Gaṯaru
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Gaṯaru (
Ugaritic Ugaritic () is an extinct Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language known through the Ugaritic texts discovered by French archaeology, archaeologists in 1928 at Ugarit, including several major literary texts, notably the Baal cycl ...
: ''gṯr'') or Gašru ( Akkadian: '' dgaš-ru'', ''dga-aš-ru'') was a god worshiped in
Ugarit Ugarit (; , ''ủgrt'' /ʾUgarītu/) was an ancient port city in northern Syria about 10 kilometers north of modern Latakia. At its height it ruled an area roughly equivalent to the modern Latakia Governorate. It was discovered by accident in 19 ...
,
Emar Emar (, ), is an archaeological site at Tell Meskene in the Aleppo Governorate of northern Syria. It sits in the great bend of the mid-Euphrates, now on the shoreline of the man-made Lake Assad near the town of Maskanah. It has been the sourc ...
and Mari in modern
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
, and in
Opis Opis ( Akkadian ''Upî'' or ''Upija/Upiya''; ) was an ancient Near East city near the Tigris, not far from modern Baghdad. The equivalence of Opis and Upi are now usually assumed but not yet proven. Early on it was thought that the ideogram for ...
in historical
Babylonia Babylonia (; , ) was an Ancient history, ancient Akkadian language, Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Kuwait, Syria and Iran). It emerged as a ...
in
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
. While he is relatively sparsely attested, it is known that in Ugarit he was 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 underworld. ...
, while in
Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...
he was understood as similar in character to Lugalirra or Erra. The name and
cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymological ancestor in a common parent language. Because language change can have radical effects on both the s ...
s of it could also be used as an epithet of other deities, meaning "strong" or "powerful." The Ugaritic texts also attest the existence of
dual Dual or Duals may refer to: Paired/two things * Dual (mathematics), a notion of paired concepts that mirror one another ** Dual (category theory), a formalization of mathematical duality *** see more cases in :Duality theories * Dual number, a nu ...
and
plural In many languages, a plural (sometimes list of glossing abbreviations, abbreviated as pl., pl, , or ), is one of the values of the grammatical number, grammatical category of number. The plural of a noun typically denotes a quantity greater than ...
forms, Gaṯarāma and Gaṯarūma, used to refer to Gaṯaru himself in association with other deities, such as the moon god
Yarikh Yarikh (Ugaritic: , , "moon"), or Yaraḫum, was a moon god worshiped in the Ancient Near East. He is best attested in sources from the Amorite city of Ugarit in the north of modern Syria, where he was one of the principal deities. His primary cul ...
and the sun goddess
Shapash Shapshu (Ugaritic: 𐎌𐎔𐎌 ''špš'', "sun") or Shapsh, and also Shamshu, was a Canaanite sun goddess. She also served as the royal messenger of the high god El, her probable father. Her most common epithets in the Ugaritic corpus are ''nrt ...
.


