A panel with two divine palace guards, one of which is Ugallu. Ugallu, the "Big Weather-Beast", ( Sumerian inscribed 𒌓𒃲U₄/UD.GAL-˹''la''˺,

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 ...

: ''ūmu rabû'', meaning "big day"), was a

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

-headed storm-demon and has the feet of a bird who is featured on protective amulets and apotropaic yellow clay or tamarisk figurines of the first millennium BC but had its origins in the early second millennium. The iconography changed over time, with the human feet morphing into an eagle's talons and dressing him in a short skirt. He was one of the class of ud-demons (day-demons), personifying moments of divine intervention in human life.

Function

As an ud-demon, Ugallu's function is to intervene in moments of disaster in a person's life, such as saving them from death. His affiliation with the day compares him with other light related deities,

Shamash Utu (dUD "Sun"), also known under the Akkadian name Shamash, ''šmš'', syc, ܫܡܫܐ ''šemša'', he, שֶׁמֶשׁ ''šemeš'', ar, شمس ''šams'', Ashurian Aramaic: 𐣴𐣬𐣴 ''š'meš(ā)'' was the ancient Mesopotamian sun god. ...

the sun, the star of

Sirius Sirius is the list of brightest stars, brightest star in the night sky. Its name is derived from the Ancient Greek language, Greek word , or , meaning 'glowing' or 'scorching'. The star is designated α Canis Majoris, Latinisation ...

, and

Nuska Nuska or Nusku, possibly also known as Našuḫ, was a Mesopotamian god best attested as the sukkal (divine vizier) of Enlil. He was also associated with fire and light, and could be invoked as a protective deity against various demons, such as La ...

, god of the lamp. Many of his rituals as described are to be performed at night.

Iconography

His iconography has notably shifted over time. The Neo-Assyrian versions have eagle talons, and a short skirt. His weapons are the dagger and the mace, with the dagger raised above his head in a threatening manner. Two recovered amulets differ from this, with the same lion-headed Ugallu but with human feet and a long robe. This latter version seems to be quite rare, with the former version being much more common.

Mythology

Ugallu was one of the eleven mythical monsters created by Tiāmat in her conflict with the younger gods, on the reverse of the first tablet of the Epic of Creation, Enûma Eliš. The tale describes how

Marduk Marduk (Cuneiform: dAMAR.UTU; Sumerian: ''amar utu.k'' "calf of the sun; solar calf"; ) was a god from ancient Mesopotamia and patron deity of the city of Babylon. When Babylon became the political center of the Euphrates valley in the time of ...

captured and bound the creatures, rehabilitating them with work reconstructing the world from the corpses of his vanquished adversaries. This transformed them into protective charms which would be used to adorn the doors of palaces, for example that of

Ashurbanipal Ashurbanipal (Neo-Assyrian language, Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , meaning "Ashur (god), Ashur is the creator of the heir") was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 669 BCE to his death in 631. He is generally remembered as the last great king o ...

's southwest palace at

Nineveh Nineveh (; akk, ; Biblical Hebrew: '; ar, نَيْنَوَىٰ '; syr, ܢܝܼܢܘܹܐ, Nīnwē) was an ancient Assyrian city of Upper Mesopotamia, located in the modern-day city of Mosul in northern Iraq. It is located on the eastern ban ...

, temples, such as the

Esagila The Ésagila or Esangil ( sux, , ''"temple whose top is lofty"'') was a temple dedicated to Marduk, the protector god of Babylon. It lay south of the ziggurat Etemenanki. Description In this temple was the statue of Marduk, surrounded by cu ...

of the Marduk temple as described in the Agum-Kakrime Inscription, and private dwellings (the bedrooms of the vulnerable) to ward off evil and disease. Sometimes in pairs of ''ugallū'', the beneficial protective demon finds special purpose in adorning the outer gates of buildings. Wall relief depicting a head of an Uglallu, a lion-headed man

Wall relief depicting a head of an Uglallu, a lion-headed man

Ugallu first appears figuratively in the

First Babylonian dynasty The Old Babylonian Empire, or First Babylonian Empire, is dated to BC – BC, and comes after the end of Sumer, Sumerian power with the destruction of the Third Dynasty of Ur, and the subsequent Isin-Larsa period. The chronology of the first dy ...

as a porter of the underworld, a servant of

Nergal Nergal ( Sumerian: d''KIŠ.UNU'' or ; ; Aramaic: ܢܸܪܓܲܠ; la, Nirgal) was a Mesopotamian god worshiped through all periods of Mesopotamian history, from Early Dynastic to Neo-Babylonian times, with a few attestations under indicating hi ...

. In later times he is represented on amulets as frequently paired with the Sumerian demon

Lulal Lulal, inscribed dlú.làl in cuneiform(𒀭𒇽𒋭), was a Mesopotamian god associated with Inanna, usually as a servant deity or bodyguard but in a single text as a son. His name has Sumerian origin and can be translated as "syrup man." In the ...

, who was in many respects fairly similar in appearance. He is portrayed clasping a dagger, and described thus: "a lion's head and lion's ears, it holds a ... in its right hand and carries a mace (𒄑𒆪^gišTUKUL) in its left, it is girded with a dagger, its name is ugallu."

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ugallu Characters in the Enūma Eliš Mesopotamian legendary creatures Mesopotamian demons Offspring of Tiamat Sky and weather gods Wolves in folklore, religion and mythology Mythological hybrids