Pinikir | |
---|---|
Elamite and Hurrian astral goddess | |
Major cult center | Susa, Awan, Chogha Zanbil, Samuha, [1] the Yazılıkaya sanctuary [2] |
Symbol | star [1] |
Personal information | |
Parents | Sin and Ningal (in only one text, due do syncretism with Ishtar) [3] |
Siblings | Shamash (as above) [3] |
Equivalents | |
Mesopotamian equivalent | Ishtar, [4] Ninsianna [5] |
Syrian equivalent | possibly Ashtart [6] |
Pinikir, also known as Pinigir, Pirengir, Pirinkir, and Parakaras, was an Ancient Near Eastern astral goddess who originates in Elamite religious beliefs. While she is only infrequently attested in Elamite documents, she achieved a degree of prominence in Hurrian religion. Due to her presence in pantheons of many parts of the Ancient Near East, from Anatolia to Iran, modern researchers refer to her as a "cosmopolitan deity." [4]
Early scholarship incorrectly identified her as one and the same as Kiririsha, an unrelated goddess [7] from a different part of Elam. [8]
Wilfred G. Lambert considered Pinikir's origin to be Elamite. [9]
Hittitologist Gary Beckman proposes that Pinikir’s name has Sumerian origin and has been derived from pirig.gal, "great feline." [10] However, according to Piotr Taracha, this proposal cannot be proven conclusively. [3] While it was assumed in the past that a deity named Pirig-gal appears in the inscriptions of the Hurrian king Tish-atal of Urkesh, [5] subsequent research has shown that this was a misreading and the name inscribed is actually that of Nergal. [3] John MacGinnis argues that a deity named Pirig-gal, attested in an inscription of Esarhaddon, can be identified as Pinikir nonetheless. [11]
Multiple spellings are attested both in Elamite (Pi-ni-gir, Bi-ni-gir, Bi-ne-en-gi-ir, Pi-in-gi-ir-ra) [12] and Hurro-Hittite (Pi-ri-in-kir, Pi-re-en-kir, Pi-ri-kir, Pi-ri-ki-ir, Pi-ri-in-ki-ir) sources. [10] It is possible that some of the latter were read as “Piriggir.” [13] In the Yazılıkaya sanctuary, Pinikir’s name is spelled in hieroglyphs as PURUS+ra/i. [13]
Pinikir was an astral deity, possibly a divine representation of the planet Venus. [14] In Elam she was known as kikki galirra, "mistress of heaven" [15] According to Kamyar Abdi, in Elamite context she was additionally considered the goddess of love and sex. [16]
Based on a bronze plaque from Susa depicting a procession of warrior deities and inscribed with names of various Elamite deities, including Pinikir (but also Kiririsha, Lagamar, Nahhunte and Manzat) Kamyar Abdi argues that Pinikir was viewed as a warrior goddess in Elam. [16] Javier Álvarez-Mon interprets the deities depicted as male [17] and as "a version of (highland) Elamite Sebitti" instead. [18] It has also been proposed that the figures might be deified kings. [19] Pinikir was additionally seemingly associated with warfare, and especially with war horses, at least in Hurro-Hittite context. [20]
In Hurrian sources, Pinikir’s gender varies. [4] An example of masculine Pinikir can be found on the reliefs in Yazılıkaya, where the deity is depicted as winged, similarly to the masculine form of Shaushka (another Hurrian deity whose gender shows some ambiguity) and the moon god Kusuh. [21] The masculine Pinikir is also depicted in a type of skullcap associated with the sun god Shimige and with mortal kings. [21] The similarity to iconography of solar and lunar gods highlights the deity’s celestial character. [5]
Pinikir was sometimes represented symbolically in the form of a disc. [1]
Pinikir was closely associated with Ishtar. [4] In a text written in Akkadian but found in a corpus of Hurro-Hittite rituals Pinikir’s name is written logographically as dIŠTAR, and Sin, Ningal and Shamash appear as her parents and twin brother, respectively. [22] Both in this text and at least one more source her sukkal (attendant deity) is Ilabrat/Ninshubur. [23] Daniel T. Potts additionally proposed in 1981 that it is possible that due to an association between Pinikir and Ishtar the former's possible consort (a role he assigns to Humban) would have acquired Tammuz-like traits but concludes himself that this is "pure speculation." [24]
A god list from Emar equates Pinikir with Ninsianna, [5] a Mesopotamian goddess representing the planet Venus. [25] Ninsianna in turn was also identified as dIŠTAR.MUL ("Ishtar of the star"), [3] which indicates that Pinikir was likely also viewed as a celestial body. [14] Ninsianna’s gender varies between sources, [26] similar to Pinikir's in Hurrian texts. [5]