In Ugarit

The name of the god Gaṯaru (''gṯr'') is an ordinary
Ugaritic Ugaritic () is an extinct Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language known through the Ugaritic texts discovered by French archaeology, archaeologists in 1928 at Ugarit, including several major literary texts, notably the Baal cycl ...
adjective meaning "powerful," a cognate of Akkadian ''gašru'', "strong." No further cognates are known from any other
Semitic languages The Semitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. They include Arabic, Amharic, Tigrinya language, Tigrinya, Aramaic, Hebrew language, Hebrew, Maltese language, Maltese, Modern South Arabian language ...
. Gaṯaru was most likely associated with the underworld. Gregorio del Olmo Lete argues that he should be identified as a deceased royal ancestor, but according to Dennis Pardee this translation relied on a since disproved assumption that the phrase ''gṯr w yqr'' refers to a legendary founder of the
Ugarit Ugarit (; , ''ủgrt'' /ʾUgarītu/) was an ancient port city in northern Syria about 10 kilometers north of modern Latakia. At its height it ruled an area roughly equivalent to the modern Latakia Governorate. It was discovered by accident in 19 ...
ic ruling house. Connections with warfare and vegetation have been proposed for him as well. “ In one of the Ugaritic deity lists, Gaṯaru is most likely placed between
Išḫara Išḫara was a goddess originally worshipped in Ebla and other nearby settlements in the north of modern Syria in the third millennium BCE. The origin of her name is disputed, and due to lack of evidence supporting Hurrian or Semitic etymolog ...
and
Ashtart Astarte (; , ) is the Greek language, Hellenized form of the Religions of the ancient Near East, Ancient Near Eastern goddess ʿAṯtart. ʿAṯtart was the Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic equivalent of the East Semitic language ...
, though the tablet is damaged and his presence is only presumed. He appears between the same two goddesses in one of the offering lists, which states that he received a
ram Ram, ram, or RAM most commonly refers to: * A male sheep * Random-access memory, computer memory * Ram Trucks, US, since 2009 ** List of vehicles named Dodge Ram, trucks and vans ** Ram Pickup, produced by Ram Trucks Ram, ram, or RAM may also ref ...
. Additionally, seven individuals bearing
theophoric name A theophoric name (from Greek: , ''theophoros'', literally "bearing or carrying a god") embeds the word equivalent of 'god' or a god's name in a person's name, reflecting something about the character of the person so named in relation to that d ...
s invoking him are attested in known texts. A trilingual Sumero- Hurro-Ugaritic edition of the
Weidner god list Weidner god list is the conventional name of one of the known ancient Mesopotamian lists of deities, originally compiled by ancient scribes in the late third millennium BCE, with the oldest known copy dated to the Ur III or the Isin-Larsa period. ...
from Ugarit equates Gaṯaru with
Hurrian The Hurrians (; ; also called Hari, Khurrites, Hourri, Churri, Hurri) were a people who inhabited the Ancient Near East during the Bronze Age. They spoke the Hurro-Urartian language, Hurrian language, and lived throughout northern Syria (region) ...
Milkunni Milku was a god associated with the underworld who was worshiped in the kingdoms of Ugarit and Amurru in the late Bronze Age. It is possible that he originated further south, as Ugaritic texts indicate he was worshiped in cities located in the no ...
and additionally with three
Mesopotamian gods 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'', a ...
:
Tishpak Tishpak (Tišpak) was a Mesopotamian god associated with the ancient city Eshnunna and its sphere of influence, located in the Diyala area of Iraq. He was primarily a war deity, but he was also associated with snakes, including the mythical mu ...
(line 27),
Ningirsu Ninĝirsu was a Mesopotamia, Mesopotamian god regarded as the tutelary deity of the city of Girsu, Ĝirsu, and as the chief god of the local pantheon of the state of Lagash. He shares many aspects with the god Ninurta. Ninĝirsu was identified as ...
(line 43) and Mesagunu (line 45). Other examples of the same
Ugaritic Ugaritic () is an extinct Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language known through the Ugaritic texts discovered by French archaeology, archaeologists in 1928 at Ugarit, including several major literary texts, notably the Baal cycl ...
and
Hurrian deities The Hurrian pantheon consisted of gods of varied backgrounds, some of them natively Hurrian religion, Hurrian, while others adopted from other pantheons, for example Religion in Ebla, Eblaite and List of Mesopotamian deities, Mesopotamian. Like th ...
corresponding to multiple Mesopotamian ones are present in the same text, and it is presumed that this practice was the result of the Ugaritic and Hurrian pantheons being smaller than the Mesopotamian one documented in scholarly god lists. It has been called into question if its results accurately reflect either Ugaritic or Hurrian theology.


