Ḫegir (𒀭𒃶𒄈) or Ḫegirnunna (𒀭𒃶𒄈𒉣𒈾) was a

Mesopotamian goddess Deities in ancient Mesopotamia were almost exclusively Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic. They were thought to possess extraordinary powers and were often envisioned as being of tremendous physical size. The deities typically wore ''melam'', a ...

who belonged to the pantheon of

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 ( ...

. She was considered a daughter of Bau and

Ningirsu Ninĝirsu was a Mesopotamia, Mesopotamian god regarded as the tutelary deity of the city of Girsu, Ĝirsu, and as the chief god of the local pantheon of the state of Lagash. He shares many aspects with the god Ninurta. Ninĝirsu was identified as ...

Name

The reading of the first

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 ...

sign in the theonym ^dḪÉ''-gír(-nun-na)'' is not certain. Among the authors who employ the form Ḫegir(nunna) are Wilfred G. Lambert and Andrew R. George. Toshiko Kobayashi omits the

breve A breve ( , less often , grammatical gender, neuter form of the Latin "short, brief") is the diacritic mark , shaped like the bottom half of a circle. As used in Ancient Greek, it is also called , . It resembles the caron (, the wedge or in ...

below the first consonant, and renders the name as Hegir. The romanization Gangir has also been proposed, and has been adopted for example by Mark Cohen. Kobayashi refers to Ḫegirnunna as the full form of the name, but notes that the difference between the variants seems to be chronological, with the shorter form being older. It is assumed that ''gír'' in the short form and ''gír-nun'' in the long one both refer to a procession route located in

Girsu Girsu ( Sumerian ; cuneiform ) was a city of ancient Sumer, situated some northwest of Lagash, at the site of what is now Tell Telloh in Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq. As the religious center of the kingdom of Lagash, it contained significant temple ...

, and that ḪÉ might represent an

allograph In graphemics and typography, the term allograph is used of a glyph that is a design variant of a letter or other grapheme, such as a letter, a number, an ideograph, a punctuation mark or other typographic symbol. In graphemics, an obvious exa ...

of the word ''gemé'', which makes it possible to translate the name from Sumerian as "the maid of the (lofty) way".

Associations with other deities

An inscription from the reign of

Urukagina Uru-ka-gina, Uru-inim-gina, or Iri-ka-gina ( ; died 2370 BC) was King of the city-states of Lagash and Girsu in Mesopotamia, and the last ruler of the 1st Dynasty of Lagash. He assumed the title of king, claiming to have been divinely appointe ...

refers to Ḫegir as the "beloved '' lukur'' of

," while in another, from the time of

Gudea Gudea ( Sumerian: , ''Gu3-de2-a''; died 2124 BC) was a Sumerian ruler ('' ensi'') of the state of Lagash in Southern Mesopotamia, who ruled –2060 BC ( short chronology) or 2144–2124 BC ( middle chronology). He probably did not come from the ...

, she is directly referred to as the daughter of this god and Bau. The latter can be found on Gudea Cylinder B. The term ''lukur'' referred to a class of priestesses, and the existence of a group of nine women bearing this title who took part in the cult of Ningirsu is attested in Early Dynastic texts from

. It has been proposed that ''lukur'' were understood as the junior wives of a god. Alongside Shulshaga and

Igalim Igalim () or Igalimma () was a Mesopotamian god from the local pantheon of the state of Lagash. He was closely associated with Ningirsu, possibly originating as the personification of the door of his temple, and was regarded as a member of his fam ...

, who were also regarded as children of Bau and Ningirsu, as well as divine servants such as Lammašaga, Ḫegir belonged to the household of these two deities. In the times of Gudea, she belonged to a group referred to as "the seven ''lukur'' priestesses of Ningirsu" and "the septuplets of Bau", which also included Zazaru, Nipa'e,

Urnunta-ea Urnunta-ea was a Mesopotamian goddess originally worshiped in Girsu as one of the daughters of Ningirsu and Bau. She might have been associated with rain clouds. She is known from an Early Dynastic inscription of Urukagina, from texts from the ...

, Ḫesaga, Zurmu and Zarmu. However, according to Gebhard J. Selz Ḫegir was originally a deity of greater importance than the other six, and it is possible that initially only Urnunta-ea, Zazaru and Nipa'e, who also occur together in an earlier inscription from the reign of Urukagina, formed a group.

Worship

Ḫegir is first attested in Early Dynastic documents from the state of

built a

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

dedicated to her, most likely in

, though its ceremonial name is not preserved in any known sources. According to Mark Cohen, during a "courtyard festival"(''ezem-kisal-la'') of Bau, Ḫegir received offerings alongside Ningirsu, Bau, Shulsagana, Igalim,

Ninšar Ninšar (, dNIN.SAR; also read Nin-nisig) was a Mesopotamian goddess commonly associated with the preparation of meat. The reading of her name remains uncertain, and its possible etymology appears to be unrelated to her role in the Mesopotamian p ...

Ninshubur Ninshubur (,; Ninšubur, "Lady of Subartu" or "Lady of servants"), also spelled Ninšubura, was a Mesopotamian goddess regarded as the ''sukkal'' (divine attendant) of the goddess Inanna. While it is agreed that in this context Ninshubur was rega ...

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 " the genie of the Etarsirsir." She also appears in various offering lists alongside a similar selection of deities. Since she received less offerings than Igalim and Shulsaga overall, with roughly identical amount of food offered to all three but no sacrificial animals meant for Ḫegir attested in known texts, it is assumed she was a deity of lesser importance than them.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * *{{cite book, last=Sharlach, first=Tonia, editor-last=Michalowski, editor-first=Piotr, title=On the Third Dynasty of Ur: studies in honor of Marcel Sigrist, chapter=Priestesses, Concubines and the Daughters of Men: Disentangling the Meaning of the Term Lukur in Ur III Times, chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/36052474, publisher=The American Schools of Oriental Research, publication-place=Boston, date=2008, isbn=978-0-89757-034-3, oclc=861793053 Mesopotamian goddesses Lagash