| Part of a series on |
| Ancient Mesopotamian religion |
|---|
 |
| Part of a series on |
| Ancient Near East mythology |
|---|
Sumerian religion was the religion practiced by the people of Sumer, the first literate civilization found in recorded history and based in ancient Mesopotamia, and what is modern day Iraq. The Sumerians widely regarded their divinities as responsible for all matters pertaining to the natural and social orders of their society. [3] : 3–4
Before the beginning of kingship in Sumer, the city-states were effectively ruled by theocratic priests and religious officials. Later, this role was supplanted by kings, but priests continued to exert great influence on Sumerian society. In early times, Sumerian temples were simple, one-room structures, sometimes built on elevated platforms. Towards the end of Sumerian civilization, these temples developed into ziggurats—tall, pyramidal structures with sanctuaries at the tops.
The Sumerians believed that the universe had come into being through a series of cosmic births such as gods. First, Nammu, the primeval waters, gave birth to Ki (the earth) and An (the sky), who mated together and produced a son named Enlil. Enlil separated heaven from earth and claimed the earth as his domain. Humans were believed to have been created by AnKi or Enki, the son of the An and Ki.
Heaven was reserved exclusively for deities and, upon their deaths, all mortals' spirits, regardless of their behavior while alive, were believed to go to Kur, a cold, dark cavern deep beneath the earth, which was ruled by the goddess Ereshkigal and where the only food available was dry dust. In later times, Ereshkigal was believed to rule alongside her husband Nergal, the god of death.
The major deities in the Sumerian pantheon included An, the god of the heavens, Enlil, the god of wind and storm, AnKi Enki, the god of water and human culture, Ninhursag, the goddess of fertility and the earth, Utu, the god of the sun and justice, and his father Nanna, the god of the moon. During the Akkadian Empire, Inanna, the goddess of sex, beauty, and warfare, was widely venerated across Sumer and appeared in many myths, including the famous story of her descent into the Underworld.
Sumerian religion heavily influenced the religious beliefs of later Mesopotamian peoples; elements of it are retained in the mythologies and religions of the Hurrians, Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians, and other Middle Eastern culture groups. Scholars of comparative mythology have noticed parallels between the stories of the ancient Sumerians and those recorded later in the early parts of the Hebrew Bible. [ citation needed ]
Sumerian myths were passed down through the oral tradition until the invention of writing (the earliest myth discovered so far, the Epic of Gilgamesh, is Sumerian[ dubious – discuss ] and is written on a series of fractured clay tablets). Early Sumerian cuneiform was used primarily as a record-keeping tool; it was not until the late Early Dynastic period that religious writings first became prevalent as temple praise hymns [5] and as a form of "incantation" called the nam-šub (prefix + "to cast"). [6] These tablets were also made of stone clay or stone, and they used a small pick to make the symbols.
In the Sumerian city-states, temple complexes originally were small, elevated one-room structures. In the early dynastic period, temples developed raised terraces and multiple rooms. Toward the end of the Sumerian civilization, ziggurats became the preferred temple structure for Mesopotamian religious centers. [9] Temples served as cultural, religious, and political headquarters until approximately 2500 BC, with the rise of military kings known as Lu-gals ("man" + "big") [6] after which time the political and military leadership was often housed in separate "palace" complexes.
Until the advent of the Lugal ("King"), Sumerian city-states were under a virtually theocratic government controlled by various En or Ensí, who served as the high priests of the cults of the city gods. (Their female equivalents were known as Nin.) Priests were responsible for continuing the cultural and religious traditions of their city-state, and were viewed as mediators between humans and the cosmic and terrestrial forces. The priesthood resided full-time in temple complexes, and administered matters of state including the large irrigation processes necessary for the civilization's survival.
