|
Angim
The work known by its incipit, Angim, "The Return of Ninurta to Nippur", is a 210-line mythological praise poem for the ancient Mesopotamian warrior-god Ninurta, describing his return to Nippur from an expedition to the mountains (KUR), where he boasts of his triumphs against "rebel lands" (KI.BAL), boasting to Enlil in the Ekur, before returning to the Ešumeša temple—to “manifest his authority and kingship.” The ancient Sumerian language, Sumerian epic had been provided with an intralinear Akkadian language, Akkadian translation during the course of the second millennium. The myth Three copies from Nippur provide a subscript labeling it a šìr-gíd-da, or "long song", of Ninurta, where the term ''long'' perhaps refers to the tuning of the musical instrument intended to accompany the song. It is extant in unilingual Sumerian from Nippur during the Old Babylonian period, and thereafter in bilingual editions from the Kassites, Kassite, middle Assyrian and neo-Assyrian and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ninurta
Ninurta (: , possible meaning "Lord [of] Barley"), also known as Ninĝirsu (: , meaning "Lord [of] Girsu"), is an List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian god associated with farming, healing, hunting, law, scribes, and war who was first worshipped in early Sumer. In the earliest records, he is a god of agriculture and healing, who cures humans of sicknesses and releases them from the power of Demons#Mesopotamia, demons. In later times, as Mesopotamia grew more militarized, he became a warrior deity, though he retained many of his earlier agricultural attributes. He was regarded as the son of the chief god Enlil and his main Cult (religious practice), cult center in Sumer was the Eshumesha temple in Nippur. Ninĝirsu was honored by Gudea, King Gudea of Lagash (ruled 2144–2124 BC), who rebuilt Ninĝirsu's temple in Lagash. Later, Ninurta became beloved by the Assyrians as a formidable warrior. The Assyrian king Ashurnasirpal II (ruled 883–859 BC) built a massive tem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kusarikku
Kusarikku ("Bull-Man") was an ancient Mesopotamian mythological demon shown in artistic representation from the earliest (late Uruk period) times with the arms, torso and head of a human and the ears, horns and hindquarters of a bull. He is portrayed as walking upright and characterized as a door keeper to protect the inhabitants from malevolent intruders. He is one of the demons which represented mountains. He is pictured in late iconography holding a ''banduddû'', "bucket". On a stela of Meli-Šipak, the land grant to Ḫasardu kudurru, he is pictured carrying a spade. Mythology In the Sumerian myth, '' Angim'' or "Ninurta's return to Nippur", the god "brought forth the Bison (gud-alim) from his battle dust" and "hung the Bison on the beam". He is one of Tiāmat's offspring vanquished by Marduk in the Epic of Creation, Enûma Eliš. In the prologue of the Anzû Myth, Ninurta defeats the kusarikku "in the midst of the sea". In an incantation against the evil eye of the L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sumerian Literature
Sumerian literature constitutes the earliest known corpus of recorded literature, including the religious writings and other traditional stories maintained by the Sumerian civilization and largely preserved by the later Akkadian and Babylonian empires. These records were written in the Sumerian language in the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC during the Middle Bronze Age. The Sumerians invented one of the first writing systems, developing Sumerian cuneiform writing out of earlier proto-writing systems by about the 30th century BC. The Sumerian language remained in official and literary use in the Akkadian and Babylonian empires, even after the spoken language disappeared from the population; literacy was widespread, and the Sumerian texts that students copied heavily influenced later Babylonian literature. The basic genres of Sumerian literature were literary catalogues, narrative/mythological compositions, historical compositions, letters and legal documents, disputation poems, pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sumerian Language
