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Antu or Antum was a Mesopotamian goddess regarded as the feminine counterpart and spouse of the sky god, Anu. She was sometimes identified with the earth rather than the sky, though such references are not common. While already attested in the third millennium BCE, she was only a minor goddess, and only came to be worshiped commonly in Uruk in the Achaemenid and Seleucid periods due to religious reforms which elevated her and Anu to the position of tutelary deities of the city. At some point Antu was also incorporated into Hurrian religion, in which she was understood as a primeval deity. In the so-called "Standard Babylonian" edition of the Epic of Gilgamesh Antu is addressed as the mother of Ishtar, but this tradition was not commonly adhered to.
Ninsun was a Mesopotamian goddess. She is best known as the mother of the hero Gilgamesh and wife of deified legendary king Lugalbanda, and appears in this role in most versions of the Epic of Gilgamesh. She was associated with Uruk, where she lives in this composition, but she was also worshiped in other cities of ancient Mesopotamia, such as Nippur and Ur, and her main cult center was the settlement KI.KALki.
Ninkasi was the Mesopotamian goddess of beer and brewing. It is possible that in the first millennium BC she was known under the variant name Kurunnītu, derived from a term referring to a type of high quality beer. She was associated with both positive and negative consequences of the consumption of beer. In god lists, such as the An = Anum list and the Weidner god list, she usually appears among the courtiers of the god Enlil, alongside deities such as Ninimma and Ninmada. She could also be paired with Siraš, a goddess of similar character, who sometimes was regarded as her sister. A possible association between her and the underworld deities Nungal and Laṣ is also attested, possibly in reference to the possible negative effects of alcohol consumption.
Gibil (𒀭𒉈𒄀), also known under the Akkadian name Girra, was a Mesopotamian god associated with fire, both in its positive and negative aspects. He also played a role in ritual purification. Textual sources indicate his symbol was a torch, though no representations of him have been identified in Mesopotamian art. Multiple genealogies could be assigned to him. The god list An = Anum indicates his spouse was Ninirigal. He was also frequently associated with deities such as Shamash, Nuska and Kusu. He is first attested in Early Dynastic texts from Shuruppak, such as offering lists. He was also a member of the pantheon of Eridu. In the Kassite period he was worshiped in Nippur. Later attestations are available from Assyria and from Uruk. He also appears in a number of literary texts.
Isimud was a Mesopotamian god regarded as the divine attendant (sukkal) of the god Enki (Ea). He was depicted with two faces. No references to temples dedicated to him are known, though ritual texts indicate he was worshiped in Uruk and Babylon. He was also incorporated into Hurrian religion and Hittite religion. In myths, he appears in his traditional role as a servant of Enki.
Mandanu or Madanu was a Mesopotamian god associated with justice. It has been proposed that he was a divine representation of places of judgment. He is known chiefly from sources postdating the Old Babylonian period, and older documents, such as the Nippur god list, do not mention him. He was worshiped mostly in the north of Babylonia, especially in the city of Babylon itself. He was regarded as one of the deities belonging to the circle of Marduk.
Nungal, also known as Manungal and possibly Bēlet-balāṭi, was the Mesopotamian goddess of prisons, sometimes also associated with the underworld. She was worshiped especially in the Ur III period in cities such as Nippur, Lagash and Ur.
Anu or Anum, originally An, was the divine personification of the sky, king of the gods, and ancestor of many of the deities in ancient Mesopotamian religion. He was regarded as a source of both divine and human kingship, and opens the enumerations of deities in many Mesopotamian texts. At the same time, his role was largely passive, and he was not commonly worshipped. It is sometimes proposed that the Eanna temple located in Uruk originally belonged to him, rather than Inanna, but while he is well attested as one of its divine inhabitants, there is no evidence that the main deity of the temple ever changed, and Inanna was already associated with it in the earliest sources. After it declined, a new theological system developed in the same city under Seleucid rule, resulting in Anu being redefined as an active deity. As a result he was actively worshipped by inhabitants of the city in the final centuries of the history of ancient Mesopotamia.