Some cities in Sumer had periods where their kings were worshipped as gods, and occasionally, these times spread to all cities in the region. [10]
During the Third Dynasty of Ur, the Sumerian city-state of Lagash was said to have had sixty-two "lamentation priests" who were accompanied by 180 vocalists and instrumentalists. [11]
The Sumerians envisioned the universe as a closed dome surrounded by a primordial saltwater sea. [12] Underneath the terrestrial earth, which formed the base of the dome, existed an underworld and a freshwater ocean called the Abzu. The deity of the dome-shaped firmament was named An; that of the earth was named Ki. First the underground world was believed to be an extension of the goddess Ki, but later developed into the concept of Kur. The primordial saltwater sea was named Nammu, who became known as Tiamat during and after the Ur III period. Some ancient Sumerians believed that salt and other minerals were alive, and could even think independent thoughts. [13]
The main source of information about Sumerian creation mythology is the prologue to the epic poem Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld , [15] : 30–33 which briefly describes the process of creation: originally, there was only Nammu, the primeval sea. [15] : 37–40 Then, Nammu without a father gave birth to Utu, then went on to create An the sky, and Ki, the earth. [15] : 37–40 An and Ki mated with each other, causing Ki to give birth to Enlil, the god of wind, rain, and storm. [15] : 37–40 Enlil separated An from Ki and carried off the earth as his domain, while An carried off the sky. [15] : 37–41
The ancient Mesopotamians regarded the sky as a series of domes (usually three, but sometimes seven) covering the flat earth [16] : 180 and a place where holy stars resided. [17] Each dome was made of a different kind of precious stone. [16] : 203 The lowest dome of heaven was made of jasper and was the home of the stars. [18] The middle dome of heaven was made of saggilmut stone and was the abode of the Igigi. [18] The highest and outermost dome of heaven was made of luludānītu stone and was personified as An, the god of the sky. [19] [18] The celestial bodies were equated with specific deities as well. [16] : 203 The planet Venus was believed to be Inanna, the goddess of love, sex, and war. [20] : 108–109 [16] : 203 The sun was her brother Utu, the god of justice, [16] : 203 and the moon was their father Nanna. [16] : 203 Ordinary mortals could not go to heaven because it was the abode of the gods alone. [21] Instead, after a person died, his or her soul went to Kur (later known as Irkalla), a dark shadowy underworld, located deep below the surface of the earth. [21] [22]
The Sumerian afterlife was a dark, dreary cavern located deep below the ground, [22] [23] where inhabitants were believed to continue "a shadowy version of life on earth". [22] This bleak domain was known as Kur, [20] : 114 and was believed to be ruled by the goddess Ereshkigal. [22] [16] : 184 All souls went to the same afterlife, [22] and a person's actions during life had no effect on how the person would be treated in the world to come. [22]
The souls in Kur were believed to eat nothing but dry dust [20] : 58 and family members of the deceased would ritually pour libations into the dead person's grave through a clay pipe, thereby allowing the dead to drink. [20] : 58 Nonetheless, there are assumptions according to which treasures in wealthy graves had been intended as offerings for Utu and the Anunnaki, so that the deceased would receive special favors in the underworld. [23] During the Third Dynasty of Ur, it was believed that a person's treatment in the afterlife depended on how he or she was buried; [20] : 58 those that had been given sumptuous burials would be treated well, [20] : 58 but those who had been given poor burials would fare poorly, and were believed to haunt the living. [20] : 58
The entrance to Kur was believed to be located in the Zagros Mountains in the far east. [20] : 114 It had seven gates, through which a soul needed to pass. [22] The god Neti was the gatekeeper. [16] : 184 [20] : 86 Ereshkigal's sukkal , or messenger, was the god Namtar. [20] : 134 [16] : 184 Galla were a class of demons that were believed to reside in the underworld; [20] : 85 their primary purpose appears to have been to drag unfortunate mortals back to Kur. [20] : 85 They are frequently referenced in magical texts, [20] : 85–86 and some texts describe them as being seven in number. [20] : 85–86 Several extant poems describe the galla dragging the god Dumuzid into the underworld. [20] : 86 The later Mesopotamians knew this underworld by its East Semitic name: Irkalla. During the Akkadian Period, Ereshkigal's role as the ruler of the underworld was assigned to Nergal, the god of death. [22] [16] : 184 The Akkadians attempted to harmonize this dual rulership of the underworld by making Nergal Ereshkigal's husband. [22]