In Hurrian sources Pinikir frequently appears alongside so-called "Goddess of the Night." [1] They are regarded as a dyad in scholarship. [27] The worship of pairs of goddesses with similar domains (for example Ishara and Allani, Hutena and Hutellura, Ninatta and Kulitta) as dyads was a common feature of Hurrian religion. [28]
Gary Beckman notes that Pinikir's association with war horses in Hurro-Hittite sources is similar to that between Ashtart and the same animals, documented in sources from Egypt and Syria, and proposes a connection existed between these two deities. [6]
Pinikir is generally regarded as part of the pantheon of western Elam, similar to deities like Manzat and Lagamar. [30] Locations associated with her include Susa [30] [31] and Awan. [8] However, classification of specific deities as “Awanite” presently depends entirely on theories about the "Treaty of Naram-Sin of Akkad." [32] The other signatory is commonly assumed to be king Khita of Awan, and therefore it has been proposed that the first deities invoked - Pinikir and Humban - originate in the area under his rule. [32]
Pinikir is attested for the first time in the aforementioned document alongside many other deities worshiped in Elam, such as Humban, Manzat (whose origin was Akkadian [9] ) and Simut. [33] She is the first of thirty seven the deities listed as divine witnesses, which lead a number of researchers in the past to assume she was originally the principal deity of Elam. [33] However, this theory is now regarded as lacking evidence. [33]
Pinikir rarely appears in Elamite theophoric names. [12] A daughter of king Shilhak-Inshushinak, Utu-ehihhi-Pinigir, was nonetheless named in her honor. [34] [3]
During the reign of Untash-Napirisha (c. 1275-1240 BCE) a temple of Pinikir had been built in Dur-Untash (Chogha Zanbil) near the ziggurat. [29] The king donated a golden statue of the goddess to it. [16] The temple was located to the right of the royal entrance to the structure, followed by these dedicated to Adad (whose name was represented in inscriptions logographically as dIM [35] ), Shala, Simut and Belet Ali ("Lady of the City," possibly an epithet of Manzat [36] ), and the Napratep gods. [37] Excavations of Pinikir's temple revealed a number of frit vessels shaped like female heads. [38]
Untash-Napirisha also built an aštam of Pinikir. [16] This term, possibly a loanword from Akkadian aštammu (tavern) [39] [40] is understood as an “endowed tavern” by Kamyar Abdi, [16] but as a type of regular temple by Florence Malbran-Labat. [41] Wouter Henkelman proposes that it was a siyan husame, [39] a so-called "temple in the grove." [42] Daniel T. Potts notes that in Elamite sources the term aštam appears to only designate temples of Pinikir. [40]
At least two neo-Elamite kings were particularly dedicated to Pinikir: Shutruk-Nahhunte II (reigned c. 717-699 BCE) and Tepti-Humban-Inshusinak (reigned either c. 660 or c. 520 BCE). [16] The latter built a temple dedicated to her after a victory over balahuteppe and lallarippe. [43] Wouter Henkelman considers these to be generic collective terms for evildoers or enemies rather than proper names, [43] but Daniel T. Potts assumes they refer to specific groups. [44] Four inscriptions from Susa state that during Tepti-Humban-Inshushinak's reign work had been undertaken on temples of Pinikir and Inshushinak located in that city. [45] The king Shutur-Nahhunte also built a new temple of Pinikir in the same city out of glazed bricks. [46] During Ashurbanipal’s sack of Susa a temple of Pinikir had been plundered before being razed to the ground. [16]
In addition to her presence in Elam, Pinikir was also worshiped by the Hurrians. According to Alfonso Archi, she “occupied a position of certain importance” in the Hurrian pantheon. [47] She was invoked as "Lady of the Lands," "Lady of Gods and Kings," "Queen of Heaven" [48] and also simply as "Elamite goddess." [10] She could also be referred to with the epithet allai, "lady," the Hurrian equivalent of Sumerian gašan and Akkadian bēltu. [49] Other Hurrian goddesses, for example Hebat [50] or Shaushka, could be referred to as allai too. [49] Additionally, it was the origin of the name of the goddess of the underworld, Allani. [51]