Sumerian ) was the language of ancient Sumer. It is one of the List of languages by first written account, oldest attested languages, dating back to at least 2900 BC. It is a local language isolate that was spoken in ancient Mesopotamia, in the area that is modern-day Iraq, Iraq. Akkadian language, Akkadian, a Semitic languages, Semitic language, gradually replaced Sumerian as the primary spoken language in the area (the exact date is debated), but Sumerian continued to be used as a sacred, ceremonial, literary, and scientific language in Akkadian-speaking Mesopotamian states, such as Assyria and Babylonia, until the 1st century AD. Thereafter, it seems to have fallen into obscurity until the 19th century, when Assyriologists began Decipherment, deciphering the cuneiform inscriptions and excavated tablets that had been left by its speakers. In spite of its extinction, Sumerian exerted a significant influence on the languages of the area. The Cuneiform, cuneiform script, original ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ninkarnunna
Ninkarnunna ('' dNin-kar-nun-na'', Sumerian: "lord of the exalted quay") was a Mesopotamian god who belonged to the circle of deities associated with Ninurta. He was the ''bar-šu-gal'' (possibly "masseur") of this god. A litany refers to him as the "good child" (''dumu sagga''). According to the god list ''An = Anum'', Ninkarnunna's brother was Inimmanizi, the sukkal (vizier) of Ninurta. According to Wilfred G. Lambert it is possible that some copies instead regard Ninkarnunna as a female deity and the spouse of Inimmanizi. An association between Ninkarnunna and Inimmanizi is also attested in astronomical texts. A temple of Ninkarnunna existed in Nippur. In Babylon, he was worshiped in the E-rabriri, the temple of Mandanu, which lead Antoine Cavigneaux and Mandred Krebernik to propose that Mandanu might have been syncretised with Ninurta in this city. His seat in the latter temple was known as E-ushumgal-anna, "house of the dragon ( ushumgal) of heaven." Ninkarnunna is mentione ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ninlil
Ninlil ( D NIN.LÍL; meaning uncertain) was a Mesopotamian goddess regarded as the wife of Enlil. She shared many of his functions, especially the responsibility for declaring destinies, and like him was regarded as a senior deity and head of the pantheon. She is also well attested as the mother of his children, such as the underworld god Nergal, the moon god Nanna or the warrior god Ninurta. She was chiefly worshiped in Nippur and nearby Tummal alongside Enlil, and multiple temples and shrines dedicated to her are attested in textual sources from these cities. In the first millennium BCE she was also introduced to Ḫursaĝkalamma near Kish, where she was worshiped alongside the goddess Bizilla, who was likely her sukkal (attendant deity). At an early date Ninlil was identified with the goddess Sud from Shuruppak, like her associated with Enlil, and eventually fully absorbed her. In the myth ''Enlil and Sud'', Ninlil is the name Sud received after marrying Enlil. Nisaba, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lugal-e
The ancient Mesopotamian myth beginning Lugal-e ud me-lám-bi nir-ğál, also known as ''Ninurta's Exploits'' is a great epic telling of the warrior-god and god of spring thundershowers and floods, his deeds, waging war against his mountain rival á-sàg (“Disorder”; Akkadian: '' Asakku''), destroying cities and crushing skulls, restoration of the flow of the river Tigris, returning from war in his “beloved barge” ''Ma-kar-nunta-ea'' and afterward judging his defeated enemies, determining the character and use of 49 stones, in 231 lines of the text. Its origins probably lie in the late third millennium BCe. It is actually named for the first word of the composition (lugal-e “king,” in the ergative case) in two first-millennium copies, although earlier (Old Babylonian) copies begin simply with lugal, omitting the case ending. A subscript identifies it as a “širsud of Ninurta” (a širsud meaning perhaps “lasting song”) or “zami (praise) of Ninurta” dependin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nusku
Nuska or Nusku, possibly also known as Našuḫ, was a Mesopotamian god best attested as the sukkal (divine vizier) of Enlil. He was also associated with fire and light, and could be invoked as a protective deity against various demons, such as Lamashtu or gallu. His symbols included a staff, a lamp and a rooster. Various traditions existed regarding his genealogy, with some of them restricted to texts from specific cities. His wife was the goddess Sadarnunna, whose character is poorly known. He could be associated with the fire god Gibil, as well as with various courtiers of Enlil, such as Shuzianna and Ninimma. The main cult center of Nuska was Nippur, where he is already attested in the Early Dynastic period. He was worshiped both in temples of his own and in the Ekur complex. He is attested in various documents from the Kassite period, including oath formulas and inscriptions, as well as in theophoric names. In later periods, he was introduced to the local pantheons of ot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mušmaḫḫū