It is generally agreed that Sumerian civilization began at some point between c. 4500 and 4000 BC, but the earliest historical records only date to around 2900 BC. [24] The Sumerians originally practiced a polytheistic religion, with anthropomorphic deities representing cosmic and terrestrial forces in their world. [16] : 178–179 The earliest Sumerian literature of the third millennium BC identifies four primary deities: An, Enlil, Ninhursag, and Enki. These early deities were believed to occasionally behave mischievously towards each other, but were generally viewed as being involved in co-operative creative ordering. [25]
During the middle of the third millennium BC, Sumerian society became more urbanized. [16] : 178–179 As a result of this, Sumerian deities began to lose their original associations with nature and became the patrons of various cities. [16] : 179 Each Sumerian city-state had its own specific patron deity, [16] : 179 who was believed to protect the city and defend its interests. [16] : 179 Lists of large numbers of Sumerian deities have been found. Their order of importance and the relationships between the deities has been examined during the study of cuneiform tablets. [26]
During the late 2000s BC, the Sumerians were conquered by the Akkadians. [16] : 179 The Akkadians syncretized their own gods with the Sumerian ones, [16] : 179 causing Sumerian religion to take on a Semitic coloration. [16] : 179 Male deities became dominant [16] : 179 and the gods completely lost their original associations with natural phenomena. [16] : 179–180 People began to view the gods as living in a feudal society with class structure. [16] : 179–181 Powerful deities such as Enki and Inanna became seen as receiving their power from the chief god Enlil. [16] : 179–180
The majority of Sumerian deities belonged to a classification called the Anunna ("[offspring] of An"), whereas seven deities, including Enlil and Inanna, belonged to a group of "underworld judges" known as the Anunnaki ("[offspring] of An" + Ki). During the Third Dynasty of Ur, the Sumerian pantheon was said to include sixty times sixty (3600) deities. [16] : 182
Enlil was the god of air, wind, and storm. [27] : 108 He was also the chief god of the Sumerian pantheon [27] : 108 [28] : 115–121 and the patron deity of the city of Nippur. [29] : 58 [30] : 231–234 His primary consort was Ninlil, the goddess of the south wind, [31] : 106 who was one of the patron deities of Nippur and was believed to reside in the same temple as Enlil. [32] Ninurta was the son of Enlil and Ninlil. He was worshipped as the god of war, agriculture, and one of the Sumerian wind gods. He was the patron deity of Girsu and one of the patron deities of Lagash. "Sumerian cities each had their own gods but acknowledged the supremacy of...Enlil." [33]
Enki was god of freshwater, male fertility, and knowledge. [20] : 75 His most important cult center was the E-abzu temple in the city of Eridu. [20] : 75 He was the patron and creator of humanity [20] : 75 and the sponsor of human culture. [20] : 75 His primary consort was Ninhursag, the Sumerian goddess of the earth. [20] : 140 Ninhursag was worshipped in the cities of Kesh and Adab. [20] : 140
Inanna was the Sumerian goddess of love, sexuality, prostitution, and war. [20] : 109 She was the divine personification of the planet Venus, the morning and evening star. [20] : 108–109 Her main cult center was the Eanna temple in Uruk, which had been originally dedicated to An. [35] Deified kings may have re-enacted the marriage of Inanna and Dumuzid with priestesses. [20] : 151, 157–158 Accounts of her parentage vary; [20] : 108 in most myths, she is usually presented as the daughter of Nanna and Ningal, [34] : ix–xi, xvi but, in other stories, she is the daughter of Enki or An along with an unknown mother. [20] : 108 The Sumerians had more myths about her than any other deity. [34] : xiii, xv [15] : 101 Many of the myths involving her revolve around her attempts to usurp control of the other deities' domains. [36]
Utu was god of the sun, whose primary center of worship was the E-babbar temple in Sippar. [37] Utu was principally regarded as a dispenser of justice; [16] : 184 he was believed to protect the righteous and punish the wicked. [16] : 184 Nanna was god of the moon and of wisdom. He was the father of Utu and one of the patron deities of Ur. [38] He may have also been the father of Inanna and Ereshkigal. Ningal was the wife of Nanna, [39] as well as the mother of Utu, Inanna, and Ereshkigal.
Ereshkigal was the goddess of the Sumerian Underworld, which was known as Kur. [16] : 184 She was Inanna's older sister. [40] In later myth, her husband was the god Nergal. [16] : 184 The gatekeeper of the underworld was the god Neti. [16] : 184
Nammu was a goddess representing the primeval waters (Engur), who gave birth to An (heaven) and Ki (earth) and the first deities; while she is rarely attested as an object of cult, she likely played a central role in the early cosmogony of Eridu, and in later periods continued to appear in texts related to exorcisms. [41] An was the ancient Sumerian god of the heavens. He was the ancestor of all the other major deities [42] and the original patron deity of Uruk.
