As recorded on the clay tablets of Ugarit, El is the husband of the goddess Asherah. Sumerians said one year on planet Nibiru, a sar, was equivalent in time to 3600 earth years. An was said to be both the brother and husband of Ki, the goddess of the Earth, and was at some points considered the de facto father of all creation. l is a generic word for god that could be used for any god, including Hadad, Moloch, or Yahweh. he judges among the gods (Elohim). Such images continued to appear on coins until after the time of Augustus. Like other Mesopotamian gods, his cult changed over time. Nanna (also known as Nannar, Nanna-Suen, Sin, Asimbabbar, Namrasit, Inbu) is the Mesopotamian god of the moon and wisdom. Each of their major cities worshiped a different god as their chief local deity. That fits the character of Enlil, El, and Kumarbi in their respective pantheons. Wden, or Odin, was the ruler of the Norse gods' realm and associated with wisdom, magic, victory and death. It's hard to come across evidence that is conclusive about how life really was back then but suffice to say that Sumeria has always been a place of fascination. He was father to three other children as well Marduk, Uttu, and Ninti. His worship continued until the 3rd century CE. The sun gods appearance was similar to those of other important deities of the region, with a knife and some rays of fire differentiating him from his peers. So, possession of Nippur was crucial for an ambitious ruler in Sumer. Utu was Nannas son and Inannas twin brother, but he was not as ardently worshiped as other Sumerian gods. Of the four planes of existence in Sumerian mythos, the Netherworld, otherwise known as Kigal or Irkalla, was by far the most depressing. She was also a patron of Uruk, where she was later known as Ishtar in the Babylonian version of events. His cult featured princesses as priestesses, who were given residence in a building called a Gipar. E.g. Although she is referenced at length in Sumerian myth, there are some who doubt her status as a deity as there are not very many references to her in the ancient records. Not to follow rabbits too far off the main trail here, but that begs the question: Were the Amorites and Hurrians related? [35] One scholarly position is that the identification of Yahweh with l is late, that Yahweh was earlier thought of as only one of many gods, and not normally identified with l. In the semitic religion, El, just like his Greek equivalent Kronos, was associated with the planet Saturn. Another is that in much of the Hebrew Bible the name El is an alternative name for Yahweh, but in the Elohist and Priestly traditions it is considered an earlier name than Yahweh. According to an ancient seal, she was pictured as a woman with long arms wearing a traditional garb and a horned helmet. l is the father of Persephone and of Athena (presumably the goddess 'Anat). But we are told that l slew his own son Sadidus (a name that some commentators think might be a corruption of Shaddai, one of the epithets of the Biblical l) and that l also beheaded one of his daughters. It was about this time that Enlil appears to have been elevated from the status of patron god of Nippur, a city located near the Euphrates about one hundred miles southeast of modern Baghdad, to head of the Mesopotamian pantheon. Nanna was also the father of fire god Nusku and one of Enlils trusted ministers. In the episode of the "Palace of Ba'al", the god Ba'al Hadad invites the "seventy sons of Athirat" to a feast in his new palace. He was called Nanna in Sumerian, and Su'en or Sin in Akkadian. Inanna was regarded as the most important of all female deities of the Ancient Sumerian pantheon. While there are a number of "central characters" in the myths and legends of the Anunnaki, much of the action revolves around these two sibling rivals. She later became identified by the Akkadians and Assyrians as the goddess Ishtar, and further with the Hittite Sauska, the Phoenician Astarte and the Greek Aphrodite, among many others. An and Ki then proceeded to mate, and birthed Enlil. It is possible also that the expression 'lm in both places descends from an archaic stock phrase in which 'lm was a singular form with the m-enclitic and therefore to be translated as 'sons of l'. And the symbol meant that Cronus could see when asleep, and sleep while waking: and similarly in the case of the wings, that he flew while at rest, and was at rest when flying. Together with An, she created a portion of the vegetation of the planet and also gave birth to Enlil and the other gods collectively known as the Annunaki. By now, Enlil should require little in the way of an introduction. An archaic phrase appears in Isaiah 14:13, kkkb 'l 'stars of God', referring to the circumpolar stars that never set, possibly especially to the seven stars of Ursa Major. 3. [23]W. G. Lambert,Studies in Marduk.Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 1984, Vol. [38][39], In some places, especially in Psalm 29, Yahweh is clearly envisioned as a storm god,[40] something not true of l so far as we know[41] (although true of his son, Ba'al Haddad). As the Chief Deity of Hathra, he was known as "Shamiyah." Note the horns in the photo of the sculpture at left. Ownership of Nippur was proof that Enlil wanted him to be king. 3 (July, 1968), p. 172. According to the Sumerians these gods came from the planet Nibiru 'Planet of the Crossing.' The Assyrians and Babylonians called it 'Marduk', after their chief god. Such inconsistencies were also common when it came to what a god was the god of, with multiple gods being in charge of one aspect of the cosmos, and a singular deitys purview changing over the course of time. The latter descriptions are supported by a tale of how Enlil and Enki ordered the gods Labar and Ashnan to Earth in order to give cattle and grain to its inhabitants. 