkina's Bond'', is focused on her. Name, character and iconography The theonym Damgalnuna can be translated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ninti
Ninti (; "mistress of life") was a Mesopotamian goddess worshipped in Lagash. She was regarded as the mother of Ninkasi. She also appears in the myth '' Enki and Ninhursag'' as one of the deities meant to soothe the Enki's pain. In this text, her name is reinterpreted first as "lady rib" and then as "lady of the month" through scribal word play. Attestations Ninti's name can be translated as "mistress who keeps alive" or "mistress (of) life". A variant form of her name might be Nintiḫal, "mistress who allocates life". However, Jeremiah Peterson notes that due to the existence of the divergent variant spelling Kurratiḫal it is not certain how the cuneiform sign NIN should be read in this case. Oldest attestations of Ninti have been identified in texts from Fara. She is also attested in Early Dynastic texts from Lagash, and according to Gebhard Selz must have been worshipped in this city, as references to a temple dedicated to her are known. This conclusion has been subsequen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nammu
Nammu ( dENGUR = dLAGAB×ḪAL; also read Namma) was a Mesopotamian goddess regarded as a creator deity in the local theology of Eridu. It is assumed that she was associated with water. She is also well attested in connection with incantations and apotropaic magic. She was regarded as the mother of Enki, and in a single inscription she appears as the wife of Anu, but it is assumed that she usually was not believed to have a spouse. From the Old Babylonian period onwards, she was considered to be the mother of An (Heaven) and Ki (Earth), as well as a representation of the primeval sea/ocean, an association that may have come from influence from the goddess Tiamat. While Nammu is already attested in sources from the Early Dynastic period, such as the '' zame'' hymns and an inscription of Lugal-kisalsi, she was not commonly worshiped. A temple dedicated to her existed in Ur in the Old Babylonian period, she is also attested in texts from Nippur and Babylon. Theophoric nam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sumerian Religion
Sumerian religion was the religion practiced by the people of Sumer, the first literate civilization found in recorded history and based in ancient Mesopotamia, and what is modern day Iraq. The Sumerians widely regarded their divinities as responsible for all matters pertaining to the natural and social orders of their society. Overview Before the beginning of kingship in Sumer, the city-states were effectively ruled by theocratic priests and religious officials. Later, this role was supplanted by kings, but priests continued to exert great influence on Sumerian society. In early times, Sumerian temples were simple, one-room structures, sometimes built on elevated platforms. Towards the end of Sumerian civilization, these temples developed into ziggurats—tall, pyramidal structures with sanctuaries at the tops. The Sumerians believed that the universe had come into being through a series of cosmic births such as gods. First, Nammu, the primeval waters, gave birth to Ki ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 the Akkadian Empire, Akkadians, Babylonian Empire, Babylonians, Assyrian Empire, Assyrians, and Hurrians. Enlil's primary center of worship was the Ekur temple in the city of Nippur, which was believed to have been built by Enlil himself and was regarded as the "mooring-rope" of heaven and earth. He is also sometimes referred to in Sumerian texts as Nunamnir. According to one Sumerian hymn, Enlil himself was so holy that not even the other gods could look upon him. Enlil rose to prominence during the twenty-fourth century BC with the rise of Nippur. His Cult (religious practice), cult fell into decline after Nippur was sacked by the Elamites in 1230 BC and he was eventually supplanted as the chief god of the Mesopotamian pantheon by the Baby ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anunnaki
The Anunnaki (Sumerian language, Sumerian: , also transcribed as Anunaki, Annunaki, Anunna, Ananaki and other variations) are a group of deity, deities of the ancient Sumerian religion, Sumerians, Akkadian Empire, Akkadians, Assyrians and Babylonian religion, Babylonians. In the earliest Sumerian writings about them, which come from the Post-Akkadian period, the Anunnaki are deities in the Pantheon (religion), pantheon, descendants of Anu, An (the god of the heavens) and Ki (goddess), Ki (the goddess of earth), and their primary function was to Time and fate deities, decree the fates of humanity. Etymology The name ''Anunnaki'' is derived from Anu, An, the Sumerian god of the sky. The name is variously written "''determinative, d''a-nuna", "''d''a-nuna-ke4-ne", or "''d''a-nun-na", meaning "princely offspring" or "offspring of An". The Anunnaki were believed to be the offspring of Anu, An and the earth goddess Ki (goddess), Ki. Samuel Noah Kramer identifies Ki with the Sumerian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marduk
Marduk (; cuneiform: Dingir, ᵈAMAR.UTU; Sumerian language, Sumerian: "calf of the sun; solar calf"; ) is a god from ancient Mesopotamia and patron deity of Babylon who eventually rose to prominence in the 1st millennium BC. In Babylon, Marduk was worshipped in the temple Esagila. His symbol is the spade and he is associated with the Mušḫuššu. By the 1st millennium BC, Marduk had become astrologically associated with the planet Jupiter. He was a prominent figure in ancient near eastern cosmology, Babylonian cosmology, especially in the Enūma Eliš creation myth. Name The name of Marduk was solely spelled as dAMAR.UTU in the Old Babylonian Period, although other spellings such as MES and dŠA.ZU were also in use since the Kassite Period. In the 1st millennium BC, the ideograms dŠU and KU were regularly used. The logogram for Adad is also occasionally used to spell Marduk. Texts from the Old Babylonian period support the pronunciation Marutu or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Enbilulu
Enbilulu ( ) was a Mesopotamian god associated with irrigation, and by extension with both canals and rivers. The origin of his name is unknown, and there is no agreement among experts in which way he was related to the similarly named deities Bilulu and Ninbilulu. While originally an independent deity, he eventually came to be seen as a name of Marduk and is mentioned in this role in the ''Enūma Eliš''. Character The meaning of the term ''bilulu'' is not known, but it appears in two other names of deities as well, Ninbilulu, known from Early Dynastic sources (including the ''Zame Hymns''), and Bilulu, known from the myth ''Inanna and Bilulu''. It has been proposed that there was originally only one deity, Bilulu, who was female and later split into male Enbilulu and female Ninbilulu. However, the identification of Enbilulu and Bilulu is "problematic" according to Wilfred G. Lambert, as "the character of the goddess (...) is not sufficiently similar to that of Enbilulu for th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
