Mušmaḫḫū, inscribed in Sumerian as MUŠ.MAḪ, Akkadian as ''muš-ma-ḫu'', meaning "Exalted/distinguished Serpent", was an ancient

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

n mythological hybrid of serpent, lion and bird, sometimes identified with the

seven-headed serpent The Seven-headed Serpent (from Sumerian muš-saĝ-7: snake with seven heads) in Sumerian religion was one of the Heroes slain by Ninurta, patron god of Lagash, in ancient Iraq. Its body was hung on the "shining cross-beam" of Ninurta's chariot (li ...

slain by

Ninurta Ninurta (: , possible meaning "Lord fBarley"), also known as Ninĝirsu (: , meaning "Lord fGirsu"), is an List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian god associated with farming, healing, hunting, law, scribes, and war who was f ...

in the mythology of the Sumerian period. He is one of the three horned snakes, with his companions,

Bašmu Bašmu or Bashmu (; cuneiform: MUŠ.ŠÀ.TÙR or MUŠ.ŠÀ.TUR, "Venomous Snake") was an ancient Mesopotamian mythological creature, a horned snake with two forelegs and wings. It was also the Akkadian name of the Babylonian constellat ...

and

Ušumgallu Ušumgallu or Ushumgallu (Sumerian language, Sumerian: ''ušum.gal'', "Great Dragon") was one of the three horned snakes in Akkadian literature#Mythology, Akkadian mythology, along with the Bašmu and Mušmaḫḫū. Usually described as a lion-dr ...

, with whom he may have shared a common mythological origin.

Mythology

In ''

Angim The work known by its incipit, Angim, "The Return of Ninurta to Nippur", is a 210-line mythological praise poem for the ancient Mesopotamian warrior-god Ninurta, describing his return to Nippur from an expedition to the mountains (KUR), where he ...

'' or "Ninurta's return to Nippur", the storm god describes one of his weapons as "the seven-mouthed muš-mah serpent" (line 138), reminiscent of the Greek myth of

Heracles Heracles ( ; ), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a Divinity, divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of ZeusApollodorus1.9.16/ref> and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive descent through ...

and the seven headed

Lernaean Hydra The Lernaean Hydra or Hydra of Lerna (), more often known simply as the Hydra, is a serpentine lake monster in Greek mythology and Roman mythology. Its lair was the lake of Lerna in the Argolid, which was also the site of the myth of the Dan ...

he slew in the second of his

Twelve labours The Labours of Hercules or Labours of Heracles (, , ) are a series of tasks carried out by Heracles, the greatest of the Greek heroes, whose name was later romanised as Hercules. They were accomplished in the service of King Eurystheus. The ep ...

. An engraved shell of the Early Dynastic period shows Ninğirsu slaying the seven-headed ''mušmaḫḫū''. In the Epic of Creation, Enûma Eliš, Tiāmat gives birth (''alādu'') to mythical serpents, described as ''mušmaḫḫū'', "with sharp teeth, merciless fangs, instead of blood she filled their bodies with venom".''mušmaḫḫū'', CAD M2, pp. 127–128.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mushmahhu Characters in the Enūma Eliš Mesopotamian legendary creatures Mesopotamian demons Offspring of Tiamat Legendary serpents

Mythology

See also

References