Most major gods had a so-called sukkal, a minor deity serving as their vizier, messenger or doorkeeper. [43]
The Sumerians had an ongoing linguistic and cultural exchange with the Semitic Akkadian peoples in northern Mesopotamia for generations prior to the usurpation of their territories by Sargon of Akkad in 2340 BC. Sumerian mythology and religious practices were rapidly integrated into Akkadian culture, [44] presumably blending with the original Akkadian belief systems that have been mostly lost to history. Sumerian deities developed Akkadian counterparts. Some remained virtually the same until later Babylonian and Assyrian rule. The Sumerian god An, for example, developed the Akkadian counterpart Anu; the Sumerian god Enki became Ea. The gods Ninurta and Enlil kept their original Sumerian names.[ citation needed ]
The Amorite Babylonians gained dominance over southern Mesopotamia by the mid-17th century BC. During the Old Babylonian Period, the Sumerian and Akkadian languages were retained for religious purposes; the majority of Sumerian mythological literature known to historians today comes from the Old Babylonian Period, [5] either in the form of transcribed Sumerian texts (most notably the Babylonian version of the Epic of Gilgamesh ) or in the form of Sumerian and Akkadian influences within Babylonian mythological literature (most notably the Enûma Eliš ). The Sumerian-Akkadian pantheon was altered, most notably with the introduction of a new supreme deity, Marduk. The Sumerian goddess Inanna also developed the counterpart Ishtar during the Old Babylonian Period.
The Hurrians adopted the Akkadian god Anu into their pantheon sometime no later than 1200 BC. Other Sumerian and Akkadian deities adapted into the Hurrian pantheon include Ayas, the Hurrian counterpart to Ea; Shaushka, the Hurrian counterpart to Ishtar; and the goddess Ninlil, [45] whose mythos had been drastically expanded by the Babylonians.[ citation needed ]
Some stories recorded in the older parts of the Hebrew Bible bear strong similarities to the stories in Sumerian mythology. For example, the biblical account of Noah and the Great Flood bears a striking resemblance to the Sumerian deluge myth, recorded in a Sumerian tablet discovered at Nippur. [46] : 97–101 The Judaic underworld Sheol is very similar in description with the Sumerian Kur, ruled by the goddess Ereshkigal, as well as the Babylonian underworld Irkalla. Sumerian scholar Samuel Noah Kramer has also noted similarities between many Sumerian and Akkadian "proverbs" and the later Hebrew proverbs, many of which are featured in the Book of Proverbs. [47] : 133–135
| An | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ninḫursaĝ | Enki born to Namma | Ninkikurga born to Namma | Nisaba born to Uraš | Ḫaya | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ninsar | Ninlil | Enlil | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ninkurra | Ningal maybe daughter of Enlil | Nanna | Nergal maybe son of Enki | Ninurta maybe born to Ninḫursaĝ | Baba born to Uraš | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Uttu | Inanna possibly also the daughter of Enki, of Enlil, or of An | Dumuzid maybe son of Enki | Utu | Ninkigal married Nergal | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Meškiaĝĝašer | Lugalbanda | Ninsumun | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Enmerkar | Gilgāmeš | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Urnungal | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Enlil, later known as Elil and Ellil, is an ancient Mesopotamian god associated with wind, air, earth, and storms. He is first attested as the chief deity of the Sumerian pantheon, but he was later worshipped by the Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians, and Hurrians. Enlil's primary center of worship was the Ekur temple in the city of Nippur, which was believed to have been built by Enlil himself and was regarded as the "mooring-rope" of heaven and earth. He is also sometimes referred to in Sumerian texts as Nunamnir. According to one Sumerian hymn, Enlil himself was so holy that not even the other gods could look upon him. Enlil rose to prominence during the twenty-fourth century BC with the rise of Nippur. His cult fell into decline after Nippur was sacked by the Elamites in 1230 BC and he was eventually supplanted as the chief god of the Mesopotamian pantheon by the Babylonian national god Marduk.
