Ninmena
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Ninmena
Ninmena was a Mesopotamian goddess who represented the deified crown. She was closely associated with the deified scepter, Ninĝidru, and with various goddesses of birth, such as Ninhursag. Name and character The name Ninmena means "mistress of the crown," and is an example of a typical Sumerian theonym formed as a combination of the cuneiform sign '' nin'' and the name of a location or object. It is not certain if the goddess Men ("crown") known from Early Dynastic ''zami'' hymn, apparently worshiped in Uruk and Sippar, should be considered analogous to Ninmena. However, the deity '' dMen'' or ''dMen-na'' known from late copies of the Weidner god list is agreed to be a form of Ninmena. Ninmena appears among the nine goddesses of birth enumerated after Šulpae in the Nippur god list and in a similar enumeration of six deities in the Isin god list, but she is absent from the analogous section of ''An = Anum'', which only lists Ninhursag, Ninmah, Dingirmaḫ, Aruru and Nintur. It ...
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Ninĝidru
Ninĝidru ( dNin-PA; alternatively read Ninĝešduru) was a Mesopotamian goddess who most likely represented a deified scepter. She played a role in coronation rituals. She often appears in association with Ninmena, who represented the deified crown. A recently published hymn additionally attests that she was the sukkal (attendant deity) of Sud, the tutelary goddess of Shuruppak. Name and character The theonym referring to a deified scepter was written as d Nin- PA in cuneiform. The sign PA was read as ''ĝidru'' in Sumerian and ''ḫaṭṭum'' in Akkadian, and it was the most commonly used logogram representing a scepter. Both elements of the name could be prefaced by the dingir sign, a determinative used to designate names of deities, which indicates that the object itself, rather than just the goddess representing it, was viewed as divine. Other deities possibly also personifying scepters are known from Mesopotamian texts, for example PA-Igidu and PA.KAL from Girsu. It is ...
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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 ...
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Lelluri
Lelluri (also spelled Lilluri, Liluri) was a Hurrian goddess worshiped in southeastern Anatolia and northern Syria. She was associated with mountains, and in known sources appears in connection with the god Manuzi. Character Lelluri most likely originated in the Nur Mountains, and her name ends with the Hurrian suffix -''luri'', known also from the theonyms Upelluri (a primordial giant from the Kumarbi Cycle), and Impaluri (''sukkal'' of the sea god), as well as a number of Hurrian mountain and stone names. Assyriologist Beate Pongratz-Leisten regards her as a deity "associated with Hurrian identity." Volkert Haas describes Lelluri as "lady of the mountains" ("die Herrin der Gebirge"). She was closely linked with Manuzi, a god associated with both the weather and mountains. She was likely his partner, and that they shared a temple in Kummani. A lexical text from Emar indicates that she was understood as analogous to the Mesopotamian goddess Ninmena. Worship According to Volk ...
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Mesopotamian Goddesses
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 ...
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Ninhursag
, deity_of=Mother goddess, goddess of fertility, mountains, and rulers , image= Mesopotamian - Cylinder Seal - Walters 42564 - Impression.jpg , caption=Akkadian cylinder seal impression depicting a vegetation goddess, possibly Ninhursag, sitting on a throne surrounded by worshippers (circa 2350-2150 BC) , symbol=Omega-like symbol , children = Ninurta, Ashgi, Panigingarra , consort=Enlil, Enki Ninḫursaĝ ( sux, ''Ninḫarsang''; ) sometimes transcribed Ninursag,Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Ninhursag". ''Encyclopedia Britannica'', 2 May 2018, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ninhursag. Accessed 28 April 2022. Ninḫarsag, or Ninḫursaĝa, also known as Damgalnuna or Ninmah, was the ancient Sumerian mother goddess of the mountains, and one of the seven great deities of Sumer. She is known earliest as a nurturing or fertility goddess. Temple hymn sources identify her as the "true and great lady of heaven" (possibly in relation to her standing on the mountain) an ...
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Aruru (goddess)
Aruru was a Mesopotamian goddess. The origin of her name is presently uncertain. While initially considered an independent deity associated with vegetation and portrayed in hymns as violent, she eventually came to be viewed as analogous Ninhursag. Her name could also function as an epithet of goddesses such as Nisaba and Ezina- Kusu. She was often called the older sister of Enlil. Her cult centers most likely were the cities of Kesh, Adab and Irisaĝrig. She appears in a number of literary texts, some of which preserve information about her original character. She is also present in the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'', which her portrays her as the creator of Enkidu. Name and character The etymology of the theonym Aruru ('' dA-ru-ru'', 𒀭𒀀𒊒𒊒) is considered either uncertain or unknown. A connection with Sumerian ''a-ru'' or ''a-ri'', which can be translated as "the one who lets the seed flow," has been deemed implausible by Manfred Krebernik, as this term is only used in this s ...
