Akkadian mythology Akkadian literature is the ancient literature written in the Akkadian language (Assyrian and Babylonian dialects) in Mesopotamia (Assyria and Babylonia) during the period spanning the Middle Bronze Age to the Iron Age (roughly the 23rd to 6th ce ...

, Antu or Antum (

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 ...

:𒀭𒌈) is a Babylonian goddess. She was the first consort of Anu, and the pair were the parents of the

Anunnaki The Anunnaki (Sumerian: , also transcribed as Anunaki, Annunaki, Anunna, Ananaki and other variations) are a group of deities of the ancient Sumerians, Akkadians, Assyrians and Babylonians. In the earliest Sumerian writings about them, which c ...

and the

Utukki The udug (), later known in Akkadian as the utukku, were an ambiguous class of demons from ancient Mesopotamian mythology who were sometimes thought of as good and sometimes as evil. In exorcism texts, the "good udug" is sometimes invoked agai ...

. Antu was a later development of Ki, an earlier Sumerian

earth goddess An Earth goddess is a deification of the Earth. Earth goddesses are often associated with the "chthonic" deities of the underworld. Ki and Ninhursag are Mesopotamian earth goddesses. In Greek mythology, the Earth is personified as Gaia, corres ...

. She was also conflated with

Kishar In the Babylonian epic Enuma Elish, Kishar ( akk, 𒆠𒊹, Kišar) is the daughter of Lahamu and Lahmu, the first children of Tiamat and Abzu. She is the female principle, sister and wife of Anshar, the male principle, and the mother of Anu. K ...

.. According to the Akkadian pantheon,

clouds In meteorology, a cloud is an aerosol consisting of a visible mass of miniature liquid droplets, frozen crystals, or other particles suspended in the atmosphere of a planetary body or similar space. Water or various other chemicals may com ...

were Antum's breasts and that

rain Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...

was her breast milk.

References

Sources

* * Jordan, M. (2002). ''Encyclopedia of Gods'', Kyle Cathie Limited. * Mesopotamian goddesses Sky and weather goddesses Earth goddesses Inanna {{MEast-myth-stub