The Seven-headed Serpent (from Sumerian muš-saĝ-7: snake with seven heads) in
Sumerian religion
Sumerian religion was the religion practiced by the people of Sumer, the first literate civilization of ancient Mesopotamia. The Sumerians regarded their divinities as responsible for all matters pertaining to the natural and social orders.
Ove ...
was one of the Heroes slain by
Ninurta
, image= Cropped Image of Carving Showing the Mesopotamian God Ninurta.png
, caption= Assyrian stone relief from the temple of Ninurta at Kalhu, showing the god with his thunderbolts pursuing Anzû, who has stolen the Tablet of Destinies from En ...
, patron god of
Lagash, in ancient Iraq. Its body was hung on the "shining cross-beam" of Ninurta's chariot (lines 55–63
The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature
/ref>).
See also
* Anzu, a great bird whose death was sometimes credited to Ninurta
* Bashmu, a possibly identical serpent slain by Ninurta
*Dragon
A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...
, a beast slain by Ninurta
* Mushmahhu
* Nehushtan
* Ushumgallu, the great dragon
* Lernaean Hydra
* The Seven-headed Serpent, a Greek fairy tale of the same name
References
Legendary serpents
Mesopotamian legendary creatures
Mythical many-headed creatures
7 (number)
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