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Ningishzida
Ningishzida ( Sumerian: DNIN-G̃IŠ-ZID-DA, possible meaning "Lord f theGood Tree") was a Mesopotamian deity of vegetation, the underworld and sometimes war. He was commonly associated with snakes. Like Dumuzi, he was believed to spend a part of the year in the land of the dead. He also shared many of his functions with his father Ninazu. In myths he usually appears in an underworld setting, though in the myth of Adapa he is instead described as one of the doorkeepers of the sky god Anu. Name Thorkild Jacobsen proposed that the Sumerian name ''Ningishzida'' can be explained as "lord of the good tree." This translation is still accepted by other Assyriologists today. Various syllabic spellings are known, including '' dNi-gi-si-da'', ''dNin-nigi-si-da'', ''dNin-ki-zi-da'' and ''dNin-gi-iz-zi-da''. While " nin" can be translated as "lady" in some contexts, it was grammatically neutral in Sumerian and can be found in the names of many deities, both male (Ningishzida, Ninazu, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Mesopotamian Deities
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 embodime ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ninazu
Ninazu ( sux, ) was a Mesopotamian god of the underworld of Sumerian origin. 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 as a deity belonging to the same category of underworld gods. His original cult centers were Enegi and Eshnunna, though in the later city he was gradually replaced by a similar god, Tishpak. His cult declined after the Old Babylonian period, though in the city of Ur, where it was introduced from Enegi, he retained a number of worshipers even after the fall of the last Mesopotamian empires. Character and iconography According to Julia M. Asher-Greve, Ninazu was initially considered a "high-ranking local god," similar in rank to Ningirsu. His name has Sumerian origin and can be translated as "lord healer," though he was rarely associated with medicine. It is nonetheless agreed that he could be considered a healing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gudea
Gudea ( Sumerian: , ''Gu3-de2-a'') was a ruler ('' ensi'') of the state of Lagash in Southern Mesopotamia, who ruled circa 2080–2060 BC ( short chronology) or 2144-2124 BC (middle chronology). He probably did not come from the city, but had married Ninalla, daughter of the ruler Ur-Baba (2164–2144 BC) of Lagash, thus gaining entrance to the royal house of Lagash. He was succeeded by his son Ur-Ningirsu. Gudea ruled at a time when the center of Sumer was ruled by the Gutian dynasty, and when Ishtup-Ilum ruled to the north in Mari. Under Gudea, Lagash had a golden age, and seemed to enjoy a high level of independence from the Gutians. Inscriptions Gudea chose the title of ''énsi'' (town-king or governor), not the more exalted ''lugal'' (Akkadian ''šarrum''). Gudea did not style himself "god of Lagash" as he was not deified during his own lifetime, this title must have been given to him posthumously as in accordance with Mesopotamian traditions for all rulers except Naram-S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ningirida
Ningirida was a Mesopotamian goddess regarded as the wife of Ninazu and mother of Ningishzida. Little is known about her character beyond her relation to these two gods. Name and character The correct reading of Ningirda's name relies on the syllabic spelling from the Ur III period, '' dNin-gi-ri-da''. According to Wilfred G. Lambert, the element ''girid'' is a Sumerian noun referring to a type of hair clasp used by women, and therefore does not provide any information about her individual character beyond her gender. In the myth ''Enki and Ninhursag'', the name is reinterpreted as "the lady born of nose," ''dNin-kìri-e-tu'', but this is only a folk etymology. Little is known about Ningirida's individual role beyond her associations with deities regarded as members of her family. Jeremy Black assumed that she was associated with the underworld. She appears alongside Ninazu starting in the Ur III period. However, it is possible older attestations are available, as the deity dG ... [...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] |
Azimua
Azimua, also known as Ninazimua, was a Mesopotamian goddess regarded as the wife of Ningishzida. Name Ninazimua is the original spelling of the name of this goddess, attested in sources from the Ur III period. Later the NIN sign was usually omitted. The form Ninazimua is attested in at least one theophoric name, Geme-Ninazimua. Wilfred G. Lambert proposed that the element ''a-zi'' in her name can be interpreted as "water of life." Position in the pantheon Azimua was regarded as the wife of Ningishzida. However, multiple traditions regarding this god's marital status existed. The god list ''An = Anum'' identifies not only Azimua, but also Ekurritum (not attested in such a role anywhere else) as his wives, while other sources favor Geshtinanna, identified with Belet-Seri. In some cases, Azimua and Geshtinanna/Belet-Seri were conflated, for example in inscriptions of king Gudea of Lagash. A god list from Susa treats them as two names of the same deity, identified both as the wife ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ancient Mesopotamian Underworld