Lugal-irra (𒀭𒈗𒄊𒊏) and Meslamta-ea (𒀭𒈩𒇴𒋫𒌓𒁺𒀀) were a pair of Mesopotamian gods who typically appear together in cuneiform texts and were described as the "divine twins" (Maštabba). There were regarded as warrior gods and as protectors of doors, possibly due to their role as the gatekeepers of the underworld. In Mesopotamian astronomy they came to be associated with a pair of stars known as the "Great Twins", Alpha Geminorum and Beta Geminorum. They were both closely associated with Nergal, and could be either regarded as members of his court or equated with him. Their cult centers were Kisiga and Dūrum. While no major sanctuaries dedicated to them are attested elsewhere, they were nonetheless worshiped in multiple other cities.
Ninsianna was a Mesopotamian deity considered to be the personification of Venus. This theonym also served as the name of the planet in astronomical texts until the end of the Old Babylonian period. There is evidence that Ninsianna's gender varied between locations, and both feminine and masculine forms of this deity were worshiped. Due to their shared connection to Venus, Ninsianna was associated with Inanna. Furthermore, the deity Kabta appears alongside Ninsianna in many texts, but the character of the relation between them remains unclear.
Gula was a Mesopotamian goddess of medicine, portrayed as a divine physician and midwife. Over the course of the second and first millennia BCE, she became one of the main deities of the Mesopotamian pantheon, and eventually started to be viewed as the second highest ranked goddess after Ishtar. She was associated with dogs, and could be depicted alongside these animals, for example on kudurru, and receive figurines representing them as votive offerings.
Kanisurra was a Mesopotamian goddess who belonged to the entourage of Nanaya. Much about her character remains poorly understood, though it is known she was associated with love. Her name might be derived from the word ganzer, referring to the underworld or to its entrance. In addition to Nanaya, she could be associated with deities such as Gazbaba, Išḫara and Uṣur-amāssu. She is first attested in sources from Uruk from the Ur III period, and continued to be worshiped in this city as late as in the Seleucid period.
Uṣur-amāssu was a Mesopotamian deity. While originally viewed as male, she later came to be regarded as a goddess. Regardless of gender, Uṣur-amāssu was considered as a child of Adad and Shala and like other members of their entourage was considered a deity of justice. The earliest attestations of veneration of Uṣur-amāssu are theophoric names from cities such as Kish, but the female version of this deity is best attested in sources from Uruk from the Neo-Babylonian period. She belonged to the pentad of goddesses who stood on top of the local pantheon, which also included Ishtar, Nanaya, Bēltu-ša-Rēš and Urkayītu. She is still attested in texts from the Seleucid period, and continued to be celebrated during an akitu festival.
Ninirigal or Ninirigala was a Mesopotamian goddess associated with Kullaba, a district belonging to the city of Uruk. Her character is poorly known beyond her role as a tutelary goddess of this area. Her husband was a god known under the name Nunbaranna, most likely an epithet of the fire god Gibil.
Sadarnunna was a Mesopotamian goddess regarded as the wife of Nuska. Very little is known about her individual character. She was worshiped in Nippur, and appears alongside other deities of this city in texts from the Ur III period already. In later times she is also attested in sources from other locations, for example Harran and Uruk.
Ulmašītum was a Mesopotamian goddess regarded as warlike. Her name was derived from (E-)Ulmaš, a temple in the city of Akkad dedicated to Ishtar. She was commonly associated with Annunitum, and in many texts they appear as a pair. While she originated in northern Mesopotamia, in the Ur III period she is best attested in Ur, though later she was also worshiped in Malgium.