Piotr Taracha considers her to be one of the deities received by the Hurrians from Mesopotamia, possibly as early as in the third millennium BCE, alongside the likes of Ea and Ningal. [52] Gary Beckman on linguistic grounds assumes that it is improbable that she was received directly from Elam. [10] He also proposes that forerunners to late Bronze Age rituals dedicated to Hurrian deities like Pinikir, the "Goddess of the Night" (DINGIR.GE6), Kumarbi and the "former gods" (karuileš šiuneš) likely arose in the "Sumero-Hurrian culture of the late third and early second millennium." [53] Records of relations between Mesopotamian (for example Third Dynasty of Ur) and Hurrian (for example Nineveh, Urkesh, Nagar) polities in that time period show interchange of religious ideas. [54] While there is presently no evidence for the worship of Elamite deities on the court of the Third Dynasty of Ur (despite the presence of Hurrian ones, as well as deities from the Upper Euphrates and Diyala areas), a considerable number of Elamites are attested in the records too. [55] Additionally, there is evidence that kings of Ur showed interest in the temples of Elamite deities: Inshushinak's in Susa (Shulgi) and Ruhurater's in Huhnur (Amar-Sin). [56] It has also been noted that Hurro-Hittite ritual texts preserve knowledge about Pinikir’s association with Susa, which was likely derived from older Mesopotamian scholarly literature. [57]
In one Hurrian offering list (KUB 34.102), Pinikir appears among the deities from the circle of Teshub, alongside "Ishtar of Heaven," Allani, Ḫešui (a war god) and Iršappa. [58]
The Hittites adopted Pinikir from the Hurrians in the Middle Hittite period. [4] Other Hurrian Ishtar-like deities, such as Shaushka, entered the Hittite pantheon at the same time. [59] Invocations of "all Ishtars of the land of Hurri" are known from Hittite sources. [60] No deity of this variety played a significant role in the Old Hittite period, and their presence is a sign of Hurrian influence. [59] None of them were associated with the oldest Hittite centers, such as Nerik, Ankuwa or Zippalanda. [60]
A Hittite ritual texts (CTH 644) associates Pinikir with horses, presumably specifically these meant to draw war chariots. [4] She is also the deity invoked in a series of Hittite incantations, [14] so-called babilili rituals, named after the language they’re written in, Akkadian (called babilili in the Hittite commentary). [61] While Hittite ritual texts often feature invocations in foreign languages, such as Hurrian, Hattian, Luwian and Palaic, Akkadian is used in them very rarely, with only the babilili incantations and a so-called "ritual against insomnia" (CTH 432) featuring longer Akkadian sections. [62] Due to a number of linguistic peculiarities it is possible that the texts were copied from presently unknown compositions compiled in a peripheral area of Mesopotamia in the Old Babylonian period. [53]
Rituals dedicated to Pinikir often took place at night. [14] She also often appears in texts alongside the Hurrian "Goddess of the Night," for example in the text CTH 481 she received a keldi (so-called "goodwill offering") on the roof of the latter deity's temple, while in a variety of fragmentary damaged texts references are made to a purification ritual invoking them both. [1] The association between them is particularly evident in texts from Samuha, [1] where Pinikir was worshiped in the temple of the "Goddess of the Night." [58]
A Hittite text describes a vow to Shaushka made by queen Puduhepa, in which some cultic utensils of Pinikir are mentioned. [13]
Gary Beckman argues that Pinikir occurs in a single alphabetic Ugaritic ritual text, written as prgl. [10] This attestation is however regarded as uncertain by Piotr Taracha. [3]
In Carchemish Pinikir maintained a degree of relevance at least until the middle of the ninth century BCE. [63] [11] In a Luwian curse formula from this city Pinikir (“Parakaras”) appears alongside Tarhunza, Karhuha, Kubaba, the moon and the sun. [64]
A theophoric name beginning with the divine name Pirengir (Pinikir) is attested on an administrative tablet of neo-Assyrian provenance found in Tushhan (modern Ziyaret Tepe). [11] While due to its incomplete preservation the linguistic affinity of the bearer is unknown, [11] multiple individuals bearing Hurrian names are attested from this location, [65] while none have been identified as Elamite. [11] The phraseology of the text in mention indicates the people listed in it might have been deportees from other parts of the Assyrian empire. [66]
Inscriptions of Esarhaddon mention that he ordered the king of Shupria to round up Assyrian fugitives in the temple of a deity named Pirig-gal. [11] John MacGinnis identifies this deity as Pinikir. [11] It is possible that the Shuprians were related to Hurrians, though it is far from certain and this guess is only based on a handful of names of kings. [66]