Enki is the Sumerian god of water, knowledge (gestú), crafts (gašam), and creation (nudimmud), and one of the Anunnaki. He was later known as Ea or Ae in Akkadian (Assyrian-Babylonian) religion, and is identified by some scholars with Ia in Canaanite religion. The name was rendered Aos in Greek sources.
Inanna is the ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility. She is also associated with sensuality, procreation, divine law, and political power. Originally worshipped in Sumer, she was known by the Akkadian Empire, Babylonians, and Assyrians as Ishtar. Her primary title is "the Queen of Heaven".
Mesopotamian religion refers to the religious beliefs and practices of the civilizations of ancient Mesopotamia, particularly Sumer, Akkad, Assyria and Babylonia between circa 6000 BC and 400 AD. The religious development of Mesopotamia and Mesopotamian culture in general, especially in the south, were not particularly influenced by the movements of the various peoples into and throughout the area. Rather, Mesopotamian religion was a consistent and coherent tradition, which adapted to the internal needs of its adherents over millennia of development.
Nergal was a Mesopotamian god worshiped through all periods of Mesopotamian history, from Early Dynastic to Neo-Babylonian times, with a few attestations indicating that his cult survived into the period of Achaemenid domination. He was primarily associated with war, death, and disease, and has been described as the "god of inflicted death". He reigned over Kur, the Mesopotamian underworld, depending on the myth either on behalf of his parents Enlil and Ninlil, or in later periods as a result of his marriage with the goddess Ereshkigal. Originally either Mammitum, a goddess possibly connected to frost, or Laṣ, sometimes assumed to be a minor medicine goddess, were regarded as his wife, though other traditions existed, too.
Sin or Suen (Akkadian: 𒀭𒂗𒍪, dEN.ZU) also known as Nanna (Sumerian: 𒀭𒋀𒆠DŠEŠ.KI, DNANNA) is the Mesopotamian god representing the moon. While these two names originate in two different languages, respectively Akkadian and Sumerian, they were already used interchangeably to refer to one deity in the Early Dynastic period. They were sometimes combined into the double name Nanna-Suen. A third well attested name is Dilimbabbar (𒀭𒀸𒁽𒌓). Additionally, the name of the moon god could be represented by logograms reflecting his lunar character, such as d30 (𒀭𒌍), referring to days in the lunar month or dU4.SAKAR (𒀭𒌓𒊬), derived from a term referring to the crescent. In addition to his astral role, Sin was also closely associated with cattle herding. Furthermore, there is some evidence that he could serve as a judge of the dead in the underworld. A distinct tradition in which he was regarded either as a god of equal status as the usual heads of the Mesopotamian pantheon, Enlil and Anu, or as a king of the gods in his own right, is also attested, though it only had limited recognition. In Mesopotamian art, his symbol was the crescent. When depicted anthropomorphically, he typically either wore headwear decorated with it or held a staff topped with it, though on kudurru the crescent alone serves as a representation of him. He was also associated with boats.
Shamash, also known as Utu was the ancient Mesopotamian sun god. He was believed to see everything that happened in the world every day, and was therefore responsible for justice and protection of travelers. As a divine judge, he could be associated with the underworld. Additionally, he could serve as the god of divination, typically alongside the weather god Adad. While he was universally regarded as one of the primary gods, he was particularly venerated in Sippar and Larsa. The moon god Nanna (Sin) and his wife Ningal were regarded as his parents, while his twin sister was Inanna (Ishtar). Occasionally other goddesses, such as Manzat and Pinikir, could be regarded as his sisters too. The dawn goddess Aya (Sherida) was his wife, and multiple texts describe their daily reunions taking place on a mountain where the sun was believed to set. Among their children were Kittum, the personification of truth, dream deities such as Mamu, as well as the god Ishum. Utu's name could be used to write the names of many foreign solar deities logographically. The connection between him and the Hurrian solar god Shimige is particularly well attested, and the latter could be associated with Aya as well.
In Mesopotamian mythology, Ereshkigal was the goddess of Kur, the land of the dead or underworld in Sumerian mythology. In later myths, she was said to rule Irkalla alongside her husband Nergal. Sometimes her name is given as Irkalla, similar to the way the name Hades was used in Greek mythology for both the underworld and its ruler, and sometimes it is given as Ninkigal, lit. "Lady of the Great Earth".
