Alla or Alla-gula was a
Mesopotamian god associated with the
underworld
The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underwor ...
. He functioned as the
sukkal (attendant deity) of
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 ...
, and most likely was a dying god similar to
Dumuzi and
Damu
Damu ( sux, 𒀭𒁕𒈬) was a Mesopotamian god. While originally regarded as a dying god connected to vegetation, similar to Dumuzi or Ningishzida, with time he acquired the traits of a god of healing. He was regarded as the son of the medic ...
, but his character is not well known otherwise. He had his own cult center, Esagi, but its location is presently unknown.
Name and character
Alla's name was written in
cuneiform
Cuneiform is a logo-syllabic script that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Middle East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. It is named for the characteristic wedge-sh ...
either syllabically (''
dAl-la'' or ''
dAl-lá'') or
logographically (
dNAGAR). A variant form, Alla-gula, "Alla the great," is also attested. Additionally, the god list ''
An = Anum
''An = Anum'', also known as the Great God List, is the longest preserved Mesopotamian god list, a type of lexical list cataloging the deities worshiped in the Ancient Near East, chiefly in modern Iraq. While god lists are already known from the ...
'' indicates that he could be referred to with the
Sumerian epithet Lugal-sapar, "lord of the
net
Net or net may refer to:
Mathematics and physics
* Net (mathematics), a filter-like topological generalization of a sequence
* Net, a linear system of divisors of dimension 2
* Net (polyhedron), an arrangement of polygons that can be folded up ...
." The net is well attested as a divine weapon.
The character of Alla is poorly understood, but it is agreed that he was associated with the underworld. He belonged to the circle of deities connected with
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 s ...
and
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 ...
, and functioned as the
sukkal (divine attendant) of the latter. He is also well attested as one of the dying gods mentioned in lamentations, and on this basis it has been argued he was viewed as comparable to better known
Dumuzi. According to
Wilfred G. Lambert, a single
Old Babylonian
Old Babylonian may refer to:
*the period of the First Babylonian dynasty (20th to 16th centuries BC)
*the historical stage of the Akkadian language
Akkadian (, Akkadian: )John Huehnergard & Christopher Woods, "Akkadian and Eblaite", ''The Camb ...
text seemingly outright equates them with each other. Comparisons with
Damu
Damu ( sux, 𒀭𒁕𒈬) was a Mesopotamian god. While originally regarded as a dying god connected to vegetation, similar to Dumuzi or Ningishzida, with time he acquired the traits of a god of healing. He was regarded as the son of the medic ...
have also been made in modern literature.
In art, Alla was depicted as a bald beardless man, and known representations do not wear the horned crown associated with divinity in Mesopotamian art. Frans Wiggermann argues that he was additionally portrayed holding a staff, well attested as a badge of office of the sukkal.
Alla and Allatum
Wilfred G. Lambert proposed in 1980 that the goddess
Allatum
Allani, also known under the Akkadian name Allatu (or Allatum) was the Hurrian goddess of the underworld, incorporated into Hittite and Mesopotamian pantheons as well.
Name and epithets
The name Allani is derived from a Hurrian word meaning ...
was the
Akkadian Akkadian or Accadian may refer to:
* Akkadians, inhabitants of the Akkadian Empire
* Akkadian language, an extinct Eastern Semitic language
* Akkadian literature, literature in this language
* Akkadian cuneiform
Cuneiform is a logo- syllabi ...
feminine counterpart of Alla. However, in 1989 Gernot Wilhelm noted that no plausible Akkadian
etymology
Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...
has been proposed for her name, and the most likely possibility is that it was simply a variant spelling of Allani, the
Hurrian goddess
The Hurrian pantheon consisted of gods of varied backgrounds, some of them natively Hurrian, while others adopted from other pantheons, for example Eblaite and Mesopotamian. Like the other inhabitants of the Ancient Near East, Hurrians regarded th ...
of the dead, whose name is related to the
Hurrian
The Hurrians (; cuneiform: ; transliteration: ''Ḫu-ur-ri''; also called Hari, Khurrites, Hourri, Churri, Hurri or Hurriter) were a people of the Bronze Age Near East. They spoke a Hurrian language and lived in Anatolia, Syria and Northern ...
word ''allai'', mistress. This view has been accepted by Tonia Sharlach and Alfonso Archi in subsequent studies of this goddess . Sharlach entirely rules out a connection between Alla and Allatum/Allani based on their different roles and origin.
Worship
Alla is attested chiefly in sources from the Ur III and Old Babylonian periods. The settlement Esagi is identified as his cult center in texts pertaining to dying deities, but its location is unknown. There is evidence that he was worshiped in Gišbanda, the cult center of Ningishzida, and it is possible a statue of him was located in the temple of that god in Lagash as well. He was also venerated in Ur, where he appears in offering lists alongside
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 s ...
,
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 syll ...
,
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 ...
,
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 omitt ...
and
Ninpumuna. Additionally, the worship of "Alla-gula" is well attested in sources from
Nippur from the Ur III period pertaining to the activities of queen
Shulgi-simti Shulgi-simti was the wife or concubine of Shulgi, second king of the Third Dynasty of Ur
The Third Dynasty of Ur, also called the Neo-Sumerian Empire, refers to a 22nd to 21st century BC ( middle chronology) Sumerian ruling dynasty based in the c ...
.
Late sources
In a
bilingual myth (
tablet KAR 4 and duplicates), mankind is created from the blood of a plurality of deities referred to with the logogram
dNAGAR, variously interpreted as either Alla or Lamga in modern literature. According to Wilfred G. Lambert based on context the later option is implausible as the reading relies on the explanation
lam-ga dNAGAR =
d30 in a
lexical list, which refers to a name of the moon god
Sin
In a religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, selfish, s ...
. Manfred Krebernik notes that the account resembles the scene in ''
Atrahasis'' where the blood of ''
dW-e(-i-la)'' is used instead.
In late sources, Alla is also attested in lists of so-called "seven conquered Enlils" alongside figures such as
Mummu
Mummu (Cuneiform: ) is a Mesopotamian deity. His name is an Akkadian loanword from Sumerian "umun", which translates as "main body, bulk, life-giving force" and "knowledge", as the active part, in contrary to the more lethargic primordial force ...
and
Alalu
Alalu or Alala was a primordial figure in Mesopotamian and Hurrian mythology. He is also known from documents from Emar. While his role was not identical in these three contexts, it is agreed that all three versions share the same origin.
Hurrian ...
. In this context, the
theonym
A theonym (from Greek ''theos'' (Θεός), " god"'','' attached to ''onoma'' (ὄνομα), "name") is the proper name of a deity.
Theonymy, the study of divine proper names, is a branch of onomastics (the study of the etymology, history, and ...
Enlil is used as a generic label. The deities designated by it were associated with
Enmesharra Enmesharra (Enmešarra, Sumerian: "Lord of all me's") 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 ...
.
References
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Mesopotamian gods
Mesopotamian underworld
Underworld gods