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Namtar
Namtar () was a figure in ancient Mesopotamian religion who, depending on the context, could be regarded both as a minor god and as a demon of disease. He is best attested as the sukkal (attendant deity) of Ereshkigal, the goddess of the underworld. Like her, he was not the object of active worship, though references to it are made in literary texts, and additionally some incantations entrust him with keeping various other malevolent forces in the underworld. Character and functions Namtar's name means "fate" in Sumerian. It can be differentiated from the ordinary word "fate" in Sumerian texts due to being preceded by the dingir sign, so-called divine determinative, used to identify the names of deities. The same name was used in Akkadian, written as ''dnam-ta-ru''. Jacob Klein notes that true to his name, Namtar was most likely understood as the personification of unavoidable fate, implicitly understood as death. Aicha Rahmouni compares the role of Namtar in Mesopotamian beliefs ...
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Ereshkigal
In Mesopotamian mythology, Ereshkigal (Sumerian language, Sumerian: 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒆠𒃲 [EREŠ.KI.GAL]), lit. "Queen of the Great Earth") was the goddess of Kur, the land of the dead or underworld in Sumerian religion, Sumerian mythology. In later myths, she was said to rule Irkalla alongside her husband Nergal. Sometimes her name is given as Irkalla, similar to the way the name Hades was used in Greek mythology for both the underworld and its ruler, and sometimes it is given as Ninkigal, lit. "Lady of the Great Earth”. Ereshkigal was only one of multiple deities regarded as rulers of the underworld in Mesopotamia. The main temple dedicated to her was located in Kutha, a city originally associated with Nergal, and her cult had a very limited scope. No personal names with "Ereshkigal" as a theophoric element are known. In the ancient Sumerian poem ''Inanna#Descent into the underworld, Inanna's Descent to the Underworld'', Ereshkigal is described as Inanna's older sister. How ...
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Ḫedimmeku
Dimmeku (also read as Dimpimeku), Dimku or Ḫedimku was a Mesopotamian goddess or demon associated with the underworld. From the Old Babylonian period on she was associated with Namtar, and in the god list ''An = Anum'' she appears as his daughter. It has been suggested that the similarly named Ḫedimmeku, who is attested in the same source as a daughter of Enki, was identical with her, though this conclusion is not universally accepted. Name and character The oldest variants of the name, '' ddìm-''PI''-ku'' (''d.dìmdimme-ku'') from the compositions ''The Death of Ur-Namma'' and '' The Death of Gilgamesh'' and ''ddìm''-PI.ME-''ku'' (''d.dìmdimmeme-ku'') from the Nippur god list, according to Dina Katz should be read as Dimmeku. This conclusion is also supported by Jeremiah Peterson. However, the readings Dimpiku and Dimpimeku can be found in older literature. In the incantation series ''Udug-hul'' the form ''ddìm-kù'', Dimku, occurs. Later sources spell the name as ''dḫé ...
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Nergal
Nergal ( Sumerian: d''KIŠ.UNU'' or ; ; Aramaic: ܢܸܪܓܲܠ; ) was a Mesopotamian god worshiped through all periods of Mesopotamian history, from Early Dynastic to Neo-Babylonian times, with a few attestations indicating that his cult survived into the period of Achaemenid domination. He was primarily associated with war, death, and disease, and has been described as the "god of inflicted death". He reigned over Kur, the Mesopotamian underworld, depending on the myth either on behalf of his parents Enlil and Ninlil, or in later periods as a result of his marriage with the goddess Ereshkigal. Originally either Mammitum, a goddess possibly connected to frost, or Laṣ, sometimes assumed to be a minor medicine goddess, were regarded as his wife, though other traditions existed, too. His primary cult center was Kutha, located in the north of historical Babylonia. His main temple bore the ceremonial name E-Meslam and he was also known by the name Meslamtaea, "he who comes ...
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Underworld Vision Of An Assyrian Prince
''Underworld Vision of an Assyrian Prince'' is a Neo-Assyrian text dated to the 7th century BCE. Called the "first tour of hell", it describes a vivid journey to the Underworld taken by Kumma, the Assyrian prince and protagonist of the story. The Underworld Vision is recorded on a single tablet (VAT 10057) excavated from Assur. It is rooted in older Mesopotamian underworld myths such as ''The Epic of Gilgamesh'', although it is also similar to other texts such as ''Ludlul bēl nēmeqi'', and contains Egyptian influences. It has been noted that the story has no parallel in Assyrian texts, and is considered innovative with its use of the " Göttertypentext" format. It has also been suggested that the ''Underworld Vision'' influenced later Jewish literature. Identity of Kumma There has been attempts to connect Kumma to a real Assyrian king. Ashurbanipal was proposed by Wolfram von Soden, and the scribe mentioned at the end of the text was speculated to be Arad-Gula, a scholar acti ...
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Sukkal
Sukkal (conventionally translated from Sumerian as "vizier") was a term which could denote both a type of official and a class of deities in ancient Mesopotamia. The historical sukkals were responsible for overseeing the execution of various commands of the kings and acted as diplomatic envoys and translators for foreign dignitaries. The deities referred to as sukkals fulfilled a similar role in mythology, acting as servants, advisors and envoys of the main gods of the Mesopotamian pantheon, such as Enlil or Inanna. The best known sukkal is the goddess Ninshubur. In art, they were depicted carrying staves, most likely understood as their attribute. They could function as intercessory deities, believed to mediate between worshipers and the major gods. The office sukkal is also known from various areas to the west and east of Mesopotamia, including the Hurrian kingdom Arrapha, Syrian Alalakh and Mari and Elam under the rule of the Sukkalmah Dynasty, while the concept of divin ...
