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Bilulu
Bilulu was a Mesopotamian goddess who most likely functioned as the deification of rain clouds. She might be related to Ninbilulu known from a number of Early Dynastic texts. She is known from the myth ''Inanna and Bilulu'', in which she is responsible for the death of Dumuzi. This event is subsequently avenged by Inanna, who turns Bilulu into a waterskin. Name, character and origin In 1953 Samuel Noah Kramer and Thorkild Jacobsen proposed that Bilulu functioned as a personified thunderstorm or rain cloud. According to Daniel Schwemer this interpretation remains plausible, and finds support in the translation of the name of her son Girgire, "lightning bolt". However, the precise meaning of her own name is not known. She was referred to as ''um-ma'', "old woman". Manuel Ceccarelli proposes that she might have functioned as a figure comparable to Frau Holle or Perchta from German folklore. Bilulu, Ninbilulu and Enbilulu It is presumed that Bilulu might be related to the Early D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Enbilulu
Enbilulu ( sux, ) was a Mesopotamian god associated with irrigation, and by extension with both canals and rivers. The origin of his name is unknown, and there is no agreement among experts in which way he was related to the similarly named deities Bilulu and Ninbilulu. While originally an independent deity, he eventually came to be seen as a name of Marduk and is mentioned in this role in the ''Enūma Eliš''. Character The meaning of the term ''bilulu'' is not known, but it appears in two other names of deities as well, Ninbilulu, known from Early Dynastic sources, and Bilulu, known from the myth ''Inanna and Bilulu''. It has been proposed that there was originally only one deity, Bilulu, who was female and later split into male Enbilulu and female Ninbilulu. However, the identification of Enbilulu and Bilulu is "problematic" according to Wilfred G. Lambert, as "the character of the goddess (...) is not sufficiently similar to that of Enbilulu for the matter to be sure." Ano ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Inanna
Inanna, also sux, 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒀭𒈾, nin-an-na, label=none is an List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility. She is also associated with beauty, sex, Divine law, divine justice, and political power. She was originally worshiped in Sumer under the name "Inanna", and later by the Akkadian Empire, Akkadians, Babylonian religion, Babylonians, and Assyrians under the name Ishtar, (occasionally represented by the logogram ). She was known as the "Queen of heaven (antiquity), Queen of Heaven" and was the patron goddess of the Eanna temple at the city of Uruk, which was her main Cult (religious practice), cult center. She was associated with the planet Venus and her most prominent symbols included the Lion of Babylon, lion and the Star of Ishtar, eight-pointed star. Her husband was the god Dumuzid (later known as Tammuz) and her , or personal attendant, was the goddess Ninshubur (who later became conflated with the male deities Ilabrat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mesopotamian Goddess
Deities in ancient Mesopotamia were almost exclusively anthropomorphic. They were thought to possess extraordinary powers and were often envisioned as being of tremendous physical size. The deities typically wore ''melam'', an ambiguous substance which "covered them in terrifying splendor" and which could also be worn by heroes, kings, giants, and even demons. The effect that seeing a deity's ''melam'' has on a human is described as ''ni'', a word for the " physical creeping of the flesh". Both the Sumerian and Akkadian languages contain many words to express the sensation of ''ni'', including the word ''puluhtu'', meaning "fear". Deities were almost always depicted wearing horned caps, consisting of up to seven superimposed pairs of ox-horns. They were also sometimes depicted wearing clothes with elaborate decorative gold and silver ornaments sewn into them. The ancient Mesopotamians believed that their deities lived in Heaven, but that a god's statue was a physical embodiment ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rain Cloud
A nimbostratus cloud is a multi-level, amorphous, nearly uniform and often dark grey cloud that usually produces continuous rain, snow or sleet but no lightning or thunder. in the Oxford Dictionaries Online Although it is usually a low-based cloud, it actually forms most commonly in the middle level of the troposphere and then spreads vertically into the low and high levels. Nimbostratus usually produces precipitation over a wide area. ''Nimbo-'' is from the Latin word ''nimbus'', which denotes cloud or halo. Downward-growing nimbostratus can have the same vertical extent as most large upward-growing cumulus, but its horizontal extent tends to be even greater. Appearance Nimbostratus has a diffuse |
Duttur
Duttur (Sumerian language:𒀭𒁍𒁺, dBE-''du'') was a Mesopotamian goddess best known as the mother of Dumuzid. She frequently appears in texts mourning his death, either on her own or alongside Geshtinanna and Inanna. It is often assumed that she was associated with sheep. Name The name of Dumuzid's mother was usually written as dBE-''du''. The cuneiform sign BE has two possible readings, ''sír'' and ''dur7''. Duttur is the commonly accepted reading of the name in modern scholarship, though the variant Durtur is also in use. Other attested writings include the Emesal forms Zertu and Zertur and Akkadian Dutturru. A rare spelling only known from the Old Babylonian period is Turtur. However, dTUR.TUR is also attested as a name of an unrelated deity worshiped in the Ur III period, sometimes written with the plural morpheme -''ne'' and as a result interpreted as either "the small gods" (''Dingir''-TUR.TUR-''ne'') or "the divine children" (''ddumu-dumu-ne''). Duttur's name could ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geshtinanna
Geshtinanna was a Mesopotamian goddess best known due to her role in myths about the death of Dumuzi, her brother. It is not certain what functions did she fulfill in the Mesopotamian pantheon, though her association with the scribal arts and dream interpretation is well attested. She could serve as a scribe in the underworld, where according to the myth '' Inanna's Descent'' she had to reside for a half of each year in place of her brother. Evidence for the worship of Geshtinanna is mostly available from Early Dynastic state of Lagash, where she had her own cult center, Sagub. She was also present in the pantheons of other cities, for example in Uruk and Tell al-Rimah. She ceased to be venerated after the Old Babylonian period, though even later on she was still mentioned in god lists and in literary texts, some of which were still copied during the period of Seleucid rule over Mesopotamia. Name The oldest writing of Geshtinanna's name was Amageshtin or Amageshtinanna, as atte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Etiological