The ancient Mesopotamian underworld, most often known in Sumerian as Kur, Irkalla, Kukku, Arali, or Kigal and in Akkadian as Erṣetu, although it had many names in both languages, was a dark, dreary cavern located deep below the ground, where inhabitants were believed to continue "a shadowy version of life on earth". The only food or drink was dry dust, but family members of the deceased would pour libations for them to drink. In the Sumerian underworld, there was no final judgement of the deceased and the dead were neither punished nor rewarded for their deeds in life. A person's quality of existence in the underworld was determined by their conditions of burial. The ruler of the underworld was the goddess Ereshkigal, who lived in the palace Ganzir, sometimes used as a name for the underworld itself. Her husband was either Gugalanna, the "canal-inspector of Anu", or, especially in later stories, Nergal, the god of war. After the Akkadian Period ( 2334–2154 BC), Nergal s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nirah
Nirah was a Mesopotamian god who served as the messenger (''šipru'') of Ištaran, the god of Der. He was depicted in the form of a snake. Name and character The name Nirah means "little snake" in Sumerian. It could be written with the logogram dMUŠ, as already attested in third millennium BCE texts from Ebla. However, this logogram could also designate Ištaran, Ninazu, the tutelary god of Susa, Inshushinak, the tutelary god of Eshnunna, Tishpak, and the primordial river deity Irḫan. With a different determinative, mulMUŠ, it referred to the constellation Hydra. Syllabic spellings are also attested, for example ''Ne-ra-aḫ'', ''Ni-laḫ5'', ''Ni-ra-aḫ'' and ''Ni-ra-ḫu''. Nirah was at times confused with Irḫan, originally the name of the western branch of the Euphrates, personified as a deity. The early history of these two deities is not fully understood, and it has been proposed that their names were cognate with each other, though the view that they shared ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irnina
Irnina was the Mesopotamian goddess of victory. Her name additionally functioned as a title of other deities. As an independent deity In the ''An-Anum'' god list, Irnina appears among the courtiers of Ningishzida, a god associated with snakes and vegetation who spent a part of each year in the underworld according to Sumerian texts. In the Weidner god list she likewise appears in a context indicating a connection to the underworld. A partially preserved alternate spelling of her name used the sign MUŠ (serpent). Assyriologist Frans Wiggermann assumes that the reason behind connecting these two deities was the perception of Ningishzida as a "reliable god," which extended to all spheres of his activity - including agriculture, but also judicial proceedings and war. As such he was a god who could secure victory in battle, which was therefore personified as his courtier. As a title of other deities Irnina was an epithet of Ishtar in texts pertaining to the campaigns of the kin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adapa
Adapa was a Mesopotamian mythical figure who unknowingly refused the gift of immortality. The story, commonly known as "Adapa and the South Wind", is known from fragmentary tablets from Tell el-Amarna in Egypt (around 14th century BC) and from finds from the Library of Ashurbanipal, Assyria (around 7th century BC). Adapa was an important figure in Mesopotamian religion. His name would be used to invoke power in exorcism rituals. He also became an archetype for a wise ruler. In that context, his name would be invoked to evoke favorable comparisons. Some scholars conflate Adapa and the Apkallu known as Uanna. There is some evidence for that connection, but the name "adapa" may have also been used as an epithet, meaning "wise". Overview Adapa's story was initially known from a find at Amarna in Egypt from the archives of Egyptian King Amenophis IV (1377–1361 BC). By 1912, three finds from the Library of Ashurbanipal (668–626 BC) had been interpreted and found to contain par ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Snake
Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more joints than their lizard ancestors, enabling them to swallow prey much larger than their heads (cranial kinesis). To accommodate their narrow bodies, snakes' paired organs (such as kidneys) appear one in front of the other instead of side by side, and most have only one functional lung. Some species retain a pelvic girdle with a pair of vestigial claws on either side of the cloaca. Lizards have evolved elongate bodies without limbs or with greatly reduced limbs about twenty-five times independently via convergent evolution, leading to many lineages of legless lizards. These resemble snakes, but several common groups of legless lizards have eyelids and external ears, which snakes lack, altho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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