Namtar was a figure in ancient Mesopotamian religion who, depending on the context, could be regarded both as a minor god and as a demon of disease. He is best attested as the sukkal of Ereshkigal, the goddess of the underworld. Like her, he was not the object of active worship, though references to it are made in literary texts, and additionally some incantations entrust him with keeping various other malevolent forces in the underworld.
The Anunnaki are a group of deities of the ancient Sumerians, Akkadians, Assyrians and Babylonians. In the earliest Sumerian writings about them, which come from the Post-Akkadian period, the Anunnaki are deities in the pantheon, descendants of An and Ki, the god of the heavens and the goddess of earth, and their primary function was to decree the fates of humanity. They should not be confused with the Apkallu.
The Gutian dynasty was a line of kings, originating among the Gutian people. Originally thought to be a horde that swept in and brought down Akkadian and Sumerian rule in Mesopotamia, the Gutians are now known to have been in the area for at least a century by then. By the end of the Akkadian period, the Sumerian city of Adab was occupied by the Gutians, who made it their capital. The Gutian Dynasty came to power in Mesopotamia near the end of the 3rd millennium BC, after the decline and fall of the Akkadian Empire. How long Gutian kings held rulership over Mesopotamia is uncertain, with estimates ranging from a few years up to a century. The end of the Gutian dynasty is marked by the accession of Uruk ruler Utu-hengal, marking the short-lived "Fifth dynasty of Uruk", followed by Ur ruler Ur-Nammu, founder of the Third Dynasty of Ur.
Babylonian religion is the religious practice of Babylonia. Babylonia's mythology was largely influenced by its Sumerian counterparts and was written on clay tablets inscribed with the cuneiform script derived from Sumerian cuneiform. The myths were usually either written in Sumerian or Akkadian. Some Babylonian texts were translations into Akkadian from Sumerian of earlier texts, but the names of some deities were changed.
In Mesopotamian mythology, the Tablet of Destinies was envisaged as a clay tablet inscribed with cuneiform writing, also impressed with cylinder seals, which, as a permanent legal document, conferred upon the god Enlil his supreme authority as ruler of the universe. It is a major literary motif in ancient Sumerian myths including Ninurta and the Turtle, and in Akkadian myths including Enuma Elish.
Ninshubur, also spelled Ninšubura, was a Mesopotamian goddess whose primary role was that of the sukkal of the goddess Inanna. While it is agreed that in this context Ninshubur was regarded as female, in other cases the deity was considered male, possibly due to syncretism with other divine messengers, such as Ilabrat. No certain information about her genealogy is present in any known sources, and she was typically regarded as unmarried. As a sukkal, she functioned both as a messenger deity and as an intercessor between other members of the pantheon and human petitioners.
Ninazu was a Mesopotamian god of the underworld. He was also associated with snakes and vegetation, and with time acquired the character of a warrior god. He was frequently associated with Ereshkigal, either as a son, husband, or simply a member the same category of underworld deities.
Enmesharra was a Mesopotamian god associated with the underworld. He was regarded as a member of an inactive old generation of deities, and as such was commonly described as a ghost or resident of the underworld. He is best known from various lists of primordial deities, such as the so-called "theogony of Enlil," which lists many generations of ancestral deities.
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.
Ninisina was a Mesopotamian goddess who served as the tutelary deity of the city of Isin. She was considered a healing deity. She was believed to be skilled in the medical arts, and could be described as a divine physician or midwife. As an extension of her medical role, she was also believed to be capable of expelling various demons. Her symbols included dogs, commonly associated with healing goddesses in Mesopotamia, as well as tools and garments associated with practitioners of medicine.
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.
The ancient Mesopotamian underworld, was the lowermost part of the ancient near eastern cosmos, roughly parallel to the region known as Tartarus from early Greek cosmology. It was described as a dark, dreary cavern located deep below the ground, where inhabitants were believed to continue "a transpositional version of life on earth". The only food or drink was dry dust, but family members of the deceased would pour sacred mineral libations from the earth for them to drink. In the Sumerian underworld, it was initially believed that there was no final judgement of the deceased and the dead were neither punished nor rewarded for their deeds in life.
| Primordial beings |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Primary deities | ||
| Other major deities | ||
| Minor deities | ||
| Demons, spirits, and monsters | ||
| Mortal heroes | ||