4 (Dec., 1968), p. 435. We can see immediately the moon-god Erah and El (God) are the two most popular (and only) theophoric elements in these early Amorite personal names. It is unclear as to who her husband was, but it was either the god of war Ninurta or the god of plants Abu. Utu was also known as the god of truth and justice because he was deemed to be able to see everything from his vantage point. Worshipers of each city would go to the main temple to pay their respects to the main god. The Sumerians were possibly the earliest society to emerge in the world, in Southern Mesopotamia more than 5000 years ago. Nippur never dominated the politics of Mesopotamia, but control of the city was always important. Its not a stretch to theorize that the cult of the god, Kumarbi/El/Enlil, was carried to Harran by travelers along that route over the centuries. The highest echelon of gods in Sumerian religion were known as the Anunnaki. Over time, garbage, debris, and earth were piled up to lift the town above the surrounding marsh. In the Ugaritic Ba'al cycle, l is introduced dwelling on (or in) Mount Lel (Lel possibly meaning "Night") at the fountains of the two rivers at the spring of the two deeps. Scholars used to believe that the god's name was a combination of the Sumerian words en ("lord") and ll ("air/wind" or "storm"). Im not aware of any research into whether these events and the emergence of Enlils new title, Great Mountain, are connected, but it seems unlikely that they were a coincidence. [19], In an inscription in the Proto-Sinaitic script, William F. Albright transcribed the phrase L LM, which he translated as the appellation "El, (god) of eternity". The minor god Damu also had the power to drive demons away, and had many a Sumerian poem written about him. The Fallen Realm doesnt hesitate to steal that which belongs to their Creator. More information is needed to be certain. NOTE: "Planet" is Greek for wanderer; Greeks and Romans thought the planets and the sun rotate around the earth - 7 known by them - they named gods and days of the week after them. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Gods of Death The Balikh-Harran region is roughly a hundred miles west of Urkesh, where the god had been worshiped under the name Kumarbi for probably fifteen hundred years by the time of Abraham. The theological position of the Tanakh is that the names l and 'lhm, when used in the singular to mean the supreme god, refer to Yahweh, beside whom other gods are supposed to be either nonexistent or insignificant. l is called again and again Tru l ("Bull l" or "the bull god"). Their civilization existed between about 4,500 BCE and 1,900 BCE. To cite this article in an academic-style article or paper, use: James Hardy, "The 10 Most Important Sumerian Gods", History Cooperative, April 22, 2022, https://historycooperative.org/sumerian-gods/. One is in Ezekiel 28:2, in the taunt against a man who claims to be divine, in this instance, the leader of Tyre: Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre: "Thus says the Lord Yahweh: 'Because your heart is proud and you have said: "I am 'l (god), in the seat of 'elhm (gods), I am enthroned in the middle of the seas." Despite Enlils symbol having been a horned crown, no horns can be seen in this instance although that is likely to be a result of thousands of years of damage. Like most ancient civilizations, the Sumerians came to believe that just about every earthly phenomenon, anthropological aspect, and astronomical event was somehow controlled by unseen deities. One of the first civilizations to grace the Earth, the Sumerians banded together and settled in ancient southern Mesopotamia (modern day south-central Iraq) around 3500 BC. Utus chief place of worship was at Sippar, with the temple being called the White House. He scattered stars and planets around the sky, and together with his wife Ningal, gave birth to Inanna and her twin brother Utu. Cronus or Kronos is known for having swallowed his children, until his youngest child, Zeus, forced him to regurgitate. However, this would be impossible to do without leaving behind a replacement, and it was then that Inanna chose Dumuzi to stay in her stead, upset that he had not mourned her loss enough. Although some other gods had a relatively higher share of support as far as surviving records testify, Enkis contribution to legends was perhaps just as significant, if not more. Guest User ID: 628058 Guest #26. The symbol that denotes her name is the same as the one used to designate Engur, her mate and the personification of the mythical underground freshwater ocean known as Abzu. 1 (1984), p. 1. We should also remember that the Akkadians sealed a political alliance with the Hurrians around this time by marrying off the daughter of Narm-Sn to theendan(king) of Urkesh. An and Ki then proceeded to mate, and Kumarbi in their respective.... As other Sumerian gods dominated the politics of Mesopotamia, but he called! Of Ugarit, El is the father of Persephone and of Athena ( presumably the 'Anat. 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