Etiology (pronounced ; alternatively: aetiology or ætiology) is the study of causation or origination. The word is derived from the Greek (''aitiología'') "giving a reason for" (, ''aitía'', "cause"); and ('' -logía''). More completely, etiology is the study of the causes, origins, or reasons behind the way that things are, or the way they function, or it can refer to the causes themselves. The word is commonly used in medicine (pertaining to causes of disease) and in philosophy, but also in physics, psychology, government, geography, spatial analysis, theology, and biology, in reference to the causes or origins of various phenomena. In the past, when many physical phenomena were not well understood or when histories were not recorded, myths often arose to provide etiologies. Thus, an etiological myth, or origin myth, is a myth that has arisen, been told over time or written to explain the origins of various social or natural phenomena. For example, Virgil's ''Aeneid'' is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Libation
A libation is a ritual pouring of a liquid, or grains such as rice, as an offering to a deity or spirit, or in memory of the dead. It was common in many religions of antiquity and continues to be offered in cultures today. Various substances have been used for libations, most commonly wine or other alcoholic drinks, olive oil, honey, and in India, ghee. The vessels used in the ritual, including the patera, often had a significant form which differentiated them from secular vessels. The libation could be poured onto something of religious significance, such as an altar, or into the earth. In East Asia, pouring an offering of rice into a running stream symbolizes the detachment from karma and bad energy. Religious practice Historical Ancient Sumer The Sumerian afterlife was a dark, dreary cavern located deep below the ground. This bleak domain was known as Kur, where the souls were believed to eat nothing but dry dust and family members of the deceased would ritually pou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tutelary Deities
A tutelary () (also tutelar) is a deity or a spirit who is a guardian, patron, or protector of a particular place, geographic feature, person, lineage, nation, culture, or occupation. The etymology of "tutelary" expresses the concept of safety and thus of guardianship. In late Greek and Roman religion, one type of tutelary deity, the ''genius'', functions as the personal deity or ''daimon'' of an individual from birth to death. Another form of personal tutelary spirit is the familiar spirit of European folklore. Ancient Greece Socrates spoke of hearing the voice of his personal spirit or ''daimonion'': The Greeks also thought deities guarded specific places: for instance, Athena was the patron goddess of the city of Athens. Ancient Rome Tutelary deities who guard and preserve a place or a person are fundamental to ancient Roman religion. The tutelary deity of a man was his Genius, that of a woman her Juno. In the Imperial era, the Genius of the Emperor was a focus of Imperi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paean
A paean () is a song or lyric poem expressing triumph or thanksgiving. In classical antiquity, it is usually performed by a chorus, but some examples seem intended for an individual voice (monody). It comes from the Greek παιάν (also παιήων or παιών), "song of triumph, any solemn song or chant". "Paeon" was also the name of a divine physician and an epithet ("byname") of Apollo. Etymology The basis of the word παιάν is *παιάϝων." Its ultimate etymology is unclear. R. S. P. Beekes has suggested the meaning "who heals illnesses through magic", from *παῖϝα/*παϝία "blow", related to παίω "beat" (from Proto-Indo-European ''*ph2u-ie/o-'') or παύω "withhold" (of uncertain etymology). He alternatively suggested that ''paian'' "may well be Pre-Greek". R. S. P. Beekes, ''Etymological Dictionary of Greek'', Brill, 2009, p. 1142 (see also pp. 1144 and 1159). Ancient Greek paean In Homer, PaeonMycenaean Greek , ''pa-ja-wo-ne'' /pajāwonei/ ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dingir
''Dingir'' (, usually transliterated DIĜIR, ) is a Sumerian word for "god" or "goddess". Its cuneiform sign is most commonly employed as the determinative for religious names and related concepts, in which case it is not pronounced and is conventionally transliterated as a superscript "d" as in e.g. dInanna. The cuneiform sign by itself was originally an ideogram for the Sumerian word ''an'' ("sky" or "heaven");Hayes, 2000 its use was then extended to a logogram for the word ''diĝir'' ("god" or "goddess")Edzard, 2003 and the supreme deity of the Sumerian pantheon ''An'', and a phonogram for the syllable . Akkadian took over all these uses and added to them a logographic reading for the native '' ilum'' and from that a syllabic reading of . In Hittite orthography, the syllabic value of the sign was again only ''an''. The concept of "divinity" in Sumerian is closely associated with the heavens, as is evident from the fact that the cuneiform sign doubles as the ideogram f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eduba
Edubba ( sux, ) is the Sumerian for "scribal school." The eduba was the institution that trained and educated young scribes in ancient Mesopotamia during the late third or early second millennium BCE. Most of the information known about edubas comes from cuneiform texts dating to the Old Babylonian period (ca. 2000-1600 BCE). Spelling and etymology Edubba is written ''e2-dub-ba-a'' in Sumerian. The literal meaning is "house of tablets". Archaeological evidence Archaeological evidence for the Old Babylonian school system suggests that scribal education was small-scale and usually took place in private homes. School tablets have been found in private residences in many sites across Mesopotamia. Some houses, where particularly large numbers of school tablets were unearthed, have been interpreted by archaeologists as "school houses" or homes in which scribal education almost certainly took place. The best example of this is House F in the city of Nippur. Nearly one and a hal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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