The

Sumer Sumer () is the earliest known civilization in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. It is one of the cradles of c ...

ian word NIN (from 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 ...

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 �
Lexicon
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Retrieved 2012-06-07 & Many

goddess A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes of s ...

es 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 ''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 con ...

("divine lady" or "lady of god"), from the Akkadian ''entu'', denotes a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

ess.

In writing

NIN originated as a

ligature Ligature may refer to: * Ligature (medicine), a piece of suture used to shut off a blood vessel or other anatomical structure ** Ligature (orthodontic), used in dentistry * Ligature (music), an element of musical notation used especially in the me ...

of the

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-sha ...

glyphs of MUNUS () and

TÚG 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 ...

(); the NIN sign was written as MUNUS.TÚG () in archaic cuneiform, notably in the

Codex Hammurabi The Code of Hammurabi is a Babylonian legal text composed 1755–1750 BC. It is the longest, best-organised, and best-preserved legal text from the ancient Near East. It is written in the Old Babylonian dialect of Akkadian, purportedly by Hammu ...

. 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 (syllable ''ku'')

Occurrence in the Gilgamesh epic

Ninsun Ninsun (also called Ninsumun, cuneiform: dNIN.SUMUN2; Sumerian: ''Nin-sumun(ak)'' "lady of the wild cows") was a Mesopotamian goddess. She is best known as the mother of the hero Gilgamesh and wife of deified legendary king Lugalbanda, and appea ...

(^DNIN.SÚN) as the mother of

Gilgamesh sux, , label=none , image = Hero lion Dur-Sharrukin Louvre AO19862.jpg , alt = , caption = Possible representation of Gilgamesh as Master of Animals, grasping a lion in his left arm and snake in his right hand, in an Assyr ...

in the ''

Epic of Gilgamesh The ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' () is an epic poetry, epic poem from ancient Mesopotamia, and is regarded as the earliest surviving notable literature and the second oldest religious text, after the Pyramid Texts. The literary history of Gilgamesh ...

'' (standard

Babylonia Babylonia (; Akkadian: , ''māt Akkadī'') was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Syria). It emerged as an Amorite-ruled state c. ...

n version), appears in 5 of the 12 chapters (tablets I, II, III, IV, and XII). The other personage using NIN is the god

Ninurta , image= Cropped Image of Carving Showing the Mesopotamian God Ninurta.png , caption= Assyrian stone relief from the temple of Ninurta at Kalhu, showing the god with his thunderbolts pursuing Anzû, who has stolen the Tablet of Destinies from En ...

(^DNIN.URTA), who appears in Tablet I, and especially in the

flood myth A flood myth or a deluge myth is a myth in which a great flood, usually sent by a deity or deities, destroys civilization, often in an act of divine retribution. Parallels are often drawn between the flood waters of these Mythology, myths and the ...

of Tablet XI. Of the 51 uses of NIN, the other major usage is for the

word ''eninna'' (''nin'' as in ''e-nin-na'', but also other variants). ''Eninna'' is the adverb "now", but it can also be used as a

conjunction Conjunction may refer to: * Conjunction (grammar), a part of speech * Logical conjunction, a mathematical operator ** Conjunction introduction, a rule of inference of propositional logic * Conjunction (astronomy), in which two astronomical bodies ...

, or as a

segue A segue (; ) is a smooth transition from one topic or section to the next. The term is derived from Italian ''segue'', which literally means "follows". In music In music, ''segue'' is a direction to the performer. It means ''continue (the next ...

-form (a transition form). The two uses of NIN as the word for "sister" (Akkadian ''ahātu''), for example, are used in Tablet 8 (''The Mourning of

Enkidu Enkidu ( sux, ''EN.KI.DU10'') was a legendary figure in ancient Mesopotamian mythology, wartime comrade and friend of Gilgamesh, king of Uruk. Their exploits were composed in Sumerian poems and in the Akkadian ''Epic of Gilgamesh'', writte ...

''), line 38: :"May… :"May the brothers go into mourning over you like sisters…"

References

* (Volume 1) in the original Akkadian cuneiform and transliteration; commentary and glossary are in English Cuneiform determinatives Mesopotamian goddesses Sumerian titles Sumerograms Women's social titles {{Semitic-lang-stub

In writing

Occurrence in the Gilgamesh epic

See also

References