Walther Hinz, an early researcher of Elam, believed that Pinikir was one and the same as Kiririsha, and that the latter was merely a "taboo name". [7] The theory of Elamite divine "taboo names" in general and specifically of the alleged equivalence between Pinikir and Kiririsha (and between Humban and Napirisha) is considered discredited by modern researchers of Elamite religion such as Wouter Henkelman and François Vallat. [7] Kiririsha and Pinikir have their origin in pantheons of different parts of Elam (Liyan and Awan, respectively), [8] were worshiped separately at Chogha Zanbil, [37] and both appear in an inscription accompanying a bronze relief from Susa. [67] Additionally, while Pinikir is compared both in ancient texts and in modern scholarship to Ishtar, [4] Kiririsha is instead regarded as similar to Ninhursag. [68]
The view that Pinikir and Kirirsha were one deity, pioneered by Hinz, [7] lead to the formation of a theory that Pinikir was a mother goddess. [3] However, the title "mother of gods" is only attested for Kiririsha and Mashti. [8] Heidemarie Koch, who accepts many of Hinz's assumptions about Elamite religion, concludes that Pinikir at most could have absorbed the maternal traits of other deities. [69]
Hinz also asserted that Pinikir was originally the main deity of Elam, [70] but there is no evidence for that outside of her position in the Naram-Sin treaty, [71] [33] and she is attested very infrequently in known Elamite texts. [12] It has also been pointed out that the deities in the Naram-Sin treaty are not necessarily arranged according to theological importance. [32] For instance, while Humban is listed as second and Inshushinak only as sixth, the latter is subsequently invoked multiple times while the former is not, possibly indicating greater significance. [72]
Elam was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of modern-day Iran, stretching from the lowlands of what is now Khuzestan and Ilam Province as well as a small part of southern Iraq. The modern name Elam stems from the Sumerian transliteration elam(a), along with the later Akkadian elamtu, and the Elamite haltamti. Elamite states were among the leading political forces of the Ancient Near East. In classical literature, Elam was also known as Susiana, a name derived from its capital Susa.
Shala (Šala) was a Mesopotamian goddess of weather and grain and the wife of the weather god Adad. It is assumed that she originated in northern Mesopotamia and that her name might have Hurrian origin. She was worshiped especially in Karkar and in Zabban, regarded as cult centers of her husband as well. She is first attested in the Old Babylonian period, but it is possible that an analogous Sumerian goddess, Medimsha, was already the wife of Adad's counterpart Ishkur in earlier times.
Jabru was a god who according to Mesopotamian god lists was worshiped in Elam. However, he is not attested in any Elamite sources.
Humban was an Elamite god. He is already attested in the earliest sources preserving information about Elamite religion, but seemingly only grew in importance in the neo-Elamite period, in which many kings had theophoric names invoking him. He was connected with the concept of kitin, or divine protection.
Nahhunte was the Elamite sun god. While the evidence for the existence of temples dedicated to him and regular offerings is sparse, he is commonly attested in theophoric names, including these of members of Elamite royal families.
Inshushinak was the tutelary god of the city of Susa in Elam. His name has a Sumerian etymology, and can be translated as "lord of Susa". He was associated with kingship, and as a result appears in the names and epithets of multiple Elamite rulers. In Susa he was the main god of the local pantheon, though his status in other parts of Elam might have been different. He was also connected with justice and the underworld. His iconography is uncertain, though it is possible snakes were his symbolic animals. Two Mesopotamian deities incorporated into Elamite tradition, Lagamal and Ishmekarab, were regarded as his assistants. He was chiefly worshiped in Susa, where multiple temples dedicated to him existed. Attestations from other Elamite cities are less common. He is also attested in Mesopotamian sources, where he could be recognized as an underworld deity or as an equivalent of Ninurta. He plays a role in the so-called Susa Funerary Texts, which despite being found in Susa were written in Akkadian and might contain instructions for the dead arriving in the underworld.
Ninegal or Belat Ekalli (Belet-ekalli) was a Mesopotamian goddess associated with palaces. Both her Sumerian and Akkadian name mean "lady of the palace."
