Muati

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Muati
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Spouse Nanaya

Muati was a Mesopotamian god. His character is poorly known. He was regarded as the spouse of Nanaya in Old Babylonian sources. He was later syncretised with Nabu, who likely came to be associated with Nanaya for this reason. Muati is attested in a poem from the reign of Abi-Eshuh, in which he is implored to mediate with his wife on behalf on this ruler. Additionally, he is mentioned in a single text from Isin, possibly in a document from Larsa, and in a god list counting him among the deities of Uruk.

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Character

Muati's character is poorly understood, though it is known that he was regarded as the spouse of Nanaya. [1] According to Giole Zisa, it is possible that her nameless partner in love incantations, where they are listed in parallel with couples Inanna and Dumuzi and Išḫara and Almānu, might be Muati. [2] From the reign of Marduk-apla-iddina I onward, Nanaya could instead be associated with Nabu. [3] Since Nabu and Muati came to be equated at some point, it is possible that the spousal connection with Nanaya was transferred between them. [4] In the first millennium BCE, Muati was effectively an alternate name of Nabu. [1] Marten Stol treats Muati and Nabu interchangeably in his discussion of deities associated with Nanaya in the Old Babylonian period already, [5] but Francesco Pomponio [6] and Wilfred G. Lambert stress that they were most likely fully separate at first. [7] They appear in separate sections of the god list An = Anum , with no indication of conflation, but they are equated in the later An = Anu ša amēli. [8]

An = Anu ša amēli refers to Muati as "Nabu of Dilmun". [9] Ebbe Egede Knudsen on this basis suggested a connection between him and the personal name of an inhabitant of Dilmun, me-a-ti-a-nu-um. [10] However, Khaled Al-Nashef  [ de ] concluded that the god list entry linking Muati with Dilmun is most likely an ancient error, and points out the existence of multiple other lists designating the Dilmunite deity Enzag as the "Nabu of Dilmun". [11] He also stated that due to lack of evidence me-a-ti-a-nu-um cannot be considered an example of a theophoric name invoking Muati. [12] Daniel T. Potts also considers the connection to be doubtful. [13] Ryan D. Winters similarly concludes the association between Muati and Dilmun in An = Anu ša amēli is likely the be an ancient error. [14]

Worship

A poem focused on the relationship between Muati and Nanaya known from only one copy implores him to intercede with her on behalf of Abi-Eshuh, the king of Babylon between 1711 and 1684 BCE. [15] Presumably it was composed during his reign. [16] According to Aage Westenholz and Joan Goodnick Westenholz, Muati is additionally attested in a single text from Old Babylonian Larsa which might indicate a statue representing him stood in the local temple of Nanaya. [17] However, Dominique Charpin has expressed doubts about the restoration of the theonym, and thus about the worship of Muati in Larsa. [18] A single reference to him has also been identified in a hitherto unpublished text from Isin. [17] In a fragmentary Old Babylonian god list (VAT 6563) he appears among deities linked with Uruk alongside Nanaya. [6]

Related Research Articles

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarpanit</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nanaya</span> Ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love

Nanaya was a Mesopotamian goddess of love closely associated with Inanna.

Papsukkal (𒀭𒉽𒈛) was a Mesopotamian god regarded as the sukkal of Anu and his wife Antu in Seleucid Uruk. In earlier periods he was instead associated with Zababa. He acquired his new role through syncretism with Ninshubur.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anu</span> Ancient Mesopotamian god of the sky; god of all gods

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ninsianna</span> Mesopotamian astral deity

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inzak</span> God of Dilmun

Inzak was the main god of the pantheon of Dilmun. The precise origin of his name remains a matter of scholarly debate. He might have been associated with date palms. His cult center was Agarum, and he is invoked as the god of this location in inscriptions of Dilmunite kings. His spouse was the goddess Meskilak. A further deity who might have fulfilled this role was dPA.NI.PA, known from texts from Failaka Island.

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.

Bizilla was a Mesopotamian goddess closely associated with Nanaya and like her sometimes listed alongside courtiers of Inanna. However, she is also attested in connection with Ninlil, and it is assumed that she was viewed as the sukkal of this goddess in Ḫursaĝkalama near Kish.

Gazbaba, also known as Kazbaba or Kazba, was a Mesopotamian goddess closely associated with Inanna, Nanaya and Kanisurra. Like them, she was connected with love and eroticism.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Epithets of Inanna</span>

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References

Bibliography

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