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Nin-Nibru
Ninnibru, also transcribed Nin-Nibru, was a Mesopotamian goddess regarded as the wife of Ninurta. She is attested in sources from between the Ur III and Kassite periods, including offering lists, the god list ''An = Anum'', and the poem ''Angim''. Later she came to be absorbed by Gula, and ceased to be worshiped as a separate deity. Name The theonym Ninnibru can be translated from Sumerian as "the lady of Nippur." The Akkadian form of the name was Bēlet-Nippuri. The name Ungalnibru (Šarrat-Nippuri) is sometimes used interchangeably with Ninnibru in scholarship, but it is generally agreed that these two goddesses were separate. While Ungalnibru occurs as a name of Gula, usually associated with Ninnibru, in the hymn of Bulluṭsa-rabi, the temples listed in the same passage were associated with Ninnibru. In early scholarship it was assumed that the name of the Hurrian goddess Nabarbi might be derived from Ninnibru's, but today it is assumed it is related to the toponym Nawar ...
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Šulpae
Šulpae was a Mesopotamian god. Much about his role in Mesopotamian religion remains uncertain, though it is agreed he was an astral deity associated with the planet Jupiter and that he could be linked to specific diseases, especially ''bennu''. He was regarded as the husband of Ninhursag. Among the deities considered to be their children were Ashgi, Panigingarra and Lisin. The oldest texts which mention him come from the Early Dynastic period, when he was worshiped in Kesh. He is also attested in documents from other cities, for example Nippur, Adab and Girsu. Multiple temples dedicated to him are mentioned in known sources, but their respective locations are unknown. Name The earliest attested form of Šulpae's name in cuneiform is '' dŠul-pa-è'', already found in Early Dynastic texts from Fara and Adab, though it gradually changed to ''dŠul-pa-è-a'', which appears in some, though not all, of the Old Babylonian copies of the '' Kesh Temple Hymn'', and most likely becam ...
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NIN (cuneiform)
The Sumerian word NIN (from the Akkadian pronunciation of the sign EREŠ)( 𒎏) was used to denote a queen or a priestess, and is often translated as "lady". Other translations include "queen", "mistress", "proprietress", and "lord".J A Halloran LexiconRetrieved 2012-06-07 & Many goddesses are called NIN, such as D NIN.GAL ("great lady"), D É.NIN.GAL ("lady of the great temple"), D EREŠ.KI.GAL, and D NIN.TI. The compound form NIN.DINGIR ("divine lady" or "lady of god"), from the Akkadian ''entu'', denotes a priestess. In writing NIN originated as a ligature of the cuneiform glyphs of MUNUS () and TÚG (); the NIN sign was written as MUNUS.TÚG () in archaic cuneiform, notably in the Codex Hammurabi. The syllable ''nin'', on the other hand, was written as MUNUS.KA () in Assyrian cuneiform. MUNUS.KU = NIN9 () means "sister". File:MUNUS-SAL-sinnishtu Cuneiform.svg, Basic cuneiform MUNUS sign ("woman") File:TUG-subatu-ku Cuneiform.svg, Basic cuneiform TÚG sign (sy ...
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Joan Goodnick Westenholz
Joan Goodnick Westenholz (1 July 1943 – 2013) was an Assyriologist and the chief curator at the Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem. She held positions related to academic research at the Oriental Institute (University of Chicago), Harvard University, Ruhr University Bochum (Germany), New York University, Princeton University, and the W. F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research at Jerusalem. She was one of the first people to research gender studies in relation to the Ancient Near East and she co-founded and edited the inter-disciplinary NIN – Journal of Gender Studies in Antiquity. Early life and education Westenholz was born in 1943 in Philadelphia and attended the University of Pennsylvania, where she graduated at the age of 21 with a degree in anthropology. She completed her PhD in Near Eastern Languages and Literatures from the University of Chicago in 1971 and studied under Erica Reiner, A. Leo Oppenheim, I. J. Gelb, and Miguel Civil Miguel Civil (Miquel Civil i ...
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Scepter
A sceptre is a staff or wand held in the hand by a ruling monarch as an item of royal or imperial insignia. Figuratively, it means royal or imperial authority or sovereignty. Antiquity Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia The ''Was'' and other types of staves were signs of authority in Ancient Egypt. For this reason they are often described as "sceptres", even if they are full-length staffs. One of the earliest royal sceptres was discovered in the 2nd Dynasty tomb of Khasekhemwy in Abydos. Kings were also known to carry a staff, and Pharaoh Anedjib is shown on stone vessels carrying a so-called ''mks''-staff. The staff with the longest history seems to be the ''heqa''-sceptre (the "shepherd's crook"). The sceptre also assumed a central role in the Mesopotamian world, and was in most cases part of the royal insignia of sovereigns and gods. This is valid throughout the whole Mesopotamian history, as illustrated by both literary and administrative texts and iconography. The Me ...
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Hurrian Religion
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, 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 the contacts between Hurrians and various cultures they coexisted with. As a result, the Hurrian pantheon included both natively Hurrian deities and those of foreign origin, adopted from Mesopotamian, Syrian (chiefly Eblaite and Ugaritic), Anatolian and Elamite beliefs. The culture of the Hurrians were 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. Hurrian religion was one of the best attested influ ...
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