Šauška (Shaushka), also called Šauša or Šawuška, was the highest ranked goddess in the Hurrian pantheon. She was associated with love and war, as well as with incantations and by extension with healing. While she was usually referred to as a goddess and with feminine titles, such as allai, references to masculine Šauška are also known. The Hurrians associated her with Nineveh, but she was also worshiped in many other centers associated with this culture, from Anatolian cities in Kizzuwatna, through Alalakh and Ugarit in Syria, to Nuzi and Ulamme in northeastern Mesopotamia. She was also worshiped in southern Mesopotamia, where she was introduced alongside a number of other foreign deities in the Ur III period. In this area, she came to be associated with Ishtar. At a later point in time, growing Hurrian influence on Hittite culture resulted in the adoption of Šauška into the Hittite state pantheon.
Kiririsha was a major goddess worshiped in Elam.
The Hurrian religion was the polytheistic religion of the Hurrians, a Bronze Age people of the Near East who chiefly inhabited the north of the Fertile Crescent. While the oldest evidence goes back to the third millennium BCE, it is best attested in cuneiform sources from the second millennium BCE written not only in the Hurrian language, but also Akkadian, Hittite and Ugaritic. It was shaped by contacts between the Hurrians and the various cultures with which they coexisted. As a result, the Hurrian pantheon included both natively Hurrian deities and those of foreign origin, adopted from Mesopotamian, Syrian, Anatolian and Elamite beliefs. The culture of the Hurrians was not entirely homogeneous, and different local religious traditions are documented in sources from Hurrian kingdoms such as Arrapha, Kizzuwatna and Mitanni, as well as from cities with sizeable Hurrian populations, such as Ugarit and Alalakh.
Narundi or Narunde was an Elamite goddess worshiped in Susa. She is attested there roughly between 2250 BCE and 1800 BCE. Multiple inscriptions mention her, and it assumed she was a popular deity at the time. In later periods, she occurs exclusively in Mesopotamia, where she played a role in apotropaic rituals in association with the Sebitti. Many attestations are available from late Assyrian sources, but it is not certain if they should be regarded as an indication of continuous worship.
Ninatta and Kulitta were a dyad of Hurrian goddesses regarded as the handmaidens of Šauška. They were primarily considered divine musicians, though they also had a warlike aspect. They are attested in western Hurrian sources from Ugarit and Hattusa. They were also incorporated into the Hittite and Mesopotamian pantheons.
Manzat (Manzât), also spelled Mazzi'at, Manzi'at and Mazzêt, sometimes known by the Sumerian name Tiranna (dTIR.AN.NA) was a Mesopotamian and Elamite goddess representing the rainbow. She was also believed to be responsible for the prosperity of cities.
Simut or Šimut (Shimut) was an Elamite god. He was regarded as the herald of the gods, and was associated with the planet Mars. He was closely associated with Manzat, a goddess representing the rainbow. He appears in inscriptions of various Elamite kings which mention a number of temples dedicated to him. However, it is not known which city served as his main cult center. He was also worshiped in Mesopotamia, where he was compared with the war god Nergal.
Goddess of the Night (Sumerian: 𒀭𒈪, DINGIR.GE6) was a deity worshiped in the Hurrian kingdom of Kizzuwatna, and later also in Šamuḫa in the Hittite Empire. Only the logographic writing of her name is known, and multiple attempts at identifying her identity have been made. Most researchers assume that she was at least partially similar to goddesses such as Ishtar, Šauška and Išḫara. She most likely represented the night sky, and was also associated with dreaming.
Lagamal or Lagamar was a Mesopotamian deity associated chiefly with Dilbat. A female form of Lagamal was worshiped in Terqa on the Euphrates in Upper Mesopotamia. The male Lagamal was also at some point introduced to the pantheon of Susa in Elam.
Shuwala (Šuwala) was a Hurrian goddess who was regarded as the tutelary deity of Mardaman, a Hurrian city in the north of modern Iraq. She was also worshiped in other Hurrian centers, such as Nuzi and Alalakh, as well as in Ur in Mesopotamia, Hattusa in the Hittite Empire and in the Syrian cities Emar and Ugarit.
Ishmekarab (Išmekarab) or Ishnikarab (Išnikarab) was a Mesopotamian deity of justice. The name is commonly translated from Akkadian as "he heard the prayer," but Ishmekarab's gender is uncertain and opinions of researchers on whether the deity was male or female vary.
Uršui or Uršue was a Hurrian goddess. Her name might be derived from the toponym Uršu. It is not certain if the related theonym Uršui-Iškalli should be interpreted as Uršui's name being used as an epithet, as her name accompanied by epithet, or as a pair of goddesses. In Hurrian offering lists (kaluti), Uršui appears as a member of the circle of either Ḫepat or Šauška.