As a dual or plural term

A term referring to a group of deities, Gaṯarāma or Gaṯarūma, is also attested. Dennis Pardee notes that the known texts do not seem to be consistent when it comes to their number: in some cases, the term is apparently grammatically
dual Dual or Duals may refer to: Paired/two things * Dual (mathematics), a notion of paired concepts that mirror one another ** Dual (category theory), a formalization of mathematical duality *** see more cases in :Duality theories * Dual number, a nu ...
and as such only refers to a pair, but elsewhere the number of the deities meant of is bigger, with the two restorations reflecting the first and second option respectively. One of the texts mentioning them states that during one of the Ugaritic festivals they had to enter the royal palace, where Gaṯaru himself subsequently received offerings of silver. Based on the enumerations of individual offerings in rituals which use the plural term, Pardee argues that in various contexts the term might refer to
Yarikh Yarikh (Ugaritic: , , "moon"), or Yaraḫum, was a moon god worshiped in the Ancient Near East. He is best attested in sources from the Amorite city of Ugarit in the north of modern Syria, where he was one of the principal deities. His primary cul ...
(the
moon god A lunar deity or moon deity is a deity who represents the Moon, or an aspect of it. These deities can have a variety of functions and traditions depending upon the culture, but they are often related. Lunar deities and Moon worship can be foun ...
) and
Shapash Shapshu (Ugaritic: 𐎌𐎔𐎌 ''špš'', "sun") or Shapsh, and also Shamshu, was a Canaanite sun goddess. She also served as the royal messenger of the high god El, her probable father. Her most common epithets in the Ugaritic corpus are ''nrt ...
(the sun goddess), Yarikh and Gašaru (in at least one case, the term denotes two deities both of whom were apparently male) or all three of these deities at once.


As an epithet

The word ''gṯr'' is attested in an epithet of the god Milku, ''‘il gṯr w yqr'', "powerful and august god." It is not considered plausible that it refers to Gaṯaru in this context. In a single text, KTU2 1.108, the war goddess
Anat Anat (, ), Anatu, classically Anath (; ''ʿnt''; ''ʿĂnāṯ''; ; ; Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''wikt:ꜥntjt, ꜥntjt'') was a goddess associated with warfare and hunting, best known from the Ugaritic texts. Most researchers assume tha ...
is also described as ''gṯr'' in a passage listing her various epithets. Aicha Rahmouni notes that the form ''gṯr'' is most likely a scribal mistake, and in accordance with the grammatical gender in Ugaritic suggests emending ''gṯr'' to its feminine form ''gṯrt''. An alternative would be assuming that the word is treated as an abstract noun, "power," rather than as an adjective in this case, which is the solution preferred by Dennis Pardee, but no other attestations supporting such a translation are presently known.


In inland Syria

Outside Ugarit, Gaṯaru is also attested in
Emar Emar (, ), is an archaeological site at Tell Meskene in the Aleppo Governorate of northern Syria. It sits in the great bend of the mid-Euphrates, now on the shoreline of the man-made Lake Assad near the town of Maskanah. It has been the sourc ...
, where his name was spelled in syllabic Akkadian
cuneiform Cuneiform is a Logogram, logo-Syllabary, syllabic writing system that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Near East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. Cuneiform script ...
as ''dga-aš-ru''. No references to a temple or clergy dedicated to him are known, but he appears as an element in theophoric names. According to
Paul-Alain Beaulieu Paul-Alain Beaulieu is a Canadian Assyriologist, a Professor of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations at the University of Toronto. Beaulieu earned a master's degree from the Université de Montréal in 1980 under the supervision of Marcel Leibovi ...
he was also worshiped in Mari, where he is attested in a single theophoric name, Gašrum-gamil (''dga-aš-rum-ga-mil''). However, according to Piotr Steinkeller, unlike the
Ugaritic texts The Ugaritic texts are a corpus of ancient cuneiform texts discovered in 1928 in Ugarit (Ras Shamra) and Ras Ibn Hani in Syria, and written in Ugaritic language, Ugaritic, an otherwise unknown Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic langua ...
, the sources from Emar and Mari do not provide direct evidence in favor of interpreting him as a god associated with the underworld.