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Ancient Mesopotamian Underworld
The ancient Mesopotamian underworld (known in Sumerian as ''Kur'', ''Irkalla'', ''Kukku'', ''Arali'', or ''Kigal'', and in Akkadian as ''Erṣetu''), was the lowermost part of the ancient near eastern cosmos, roughly parallel to the region known as Tartarus from early Greek cosmology. It was described as a dark, dreary cavern located deep below the ground, where inhabitants were believed to continue "a transpositional version of life on earth". The only food or drink was dry dust, but family members of the deceased would pour sacred mineral libations from the earth for them to drink. In the Sumerian underworld, it was initially believed that there was no final judgement of the deceased and the dead were neither punished nor rewarded for their deeds in life. The ruler of the underworld was the goddess Ereshkigal, who lived in the palace Ganzir, sometimes used as a name for the underworld itself. Her husband was either Gugalanna, the "canal-inspector of Anu", or, especially ...
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Atrahasis
''Atra-Hasis'' () is an 18th-century BC Akkadian epic, recorded in various versions on clay tablets and named for one of its protagonists, the priest Atra-Hasis ('exceedingly wise'). The narrative has four focal points: An organisation of allied gods shaping Mesopotamia agriculturally; a political conflict between them, pacified by creating the first human couples; the mass reproduction of these humans; and a great deluge, as has been handed down many times in the different flood myths of mankind. Perhaps the relic of a natural catastrophe in Mesopotamia caused by rising sea level at the end of the last glacial period, the epic links this flood with the intention of the upper gods to eliminate their artificial creatures. The name "Atra-Hasis" also appears, as a king of Shuruppak on the Euphrates in the times before that flood, on one of the ''Sumerian King Lists''. The oldest known copy of the epic tradition concerning AtrahasisThe variant versions are not direct translations ...
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List Of Mesopotamian Deities
Deities in ancient Mesopotamia were almost exclusively Anthropomorphism, 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 "Paresthesia, physical creeping of the flesh". Both the Sumerian language, 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, ...
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Ninisina
Ninisina ( Sumerian: "Mistress of Isin") was a Mesopotamian goddess who served as the tutelary deity of the city of Isin. She was considered a healing deity. She was believed to be skilled in the medical arts, and could be described as a divine physician or midwife. As an extension of her medical role, she was also believed to be capable of expelling various demons. Her symbols included dogs, commonly associated with healing goddesses in Mesopotamia, as well as tools and garments associated with practitioners of medicine. While Ninisina was initially considered to be an unmarried and childless goddess, the god Pabilsag eventually came to be viewed as her husband. Her children were Damu and Gunura, like her considered to be healing deities, as well as Šumaḫ, who also served as her sukkal, a type of divine attendant. Further members of her court included Ninarali, a goddess associated with the underworld, harpist goddesses Ninigizibara and Ninḫinuna, and sometimes Ninshub ...
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Shamash
Shamash (Akkadian language, Akkadian: ''šamaš''), also known as Utu (Sumerian language, Sumerian: dutu "Sun") was the List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian Solar deity, sun god. He was believed to see everything that happened in the world every day, and was therefore responsible for justice and protection of travelers. As a divine judge, he could be associated with the Ancient Mesopotamian underworld, underworld. Additionally, he could serve as the god of divination, typically alongside the weather god Adad. While he was universally regarded as one of the primary gods, he was particularly venerated in Sippar and Larsa. The Moon God, moon god Nanna (Sumerian deity), Nanna (Sin) and his wife Ningal were regarded as his parents, while his twin sister was Inanna (Ishtar). Occasionally other goddesses, such as Manzat (goddess), Manzat and Pinikir, could be regarded as his sisters too. The dawn goddess Aya (goddess), Aya (Sherida) was his wife, and multiple texts describe ...
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Ninshubur
Ninshubur (,; Ninšubur, "Lady of Subartu" or "Lady of servants"), also spelled Ninšubura, was a Mesopotamian goddess regarded as the ''sukkal'' (divine attendant) of the goddess Inanna. While it is agreed that in this context Ninshubur was regarded as female, in other cases the deity was considered male, possibly due to syncretism with other divine messengers, such as Ilabrat. No certain information about her genealogy is present in any known sources, and she was typically regarded as unmarried. As a ''sukkal'', she functioned both as a messenger deity and as an intercessor between other members of the pantheon and human petitioners. Due to the belief that she could intercede with higher ranking deities, Ninshubur was popular in everyday religion, and many theophoric names invoking her and other references to personal worship are known. Her original cult center was Akkil, but in the Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia), Early Dynastic Period she was already worshiped in nearby Ur ...
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Hušbišag
Hušbišag or Hushbishag () is a Sumerian netherworld goddess. She is the wife of Namtar and mother of Hemdikug, a daughter. References Mesopotamian goddesses Underworld goddesses {{MEast-myth-stub ...
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