Lugal-Marada was a Mesopotamian god who served as the tutelary deity of the city of Marad. His wife was Imzuanna. He was seemingly conflated with another local god, Lulu. There is also evidence that he could be viewed as a manifestation of Ninurta. He had a temple in Marad, the Eigikalamma, and additionally appears in Old Babylonian oath formulas from this city.
Urkayītu, also known as Urkītum, was a Mesopotamian goddess who likely functioned as the divine representation of the city of Uruk. Her name was initially an epithet of Inanna, but later she came to be viewed as a separate goddess. She was closely associated with Uṣur-amāssu, and like her belonged to the pentad of main goddesses of Uruk in the Neo-Babylonian period. She also continued to be worshiped in this city under Achaemenid and Seleucid rule.
Bēltu-ša-Rēš was a Mesopotamian goddess associated with a temple, or temples, bearing the name Rēš. She is only attested in sources from Uruk from the Neo-Babylonian and Seleucid periods. In the former, she belonged to the pentad of main deities of the city alongside Ishtar, Nanaya, Uṣur-amāssu and Urkayītu. In the latter, she served as the protective deity of a new temple complex dedicated to Anu and Antu.
Mīšaru (Misharu), possibly also known as Ili-mīšar, was a Mesopotamian god regarded as the personification of justice, sometimes portrayed as a divine judge. He was regarded as a son of the weather god Adad and his wife Shala. He was often associated with other similar deities, such as Išartu or Kittu. He is first attested in sources from the Ur III period. In the Old Babylonian period, he was regarded as the tutelary deity of Dūr-Rīmuš, a city in the kingdom of Eshnunna. He was also worshiped in other parts of Mesopotamia, for example in Mari, Assur, Babylon, Sippar and in the land of Suhum. In the Seleucid period he was introduced to the pantheon of Uruk.
References
- 1 2 Geller 2015, p. 104.
- 1 2 3 Krul 2018, p. 208.
- 1 2 Beaulieu 1993, p. 18.
- 1 2 3 Krebernik 1997, p. 94.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Krebernik 1997, p. 95.
- 1 2 3 Peterson 2009, p. 75.
- 1 2 Peterson 2009, p. 16.
- ↑ Peterson 2009, pp. 75–76.
- 1 2 3 Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 184.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Sallaberger 2021, p. 358.
- 1 2 3 Beaulieu 2003, p. 334.
- ↑ Krul 2018, pp. 208–209.
- 1 2 3 George 1992, p. 322.
- ↑ George 1992, p. 151.
- 1 2 3 Krul 2018, p. 209.
- ↑ Krul 2018, p. 211.
- 1 2 Krul 2018, pp. 209–210.
- 1 2 Beaulieu 1993, p. 19.
- ↑ Sallaberger 2021, p. 369.
- 1 2 Krul 2018, p. 72.
- ↑ Krul 2018, p. 75.
- ↑ Krul 2018, p. 66.
- ↑ George 1993, p. 137.
- ↑ Krul 2018, p. 210.
- ↑ Krul 2018, p. 111.
- ↑ Krul 2018, p. 67.
- ↑ Peterson 2009, p. 74.
- ↑ Peterson 2009, pp. 74–75.
- ↑ Tugendhaft 2016, p. 176.
- ↑ Tugendhaft 2016, p. 181.
- ↑ Cavigneaux & Krebernik 1998, p. 376.
- ↑ George 1992, p. 21.
- 1 2 George 1992, p. 323.
- ↑ George 1993, p. 81.
- ↑ George 1993, p. 156.
Bibliography
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- Beaulieu, Paul-Alain (2003). The pantheon of Uruk during the neo-Babylonian period. Leiden Boston: Brill STYX. ISBN 978-90-04-13024-1. OCLC 51944564.
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{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Tugendhaft, Aaron (2016). "Gods on clay: Ancient Near Eastern scholarly practices and the history of religions". In Grafton, Anthony; Most, Glenn W. (eds.). Canonical Texts and Scholarly Practices. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/cbo9781316226728.009.