Mušmaḫḫū, inscribed in Sumerian language, Sumerian as MUŠ.MAḪ, Akkadian language, Akkadian as ''muš-ma-ḫu'', meaning "Exalted/distinguished Serpent", was an ancient Mesopotamian mythological hybrid of serpent, lion and bird, sometimes identified with the seven-headed serpent slain by Ninurta in the mythology of the Sumerian period. He is one of the three horned snakes, with his companions, Bašmu and Ušumgallu, with whom he may have shared a common mythological origin. Mythology In ''Angim'' or "Ninurta's return to Nippur", the storm god describes one of his weapons as "the seven-mouthed muš-mah serpent" (line 138), reminiscent of the Greek myth of Heracles and the seven headed Lernaean Hydra he slew in the second of his Labours of Hercules, Twelve labours. An engraved shell of the Early Dynastic Period of Sumer#Early Dynastic period, Early Dynastic period shows Ninğirsu slaying the seven-headed ''mušmaḫḫū''. In the Epic of Creation, Enûma Eliš, Tiamat, Ti� ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bašmu
Bašmu or Bashmu (; cuneiform: MUŠ.ŠÀ.TÙR or MUŠ.ŠÀ.TUR, "Venomous Snake") was an ancient Mesopotamian mythological creature, a horned snake with two forelegs and wings. It was also the Akkadian name of the Babylonian constellation (MUL.DINGIR.MUŠ) equivalent to the Greek Hydra. The Sumerian terms ''ušum'' (portrayed with feet, see Ninurta's Dragon) and ''muš-šà-tùr'' ("birth goddess snake", portrayed without feet) may represent differing iconographic types or different demons. It is first attested by a 22nd-century BC cylinder inscription at Gudea. Mythology In the Angim, or "Ninurta's return to Nippur", it was identified as one of the eleven "warriors" (''ur-sag'') defeated by Ninurta. Bašmu was created in the sea and was "sixty double-miles long", according to a fragmentary Assyrian myth which recounts that it devoured fish, birds, wild asses, and men, securing the disapproval of the gods who sent Nergal or Palil ("snake charmer") to vanquish it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Poems
Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in place of, Denotation, literal or surface-level meanings. Any particular instance of poetry is called a poem and is written by a poet. Poets use a variety of techniques called poetic devices, such as assonance, alliteration, Phonaesthetics#Euphony and cacophony, euphony and cacophony, onomatopoeia, rhythm (via metre (poetry), metre), and sound symbolism, to produce musical or other artistic effects. They also frequently organize these effects into :Poetic forms, poetic structures, which may be strict or loose, conventional or invented by the poet. Poetic structures vary dramatically by language and cultural convention, but they often use Metre (poetry), rhythmic metre (patterns of syllable stress or syllable weight, syllable (mora) weight ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mesopotamian Myths
Mesopotamian mythology refers to the myths, religious texts, and other literature that comes from the region of ancient Mesopotamia which is a historical region of Western Asia, situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system that occupies the area of present-day Iraq. In particular the societies of Sumer, Akkadian Empire, Akkad, and Assyria, all of which existed shortly after 3000 BCE and were mostly gone by 400 CE. These works were primarily preserved on stone or clay tablets and were written in Cuneiform script, cuneiform by scribes. Several lengthy pieces have survived erosion and time, some of which are considered the oldest stories in the world, and have given historians insight into Ancient Mesopotamian religion, Mesopotamian ideology and cosmology. Creation myths There are many different accounts of the creation of the earth from the Mesopotamian region. This is because of the many different cultures in the area and the shifts in narratives that are common in an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