In Mesopotamia

There is evidence that in
Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...
a god analogous to Ugaritic Gaṯaru, Gašru (''dgaš-ru'') was understood as analogous to Lugalirra or Erra. The equation is based on the similar meaning of Lugalirra's name: the element ''ir'' is treated as the Sumerian translation of ''gašru'' in lexical texts. However, the Akkadian god whose name had been directly translated into Sumerian language as "Lugalirra" was not Gašru, but rather Bēl-gašer (also romanized as Bēl-gašir), the tutelary deity of
Shaduppum Shaduppum, modern Tell Harmal (also Tell Abu Harmal), is an archaeological site in Baghdad Governorate (Iraq). Nowadays, it lies within the borders of modern Baghdad about 600 meters from the site of Tell Muhammad (possibly ancient Diniktum). In ...
, known for example from a cylinder dedicated to him for the life of
Ipiq-Adad II Ipiq-Adad II was a king of the city kingdom of Eshnunna in ancient Mesopotamia. He reigned c. 1862-1818 BC. He was the son of Ibal-pi-el ensi (Governor) of Eshnunna. Upon his ascent he used the title ensi but, later in his reign he shifted to de ...
of
Eshnunna Eshnunna (also Esnunak) (modern Tell Asmar in Diyala Governorate, Iraq) was an ancient Sumerian (and later Akkadian) city and city-state in central Mesopotamia 12.6 miles northwest of Tell Agrab and 15 miles northwest of Tell Ishchali. Althou ...
. Two
Neo-Babylonian The Neo-Babylonian Empire or Second Babylonian Empire, historically known as the Chaldean Empire, was the last polity ruled by monarchs native to ancient Mesopotamia. Beginning with the coronation of Nabopolassar as the King of Babylon in 626 BC ...
texts referring to a temple ('' É'') of ''dgaš-ru'' indicate that Gašru was worshiped in
Opis Opis ( Akkadian ''Upî'' or ''Upija/Upiya''; ) was an ancient Near East city near the Tigris, not far from modern Baghdad. The equivalence of Opis and Upi are now usually assumed but not yet proven. Early on it was thought that the ideogram for ...
. They might come from the
Eanna E-anna ( , ''house of heavens''), also referred to as the Temple of Inanna, was an ancient Sumerian temple in Uruk. Considered the "residence" of Inanna, it is mentioned throughout the ''Epic of Gilgamesh The ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' () is ...
archive from
Uruk Uruk, the archeological site known today as Warka, was an ancient city in the Near East, located east of the current bed of the Euphrates River, on an ancient, now-dried channel of the river in Muthanna Governorate, Iraq. The site lies 93 kilo ...
, but this assumption about their origin remains uncertain.


As an epithet

The term ''gašru'' and its
cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymological ancestor in a common parent language. Because language change can have radical effects on both the s ...
s are also attested as an element of epithets of various deities. Examples include the weather god
Adad Hadad (), Haddad, Adad ( Akkadian: 𒀭𒅎 '' DIM'', pronounced as ''Adād''), or Iškur ( Sumerian) was the storm- and rain-god in the Canaanite and ancient Mesopotamian religions. He was attested in Ebla as "Hadda" in c. 2500 BCE. From ...
, the
shepherd A shepherd is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations; it exists in many parts of the globe, and it is an important part of Pastoralism, pastoralist animal husbandry. ...
god Dumuzi (''gašru massê lā šanān'', "the strong, unrivaled leader"), and the war and love goddess
Ishtar Inanna is the List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian goddess of war, love, and fertility. She is also associated with political power, divine law, sensuality, and procreation. Originally worshipped in Sumer, she was known by the Akk ...
(''lît ilī gašertum'', "the most powerful among the gods, the strong one").


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * {{refend Ugaritic deities Mesopotamian gods Underworld gods